Konoha, Ninja Hospital.
The smell of disinfectant had seeped into Pakura's senses.
For half a month, it had been the most constant scent in her world, reminding her of every futile attempt.
The war reparations from Sunagakure were being transferred into Konoha's accounts in installments, but negotiations over the prisoners had yet to yield any results.
Newspapers in the Shinobi World were already reporting Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki's discovery. He had publicly revealed the secret that the ninjas knocked down by Konoha's Sawada Hiroki had all been deprived of their ninjutsu.
Pakura felt deeply uneasy.
For half a month, the first thing she did every morning was try to summon her chakra, even if it was only for the simplest Fire Release technique.
The result was always the same: her chakra flowed smoothly through her body. She could clearly "recall" the sequence of every Hand Seal and "remember" the principles of Chakra Nature Transformation, but her body was like a machine with a crucial wire cut—she had the blueprints, but it wouldn't run.
Her Scorch Release, the Kekkei Genkai that had made her famous, showed no response at all. The wind and fire chakras seemed like strangers who had never met, each acting on its own inside her.
"Again... the same thing..." Pakura irritably crumpled the newspaper and threw it on the floor.
Over the past half month, she had gone from anger and disbelief to numbness and despair.
Konoha's medical ninjas examined her every day. Their conclusion was always the same: "Everything is normal. Chakra is flowing smoothly, and there are no signs of a seal."
Normal? This was the most abnormal thing of all! How could it be normal for a ninja to have chakra but be unable to use ninjutsu? This was more torturous than having her chakra