Pakura gasped for breath, staring at the watchtower and wall destroyed by the Twin Swords: Hiramekarei.
She was nearing her limit. For some reason, the Kiri-nin had retreated.
"Hero! Lord Pakura, you are the hero of the battle!"
"The hero of Shapo Port!"
For a moment, cheers rose from all around.
With two base fortresses and the 200 men Pakura brought, a total of 320 Suna-nin, they had thought it enough to deal with the Kiri-nin expeditionary force.
Unexpectedly, the Kiri-nin had hidden many ninja in the ship's holds. The attacking Kiri-nin numbered over 400.
Pakura had thought she would become the village's sinner, losing Shapo Port. Yet, they had repelled the Kiri-nin.
Even the nobles hurriedly emerged from deep within their estates to the base of the walls, thanking Pakura.
Pakura knew something was off, but for now, she could only force herself to play the part of the war hero, encouraging the terrified nobles.
After placing the nobles, Pakura led her men to clean up the battlefield.
The battle had ranged from the shallows to the shore, from the piers to the warehouses, from the docks into the city, from the outer city walls to the walls of the noble estates.
Corpses were everywhere.
Ninja corpses, sailor corpses, dockworker corpses, civilian corpses, samurai corpses...
Walking through the corpse-strewn streets, a wave of bitterness washed over Pakura's heart.
A ninja dragged a one-eyed sailor out of a basement.
"Lord Pakura, this man was hit in the throat by a kunai, but he seems to be breathing!"
Pakura looked at the trembling pupils of Black Sail and said, "Give him some water. This man's will to live is strong."
Black Sail watched the Suna-nin leave, thinking to himself, These people can't even recognize my immortality. The Evil God is truly great.
Soon, Pakura found a strange section of the battlefield.
It was littered with Kiri-nin corpses.
All the Kiri-nin died the same way: throats slit by kunai.
No signs of ninjutsu, meaning the Kiri-nin hadn't had time to use techniques.
Not just ninjutsu; they hadn't even found Substitution Technique logs.
Pakura quickly found a pair of distinctive footprints. These footprints appeared before every Kiri-nin corpse. The footprints showed no shifting or twisting, meaning the killer didn't need to pivot their hips or use their whole body for power; a mere swing of the arm was enough to take a life.
The strength was formidable... so formidable that facing dozens of Kiri-nin, they ended the fight using only Taijutsu.
While Pakura was searching for traces, an Earth-Style Rising Spear suddenly appeared in an alley to the side!
An Earth-Style Rising Spear?
This spear was unusual. Its texture resembled the technique of someone from the past... her chakra initiation teacher, the person she met by the Crescent Moon Oasis. That person had a very sharp Earth-Style Rising Spear technique. That person was also Pakura's first and only man.
Ordering her subordinates to clean up other parts of the battlefield, Pakura followed the direction indicated by the Earth-Style Rising Spear until a voice called out to her.
"Pakura, over here."
Pakura quickly turned her head and saw a person standing on the second floor of a collapsed building!
Was that...him?
She hurried into the building, standing on the floor slanted at dozens of degrees.
Opposite her was a man. His silhouette, Pakura would never forget.
Fox turned and looked at Pakura.
"Long time no see, Pakura."
"It's you! Kōji!"
Fox was momentarily dazed.
He had used so many aliases he had forgotten which one he used during his time with Pakura.
"Kōji, where have you been all these years? Wait! Who exactly are you?"
Pakura had repeatedly recalled the details of her encounter with Kōji and was certain that meeting was full of mysteries.
"Pakura, I've actually been keeping an eye on you all along," Fox said. "When we parted, I warned you to be careful of Rasa, the current Advisor Rasa. But alas, you did not heed my advice."
"I was careful with Rasa!" Pakura quickly defended herself. "Every time Rasa talked to me, I was cautious, practically analyzing the tone and psychological intent behind every word he said."
"Not that kind of careness," Fox said. "From what I know, Rasa tried to win you over, and you refused him. Chiyo, also a woman, tried to win you over, and you refused her as well. This left you isolated within Sunagakure. After the Third Kazekage's disappearance, the internal strife in Sunagakure intensified. A harmful, thankless mission like reinforcing Shapo Port fell to you. If you succeed, you get a Shapo Port in ruins. If you fail, you become Sunagakure's sinner. Your situation is very precarious. Do you know that?"
Pakura lowered her head in silence. After a moment, she immediately asked, "Kōji, who exactly are you? How do you know the details of our village's internal factional struggles so clearly?"
"Don't worry about how I know," Fox said, walking towards Pakura. "I am also at fault. Perhaps my warning to be careful of Rasa made you overly wary of him, amplifying the conflict between you. Rasa sees you as closer to Chiyo, so he used this mission to make you the scapegoat."
Thinking of the conflict between Rasa and Chiyo, Pakura's expression turned pained. "Advisors Rasa and Chiyo are increasingly like fire and water. After the Third Kazekage-sama's disappearance, they've turned the search for the Third into an arena for their power struggle. Where the Third-sama actually is no longer matters; what matters is whose approach you support. Lord Rasa insists on searching the entire ninja world for his teacher. Lady Chiyo believes the village should come first. Neither is wrong, but Suna-nin supporting one side become thorns in the other's side. I only wish to protect Sunagakure, to protect the Land of Wind. Neither of them likes me."
Fox stepped forward and reached out to embrace Pakura.
Pakura shuddered.
Her memory of Kōji was just that—a memory. Since the Crescent Moon Oasis, no man had been this intimate with her.
Gently stroking Pakura's smooth back, secretly leaving a Flying Thunder God Formula, Fox said, "The Great Ninja War is coming, Pakura. Be very careful. Before we part, let me give you a gift."
Fox lowered his head and kissed Pakura's lips.
As they parted, Fox bit Pakura's lower lip, taking a drop of her blood.
Pakura's lower lip hurt a little, but she said nothing.
She was about to ask Kōji how he knew Sunagakure's internal affairs so clearly when she realized Kōji had already vanished.
She reached out, grasping futilely at the air, unable to catch this man.
A voice lingered in the air.
"When your life is in danger, I will appear again."
In the northwest of the Land of Wind, Rasa led over a thousand Suna-nin searching for Iwa-nin, attempting to force a decisive battle.
He had to clear out the Iwa-nin here, preserve the Land of Wind's mission market share. If even the Land of Wind didn't support Sunagakure, then Sunagakure would truly be finished.
"Lord Rasa! There are people in the sky!"
Rasa quickly looked up and saw two black dots in the night sky.
Enemies who could fly instantly made Rasa think of Ōnoki, "Two Scales" Ōnoki.
There were only two black dots in the air, with no other Iwa-nin nearby. It seemed more like a negotiation than a declaration of war.
A mass of sand appeared beneath Rasa's feet, carrying him into the sky.
High above, he indeed saw Ōnoki.
However, the other person filled him with even greater terror!
The Third Raikage!
Why was the Third Raikage in the northwest of the Land of Wind? Why was the Third Raikage acting together with Ōnoki? The Third Raikage was standing on a large flying white Explosive Clay bird.
"Rasa, I know you can represent Sunagakure. You have that capability," Ōnoki said. "I wonder what your view is on the upcoming Great Ninja War?"
Ōnoki's gaze was filled with scrutiny, as if if Rasa said one wrong word, he and the Raikage would attack.
Rasa's eyes, filled with confusion and alarm, swept between the Tsuchikage and the Raikage.
These two had actually allied? Didn't they have a deep-seated hatred? Who were they allying against? It couldn't be him; he wasn't worthy.
***
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(End of Chapter)