Many things that were originally supposed to happen, when they actually unfolded in front of Hagoromo, still managed to surprise him, because he didn't actually know what "originally" meant to begin with.
To Hagoromo, his knowledge of the "future" was extremely ambiguous. Comparatively speaking, he only knew a tiny bit more than the Great Toad Sage.
Therefore, life remained unpredictable.
Therefore, his experiences were sometimes pleasant surprises, sometimes astonishing, sometimes shocking, and sometimes bewildering.
This applied to Pakura's situation, and it applied to what was about to happen next.
Having successfully captured a heavyweight ninja like Pakura of the Hidden Sand, the intelligence Hagoromo had obtained was already massive enough. Compared to remaining undercover in the Land of Water, bringing back the intel that the Hidden Mist was seeking a peace treaty with the Hidden Sand was far more urgent and important.
Besides, dragging around a half-dead Pakura meant his infiltration mission simply couldn't continue anyway.
However, now that Pakura had "disappeared," whether the peace treaty between the two nations could still be reached was likely a total unknown.
After all, "disappearing" meant her life or death couldn't be confirmed. In other words, the Hidden Mist's conditions hadn't been met... Although the Hidden Sand was innocent and had done exactly what they were supposed to, the Hidden Mist hadn't seen the concrete results.
They needed to see Pakura's corpse before they would agree to sign the peace treaty. But now, they couldn't even find a single strand of her hair.
Having decided to leave, Hagoromo acted swiftly.
Fortunately, no other Hidden Mist ninjas arrived while he was performing his "medical ninjutsu." After the resuscitation was complete and his clone had lightly tidied up the battlefield, Hagoromo took Pakura and flew away directly.
However, because Hagoromo's attack methods had been rather extreme this time, the battlefield was left incredibly bloody. Erasing all traces completely was impossible.
Unless he blew the entire valley sky-high.
By now, Hagoromo had already taken Pakura onto his summoned Yatagarasu. They successfully left the Land of Water via the sky and were currently flying over the ocean.
...
"What are you going to do with me next?" Pakura asked. The current flight speed of the Yatagarasu didn't hinder their ability to converse normally.
Pakura's current state... although she was severely injured, Hagoromo hadn't been soft-hearted. He had completely tied her up like a rice dumpling and applied a sealing tag—he had sealed her chakra.
First, to prevent her from violently resisting, and second, to prevent her from committing suicide. Considering she probably couldn't mount a violent resistance in her current state anyway, the second point was the primary concern.
If she died, wouldn't all of Hagoromo's previous suspected corpse-desecration efforts have been for nothing?
Regardless, preventing her normal chakra circulation was highly necessary. Better safe than sorry. Imagine if Pakura could use her Scorch Style and unleashed it on the bird's back. Setting aside whether Hagoromo would fall to his death—after all, the ocean was right below them—his hard-earned Yatagarasu would definitely be roasted into a crispy chicken.
But Hagoromo still had a shred of kindness in his heart; at the very least, he hadn't stuffed a gag in Pakura's mouth... There's a popular trope about biting one's tongue to commit suicide."
He didn't know if Pakura had heard of it, but even if she had, she probably wouldn't try it. Biting one's tongue has a success rate practically equivalent to zero, and it's far less efficient than biting one's wrists.
But in reality, the current Pakura showed no obvious will to die, nor did she show any obvious desire to live... She was surprisingly calm, displaying absolutely no fear or anger at being taken prisoner.
This state of mind was likely the legendary "there is no greater sorrow than a dead heart."
As a ninja worthy of the title "Hero," risking her life for her village, or even genuinely dying in battle, was nothing to her; she had long since mentally prepared for that. But the feeling of being sold out by the village she trusted with all her heart... the true taste of that betrayal was something only Pakura herself could fully comprehend.
"It's not about what I'm going to do with you. I'm only responsible for bringing you back to Konoha. As for what happens next, I have no idea," Hagoromo said. "But a word of warning: the way I treated your injuries was extremely radical. To conserve your stamina, it's best if you talk less."
Hagoromo's treatment could strictly be considered emergency first aid. Setting aside whether there were any residual toxins in her body, he hadn't even truly solved the issue of her massive blood loss.
Even though Hagoromo had stuffed several blood-replenishing pills down her throat, her face was still deathly pale.
"Konoha, huh... Come to think of it, I've never been to Konoha before..." Pakura continued, clearly having no intention or obligation to follow Hagoromo's advice.
"Konoha is pretty nice," Hagoromo sounded like a tour guide. "As long as you honestly tell them the intel you know, Konoha probably won't do anything to you. So going to Konoha is fine; after all, you don't have anywhere else to—"
Hagoromo immediately shut his mouth. Don't hit people in the face. His words were basically rubbing salt into her wounds.
A day ago, Pakura was the Hero of the Hidden Sand, but now, she truly had nowhere left to go. Even if she escaped from Hagoromo right now, she would only be able to live the rest of her life as a missing-nin.
She could never go back to the Hidden Sand.
Using her as a bargaining chip was a joint decision made by the entire upper echelon of the Hidden Sand. Going back would just be throwing herself into the net.
"A place to belong... I really don't have one anymore..."
From where Hagoromo was standing, he couldn't see Pakura's expression, but he could imagine exactly what kind of look she had on her face when she said that.
Probably feeling that life held no attachments, and death held no value.
This transaction between the Sand and the Mist had completely stripped away all of Pakura's sacrifices and value as a ninja.
"Speaking of which, we've met before, haven't we? A few years ago, when pursuing Sasori..."
Pakura's tone was unexpectedly peaceful. Not only was it completely different from their last encounter, but the way she was conversing with Hagoromo now didn't feel like a dynamic between a captive and an enemy at all.
"I'm surprised you remember. This is indeed our second mee—"
Before Hagoromo could finish his sentence, as if a sudden emergency had occurred, he violently shot to his feet, sprinted to the head of the Yatagarasu, stood firm, and stared intently in a specific direction.
He sensed chakra.
Although he wasn't a sensory ninja in the truest sense, he still felt the fluctuations of this chakra.
Because it was a chakra so massive that any ninja would be able to sense it... Tailed Beast-level chakra.
"Very strong chakra."
Pakura spoke. Sure enough, even lying flat on her back, she could sense it too.
"It's absolutely Tailed Beast-level chakra..."
Hagoromo said, seemingly responding to Pakura, but also just muttering to himself.
This surge of chakra was enough to put any ninja on high alert and make their skin prickle.
Hagoromo had fought Jinchuriki before, and he had dealt with pure Tailed Beasts, so he could confidently say this chakra's intensity was not inferior to either of the two.
But from the feel of it, this wasn't the chakra of a Tailed Beast or a Jinchuriki. Hagoromo could essentially make this judgment because while the chakra was immensely powerful, it lacked the malicious, corrupting feel of a Tailed Beast's chakra.
If he had to describe it emotionally, this chakra contained nothing but a scorching, bone-piercing intent to battle.
Hagoromo had felt this kind of chakra from a pure ninja once before—the Third Raikage.
But the chakra in front of them was even stronger than the Raikage's.
Who was it? Were they in combat?
Judging by the distance, it wasn't far away!
By now, the Yatagarasu had carried Hagoromo and Pakura past the midpoint between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire. In terms of spheres of influence, this area should belong to Konoha.
Hagoromo thought for a moment, then directed the Yatagarasu to fly toward the direction he sensed it from.
Very quickly, he spotted a small island. The person was on that island.
Hagoromo had the Yatagarasu begin to circle until he spotted the crimson figure.
Some people draw an incredibly lucky lot the moment they are born. They might be very strong, but they cannot be called truly powerful.
Some people wait twenty years just to achieve an ultimate, momentary bloom, yet that bloom is so dazzling that it makes it impossible to look directly at them.
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