After Pakura left, Yamanaka Tohru's team quickly destroyed all the puppets and withdrew. They had barely left when Rasa and Chiyo arrived with a large force of Sand Shinobi.
Rasa looked at the puppet wreckage scattered across the ground and the bodies of the Sand Shinobi who had been transporting them, furious. He had deliberately chosen to move the puppets a few days before the battle, thinking Konoha would focus its reconnaissance on the Sand Shinobi camp. He hadn't expected them to find out anyway.
"Where's Pakura? Has anyone seen her?" Chiyo noticed that Pakura's body wasn't among the dead and grew anxious.
Part of her was worried about Pakura's safety; part of her feared that Konoha had captured her. Pakura had carried out many of the Sand Shinobi's secret missions in recent years. If she were captured, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"Don't panic yet. There were fifty-two of us transporting the puppets. There are forty-six bodies here, so Pakura probably escaped with the other five," Rasa said, keeping his head despite his anger and analyzing the situation calmly.
"Lord Kazekage, we found signs of a battle up ahead." A Sand Shinobi had discovered the place where Yamanaka Tohru and Pakura had fought.
Rasa hurried over. The scorch marks on the ground confirmed that Pakura had fought someone. There was no blood around, which meant neither side had suffered serious injuries.
From the traces, Rasa determined that Pakura was safe, and Chiyo finally put her worries aside as well. The Sand Shinobi searched the area but found no Konoha ninja nearby, so they had no choice but to withdraw.
By then, Yamanaka Tohru's team was almost back at Konoha Camp. The mission had gone very well. The only blemish was that Sarutobi Aoi had been badly injured. Fortunately, Yamanaka