Pakura

On the morning of the third day after parting ways with the six Genin, Yusuke and Hayama stood outside Sunagakure's East Gate, waiting for their Genin to arrive.

Over the past few days, Yusuke's Phantom Crow Clones had kept watch on the six Genin from the sky. They had also spotted plenty of Genin from other villages.

The Genin from the various villages were of mixed ability. Yusuke had seen quite a few from other villages get lost in the desert, unable to find their way, while others had run out of strength and collapsed in the sand.

Their villages' Jonin instructors had rescued them, but they had lost the chance to continue in the Chunin Exams.

Compared with some of the smaller villages, Konoha's six Genin were doing much better. Kurama Naki and Gekko Hayate were the only ones with less stamina, slowing the team's progress, but the group was still on track to reach Sunagakure within three days.

Kurama Naki wasn't particularly good at Taijutsu, while Gekko Hayate was ill. His condition didn't affect his explosive power or speed, but his endurance was far worse than that of other ninja at his level.

At this stage, Anko and Mizuki had performed best of all.

Rin no Sho described Anko as having "greater endurance than a man." After watching her bound energetically through the desert via his Phantom Crow Clone, Yusuke had to admit the claim was true.

Mizuki's performance, meanwhile, had surprised Yusuke. The desert heat and fatigue from the long journey didn't seem to affect him at all.

In the original story, Mizuki was one of Orochimaru's castoffs. But judging by how he's doing now, Orochimaru may have enhanced his abilities again and left him in Konoha as a sleeper agent.

Over the past few days, Yusuke had also noticed Mizuki making an effort to get close to Itachi. He wasn't particularly concerned about it.

First, Itachi's behavior made it clear that he was already wary of Mizuki. Second, even Orochimaru had suffered several crushing defeats at Itachi's hands in the original story. What could one Mizuki possibly do?

Yusuke and Hayama didn't have to wait long. Konoha's six Genin soon reached Sunagakure's East Gate and joined them.

Apart from Gekko Hayate, who always looked sickly, the other five all seemed to be in good shape, still full of energy. Yusuke and Hayama nodded in satisfaction.

That showed they had managed their stamina and time well. They had reached their destination on schedule without exhausting themselves.

Once all the Chunin Exam participants had arrived, Sunagakure staff led the Genin who had passed the first round to a plaza to gather.

The Jonin instructors from each village, along with invited ninja who had come to observe, took their seats in the stands around the plaza.

As the highest-ranking official overseeing the Chunin Exams, Fourth Kazekage Rasa also appeared to give an impassioned speech. He urged the Genin to strive for greatness, charge ahead, and show off their abilities in the exams.

Of the Kage from the Five Great Shinobi Villages, the Fourth Kazekage was the best at making money. Thanks to his Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, he could extract Gold Dust from the desert and sell it to other countries.

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind provided Sunagakure with very little funding. It was precisely because of the Fourth Kazekage's ability that the village had enough money to maintain its current size.

In fact, many ninja abilities weren't only useful in battle. They could be put to work in other fields, too.

Yamato, for instance, could use Wood Release to build a sturdy wooden house in no time. And the First could have laid the foundations for an entire resort in minutes with a simple hand sign.

In Yusuke's view, ninja with abilities like those could contribute far more to economic development than ordinary people.

Besides the Fourth Kazekage, Yusuke spotted several well-known Sunagakure ninja: Pakura, Baki, Yura, and Yashamaru.

By now, Yura should already have fallen under Sasori's Sennō Sōsa and be completely under his control.

Sennō Sōsa wasn't entirely a genjutsu. It did manipulate its victim by disrupting the Chakra in their brain, but the means of control was physical grains of sand.

Yusuke was highly skilled in genjutsu, but he had no way to undo this technique. In the original story, Orochimaru had been able to release Kabuto from it, probably by performing surgery on his skull and removing the sand inside.

Of the group, the one who drew Yusuke's attention most was Pakura of Scorch Release. It wasn't just because she was far stronger than the others. More importantly, Yusuke believed she could become a valuable ally in the future.

This Sunagakure hero would soon die as a result of a conspiracy by the village's leadership, her life traded for peace between Kirigakure and Sunagakure.

Yusuke suspected that the village leadership's decision concealed an internal power struggle. Otherwise, in a world where an individual's strength could sway the course of a war, someone like Pakura—with her Kekkei Genkai—would be a formidable deterrent. They wouldn't have given her up so easily.

Since I'm in Sunagakure this time, I'll have a chance to approach her.

Pakura was a woman of strong character. After being resurrected with Edo Tensei in the original story, she had learned that Sunagakure's leadership had betrayed her. She had immediately decided to take revenge, and she had been utterly ruthless.

That showed Pakura wasn't the type to remain blindly loyal to her village, which would make it easier to build a working relationship with her.

As Yusuke watched the others, he realized that he and Hayama had also become the center of attention. The two of them were Jonin from the Ninja World's foremost village, and both were well-known in their own right. Naturally, they drew plenty of interest.

"Isn't that Konoha's elite Jonin, Hayama? The ninja beside him is so young. Could he be a Jonin too?"

"The one beside him is Konoha's 'Flame Tachi,' Uchiha Yusuke. He's the genius who took down Raiga Kurosuki during the Third Shinobi World War. He can't be more than fifteen or sixteen now."

"The Uchiha Clan really is one of the Ninja World's great clans. I hear they have another impressive young ninja called 'Body Flicker Shisui.'"

Similar conversations could be heard all around them. The Uchiha Clan and a genius ninja made for a captivating topic.

"Yusuke, you're one of Konoha's banner ninja now. When I was your age, I'd only just become a Chunin," Hayama said with a sigh.

Yusuke shook his head helplessly. "Being famous isn't necessarily a good thing."

The usually serious Hayama broke into a rare smile. "Fame is a deterrent! The Third Hokage sent you here to let the outside world know that even if Konoha is at a low point, we still have young powerhouses like you!"

"I have high hopes for you. I'm sure you'll become one of Konoha's pillars someday!"

Yusuke and Hayama chatted as the examiner for the Chunin Exams began announcing the second round.

The second round was the ever-popular "Heaven and Earth Scrolls." Each team would carry either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll and enter the Desert of Demons through a different gate. They would have to survive there for seventy-two hours.

After seventy-two hours, any team that still had all its members able to fight and possessed at least one Heaven Scroll and one Earth Scroll would advance to the third round. All other teams would be eliminated.

The Desert of Demons was unbearably hot during the day, with no wind at all. At night, the temperature plunged below freezing, and fierce winds howled across the sands, often stirring up massive sandstorms.

In the Desert of Demons, the Genin had to adapt to the harsh weather and environment while also guarding against the Giant Sand Scorpions that appeared without warning.

More importantly, each team needed to steal at least one scroll they didn't have from an opponent to qualify. That meant at least half the teams would be eliminated in this round.

Based on past experience, the stronger teams would seize more scrolls and knock out more opponents. The pass rate was usually around thirty percent.

"Your crow clones are so convenient. I'd like to see how the kids are doing, but I can't go in there," Hayama said enviously as Yusuke sent two Phantom Crow Clones flying over the Desert of Demons.

Yusuke's Phantom Crow Clones were indeed useful for scouting. They could fly and observe from above. More importantly, they had no physical form and were immune to physical attacks, so they weren't as fragile as ordinary clones.

Yusuke smiled. "Don't worry, Hayama-senpai. This test won't be too much for these kids."

He wasn't being overconfident. Konoha was the foremost of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the first to establish a Ninja Academy system. The quality of its ninja was among the best in the Ninja World.

The Genin selected to take part in the exams were the cream of the crop in their village. With a genius like Itachi among them, this test really wasn't too much.

Once the second round began, the Jonin instructors from the various villages were free to spend their time as they pleased. Some wandered through the areas of Sunagakure open to visitors; others returned to their assigned Post Houses to rest.

Since ninja were unpredictable by nature, Sunagakure had stationed plenty of Anbu and other ninja to keep the visitors from each village under discreet surveillance, in case anyone tried anything against the village.

Yusuke didn't wander around Sunagakure. He returned to the Post House to rest and waited for nightfall.

Under cover of darkness, Yusuke summoned a large number of Phantom Crow Clones. Since they were black, they were almost impossible to spot against the night sky. Even if someone happened to catch sight of one or two, they would just think they were passing birds.

Yusuke sent most of the Phantom Crow Clones toward the Nara Desert, some distance from Sunagakure, to search for the One-Tail, Shukaku. He left a few circling above Sunagakure to search for Pakura.

It didn't take long for one of Yusuke's Phantom Crow Clones to spot her in a bustling night market in Sunagakure.

Pakura wasn't wearing her usual ninja clothes. She was dressed in a casual kimono, accompanied by a cute girl with face paint—her closest student, Maki.

There was no denying Pakura was a stunning beauty, with delicate features and long black hair swept up high. A lock of scarlet hair fell on either side of her forehead, adding a touch of toughness to her beauty.

For once, Pakura had put aside her ninjutsu training. She had accepted her student Maki's invitation to visit the night market together.

As the two chatted and laughed, Pakura suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Nothing around her seemed unusual, yet she felt a strange sense of discord and unease. She just couldn't put her finger on what was bothering her.

Could it just be my imagination?