Night fell gradually, and Kakashi's team finally made landfall.
The sky was a heavy gray, as if rain could spill at any moment. The oppressive air made breathing feel unpleasant.
Kakashi glanced up, then motioned for everyone to disembark quickly. The spot they'd chosen was uncomfortably close to Kirigakure. For ANBU, this was simply too dangerous.
"Are you ready?" Only after Pakura slowly stepped out of the cabin did Kakashi turn to her and speak in a low voice. "I know you're full of resentment. You probably think we're fabricating all of this. But I'm telling you—every bit of it is real."
"Real?" Pakura stared at him for a long moment, then let out a cold, contemptuous laugh. "Real or not, no one can prove it. I don't care."
"Do you really not?" Kakashi shook his head lightly. "Betrayal always feels disgusting. And the one betraying you this time is your village. That has to hurt even more."
Pakura didn't answer.
But tears had already gathered in her eyes.
Yes—being betrayed by the village she believed in, the village she was willing to die for… it was unbearable.
If they'd told her openly—if they'd only changed the wording, the method—maybe she could have forced herself to accept it.
Ever since she read the intelligence Hikaru had shown her, she'd been thinking about it relentlessly. She knew why the village did it.
Or rather…
This wasn't "the village" in some vague sense.
It was Rasa, leading it, with the approval of the upper ranks.
To put it simply: Rasa needed to cement his seat as Kazekage, and he needed to wash away the embarrassment of his performance during the Third War. He had to bring Suna more benefits.
And the easiest benefits were in the Land of Bears—because Iwa still had to watch Kumo, giving Rasa an opening.
Suna no longer needed to face Konoha head-on. The only thorn left was Kiri's constant harassment.
So if Kiri could be pacified, Suna could focus on Iwa.
And how to pacify Kiri?
Kiri had already given the answer.
They wanted her—the kunoichi who had slaughtered the most Kiri squads, the one with a bloodline they could dissect and study—as the price.
Only then would Kirigakure stop.
She was the one thrown away.
The one deceived.
The one sent to die while knowing nothing—used from start to finish.
"Even if you'd just told me… even if you'd ordered me in the name of the village…" Pakura lowered her head, her body beginning to tremble. "Even if it was like that… even if it was like that!"
"If you told you, there was a chance you'd leak it. If it was issued as a mission, traces would remain," Kakashi said flatly, without emotion. "So you had to die not knowing. And you should understand this too—after you died, your body would still be studied."
He didn't soften the truth.
"That's why they worried you wouldn't accept it. And they were already at their limit. They couldn't wait. They couldn't lose."
He looked at her steadily.
"Your fate was already decided. That's the reality."
It was.
Pakura knew it.
If the mission had been delivered officially, she would have hesitated. She would have resented it. She would have needed to decide whether she could do it.
And the mission would almost certainly have been solo—at most, a few ANBU escorts to confirm the outcome.
If she refused, Rasa's entire plan collapsed.
If she deserted midway and the escorts failed to keep up, the mission was a clean failure.
The risk was too high.
Saying nothing was the "correct" choice.
After a long time, Pakura finally lifted her head. Her gaze was icy and dead. She stared at Kakashi and spoke slowly.
"Then what about Konoha?" she asked. "What's Konoha's plan? You bring me here, make me watch what Kiri will do to me, make me completely give up… and then you 'save' me?"
"No." Kakashi shook his head. "Our captain's order is: you're already dead."
Pakura's eyes narrowed.
"You were killed by Kirigakure shinobi. Before your corpse can be collected, Suna ANBU will appear and either take the body… or destroy it."
As he spoke, Kakashi pulled out a scroll from his pocket. On it was a single huge character:
Corpse.
They had prepared everything.
This mission had been approved jointly by Hiruzen and Minato—so supplies were never going to be lacking.
Pakura's expression changed slightly.
So Konoha intended to erase her from the world entirely—and sabotage the relationship between Suna and Kiri.
By Kakashi's description, they would impersonate Suna ANBU and handle the "cleanup."
But that cleanup would never satisfy Kiri's demands, meaning Kiri would believe Suna had broken its promise.
So the harassment would continue.
It might even grow worse.
Pakura felt sick.
That was still her village—the one that raised her.
And yet… somewhere inside her, a sharp, ugly satisfaction sparked.
A sense of revenge.
She had given everything to that village, only to be repaid with betrayal.
Was she not allowed to strike back?
"What a vile, shameless plan," Pakura said at last, closing her eyes. "Did your captain come up with it? Who is he?"
"You've met him," Kakashi replied. His tone turned serious. "He's the one who captured you. He's the Third Division's captain. And in the future… he'll be your captain too."
"So it's him." Pakura exhaled, voice hollow. "So I'll end up in ANBU… Konoha's ANBU. Under the man who caught me."
She still remembered that day vividly.
How could she forget him?
Young—too young.
Yet terrifyingly strong.
And utterly vile.
But even now… she realized she didn't know who he was.
Not his name.
Not even a codename.
"Who is he?" Pakura asked. "Your captain—he has to have a title."
Kakashi's answer was quiet and absolute.
"Remember it. He is Konoha's Nightingale."
…
Back in the Hidden Hot Water Village, inside an abandoned house, Senju Hikaru watched the four Cloud ANBU with calm eyes.
Their condition was rough. But after the Senju four stabilized them, they'd recovered enough to be conscious.
Still, the fear on their faces hadn't faded.
Ten seconds.
Barely more.
They'd been dismantled so cleanly—almost instantly.
Even knowing who their opponent was didn't make it easier to accept.
Because that opponent was…
Konoha's Nightingale.
"Awake?" Hikaru's voice softened as if he were speaking to friends. "I'm sorry I handled you so roughly. But I'm sure you can understand."
His smile was gentle.
"We're still in wartime."
That tone drew all four of their attention.
They'd been wondering since the moment they woke: Why did Nightingale capture us? What does he want?
They'd already checked themselves. Their chakra was sealed. Their poisons were removed.
Interrogation.
That was the obvious next step.
Despair crawled into their chests.
Yet this… didn't feel like the monster they'd imagined.
If what Nightingale said was true, then it made sense. Kumo and Konoha had never signed a ceasefire. They were still enemies.
In that case, clashing in the field was completely "normal."
"What do you want?" one of the Cloud ANBU finally asked after a long silence. "We're just ordinary ANBU. We can't give you anything valuable."
"Relax. I'm not interested in Kumo's intelligence." Hikaru shook his head lightly, voice still warm. "My mission is Hot Water Village."
He leaned forward slightly.
"I only want information about Hot Water Village."
"You only want Hot Water Village intel?" Another Cloud ANBU hesitated, then forced out the question. "But why do you think we'd have— We only arrived—"
"I don't know whether you have it or not," Hikaru cut him off smoothly. "But don't try to be clever."
The gentleness remained.
The pressure did not.
"I didn't kill you. I didn't have my men interrogate you. I'm giving you a chance." Hikaru's tone stayed even. "If you waste it, then I can only apologize."
He smiled again.
"We're still at war."
"And besides," he added, almost casually, "I'm already on your handbook, aren't I?"
"Talk, and everyone has an easier time. Stay silent, and you don't become heroes—you just become corpses. Think carefully."
He stopped speaking.
He simply stood there and looked at them.
Behind him, the Senju four stepped out of the darkness and took position—shoulder to shoulder.
The room was dim. Moonlight seeped through the broken window in thin strands.
It fell behind the five of them, casting long, black shadows across the floor.
To the Cloud ANBU, the silhouettes looked less like humans and more like five statues of slaughter—five Asura waiting to pass judgment.
Pressure wrapped around their throats.
It forced a choice.
If they refused—if they resisted—then the outcome would be brutal.
Death might be the best case.
The worst case was what came before death.
And Nightingale wasn't just "dangerous."
He was listed as the top-level threat in the Cloud's ANBU manual.
A figure whose appearance could justify abandoning a mission outright.
In other words…
Their current situation already qualified.
"You have sixty seconds," Hikaru said softly. "Don't make me wait."
His voice lowered, almost intimate.
"Maybe you're not afraid of dying. But I wonder… do you enjoy the feeling of being worse than dead?"
The air grew heavier.
Death was not terrifying to ANBU. It wasn't even terrifying to many shinobi.
But living hell—
that frightened anyone.
Even ANBU.
Only someone who couldn't feel pain… or someone with a monstrous will—like Morino Ibiki—could truly endure it.
Second by second, the silence stretched.
The small room became suffocating.
Finally, one of the Cloud ANBU couldn't take it anymore.
He lifted his head to face Hikaru.
And at the very last second—just before the time expired—he spoke.
"We do have some information," he said, strained and resigned. "We arrived several days before you. We visited the village head multiple times and investigated several locations."
His throat bobbed.
"Our most recent visit… was an hour before you arrived."
"Good." Hikaru nodded once, satisfied. "Continue."
"The sooner you cooperate, the sooner you're free," Hikaru said calmly. "Once we verify what you tell us, we'll release you."
"I only hope you keep your word," the Cloud ANBU muttered, then exhaled.
His eyes hardened, as if he'd finally accepted reality.
"Outside the village there's a small forest. In a cave within that forest, there are… strange stone statues."
He swallowed.
"And we detected signs of activity around that location. But we never actually saw anyone."
"If there's no mistake… that cave may be the cult's base."
"We went to the village head to confirm the specifics of that place."
A forest outside the village.
A cave.
Stone statues.
Hikaru nodded slowly.
He couldn't confirm the truth yet.
But it was enough to justify moving.
Until now, he'd had no actionable lead.
Now, at least, he had a direction.
And that was already a gain.
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