Lady Pakura, Please Become Kazekage!

Another day had passed, and night was falling.

Byakuya chewed on a Military Ration Pill to restore his chakra, silently weighing his next move.

He couldn't afford to make a single wrong move.

Every step had to land exactly right.

Otherwise, one mistake would lead to another, and the benefits he could secure for himself would be greatly diminished.

"Trying to tame the Azure-Black Serpent and make it my Summoning Beast has two advantages. It would give me another trump card against Pakura, who has Kage Level strength. I'd have Storm Release, my new Flying Thunder God Technique, and a Summoning Beast.

"I could also find out whether the Azure-Black Serpent came from Ryūchi Cave. If it did, that would be a huge win.

"However, the Azure-Black Serpent's power is not to be underestimated. To tame it and sign a Summoning Contract, I'll need to give it everything I've got. I can't hold anything back.

"That would create a new problem. If I fail, I'll have to keep my distance from Pakura while I recover my body and chakra. That would be a waste of time."

"The other option is to wait for Pakura to show up and have a Shadow Clone approach her. She'll definitely insist on meeting the original me to negotiate. With the Flying Thunder God Technique, I don't have to worry about her turning on me."

"There's one more possibility: keep attacking Sunagakure Ninja. But that would only make Pakura hate me more. At this point, she's fiercely loyal to Sunagakure. That would be the worst choice."

Byakuya sighed.

Unfortunately, he was just too weak.

Whether it was chakra, ninjutsu, or influence in Konoha, he was lacking.

In this wretched Shinobi World, even Kage Level strength didn't guarantee your safety.

"This is tough."

"Wait, I could also persuade Pakura to help me tame the Azure-Black Serpent."

"What could I use to convince her?"

Byakuya closed his eyes and went over the intelligence Root Organization had given him once more.

"I know that in the future, Sunagakure will sell out Pakura, who rendered great service fighting off Kirigakure's invasion, just to make peace with Kirigakure.

"I also know that Rasa will become the Fourth Kazekage. He doesn't appear much in the original story, but as the father of Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, he has a lot of influence in Sunagakure. Heh, Sunagakure has been weakened badly, so Rasa's faction holds the real power."

It didn't matter whether Gaara hated his father.

The fact remained that the Fifth Kazekage was Rasa's son, while Rasa's other son, Kankuro, and his daughter, Temari, both wielded considerable power.

Pakura received the intelligence on the third day.

She looked travel-worn and utterly exhausted.

To retaliate against Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, Sunagakure had stirred up trouble along the border and assassinated several Iwagakure Ninja. None of them were particularly strong, but for now, it was enough to appease the furious villagers.

"Lady Pakura, what should we do next?"

"What news do we have from Konoha?"

"Uh, I'm afraid I don't know, ma'am."

Leaning against a tree, Pakura chewed on a Military Ration Pill and mumbled, "Let me rest a bit, then I'll think about it."

"Yes, ma'am."

It was that Konoha Ninja wearing the Shuten-dōji Mask again!

After he escaped her grasp last time, Pakura had been filled with regret. Sure enough, he had brought trouble to Sunagakure.

After a while,

a Sunagakure Ninja arrived in front of Pakura using the Body Flicker Technique and dropped to one knee, offering her a scroll. "Lady Pakura, the village has sent you the latest intelligence."

She undid the seal.

A young ninja with the code name Shuten-dōji had joined Root Organization, which was led by Shimura Danzō, a Konoha leader.

His identity was extremely mysterious. Sunagakure's spies in Konoha hadn't been able to uncover anything about his true identity.

All they knew was that he had recently risen to prominence and had earned Shimura Danzō's favor.

Pakura scoffed. "After San-Dan-Kun died, our spies in Konoha became useless. The only reason you managed to get this information is because Shimura Danzō wanted you to know it."

"He wears a Shuten-dōji Mask, so his code name is Shuten-dōji? How lazy. He couldn't even be bothered to come up with a decent code name."

The rest of the intelligence was nothing but rumors from Konoha, all impossible to verify.

Ever since the Third Kazekage disappeared, Sunagakure's strength had steadily declined. And even in this sorry state, the village was still caught up in internal power struggles. If Iwagakure hadn't launched a surprise attack under Kitsuchi's leadership, Rasa's faction might have torn itself apart.

Pakura had originally thought only a small group opposed Rasa. But when she returned to report the cause of San-Dan-Kun's death, she realized that wasn't the case at all. The opposition made up nearly half of the village's leadership, and who knew how many of the mid- and lower-ranking ninja agreed with them?

The situation had deteriorated until everyone suspected everyone else.

Even Rasa looked at her with suspicion.

"What are you suspicious of? That I'm trying to steal your position as Kazekage?"

"The opposition wants to put forward the highly respected Chiyo. Once she steadies Sunagakure, Rasa can take over as the next Kazekage."

"But Rasa is impatient to become Kazekage. The desperation in his eyes makes it seem as though he'd gladly plunge Sunagakure into the abyss, so long as he could become the Fourth Kazekage."

"Heh, I suppose the Iwagakure invasion isn't entirely a bad thing."

The one who drove back Iwagakure was Shukaku, the One-Tail Jinchuriki.

Pakura didn't know the Jinchuriki's name, and neither did many people in the village. They called the old man, who was on the verge of dying, Shukaku, after the One-Tail.

"Teacher."

Pakura composed herself and smiled. "Oh, it's Maki. What is it?"

Maki was very young. She had begged and pleaded with Pakura to let her come to the Land of Rivers for training.

"I made these rice balls, Teacher. Please stop eating those nasty Military Ration Pills!"

She stood on tiptoe and held out two rice balls to Pakura.

Looking into Maki's eager eyes, Pakura took one and bit into it. "Your rice balls are delicious, Maki."

Since Sunagakure was in the desert, rice certainly wasn't a staple food.

They had gotten the rice from the locals here in the Land of Rivers after arriving—by "buying" it.

As she gently stroked Maki's head with her other hand, Pakura imagined what life might be like for her in a peaceful future.

Perhaps Sunagakure would have conquered a large part of the Land of Fire, and everyone in the village would be able to eat rice balls.

Maki had a lot of talent. She could probably become an elite jonin. Would she guard the new territory then, or serve as a Kazekage bodyguard in Sunagakure?

"Teacher, actually... actually..."

Maki spoke in a very small voice. "Actually, everyone hopes you'll become Kazekage."

"Me? Why?" Pakura gaped.

"Because everyone knows you're the only one who loves peace and cherishes Sunagakure. Lord Rasa is full of ambition and wants to accomplish great things. Chiyo hates Konoha so much that she wouldn't bat an eye at sacrificing anyone, as long as she could take revenge on Konoha."

Pakura immediately asked sternly, "Who told you to repeat those words to me?"

"Teacher, I... I... These are my own true feelings."

Her teacher had suddenly become so serious that Maki was on the verge of tears. In her mind, her teacher had always been gentle.

Pakura crouched in front of Maki.

She ate one rice ball, then carefully placed the other in Maki's hand.

Life for the common people of Sunagakure was too hard—so hard that everyone had forgotten they were suffering.

There was nothing in the desert but sand, endless sand. When the wind picked up, sand swept across the land in a vast cloud, as if it would bury the whole world.

"Child, don't lie to your teacher. Tell me, who said those things to you?"

"E-everyone... They told me to memorize it and say it to you," Maki sobbed through her tears.

Pakura felt a heavy gloom settle over her. She looked around.

Every Sunagakure Ninja in the camp was watching her.

"Lady Pakura, you personally fought off invasions by Kumogakure and Iwagakure, put down a rebellion in the Land of Wind, and even went to kill Iwagakure Ninja at the border. Your achievements are no less than Rasa's. How can you stand by while Rasa takes credit for your accomplishments?"

"That's right, Lady Pakura. Even if Konoha's heartland is undefended, it's still the mighty Hidden Leaf Village! Everyone's heard of Namikaze Minato. Are we really their match?"

"All we want is peace, Lady Pakura. Please lead us to it! I don't want to die, and neither do they."

The gazes of the Sunagakure Ninja struck her like grains of sand in the midday desert, pelting her densely with scorching heat and the weight of their expectations. They also felt like invisible ropes, wrapping around her from head to toe and leaving her unable to breathe.