Pakura

ps: This was my first time writing a fight scene, so I'm not sure how it turned out. If it wasn't good, please forgive me, dear readers.

I'll practice more with drafts.

It's still a two-in-one chapter today. This is a huge 6,900-word chapter—I forgot to split it, but it's not a big deal.

"A B-Rank Mission may require ninjas to participate in battle."

After recalling the description of a B-Rank Mission, Uzuki Yugao's expression darkened, and her heart trembled again. She did not let down her guard in the slightest just because she was currently in Konoha.

This was not the center of the village. It would take some time for the village's ninjas to arrive, and anyone who dared infiltrate one of the Five Great Nations' ninja villages was at least a chunin.

Two genin against an enemy at least chunin-level did not give them very good odds.

Gulp!

Uzuki Yugao swallowed softly. Looking at the man ahead as though facing a formidable enemy, she instantly tossed aside her kunai, drew the sword at her waist, and prepared to fight.

Ugh!

The Sand Ninja sighed inwardly. He slowly drew his kunai, but his attention was not on the two brats in front of him at all. Instead, maps of Konoha's streets surfaced in his mind as he began planning his escape route.

He would have to be insane to fight Konoha Ninja after his identity had been exposed.

Bang! Facing the faint pressure emanating from the man, Uzuki Yugao struck first. As her body vanished from where she stood, a crater instantly appeared in the wooden floorboards.

"Out of my way!"

She kicked the mission target, who had just gotten up, flying away, then slashed her gleaming sword diagonally at the ninja's shoulder.

Clang! The Sand Ninja raised his left arm and thrust it forward. The blade struck the edge of his kunai, sending sparks flashing through the air.

At that moment.

Uzuki Yugao suddenly turned her blade to the left, scraping it along the kunai before sweeping her sword horizontally at the Sand Ninja's neck.

"Brat, you've got some guts."

The Sand Ninja took a step back, brought his kunai back to guard his left side, blocked her strike, then lifted his leg and kicked toward Yugao's face.

At that moment, Hyuga Hanahana lowered her body, and an Eight Trigrams diagram instantly appeared in her eyes.

Watching the Sand Ninja's kick, Chakra rapidly surged into her right hand. She brought her five fingers together, aimed at the acupoint on the Sand Ninja's abdomen, and fiercely thrust her palm forward.

Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!

A shockwave instantly shot from her palm, flying at tremendous speed toward the acupoint on the Sand Ninja's abdomen.

Sensing the disturbance in the air, the Sand Ninja withdrew his leg and flashed away, instantly appearing behind Hyuga Hanahana. Then he raised his kunai high, a savage expression appearing on his face.

He had forgotten there was a Hyuga here. If he did not deal with her, the odds of his escape failing today would rise from ninety-nine percent to ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent.

"Ahhh!"

Hearing the shout behind him, the Sand Ninja paused. He glanced back and saw a boy in gray clothes charging toward him while holding a kunai in his right hand, clutching his right wrist tightly with his left, and screaming at the top of his lungs.

Has Konoha's new generation really fallen to this level? The Sand Ninja grinned at the boy charging at him with his eyes shut. Then he pulled an Exploding Tag from his clothes and stuck it to Hyuga Hanahana's back, kicked her toward Uzuki Yugao, and turned to face Iruka.

"Idiot!"

After sidestepping Iruka's kunai, he raised his hand and swung it down fiercely.

Splurt! Iruka felt his face go numb. Then searing pain shot from his forehead to his chin. The intense pain made him instantly drop his kunai. He clutched his face tightly with both hands and began wailing.

"I'm leaving."

Muttering inwardly, he glanced at the Exploding Tag that was about to detonate. As though afraid the Hyuga ninja might somehow survive, he pulled several more kunai from his bag and threw them at the two girls.

At that moment.

Uzuki Yugao lay on the floor holding Hyuga Hanahana. Hearing the sizzling of the Exploding Tag, they hurriedly reached toward Hanahana's back, trying to tear it off. Their four arms fumbled over her back for a long time, but they could not find where the burning tag was. Their panicked eyes instantly turned despairing.

They had only just become ninjas. They were doing a D-Rank Mission, and they were going to die in the village. Would that end up in a textbook?

This is so frustrating!! "Hey, are you two cuddling?"

Hearing a familiar voice beside her, Uzuki Yugao quickly turned to the right and said urgently, "Teacher, there's an Exploding Tag."

Boom! The instant she finished speaking, a violent explosion erupted from the bath pool beside them. Uzuki Yugao shut her eyes at once and muttered to herself, "Did I get Teacher killed too?

"I haven't done any high-rank missions yet. I haven't experienced love yet. I haven't even kissed anyone."

As she spoke, she felt something press against her lips.

Hm? Uzuki Yugao opened her eyes and stared blankly as Hyuga Hanahana suddenly kissed her on the lips.

Why are you kissing me? "Tsk, tsk. You really were cuddling."

After blocking the blast wave for them, Uchiha Asuka stood up and rubbed his aching back helplessly.

"Getting hit in the back by a shockwave really hurts."

After saying that, he glanced at Iruka rolling around on the floor, then vanished from the bath area with a Body Flicker.

There was no need to check on that guy. The scar on his face was definitely going to stay.

"Ahhh! Ahhh!"

Iruka's painful groans instantly broke the awkward atmosphere in the bathhouse.

Hyuga Hanahana wiped her lips. A blush crept from her cheeks to her forehead. After taking several deep breaths, she forcibly steadied her trembling voice and explained to Yu Yan, "Just now, you said you hadn't kissed anyone yet. Then I felt someone pressing my head down, and then—this happened."

"Oh... oh..."

Yu Yan gave two dry acknowledgments, turned her head to look elsewhere, and mumbled, "We're both girls. Um... it's... it's fine."

Then she suddenly remembered the Sand Ninja who had escaped. She hurriedly got to her feet and said urgently, "That Sand Ninja—"

"Don't worry!"

Hyuga Hanahana gritted her teeth and pulled the kunai embedded in her buttocks free. Her body trembled, but she forced herself to remain calm as she said, "Teacher will handle it."

"Um... the wound on your back..."

"We were already lucky enough. Teacher dragged our bodies forward a little just now. Those kunai were supposed to pierce our hearts and the backs of our heads, but now they hit the fleshiest parts of our bodies. This is the best outcome we could have gotten."

Seeing the worry on Yu Yan's face, Hyuga Hanahana felt a warmth in her heart, though her voice remained cold. "As a member of the Hyuga Branch Family, I was prepared to die from the moment the mark was branded onto me."

"Hana Hana..."

"Stop cuddling. If you keep it up, Iruka will bleed to death."

Uchiha Asuka entered the bathhouse at that moment, gripping the Sand Ninja by the neck. He looked at the two girls hugging each other for comfort, then at the pale-faced Iruka. Walking over, he pressed his palm against Iruka's face. Green light emerged from his hand as he continued, "One of you, go call the Konoha Barrier Team. Teacher will get you some medical compensation."

"I'm here."

A man whose head was wrapped in bandages suddenly appeared behind Uchiha Asuka. He glanced at the clan crest on Asuka's back, and his tone immediately softened. "This time, it was our Barrier Team's negligence. We failed to detect the suspicious Chakra he carried."

Once Iruka's bleeding had stopped, Uchiha Asuka stood and looked at the Barrier Team ninja, sighing. "Has your Barrier Team become a little lax?"

"I'm sorry!"

He looked apologetically at the three students and explained, "Since the Third Shinobi World War ended, ninja from various countries have been arriving in Konoha one after another to sign treaties. Personnel have been pulled from everywhere, so some oversights were inevitable."

"Enough."

Uchiha Asuka waved a hand and handed the ninja in his grasp over to him. Then, leaning close to the man's ear, he whispered, "When the time comes, you can say that your Barrier Team had actually noticed something suspicious about this person, but because you were short-handed, you were not sure whether he was truly a problem.

"You decided to follow him for a while. Just as you were preparing to arrest him, you happened to encounter me on the road while I was carrying out a mission. Afraid you would be unable to handle it alone, you secretly told me the information and asked me to help capture this suspicious person.

"I pretended to have my three students continue their mission normally so that the ninja who had infiltrated the village would not lower his guard and accidentally harm ordinary civilians.

"If you explain it like that, given the Fourth Hokage's tolerant and kind nature, your Barrier Team will not be in too much trouble."

"Mm!"

The bandage-wrapped man looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he nodded and, without any hesitation, pulled out a stack of bills from his bag and stuffed it into Uchiha Asuka's hand.

"This was our negligence. Buy the students some fruit."

In the end, it was still the Barrier Team's fault. And the solution the other party had proposed seemed to bring no harm to the Barrier Team.

His students had also been injured. Though their wounds looked mostly healed now, they still deserved some compensation.

Taking the stack of bills, Uchiha Asuka treated Hyuga Hanahana's back injuries and said, "We'll escort him to the Interrogation Department for you, so he doesn't escape midway."

"Thank you for the trouble."

"Teacher?"

Hyuga Hanahana counted the bills in her hand, looked up at the distracted Uchiha Asuka, tugged at his sleeve, and asked quietly, "Is it really okay for us to take their money?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Asuka lowered his gaze slightly. Looking at the embarrassed Hana Hana, he reassured her, "Think about the scar on your butt, then think about the scar on Iruka's face. You should take this money with a clear conscience.

"After all, this was not our negligence. It was the Barrier Team's problem.

"What Teacher did has already reduced the consequences of their negligence as much as possible. We all live in the same village and see each other all the time. If they do not show us some gratitude, they'll have to take detours whenever they see us in the future."

Walking ahead while escorting the Sand Ninja, the Barrier Team captain heard the conversation among the four behind him, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Fortunately, this foreign ninja had not caused the village too much damage. Otherwise, no matter how many excuses they had, they would all be in serious trouble.

"People of Konoha!"

At that moment, an old man with eyebrows drooping to his chin, bandages wrapped around his head, and a long robe suddenly blocked Uchiha Asuka's group.

After glancing at the captured ninja, his gaze fell upon Uchiha Asuka and the others. With a kindly expression, he said, "Thank you for helping This Old One find the lost Daisuke. Daisuke has caused you trouble."

Hyuga Hanahana poked her head out from behind Uchiha Asuka. Looking at the kindly old man before her, she frowned. "He's a Sand Ninja. A Sand Ninja who infiltrated the village."

"No."

The old man shook his head, his voice aged. "He came to Konoha with This Old One as part of the negotiating delegation. He did not infiltrate the village."

"With you?"

Hyuga Hanahana narrowed her eyes and asked, "Old man, who are you?"

"This Old One?"

He raised his head and glanced at the eastern rooftop. Then he swept his gaze over those before him before settling it on Uchiha Asuka, smiling as he said, "Outside Konoha, people generally call This Old One Ebizo.

"But within Konoha, This Old One is the Wind Country's special representative, the person in charge of negotiations between the Wind Country and the Land of Fire, a founding elder of Sunagakure, a lifelong senior adviser, the main leader of the peace faction, the planner of the Third Shinobi World War.

"Shimura Danzō's soulmate, Sarutobi Hiruzen's confidant outside the village, Konoha's ironclad ally.

"Sunagakure's second mentor, Sunagakure's second Puppet Master, Sunagakure's second medical mentor, Sunagakure's omniscient scholar, protector of the village, and great guardian of peace... Ebizo."

After that enormous string of titles, Hyuga Hanahana was completely bewildered.

She poked Uchiha Asuka with a finger and asked quietly, "Teacher, who exactly is this old man?"

"He is Ebizo, the younger brother of the Puppet Master Chiyo and the person mainly responsible for Sunagakure's intelligence and espionage work."

???

So after all that, he's still Ebizo? Couldn't he have just said his name was Ebizo? Padding the word count.

Uchiha Asuka stepped past the others and came to the front of the group. Looking calmly at the old man before him, he said, "You know what this is about, and I know what this is about.

"Ebizo, go conduct your negotiations. If they can be discussed, then discuss them. If not, then go to war.

"Two days ago, when the village held a meeting for jonin, Elder Danzo of Konoha's pro-war faction kept refuting the Fourth Hokage's decisions. Just as he was about to single-handedly restart the Ninja World War, the Third Hokage suddenly used the Body Flicker to appear behind Elder Danzo and slammed his head onto the table.

"At the time, Elder Danzo swept his bloodshot eyes toward Sunagakure and said with hatred, 'Hiruzen, hold me down tightly. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll wipe out Sunagakure.'

"The atmosphere in the meeting room was instantly stirred up. We were only one decision away from war."

Smack! Shimura Danzō staggered and nearly fell off the rooftop. Then Chakra gathered beneath his feet, and he stood steadily on the roof with a calm expression, as though nothing had happened.

That brat exaggerated This Old One a little too much.

After looking down at Uchiha Asuka and the Sunagakure delegation opposite him, he waved a hand and instructed the ninja behind him, "Don't go down yet."

"Lord Ebizo, why waste words with them? Just take him back by force."

A female ninja wearing a backless outfit, with yellow-green hair and a Sand Ninja forehead protector, suddenly jumped in front of Ebizo. Looking at Uchiha Asuka ahead, a fireball suddenly emerged from her palm as she said coldly, "Is this Konoha's sincerity in negotiations? Are you planning to arrest our companion and use him to threaten us into giving up benefits?"

Pakura?

Seeing the fireball in her hand and her appearance, Uchiha Asuka vaguely guessed who she was.

A heroic Pakura.

This D-Rank Mission really is troublesome. Whoosh! Seeing the fireball fly toward a Barrier Team member, Uchiha Asuka frowned, stepped in front of the man, and redirected the fireball's trajectory with a flick of his hand, sending it into the sky.

Boom! As the fireball exploded and broke apart in midair, the scorching heat instantly dried the sweat on everyone's faces. Seeing ninjas fighting in the street, the Konoha villagers turned and fled.

"Not bad!"

Pakura licked the kunai in her hand, then used the Body Flicker to appear before Uchiha Asuka. Her two kunai stabbed directly toward his eyes.

Uchiha Asuka glanced past Pakura at Ebizo. Seeing the old man standing there blankly without trying to stop her, Asuka flashed away, leaped into the air, drew the sword at his waist, and slashed down heavily.

Have Sunagakure's ninjas been blown empty-headed by too much desert wind?

Did you come here to negotiate or to fight? Clang! Clang! Clang! The two exchanged blows across the clearing.

The members of the Sunagakure delegation stared wide-eyed at the scene ahead.

That was Pakura, the "hero" of their village. Yet on Konoha's streets, could she really run into any random ninja and fight them to a standstill?

Did that mean Konoha was strong, or their village's hero was weak? At that moment,

Hyuga Hanahana and the others stared wide-eyed at Uchiha Asuka in battle. They had never heard of Ebizo, but they had heard of the hero Pakura.

Sunagakure's poster child didn't seem all that strong. No, wait! Pakura still hadn't used her Kekkei Genkai.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique! Asuka leaped into the air, rapidly forming hand seals with both hands. He drew in a deep breath, gathered Chakra in his throat, aimed in Pakura's direction, and spat out an enormous fireball.

This might have been the edge of the village, but the damage caused by large-scale Ninjutsu was still far too great.

He couldn't afford the compensation! Glancing at the blaze, Pakura formed two fireballs in her palms. After spinning once through the air, the two fireballs merged into one, instantly becoming an equally massive fireball that she hurled skyward.

Boom! The two fireballs collided in midair and exploded violently. The immense heat scorched every trace of water vapor from the surrounding air.

The blast wave struck everyone's faces, feeling like someone had pressed a red-hot iron block in front of them, evaporating all the moisture from the surface of their skin.

Commonly known as peeling.

"Not bad."

Pakura clapped her hands and looked at Asuka with approval as she praised him.

"You're very strong!"

Asuka twitched his lips. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Danzo standing atop a roof and began considering how to end this pointless battle quickly without exposing his strength right under Danzo's nose.

The Sunagakure delegation had fought them because one of their ninjas had been captured.

Since they cared so much about their captive, then as long as their lives were threatened, surely they could put the matter of the captive aside for now.

Sorry, Clan Head. Get ready to pay up. With that thought, Asuka sheathed his sword, then leaped high from the spot and raised both arms toward the sky.

"Hm?"

Pakura frowned as she glanced at Asuka. She had sensed earlier that while he appeared to be fighting hard, he had not used his full strength at all. This... As a Scorch Release Ninja, she was extremely sensitive to "fire."

The moment Asuka raised his hand, she sensed the heat in the air gradually gathering in his palm.

Blazing Sun!

The next moment.

Pakura's pupils abruptly contracted. She stared at the huge, sun-like fireball formed from spiraling flames as its intense light radiated in every direction, feeling the violent fire element within. Gulp!

After swallowing, Pakura's face instantly turned ugly. This madman was actually using Ninjutsu of this level inside his own village.

Madman!

More than a dozen fireballs floated from Pakura's palms to above her head, instantly converging into one enormous fireball.

Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!

The instant the two massive fireballs appeared over this land, they set half of Konoha's sky ablaze. The thermometers throughout Konoha Village shot straight to the top as if they had boarded a train, then cracked apart one after another.

"Is this the true strength of that Uchiha?"

Staring at Uchiha Asuka, who stood in midair with a sun held in his hand like a god descending upon the world, a masked ninja swallowed and spoke quietly.

Danzo shook his head regretfully. While the sight before him was breathtaking, it still differed somewhat from the intelligence in his hands.

The other man had another move that could cover his body in some kind of markings, supposedly multiplying his combat strength. That was also the origin of his codename, Blackened. Unfortunately, ever since he became a jonin, there had been no more detailed data.

Keeping the Uchiha off the battlefield had reduced the number of people in their clan who awakened their eyes, but it had also reduced the intelligence he had on their combat power—especially detailed intelligence on the fighting abilities of those Uchiha jonin.

Boom! Hearing the sudden sound of air being torn apart beside him, Danzo instinctively turned toward the battlefield, his pupils shrinking slightly.

Those two bastards actually threw the fireballs in their hands?

This was inside the village!

Once the fireball left Asuka's hand, Pakura shouted to the people behind her. Then she flung out her own fireball and began fleeing the area.

Her body was not immune to explosions, much less high temperatures. Hm? After Pakura had retreated two steps, the expected explosion did not come. She turned around in confusion, only to see a blond-haired, blue-eyed man in a white Hokage Robe bearing the words "Fourth Hokage" suddenly standing in the field.

Minato Namikaze?

Sigh!

Minato sighed inwardly. He lowered his head to look at the blisters on his palm, then turned toward Danzo, who was watching the show from the rooftop, feeling faintly speechless.

He should never have agreed to let him come welcome the Kazekage delegation in the first place.

Ebizo had at least shown him some respect. "Hokage-sama!"

Asuka landed behind Minato Namikaze at that moment and recounted everything that had happened in full detail.

Only those without strength reasoned with others. Those with strength had no need to reason, but those with strength and powerful backing behind them were especially imposing when they did reason.

The cheerful smile on Asuka's face disappeared as well. He looked coldly at the Sunagakure group and suggested,

"Kill them. Don't keep them around until New Year's.

They dare to make a move inside the village. Outside, they'd probably dig up the daimyo's ancestral graves."

"Minato, you arrived right on time."

Danzo jumped down as well. Leaning on his cane, he approached Asuka. After looking him over from head to toe, his gaze fell on Ebizo, and he spoke in an aged voice.

"Long time no see!"

"Mhm!"

Ebizo nodded, his face once again full of benevolence. Looking at Danzo, he said,

"It's been over a month."

"Ebizo, your skill at planting spies has been getting worse and worse lately. One of them was actually exposed in front of genin."

"Likewise. Recently, Sunagakure's Ninja Academy students uncovered a Konoha spy. When we have time, let's exchange them, along with the prisoners from the war."

"Tch!"

At that moment, Pakura suddenly walked up to Asuka. Upon seeing the clan emblem on his back, she sneered.

"So that's it. A madman from the Uchiha clan. No wonder you dared to release S-Rank Ninjutsu inside the village."

"You idiot from Sunagakure, you really didn't bring a single brain cell with you. Half the reason Sunagakure never gets rain is because of you. Take my advice and marry into the Rain Country.

The civilians there are pretty pitiful. If you throw a few fireballs into the sky every day, in ten years, you'll definitely become the Rain Country's Bodhisattva and receive the worship of its people."

"Stop running your mouth. Come with me somewhere open and fight me again."

"Heh... heh..."

Asuka looked at Pakura with a cold sneer.

Idiot, moron, battle maniac. This girl really has a lot of negative buffs.

No wonder she died at Kirigakure's hands.

Poor thing. After lamenting for a moment, Asuka turned to his three students and lectured them.

"Let me teach you another piece of ninja common sense: stay away from idiots. 'Fools have fool's luck' is survivor bias. Most idiots die young, live miserable lives, and have lives filled with darkness. Associating with idiots does more harm than good."

"Do you Uchiha not even avoid saying bad things about people in front of the person you're talking about? Do you think I'm made of clay?"

Hearing the icy voice behind him, Asuka replied without even thinking.

"Before Hokage-sama arrived, you were dumb and aggressive. After Hokage-sama arrived, you're still dumb and aggressive.

Did the Hokage come here for nothing?"

At that, Pakura turned to Minato Namikaze. Looking at the sunny smile on his face, she opened her mouth and said silently,

"Hokage-sama, this is a personal grudge. It doesn't involve the village!"

"Huh?"

Minato Namikaze scratched his head. Just as he was about to mediate, he discovered that Danzo had tightly seized his right hand.

"Minato, sometimes sacrifices are unavoidable!"

"But..."

Looking at Pakura's raised foot as she aimed at Asuka's back for quite some time, Minato Namikaze hesitated.

"I feel like this sacrifice can be avoided."

"She is Sunagakure's hero Pakura, and he is Uchiha Asuka. This is a rare chance to probe each other. Let the Uchiha suffer a little and gather more intelligence on Pakura. It has extraordinary significance for certain future operations of the village.

Ninjas must learn self-sacrifice."

P.S. Dear readers, it's the end of the month. Please send some monthly tickets and recommendation tickets to boost the fan count.

Bang! Bang! Bang! I'm kowtowing!!!