What Are You Worth, Then?

"Still no news?"

"Yes, Lord Kazekage."

Sunagakure, inside the Kazekage Building.

Rasa frowned as he looked at Yashamaru before him. He was in a very bad mood.

The pressure from Iwagakure and Kirigakure was simply too great. For the sake of the village, he had to make a choice now.

Kirigakure was too far away, while Iwagakure had actual conflicts of interest with them. Thus, he did not hesitate to choose peace talks with Kirigakure and prepare to fight Iwagakure to the end!

But Kirigakure's asking price was far too high. One of their demands was Pakura.

Yet now, Pakura had disappeared after carrying out a mission?

And judging from the traces at the scene, she had definitely gone through a fierce battle. Worse still, several reinforcement squads had also vanished.

Those were all fighting forces! Training shinobi cost money!

"Expand the search. Keep looking."

After pondering for a long time, Rasa spoke softly to his brother-in-law.

Although he also suspected that Pakura had been abducted by Kirigakure, it would be a huge problem if that was not the case. He had to find Pakura.

Even her corpse would still have a certain value.

"I understand, Lord Kazekage."

Yashamaru nodded at once and asked in a low voice.

"Should we send Ebizo out as well? It might be better with Anbu assistance."

"Ebizo?"

Rasa frowned, but after giving it some thought, he nodded.

"Fine. Having the Anbu help will indeed be more convenient."

"I have only one demand now: we must find her, whether she is alive or dead. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"

--

"What a crude attempt at sowing discord. I thought you people would have some better tricks."

Inside a house in the abandoned village, the mockery on Pakura's beautiful face deepened after hearing Hidezawa's words.

Handing her over to Kirigakure? The village would have to be insane to do something like that!

Pakura loved her village deeply. How could a few words possibly shake her resolve?

"Think whatever you like. I am merely making my own judgment."

Hidezawa shook his head. Of course, he knew that a few simple words could not possibly have much effect, but he did not care.

However, he knew just how deeply Pakura would hate her village after being betrayed.

If she had not happened to encounter her student, who awakened her, things probably would not have ended so easily for them.

"What exactly do you mean?"

Shisui frowned. After thinking it over, he decided to ask.

"Actually, we have been thinking from the perspective of shinobi all this time, rather than from the perspective of a village."

Hidezawa suddenly shook his head. He pretentiously stroked his chin before continuing.

"How much strength do you think Kirigakure shinobi can exert here?"

"They are probably affected greatly."

Yugao immediately gave the answer.

The Wind Country was a miserable place filled with desert. Water itself was an exceedingly precious resource.

And Kirigakure shinobi were almost all Water Release users. After all, the Water Country was surrounded by the sea, rich in water vapor, and shrouded in dense mist all year round, giving them a natural environment for learning and training.

They had even developed the Hidden Mist Technique through that thick fog, making them even more proficient in assassination. But in this godforsaken place, it would be difficult for them to fully display their abilities.

"You mean..."

Shisui looked thoughtful. He seemed to have guessed some of Hidezawa's meaning.

"This place is unsuitable for Kirigakure, and they came all the way from the distant Water Country without sufficient reinforcements, right?"

"That's right."

Hidezawa nodded, but Yugao frowned.

"Then why would Kirigakure do this? Have they gone mad?"

How would I know whether they are mad or not?

Hidezawa grumbled inwardly. But considering that Kirigakure's current leader was most likely that lunatic Obito Uchiha from the Madly Filial Duo...

It seemed that everything made sense.

"I'm not sure either. After all, we have not clashed with Kirigakure."

Hidezawa shook his head. His gaze swept over Pakura beside them before he continued.

"Kirigakure has such drawbacks, so I think the Fourth Kazekage is likely focusing his efforts on Iwagakure. They are the greatest threat.

As for Kirigakure, I think he may use other methods to make these raiders leave.

Without Kirigakure tying them down, the Third Tsuchikage would probably become wary as well. Only then would the Fourth Kazekage have a chance to reclaim everything he wants."

Hidezawa had basically recited the plot all over again, but at this point, he wanted to strangle Danzo even more.

Though he believed that shitty mission had been meant to target Shisui Uchiha, Hidezawa had gotten dragged into the mess too!

"Then what does that have to do with her?"

Shisui understood now. At the same time, he realized that Hidezawa really was openly trying to sow discord.

He simply felt the chances were low, but after thinking about it, he decided to play along. If it failed, he would use genjutsu.

"Do you remember what happened between the Cloud Village and Konohagakure a year ago?"

Hidezawa smiled maliciously, but the expressions beneath Yugao's and Shisui's masks changed at the same time. This was Konohagakure's humiliation!

They had been forced by fabricated accusations, even threatened with war into making a choice, ultimately leading a member of the Hyuga Clan to sacrifice his life.

They truly could not forget that incident.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, the two of them seemed to realize something. Yugao spoke bluntly.

"You mean, she..."

"Yes."

Hidezawa nodded, looking at Pakura once more.

"I said it before: we have all been viewing things from the perspective of shinobi, not from the perspective of a village.

But once you look at it from the perspective of a village, many things seem to have an answer.

If they want Kirigakure to stop, then naturally, they need negotiations. Negotiations require bargaining chips. So what kind of bargaining chip would satisfy Kirigakure?

Naturally, someone who poses a tremendous threat to them, whose hands are stained with the blood of their comrades, who has accumulated enormous hatred, and who also possesses a Kekkei Genkai for them to study..."

As Hidezawa spoke, Shisui and Yugao slowly turned their gazes toward Pakura.

"Utter nonsense."

The scornful smile on Pakura's face had vanished. She looked expressionlessly at Hidezawa and the others.

"Sunagakure is not Konohagakure. Such a crude attempt at provocation is utterly boring. Is this all you can do?"

"That's right. Sunagakure is indeed not Konohagakure, because Sunagakure cannot compare to Konohagakure at all."

Hidezawa showed no courtesy whatsoever. He shook his head disdainfully.

"Yet even Konohagakure knew that after the Third Shinobi World War, everything needed rebuilding. They had to develop properly to restore their strength. Does Sunagakure not understand that?

And I have said many times that you need to look at things from the perspective of a village. For a village, what is wrong with achieving the greatest goal at the smallest cost?

The Hyuga Clan is one of Konohagakure's great clans, yet when it was time to sacrifice someone, the Third Hokage did not hesitate."

"And you—if trading you for peace with Kirigakure could secure greater benefits for the village, what are you worth?"

New author, new book. Please keep reading and add it to your collection, Onz.

It was originally scheduled for tomorrow, but I just realized I had set the wrong time, so I uploaded it together instead, QAQ