"Lady Pakura!"
Maki came to Pakura's side, his face full of excitement.
"I've finally found you! Previously, after receiving an order from the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, I've been searching for your whereabouts... I never thought you'd been imprisoned in Konoha. I'll rescue you now!"
Happiness had come too quickly.
Pakura couldn't react at all.
Could it be...
I wasn't betrayed by the village after all? Was everything the demon Hyuga Sho made up?
Pakura stared blankly at Maki as he tried to unlock her shackles. Her mind was in such turmoil that she couldn't say a word.
"Don't worry, Lady Pakura! That Hyuga Sho is taking care of his sick subordinate, Nohara Rin. I'll get you out while he's distracted!"
The rescue operation went off without a hitch.
Maki unlocked Pakura's shackles.
They headed outside.
They moved stealthily the whole way...
Not only did they successfully leave the Torture Department,
they even safely escaped from Konoha's Back Mountain under Maki's cautious observation...
When Pakura saw the green grassland beneath the blue sky and white clouds, she could hardly believe it!
She stared blankly at the scene, and an urge to cry welled up inside her.
The village, everyone, her comrades... her disciple, Maki.
She wondered how they were doing now.
Fortunately, she had finally escaped that demon, Hyuga Sho! She could finally return to her village.
Lies...
As expected, what Hyuga Sho said about me being betrayed by the village was a lie.
As a hero of Sunagakure, how could I possibly be betrayed by my comrades?
"Maki, let's go now... Maki? Maki?"
Pakura realized that, for some reason, Maki was standing there without moving.
Having survived her ordeal, Pakura still didn't know what was happening.
Her heart was filled with excitement, and tears of joy were about to spill