Sasori had already started counting down in his head, waiting to see Yuu collapse from the poison.
He knew exactly how overbearing the poison he had created was. Even someone as strong as the Third Kazekage—or Sasori himself—would suffer the poison's effects within a dozen seconds at most once touched by it. Then the victim's organs would gradually fail, and they would have no choice but to close their eyes and wait for death.
Only legendary tailed beast jinchūriki, or those with sage-like bodies like the Senju and Uzumaki, might be able to resist its effects.
But Mikami Yuu was none of those.
So all he had to do was wait for Yuu to fall, then find an opportunity to land one more strike on Pakura. Then he could turn defeat into victory.
However…
After ten seconds passed, Yuu did not collapse as Sasori expected. Instead, he opened his mouth slightly and exhaled a long breath of murky air, as if he had turned the poison inside his body into smoke and breathed it out.
Then Yuu moved his slightly stiff neck, cast a medical ninjutsu on himself, and only then stepped toward Sasori and Pakura.
More accurately, Yuu had refreshed a Seed of Vitality on himself, preventing himself from having no cure if he was poisoned again. At the same time, he used that motion to conceal the fact that the wound on his waist had already vanished. After all, something like "state rollback" had already gone beyond the scope of ordinary ninjutsu. It was a little too absurd.
But to Sasori and Pakura, the fact that he had not died from the poison was already absurd enough.
"?!"
What was going on?!
Sasori's eyelid twitched.
His poison… had been broken by this guy?!
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
That poison was his masterpiece after leaving Sunagakure. Everyone who had been poisoned by it, other than himself when he had personally tested it, had died. In theory, no living person had ever seen this poison before, much less analyzed its composition and prepared a targeted antidote.
Unless…
Konoha had developed a new universal antidote, and it just so happened to be effective against his new poison.
That sounded ridiculous.
Because a "universal medicine," like a "universal ninjutsu," was something that only existed in theory. In actual practice, one needed to analyze the specific situation and prescribe the right treatment. In theory, there was no such thing as "universal."
But saying that Konoha's intelligence network was so advanced that it had already learned the formula for his newest, never-before-shown poison…
was equally unbelievable.
In an instant,
Sasori felt a chill cover his entire body. Even his belief in "eternal art," the thing he relied on to support himself, faintly wavered.
Seeing Yuu approach him, a piercing alarm rang in Sasori's mind.
Puppets could be remade if lost. At worst, he could go dig up graves and steal corpses from other ninja villages. But if he did not leave now…
then he would probably die here today!
"Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique!"
Enduring the pain, Sasori formed a string of somewhat imperfect seals with one hand. As the seal sequence completed, the sand beneath his feet seemed to come alive, rapidly softening and collapsing into a whirlpool that swallowed his body. Sand churned and quickly buried the entrance.
"Trying to run?!"
Pakura's eyelid twitched, and she once again created a large number of Scorch Release fireballs.
Before she could throw them, Yuu narrowed his eyes, predicted Sasori's likely underground route, and suddenly drew the Sword of the Thunder God. With a powerful motion of his arm, he hurled it out.
Whoosh—!
The short sword transformed into a golden stream of light, carrying piercing thunder and a sharp whistle as it flew toward the sand several dozen meters ahead of where Sasori had disappeared.
Pfft!
The blade sank into the sand.
Immediately after—
Crackle—!!!
A dazzling burst of blue-white lightning exploded across the sand's surface and spread through the fine grains. From beneath the sand, a faint, pained groan seemed to come through. It appeared Sasori had been struck by the current.
"So he's there… Scorch Release: Corona Barrage!"
Cold light flashed in Pakura's eyes. The Scorch Release fireballs she had already prepared poured out like a cannon barrage, aimed directly at the area where the sound came from.
Boom! Boom, boom, boom—!!!
Deafening explosions quickly linked together.
Earlier, when Yuu was soloing Sasori, Pakura had found it hard to interfere. After all, her strength was a step below both of them, and in a direct confrontation, she was not Sasori's match at all.
Moreover, Sasori's poison was far too tyrannical. Just touching a little could kill her on the spot. So Pakura had to spend most of her energy on defense, making it even harder for her to pose a real threat to Sasori. She had looked like she was simply coasting.
But now,
against an already heavily injured Sasori, Pakura struck hard. Violent flames and shockwaves soon swallowed that patch of sand completely. Scorching firelight rose into the sky with surging air currents, forming a small mushroom cloud under the dim yellow sky of the Death Desert.
"…"
Yuu, who had originally wanted to go in and finish him off, stopped in his tracks. He used Substitution Technique to retrieve the Sword of the Thunder God, then stood a little farther away and watched the continuous flames, the corner of his eye twitching slightly.
"Good grief…"
Had Pakura perhaps understood the true meaning of "art is an explosion"? Was she starting to change jobs from an assassin-type ninja into an artillery mage?
That round of bombardment just now was not as strong as Deidara's "Patrick Star," but compared to normal Deidara, it was not inferior at all. Combined with the wind of the three weasel brothers, its killing power was astonishing.
It took almost a full minute
before the roar of explosions gradually subsided.
At this moment, the area where Sasori had been was completely changed.
The originally flat dune had been blasted into a charred pit more than ten meters across and five or six meters deep. Wisps of smoke rose from the bottom. The air was filled with a thick burnt smell and the scent of sulfur. Sand melted by the heat had cooled into glass-like crystals.
"Huff, huff…"
Pakura's chest rose and fell slightly. Sweat beaded at her forehead. While staring at the pit, she panted and asked, "Is he… dead?"
"…Let me check."
Yuu clasped his hands and closed his eyes slightly. The field of All-Spirit Perception silently spread out, like invisible tendrils probing into the bottom of the pit and the surrounding sand.
A few seconds later,
Yuu opened his eyes again, a subtle expression appearing on his face.
"I can't sense his chakra nearby anymore. He should… probably be dead."
"I see…"
Hearing Yuu's words, Pakura's tense body finally relaxed. She let out a long breath, her orange-red bangs sticking to her skin with sweat.
Beside them, the Tarōmaru brothers also sprawled on their backs in the sand. Their fluffy little bellies rose and fell rapidly as they squeaked in relief after surviving disaster.
"That scared me to death! That red-haired guy was terrifying. I wonder how many people he killed before, for his killing intent to be so condensed!"
"Yeah, yeah. I almost thought he was going to kill me! Good thing Yuu and Pakura are strong. They even beat an opponent like that!"
"Hehe, we three brothers helped a lot too!"
The three weasels patted their chests, all still shaken, while also quietly praising themselves. But because their communication was mostly chaotic squeaking and chirping, Yuu and Pakura did not know what they were saying and paid no attention.
At once,
Yuu swept his gaze over the ruined battlefield, then looked up at the sky and said, "That fight just now made too much noise. I don't know whether it'll attract anything. Let's clean this mess up first. Then we'll return to the canyon, rest a bit, and set out again."
"Alright."
Pakura nodded.
By now, the sky was almost dark. The desert at night was even more dangerous than during the day, and the temperature would drop sharply. It really was not suitable for travel.
"Also, be careful while cleaning. Don't touch those puppets or ninja tools directly with your hands. The things Sasori used are probably all poisoned. If you get poisoned by accident, I won't be able to help you."
Yuu added.
Pakura and the three weasel brothers did not quite believe this. After all, Yuu had clearly been poisoned by Sasori earlier, and he had clearly neutralized it himself through some unknown method.
But since he said so, Pakura would not refute him. As for personally testing the poison to verify whether Yuu really had no antidote, that was even more impossible. Neither Pakura nor the three weasel brothers were that stupid.
Soon,
two humans and three weasels quickly cleaned up the battlefield.
The Third Kazekage puppet was naturally the most important spoil of war and had to be carefully preserved.
The half of Sasori's arm that had been cut off was also collected.
In addition, among the dozen or so red-clad puppets, several had not been completely destroyed and still retained relatively complete forms. Yuu and Pakura gathered them up, wrapped them in cloaks, and sealed them into scrolls.
After finishing all that, the group returned to Wailing Canyon and reunited with the weasels they had parted from not long ago.
While the Tarōmaru brothers explained what had happened to the other weasels,
Yuu and Pakura found a relatively dry corner nearby inside the cavern, lit a campfire, and took out the water and food they had brought with them, sharing it while recovering chakra and stamina.
At this time,
Pakura finally spoke. Her voice was somewhat strained, but also firm.
"Hey, Yuu… what are you planning to do with those spoils from earlier?"
"Hm?"
Yuu looked up at Pakura and guessed that she had something else to say.
She took a deep breath, fixed her eyes on him, and spoke with a slightly pleading tone.
"The death of Lord Third Kazekage is an enormous matter for Sunagakure. This war between Suna and Konoha even began because of it, causing great losses to both our villages.
"Now that the truth is clear, his corpse is the undeniable evidence that exposes everything."
At this point, Pakura paused. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of her cloak.
"I know that we were able to defeat Sasori almost entirely because of your strength, Yuu. These spoils, especially Lord Third Kazekage's remains, rightfully belong to you. But… I want to beg you to give him to me and let me bring him back to Sunagakure. This is extremely important to me, and to all of Sunagakure."
"…"
A brief silence followed.
Yuu lightly tapped the cold rock with his fingers and said nothing.
He really had not decided what to do with the Third Kazekage's corpse yet.
First of all, this thing was definitely valuable. As the remains of the "strongest Kazekage," and a modified body containing human puppet technology, it could probably sell for several Asumas on the black market without issue.
If he handed it over to Konoha, that would also be a major achievement, even greater than capturing Rasa alive. At that point, even if he asked to stand on the Hokage Rock and pee, Sarutobi Hiruzen would probably pinch his nose and agree. The follow-up handling would not be his concern either.
But…
"Pakura, this isn't a small favor that can be settled by treating me to a meal."
Yuu exhaled lightly and said, "The Third Kazekage's corpse is not only proof of Sasori's crimes, but also a weapon capable of attacking and conquering strongholds. As long as it is handed to an excellent puppeteer, it can display strength no less than when he was alive. It would be equivalent to adding a Kage-level fighter to your village.
"If Konoha finds out I committed an act like supporting the enemy, not only would there be no reward, I might even be punished. So… what price do you plan to pay in exchange for it?"
"This…"
Pakura's body stiffened slightly.
To be honest, she really could not afford that price.
Although she could barely be considered part of Sunagakure's upper ranks and had served as a jōnin for several years, accumulating a little network, compared to people like Chiyo and Rasa, whether in seniority or family background, she was far too shallow. The resources she could mobilize were even more limited.
This was also the core reason she was completely suppressed by Rasa inside the village. After all, things like strength could still be improved through hard training. In theory, the Scorch Release kekkei genkai was not necessarily worse than Magnet Release. But family background and seniority could not be quickly improved, and most of it was determined by birth.
After thinking it over, the most valuable thing she had was only…
"Um…"
Pakura lowered her eyes, lightly biting her lip. A faint blush quietly appeared on her cheeks. After a brief silence, she seemed to make a decision. She raised her head and looked at Yuu with a gaze like someone breaking all bridges behind her, leaning forward.
"If… you must see the price first, I can pay part of it in another form."
"…?"
Yuu's eyelid twitched. He saw Pakura use her slender fingers to pull down her collar a little, making the raised curve of her chest even more obvious. Her orange-red eyes stared at him without blinking, and her entire expression became somewhat seductive, revealing a different kind of charm.
"Wait, the 'price' you just mentioned wouldn't be…"
"That's right. Me."
"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!!!"
Yuu failed to stabilize himself and directly sprayed out the mouthful of water he had just drunk, then began coughing violently.
Pakura had been very close to him just now, so she was sprayed all over. Her already not-so-thick tight outfit became slightly transparent. Even so, she immediately moved closer and patted Yuu's back to help him breathe.
From this angle, Yuu could see the ends of her hair swaying gently in his vision. They looked big and round…
…
"Squeak squeak. What are they doing?"
At this time, Saburōmaru poked Jirōmaru beside him with a furry claw and squeaked softly.
"Who knows?"
Jirōmaru also squeaked a few times and made a shrugging motion. However, seeing a weasel perform such a gesture looked somewhat comical.
As the eldest brother, Tarōmaru had more experience with this. He only pointed at his own temple with one claw.
"Don't mind them. Humans always do strange things. If you think too much about it, you'll become as stupid as them."
"By the way, I heard the little one Rurizume gave birth to recently learned how to do a backflip. Do you want to go see? It should be more interesting than watching these two humans."
"Squeak squeak. Let's go, let's go!"
The three weasels bounced away.
…
Beside the campfire,
Yuu took several deep breaths. After a fierce inner struggle, he finally cleared his throat and tried to make his voice sound steadier.
"Well, Pakura… I'm actually not in that much of a rush about the price. Paying on credit is fine too."
How should he put it…
Yuu had indeed been a little tempted earlier.
After all, Pakura really was quite big… mm, older. Among the girls Yuu had interacted with more often, she was second only to Tsunade.
Compared with Tsunade, she lacked a bit of mature charm, but compared with Rin and Kurenai, who had only just begun their journey, Pakura already had the beginnings of an older-sister type appeal. When she had actively leaned in and shown goodwill just now, she really was quite attractive, enough to make someone want a taste of her beauty.
The problem was…
Yuu himself was still a little young. Even counted fully, he was not yet twelve. If he really played too far, it might affect his development, which would not be worth it.
"Credit?"
Pakura frowned, and the heat in her eyes faded slightly.
"That's right."
Yuu nodded. "Right now, you are only an ordinary jōnin of Sunagakure. At most, you are a jōnin with some achievements and reputation. It really would be hard for you to produce bargaining chips comparable to the Third Kazekage's corpse. But… what if you bring this body, along with Sasori's severed arm, back with you?"
"By your own strength, in the vast desert, you found the culprit who killed the Third Kazekage, the missing-nin Sasori of the Red Sand. Then, after a bitter battle, you killed him and safely brought the Kazekage's remains back to the village, restoring Sunagakure's dignity…
"Would such a merit be enough to nominate you as Kazekage?"
"Especially compared with a certain 'acting Kazekage' who just led Sunagakure's forces into an unprecedented rout at Mount Kikyo and was captured alive by Konoha. Who do you think the people of Sunagakure, as well as the daimyō and nobles of the Land of Wind, would be more willing to trust?"
"…"
Pakura's eyes lit up.
She was indeed not very sensitive when it came to politics and often reacted a step slower, but she was absolutely not stupid. As long as she received a little guidance, or enough time, she could still figure out the logic behind events.
Compared to Rasa, she did lack many things.
But if she could obtain a major achievement powerful enough to offset Sunagakure's defeat on the main battlefield, then all of that could become unimportant.
"Recovering the Third Kazekage's remains" was exactly that kind of achievement. It was enough to make her the brightest star of Sunagakure during the entire Ninja World War.
"Also,"
Yuu added, "we didn't find Sasori's corpse on the battlefield earlier. His life or death is unknown. He might not necessarily be dead. It's also possible he escaped using some method we don't know. As long as you tell Chiyo this, gaining her support shouldn't be a problem either.
"If the council of elders, ordinary Suna ninja, and nobles all support you, then the Kazekage seat will be right in front of you."
"…"
Pakura hesitated. "But is Elder Chiyo really innocent? Could the operation to kill the Third Kazekage have been done by her and Sasori together?"
After all, although Sasori was a genius, he was still too young compared to the Third Kazekage. If Chiyo, who was no weaker than a Kage, had helped him, then killing the Third Kazekage would make sense.
"Of course not."
Yuu shook his head. "You should understand that old woman Chiyo's personality better than I do. She may have selfish motives, but she is absolutely loyal to Sunagakure. She would never do something that harms herself a thousand just to hurt the enemy eight hundred. Besides, for her personally, there would be almost no benefit."
"…True."
Pakura nodded and sank into thought. The beating of her heart inside her chest gradually quickened.
The Third Kazekage, Sasori, Chiyo, Rasa…
Previously, Pakura's thoughts had only stopped at "bring back the truth, expose the conspiracy, and give the village an explanation." She had not realized at all that she could use this chance to compete for the position symbolizing Sunagakure's highest authority and responsibility.
But now, after being awakened by Yuu, a path hidden behind fog gradually became clear in her mind.
Did Pakura want to become Kazekage?
Of course she did.
This had nothing to do with a desire for power. It was simply that Sunagakure had done too many foolish things in recent years. Especially during the year after the Third Kazekage went missing, Sunagakure had acted like a headless fly, charging everywhere blindly, eventually smashing its head bloody against Konoha.
In the past, although Pakura disapproved, her status was too low and her words too light. She had no way to change anything. But if she could stand in that position, then no matter what, at least she would have the chance to try making some changes.
"Hoo…"
Pakura let out a long breath, raised her head, and looked at Yuu.
"So… what you mean is, after I become Kazekage, I'll pay the price for this deal?"
"Yes."
Yuu nodded, then added, "Don't worry. I won't ask you to sell out Sunagakure's interests. It will be other kinds of requests. Of course, depending on the situation, I may charge a little interest. After all, it may take quite a long time for you to replace Rasa and become Kazekage."
"…Alright."
After a brief silence, Pakura promised very solemnly.
"I agree."
"Good. Then let me congratulate the future Fourth Kazekage in advance."