Sunagakure's Pakura

Too late.

The cave was winding and deep; San-Dan-Kun could not escape.

Byakuya's shadow clone chuckled softly, "Art is an explosion, drink it in!"

Bang!

Bang!!

The explosions followed one after another, deafening and incessant.

As the shadow clone dissipated, Byakuya's true body, waiting outside the cave, couldn't help but think: Does this count as a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse?

His plan hadn't been foolproof, yet San-Dan-Kun had walked right into the trap.

As for why San-Dan-Kun had suddenly tried to run, Byakuya had guessed it: the shadow clone had failed to prove it was a ninja from Sunagakure sent to make contact.

He had planted enough Explosive Tags to collapse the cave, and to ensure San-Dan-Kun died inside, he had sent in a shadow clone to check, armed with a few extra Explosive Tags.

Byakuya's true body remained hidden in his original position; he had to guard against the possibility that there was more than one Sunagakure spy.

The cave entrance was blocked by rocks.

The shadow clone outside feigned anxiety, "Captain San-Dan-Kun? Are you in there? I heard explosions and rushed over."

A faint, muffled cry for help drifted out.

It was impossible to hear exactly what was being shouted, but the shadow clone didn't care.

He hopped across the boulders, located the spot where San-Dan-Kun was likely buried, attached two more Explosive Tags, and detonated them.

After the dust settled.

"Captain!! Captain! I killed the person from before, are you still alive?"

"Captain, you must hold on! We'll save you immediately. Please, give me a sign so I can find where you are."

"Hey, Captain San-Dan-Kun? Speak to me!"

He waited for over twenty minutes.

There was no further movement.

Byakuya had originally worried whether the San-Dan-Kun buried in the cave might be a shadow clone, but the panic the man had displayed upon realizing he was trapped was definitely not an act.

He dispelled the shadow clone.

Calling up his Fate Grid Panel for a glance, Byakuya finally set his mind at ease.

Heaven Rewards Diligence, The Persistent Shall Succeed
Time-limited 4 days: Survival in the wild (0/4)
Reward: Minor increase in vitality

Fate Choice II: Establish a foothold in the Anbu Training Department (Completed)
Reward: Significant increase in chakra quality

This meant the second mission assigned to him by Root had been successfully executed; all that remained was to return to the village and report.

Given Root's intelligence network, they would naturally be able to deduce whether he had succeeded.

The reward for Fate Choice II, a significant increase in chakra quality, had an immediate effect.

If his previous chakra was like a worker who could only finish one task, now, that same amount of energy could finish more than one—nearly two—and do it with greater efficiency.

Just as Byakuya had suspected, the changes didn't stop there, but now was not the time for deep study.

"Found you. So, this is where you were hiding."

"Scorch Release: Extreme Steam Killing."

The night suddenly brightened, followed by an unbearable, scorching heat that felt as if it were evaporating the very moisture from his body.

Several orange-red, fireball-like glowing orbs rotated, sealing off all of Byakuya's escape routes before converging to explode. Aside from the rocks, the surrounding environment was scorched by the intense heat, becoming desolate and barren.

A Konoha ninja stood upon a rock. Though it was a man's body, the voice that spoke was that of a woman.

"Not bad with the Substitution Technique. Are you a Jonin of Konoha? Oh, looking at your build, you aren't a girl. So small... could it be that you're just a brat from Konoha? Hah, San-Dan-Kun was stupid enough to be killed by a Konoha brat. What a joke!"

Byakuya appeared outside the blast radius of the Scorch Release: Extreme Steam Killing, gasping for air.

The moment those orange-red fireballs had touched his body, he had performed the Substitution Technique by the narrowest of margins.

If not for his keen perception and reflexes, he would already be a corpse.

No, under the power of the Scorch Release explosion, he might have been melted into ash by the high heat.

Byakuya rasped, "Scorch Release... are you Pakura of Sunagakure?"

"Kid, you're well-informed, even knowing my name. But since you killed San-Dan-Kun right under my nose, I have to kill you."

Pakura tore off her disguise, revealing her true face.

Byakuya said, "I understand now. You were hiding within this reconnaissance unit to obtain intelligence on Konoha."

"Oh? Interesting. And what intelligence do you think I'm after?"

"Is the power of Konoha being held back by the front lines at Kumogakure and Iwagakure, resulting in insufficient rear defenses?"

In the original story, once Sunagakure learned that the heartland of the Land of Fire was empty, they decisively launched a sneak attack.

With his god's-eye view, it was not difficult for Byakuya to guess Pakura's true objective.

Although Pakura's ultimate cause of death came from being betrayed by the higher-ups of her village, Byakuya dared not underestimate her.

Byakuya continued, "I can tell you clearly that Konoha still holds a large portion of its mobile forces. If Sunagakure dares to risk a sneak attack, you will surely suffer heavy casualties. Even if Rasa, the current hero of your Sunagakure, leads the team himself, it won't work!"

"Kid, are you trying to cloud my judgment?"

"I can also tell you that Iwagakure and Kirigakure are eyeing you like tigers watching their prey."

"You should be a lobbyist, not a Konoha Anbu, but everything you've said is common knowledge in Sunagakure. Alright, alright, my mercy has reached its limit. Goodbye, kid."

She merely flicked her finger.

An orange-red spherical energy orb suddenly appeared before Byakuya. Only then did he see clearly that it was no mere fireball; it looked like a highly compressed miniature sun.

Struck by an irresistible attack, Byakuya vanished.

Pakura quickly jumped off the rock and closed her eyes to sense her surroundings, vaguely detecting chakra fluctuations in two opposite directions—east and west—already nearing the edge of her sensory range.

"Shadow Clone Technique." Pakura gritted her teeth.

After that Konoha brat luckily escaped with a Substitution Technique, he immediately used a Shadow Clone to stall her.

To escape as effectively as possible, he had used another Shadow Clone to flee in the opposite direction.

Now, it was a test of how she would pursue.

Pakura sneered, "Little tricks."

She likewise performed the Shadow Clone Technique, choosing one direction each to give chase.

Given the vast disparity in strength, the Konoha brat simply could not escape.

Byakuya was currently extremely frustrated, as he did not know Earth Release ninjutsu, nor had he mastered earth-natured chakra.

If he knew Earth Release, he could have used his Shadow Clones as a distraction while his true body hid underground, waiting for Pakura to leave—a classic lure-the-tiger-away-from-the-mountain strategy—before crawling back out.

"Kid, you can't run."

Pakura's voice came from behind.

The distance between the two was closing rapidly.

Lightning Release: Earth Flash, Water Release: Water Wave, and Storm Release: Torrential Lightning Flash were all mid-to-close-range ninjutsu; they could not be used to stall from a distance.

He turned slightly and threw a few Kunai.

Pakura dodged them with ease, not even slowing her pace.

"Scorch Release: Extreme Steam Killing."

Four orange-red spherical energy orbs surrounded Byakuya.

"Storm Release: Torrential Lightning Flash."

He opened his mouth and spat out a vast river-like torrent of lightning. Moving faster than the energy orbs, it split into four strands, resembling four small streams of lightning, and precisely homed in on the four energy spheres.

BOOM!!!

Violent explosions erupted in all four directions around Byakuya. The temperature soared, lightning flashed, and a thick, fog-like water vapor was generated.

Seeing this, he immediately adjusted the ratio of lightning to water in his Storm Release, making the water-natured chakra dominant.

He used Torrential Lightning Flash once more!

Pakura had no time to be surprised that the Konoha brat possessed a Kekkei Genkai. Seeing the bright blue river of water, crackling with lightning, flying toward her at high speed, she immediately used Scorch Release to block it.

Water vapor shrouded the area.

Yet, they could still vaguely see one another.

The two were already very close; otherwise, Byakuya would not have been forced to use Storm Release.

"Water Release: Water Wave."

"Scorch Release: Flame Fire."

With that, the water vapor became so thick that they could no longer see each other at all.