Chapter 260: Kazekage — I Need the One-Tail's Power
"How much has she even eaten?"
Ōnoki's teeth ached faintly, watching the figure inside the tent shoveling food into her mouth without pause, surrounded by a mountain of dirty dishes practically tall enough to bury her.
"None of your business how much I eat."
"I burned through way too much chakra. Obviously I need to eat."
Tsunade, thoroughly unimpressed, shot the old man a look, then immediately turned to Shizune, waiting on standby nearby.
"Tell the kitchen to hurry it up."
"Can't you see she's nearly through everything already?"
Shizune, breaking into a cold sweat, acknowledged the order and hurried off toward the kitchen, the pink pig tucked under her arm.
"If the kitchen's run out of ingredients, we could always consider roasting Tonton."
Tsunade called after Shizune, beaming.
At that, the pig in Shizune's arms let out a shriek exactly like a pig being led to slaughter.
...
"Mmph~~~"
Sakura swallowed the last chicken leg in two bites, then patted her stomach in satisfaction.
This was the first time she'd ever burned through her chakra reserves this severely — bad enough that she genuinely needed food to make up the deficit.
"Old man, your cook's skills aren't quite up to par. I'll send you a couple of recipe books later."
Sakura picked at her teeth with a fish bone, then let out a satisfied belch.
If the cooking's really that bad, why are you eating this much of it—
Ōnoki privately had nothing to say to that, settling down beside her instead, expression complicated as he studied the pink-haired girl.
Ascending to Hokage at sixteen had already been unbelievable enough. And now she'd personally, single-handedly, taken down Mōryō...
Who was going to stop someone like this, at this point?
"What's with that miserable face?"
"Something bothering you? Tell me, let's have a laugh."
Sakura glanced at Ōnoki's sour expression, unable to resist a jab.
"With Mōryō dealt with, the rest of us should probably be heading out now."
"After this, who knows when — or if — the five Kage will ever gather together like this again."
Ōnoki sounded genuinely wistful.
The Mizukage, Kazekage, and Raikage had already departed with their forces half an hour earlier, clearly in no mood to linger here any longer than necessary.
She was the one who'd killed the Raikage's brother, and the Kazekage's father besides.
And on top of that, on the very first day of the Five Kage Summit, she'd gouged out the Mizukage's own bodyguard's eye.
With the outside threat now dealt with, none of them had the slightest interest in sticking around to look at her a moment longer than they had to.
"Old man, since when did you start talking like some poetic scholar?"
"Getting old, and now you're waxing nostalgic like some elder statesman?"
Sakura glanced at Ōnoki, wiped her mouth with a napkin, then stood and headed toward the tent flap.
Mōryō was dealt with. The coalition had disbanded.
Time for her to head back too.
A flicker of melancholy crossed Sakura's eyes.
In the end, that Shrine Maiden — the one who'd fought so desperately to survive, no matter the cost — had died anyway.
By the time Sakura had reached her, Shion's body had already fully merged with Mōryō.
There'd been no saving her, no matter what.
Even with Yang Release at her disposal, there was no bringing back someone whose entire body had already been consumed by a demon.
Shaking her head, feeling the emptiness inside her drained Yin Seal, Sakura figured she'd need to make another trip out to Shikkotsu Forest soon.
—
Out on the endless open ocean, a fleet of ships sailed onward.
"Lord Mizukage. Ao..."
Chōjūrō, watching Utakata standing at the bow, hesitated.
Ever since that Konoha shinobi had gouged out Ao's eye, his mental state had been badly unraveled ever since.
He kept muttering things like "Lady Hikaru," "what did I do wrong," "Lady Hikaru doesn't want me anymore..."
"Don't worry about it. He'll recover after some rest back at the village."
Utakata soothed the young man calmly.
He knew perfectly well what Konoha had done to Ao.
But did he dare bring it up?
Out of the entire coalition, Kirigakure had been, without question, the weakest party present.
The Raikage was a perfect jinchūriki. The Tsuchikage's Dust Release was second to none. Sunagakure had home-field advantage.
And Konoha... well, forget it entirely.
Kirigakure could maybe push around Amegakure, at best.
But even that came with a catch — Hanzō the Salamander's reputation as a shinobi-world demigod carried too much weight. Going after Amegakure, effectively bullying a man pushing eighty, would just be humiliating.
Such a headache.
With that thought, Utakata let out a sigh.
He patted Chōjūrō on the shoulder, meaning to send him off — only to notice a figure had already emerged from the ship's cabin, unnoticed.
"Fifth Mizukage, Utakata."
"Six-Tails jinchūriki."
The newcomer, dressed in a black cloak patterned with red clouds, regarded the Mizukage calmly.
"You're... Obito Uchiha?"
Obito's features were unmistakable — that twisted half-face, impossible to conceal without a mask.
Obito watched Utakata in silence, saying nothing.
"What is it?"
"Has Akatsuki come to make trouble for me?"
Utakata's brow furrowed slightly.
He already knew the intelligence on this man.
Ever since the incident with Shion, his information had already been fully exposed.
Sharingan. Wood Release. Steel Release. Swift Release. Storm Release.
An extremely difficult opponent. Genuinely dangerous.
"No. To be precise, we have no interest in you at all."
"What we're interested in is this."
Obito raised a finger, pointing directly at Utakata's abdomen, under the man's darkening glare.
His abdomen?
What's in his abdomen?
Obviously — the Six-Tails.
"You bastard."
Utakata's expression darkened as he stared down the man before him.
Not wanting to lay eyes on Sakura any longer, he'd been the first to leave the coalition. And his fleet had been docked at a port along the Land of Waterfalls' coastline — meaning the journey home required crossing the Land of Rain, then the Land of Grass, reaching the Land of Waterfalls, before finally taking to open sea back toward the Land of Water.
An enormously long journey — which was exactly why he'd been the last of the Kage to arrive at the summit in the first place.
"Well then. I won't waste any more words on you."
"Telling you my purpose at all was already more courtesy than you deserved."
With that, Obito's dark eyes bled into an unmistakable crimson.
—
Land of Wind
Outskirts of Sunagakure
Yellow sand stretched endlessly, dust churning in the wind.
Wrapped head to toe in cloth against the elements, Gaara led the returning coalition forces, already drawing close to his own village.
Given how close they were, he had no intention of stopping, even in this brutal weather.
Just a few more steps. He only needed to endure a little longer.
"Gaara."
Temari, similarly bundled against the sandstorm, called out to her younger brother.
"What is it?"
Gaara looked at his sister, puzzled.
"Ahead."
Temari pointed forward.
A single figure stood motionless amid the swirling sand, his clothing barely visible through the storm.
"Probably just a traveler who got lost in the dust."
"Send someone to bring him some clothing and point him the right way, and leave it at that."
Gaara let out a small sigh at the sight.
But the figure, entirely unbothered by the raging sandstorm, was already walking steadily toward them.
"Kazekage."
"I need the power of your One-Tail."
A pair of pale lavender, ripple-patterned eyes regarded Gaara without a shred of emotion.
As though the several thousand shinobi standing behind Gaara didn't even exist.
(End of chapter)
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