Although he had stuffed multiple antidotes into his stomach, when Hagoromo entered the misty valley, he still suppressed his breathing rate to the absolute minimum.
To prevent himself from falling victim, a little extra caution never hurts. At the same time, he heightened his own sensory perception. If he noticed any abnormalities in his body, he wouldn't stubbornly push deeper regardless of his condition.
Fortunately, the antidotes worked. After all, these potions were developed by Tsunade specifically to counter the poisons of the Hidden Sand's Chiyo. Overall, their detoxifying properties were incredibly potent.
Then, when he quietly caught up again, although he had prior suspicions, the scene before him still genuinely surprised him.
Through the thick mist, the silhouettes of the two could faintly be seen. At this moment, the Hidden Mist ninja who was supposed to be leading the way stepped aside, falling in behind Pakura. In that split second, he unleashed a must-have assassin skill upon her:
Backstab.
The entire kunai instantly buried itself into Pakura's back.
This simple attack method could at best be called a "cheap trick," yet Pakura, a Jonin and the Hero of the Hidden Sand, didn't evade in the slightest. She took the hit completely.
Regardless of the situation, when turning her back to a ninja from another village, she couldn't have completely dropped her guard. Therefore, there was only one possible explanation for the scene before him.
Mental paralysis? Physical paralysis? Is this the effect of the poisonous mist? Hagoromo thought silently.
He instantly realized the poisonous mist had taken effect.
The Hidden Mist ninjas didn't need to use toxic gas to directly poison Pakura to death—that would likely be difficult to achieve. They only needed to strip her of her ability to react.
Hagoromo didn't rush forward rashly. Since they had already used both poison and a backstab, to ensure the enemy's death, there were bound to be other ambushes set up in this valley terrain.
Sure enough, as Pakura stumbled and fell forward, the next wave of attacks was launched.
At this moment, Pakura's first regret was probably: Why didn't I choose a mission outfit with better defensive capabilities?
What it means to be "turned into a pincushion" was now vividly illustrated by her current appearance.
"Why...?"
The collapsed Pakura's eyes held confusion, incomprehension, unwillingness, and anger. This was completely different from what she had been told beforehand.
Was she going to die here just because of a momentary lapse in caution?
"The hatred between villages can never be truly erased; it can only be temporarily appeased while waiting for the next eruption... However, appeasing mutual grudges cannot come without a price."
"And you, Pakura, Hero of the Hidden Sand, are that price—the bargaining chip to settle things between our two sides."
"Your death will merely be the first step in achieving peace between our two nations. Isn't this what a so-called 'hero' is supposed to do? So, die in peace."
The enemy's tone was dripping with heavy irony, especially when uttering the word "hero," which perfectly encapsulated his sentiment.
Her consciousness already blurring, Pakura might not have heard his words clearly, but the meaning couldn't have been more obvious: to achieve peace with the Hidden Mist Village, she had been sold out by the Kazekage and her own village.
Was the enemy right? Was this the ultimate sacrifice of a so-called hero?
What a mockingly ironic way to die—whether toward herself, toward the village, or toward the word "hero."
"The only regret is that we can't let the news of your death at the hands of the Hidden Mist get out. I trust that very soon, rumors of Scorch Style Pakura dying on the Hidden Stone battlefield will begin to spread," the ninja continued.
Hagoromo heard their conversation loud and clear. He had deduced the general gist of the situation. Exchanging high-end combat power from one's own side to secure peace between the two parties... While he couldn't simply conclude that the Kazekage's thought process was flawed, it ultimately wasn't a very good strategy.
Of course, these were just Hagoromo's own thoughts. As a Kage, there were far more issues to weigh. Looking at Pakura's fate and thinking about it further... would Konoha and the Hokage do something like this? Hagoromo didn't know the answer.
In reality, they would.
After a certain incident, wouldn't Konoha also hand Hizashi Hyuga over to the Hidden Cloud?
Although the circumstances were completely different, the essence was similar. Sacrificing one or two ninjas for the overall interests of the village and the greater picture of peace was a last resort, but... so what?
Why not?
But right now, Hagoromo felt Pakura was still worth saving.
A ninja of Pakura's caliber wouldn't be killed off so easily, right?
After she fell, the three ninjas responsible for the ambush quickly revealed themselves. This four-man squad, consisting of only one Jonin and three Chunin, had just casually murdered the renowned ninja Pakura... One could only say Pakura fell victim to her own people's betrayal.
Through Hagoromo's sensory perception, he confirmed there were indeed only four enemies.
In a head-on fight, Pakura could have easily handled a 1v4. But the enemy also knew this disparity in combat strength, which was why they resorted to an ambush.
Taking stock of the Hidden Mist's high-end combat power revealed it was pitifully scarce. Konoha had the Sannin, the Uchiha, the Hyuga, the Yellow Flash, and elite ninjas from various major and minor clans. The Mist? You could count them on one hand.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were currently not in the village, so they could only dispatch a squad like this to deal with Pakura. However, Pakura was just a dish served up by the Kazekage; taking her out required little effort.
So, after a brief moment of weighing his options, Hagoromo decided to make a move against this squad.
The formidable foe, Pakura, had collapsed on the ground exactly as planned. While the four Hidden Mist ninjas hadn't completely dropped their guard, their expressions had visibly relaxed.
Hagoromo was about thirty meters away from the enemies. Having made the decision to strike, he began his silent approach.
Maintaining absolute silence while moving at high speeds was an impossible feat. The so-called Silent Killing Technique wasn't that magical; movement inevitably produced sound. However, Hagoromo could suppress the noise to the absolute minimum.
As he moved swiftly, his hands wove signs. First, he used the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
An identical clone appeared beside him. Hagoromo and his clone then split into a "V" formation, shifting from a direct assault up the middle of the valley to flanking closely along both sides.
"Who's there?!"
"Careful, Pakura isn't the only enemy!!"
The moment he began casting his jutsu, the enemy Jonin instantly sensed the presence of other ninjas. The opponent's stealthy approach clearly indicated they were hostile.
But since Hagoromo was already casting his jutsu, it meant he had calculated the distance. Being discovered now was completely useless.
Once again, it was that genjutsu: the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, directly stripping the enemies of their vision.
"Genjutsu! Everyone, be careful."
The four enemies reacted very quickly. Almost instantly, they formed a swastika-cross formation, standing back-to-back. Unable to see, defending themselves this way allowed them to face enemies from all four directions while preventing accidental friendly fire.
This method had its pros and cons. The downside was... they bunched up.
Hagoromo's real body and clone sprinted at high speed along the left and right sides of the valley, simultaneously extending an arm toward each other.
Then, lightning flared around his body.
The width of the valley was barely over twenty meters, and with one jutsu, Hagoromo alone could fill it entirely.
The clone and the original body simultaneously used the Chidori Sharp Spear. The bright white blades of light instantly connected into a single line. Their high-speed sprint drove the horizontal slice across the entire width of the valley.
The blinded enemies simply couldn't mount an effective response.
Although the four enemies were at different heights due to their stances and body postures, in that moment, their sensations were identical: they only felt a certain cross-section of their bodies either suddenly turn cold or suddenly turn hot.
And then there was nothing more.
Whether bisected at the waist, the chest, or decapitated at the neck, people cut into two pieces obviously couldn't survive.
Following the strike, Hagoromo's clone went to check the enemies' deaths while continuing to stand guard, while his original body approached Pakura.
He squatted down and pressed two fingers against her neck.
"Can she still be saved? I hope this hero doesn't turn into a heroic spirit."
Regardless, a living Hero of the Hidden Sand was far more valuable than a dead one.
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