Byakuya saw Pakura again, and the Kage Level kunoichi from Sunagakure looked utterly haggard.
It was the eighth day since he had returned to the Land of Rivers.
They "met" at the place where they had first encountered each other—or rather, Pakura had followed the clues Byakuya left behind and come here of her own accord.
"Kid, why are you such a coward? Another Shadow Clone?"
Pakura stared at him with contempt and shouted.
Byakuya remained unmoved, pointing to the wasteland nearby, which had been devastated by Scorch Release: Extreme Steam Killing. "Have you forgotten what you did?"
"You killed San-Dan-Kun. You won't let me avenge him?"
"San-Dan-Kun was a spy from Sunagakure. I'm a Konoha Ninja. Killing him was only right."
"Enough nonsense. You slaughtered those Sunagakure Ninja and deliberately left clues to lure me here. What are you after?"
Pakura was extremely wary.
She strongly suspected that Konoha had set a trap to lure her here, with Konoha Ninja lying in wait all around. At a single command from the boy wearing the Shuten-dōji Mask, they would swarm her.
Byakuya smiled. "Don't be so tense. It's just me... er, one Shadow Clone. This isn't a trap set specifically for you. Besides, your Scorch Release is so powerful that sending any number of ordinary Konoha Ninja would be pointless."
Pakura sneered as she walked toward him. "You have something to say?"
"I do. But first, I need to know whether you intend to kill me."
"You killed my comrade. I'd love to slaughter you right now! Shuten-dōji!!!" she snarled through gritted teeth.
Byakuya's Shadow Clone spoke softly. "We're on opposite sides. More Konoha Ninja have died at your hands than Sunagakure Ninja have died at mine! Yet I don't indulge in the kind of naïve thinking you do."
"Naïve? Bring your real body here, and I won't kill you," Pakura said.
This Shuten-dōji of Konoha's Root Organization was acting strangely. Everywhere he showed up was somewhere she had stopped briefly before.
It was as if he had come to the Land of Rivers just to see her.
Of course, she couldn't be sure. Pakura had decided to come and see for herself. She was confident she could escape even if it was a trap.
"Really?"
"Really."
"I don't believe you."
Byakuya studied her expression as if he had discovered a new continent. "You're in a terrible state right now, Pakura. It's like something has shaken a belief you once held firmly.
"Let me guess. Could Rasa suspect you? Think you're trying to seize the Kazekage's position?
"Or did your One-Tail Jinchuriki die after fighting the Iwa Ninja?
"Could Sunagakure be about to attack Konoha?"
Pakura kept walking, drawing closer to him.
"I don't want to talk to a Shadow Clone. Bring your real body here."
As she spoke, she raised a miniature sun that seemed to burn with orange-red flames.
Scorch Release: Extreme Steam Killing.
"Your desire to kill me is too strong."
As soon as he finished speaking,
two small orange-red suns abruptly appeared to his left and right.
They collided.
An explosion.
Every trace of moisture where the Shadow Clone had stood evaporated.
Pakura turned to look at another spot.
"Not bad. You've improved a lot since last time, but do you think that means you've escaped?"
New orange-red flames burned atop the blazing spherical energy bodies.
This time there were four.
"Storm Release: Thousand Blades."
Byakuya stood atop a cliff face and swiftly formed three Hand Seals.
Ox—Rabbit—Dragon
Storm Release chakra gathered in his mouth, and he spat out densely concentrated lasers.
They were unlike Water Release: Water Severing Wave or Sage Art: Storm Release: Light Fang.
Instead, they resembled long, thin jets of high-pressure water, only they shone with a glaring blue-white light.
In an instant,
Byakuya fired four laser beams, which precisely pierced Pakura's Scorch Release: Extreme Steam Killing.
An explosion.
The sky darkened.
Pakura's expression changed abruptly.
"Scorch Release: Scorching Heat Wall."
She slapped both hands to the ground. Her chakra erupted, forming a semitransparent wall of orange-red, scorching air in front of her.
The moment the blazing blue-white lasers touched the wall, they evaporated into steam.
From his elevated position,
Byakuya kept up Storm Release: Thousand Blades as if it were an inexhaustible machine gun.
One blue-white laser after another barreled forward, relentlessly pounding the orange-red wall of air.
The attack was so powerful that the area seemed to be hit by an earthquake.
This new Storm Release technique sacrificed the flexibility of precise targeting in favor of covering a wide area. In return, it consumed little chakra, while its attacks packed the full force of Torrent Lightning. It was suited for picking off enemies.
"That's enough!"
Pakura shouted.
"Scorch Release: Extreme Steam Killing!"
Byakuya immediately stopped Thousand Blades and formed Hand Seals.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall."
He spat out a waterfall of water that swirled around him, shielding him from every angle.
The four Extreme Steam Killing energy orbs collided with the Water Formation Wall.
A sizzling hiss erupted.
The spreading steam was thicker than dense fog, so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
As far as the eye could see, everything was white.
"When did you release the Shadow Clone Technique?" Pakura's voice came through the steam.
"While you were using Scorch Release," Byakuya replied.
"So you lured me here to show off your new ninjutsu?"
"You said you wanted to meet my real body, so here I am. But I came to show you Konoha's goodwill—and to discuss something with you in private."
Pakura sensed the chakra of Byakuya's real body, wary that the kid, whose strength had improved dramatically, might ambush her. She used Wind Release to keep blowing away the steam.
At last, she saw Shuten-dōji wearing his mask, looking down at her like a demon king from legend.
"Get down here! Talk to me face-to-face."
"The murderous intent you're giving off hasn't lessened at all."
"I want to kill you."
"Why? Because, as a Konoha Ninja, I killed a few Sunagakure Ninja? You should know that I didn't kill all of them. That was my way of showing you goodwill."
"Damn sly Konoha brat! What are you after?!"
Pakura gasped for breath. She spread her arms, and more than a dozen spherical energy bodies burning with orange-red flames appeared in a staggered formation.
Sensing the Flying Thunder God Formula he had left nearby, Byakuya leaped down from the cliff. The fog swirled around him as he slowly approached Pakura, whose chakra radiated danger.
"Pakura, aren't you afraid of dying, pushing your chakra so hard?"
He was still testing her limits—or, rather, her mettle.
"..."
Pakura's pupils contracted slightly as she stared at Shuten-dōji, who had grown half a head taller since their last meeting. "I am. It's being afraid of death that proves the worth of a sacrifice."
"So Sunagakure really does want a shinobi like you dead."
"Huh?" Pakura froze for a moment, then scoffed. "Trying to sow discord?"
"You're strong enough to rival the Kazekage, yet you've been worn down to this state. If Sunagakure doesn't want you dead, what does?"
Byakuya stopped a dozen or so meters away from her and chuckled. "If you die, Sunagakure won't have anyone left who values their comrades' lives.
"Honestly, a Sunagakure like that wouldn't threaten Konoha anymore. One day, it might even become Konoha's vassal.
"I'll call you Pakura from now on. Calling you 'senior' all the time feels awkward.
"Pakura, I'd never choose to fight you head-on when you're at full strength. But in your current, exhausted state..."
She saw Byakuya draw the Ninja Sword strapped to his back.
"Pakura, you have two choices. Put away your ninjutsu and talk to me calmly.
"Or keep stubbornly refusing and die for this wretched Sunagakure, without a thought for your comrades."
Before you continue