I Want Pakura

"No accountability?"

Xuandou felt like laughing.

"Does Sunagakure... even have the capacity to hold us accountable now?"

He crossed his arms unhurriedly, his gaze sweeping over the group of Sunagakure ninjas opposite him.

"You claim to be here for peace talks, yet I don't see a shred of sincerity. You expect us to withdraw our troops based on nothing but empty words?"

His voice turned abruptly cold:

"Since you aren't willing to give, we will take it ourselves!"

"If you have any grievances, you are more than welcome to engage us in an all-out fight!"

As he finished speaking, Shisui, Shinku Yuhi, and Hizashi Hyuga, the three jonin, stepped forward in unison.

Hundreds of Konoha ninjas behind them also gathered in a flash, weapons in hand, forming a standoff against the opposing side.

Both sides looked ready to clash at the slightest disagreement.

Chiyo watched the formation opposite her and sighed inwardly.

Konoha was never like this in the past.

Previously, Sunagakure would always tear up treaties and raid the borders of the Land of Fire. Once Konoha's reinforcements arrived and the two sides had fought for a while, Sunagakure would propose peace talks, which Konoha would often accept with eager haste.

When the next period of turmoil in the ninja world arrived, Sunagakure would break the treaty and invade again, repeating the cycle.

But now...

How did Konoha ninjas even know how to make demands?

More troublesome still, she dared not refuse.

The number of jonin and the overall combat strength of the opposing side were both superior to her own.

If a fight were to break out, Sunagakure would definitely not gain any advantage.

Rasa clearly saw the situation as well.

He took a deep breath, stepped forward half a pace, and spoke with restrained tone:

"Konoha can propose conditions. As long as they are reasonable, Sunagakure can accept them. The premise is that you immediately stop the looting and withdraw back to the Land of Fire."

Xuandou raised an eyebrow:

"We want war reparations."

He extended his fingers, counting them off one by one:

"To deal with you, Konoha has expended a massive amount of manpower and resources. Not to mention anything else, just in Explosive Tag alone, I have used one hundred thousand."

"At a market price of five thousand ryo each, one hundred thousand is five hundred million ryo!"

At this point, Xuandou spread his hands, his tone mocking:

"What you lost were merely cold-blooded teammates, but what we in Konoha lost was warm, hard cash!"

Rasa's chest heaved violently.

For a moment, he even wanted to order an attack immediately.

But reason ultimately pulled him back.

If they lost another battle, Sunagakure would completely lose the trust of the Daimyo.

Having the budget slashed would be the least of his worries; his position as the prospective Kazekage would likely be in jeopardy as well.

He forced himself to calm down and asked in a deep voice:

"How much do you want?"

Xuandou held up a single index finger.

Rasa breathed a sigh of relief: "If it's one billion ryo..."

"One billion?"

Xuandou interrupted with a scoff.

"Do you take me for a beggar? I could raid a single city and get more than that!"

"I want ten billion!"

Both sides fell silent at once.

Even the Konoha ninjas thought: The Commander's opening bid is way too ruthless.

Chiyo stepped forward directly, anger surging on her aged face:

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Ten billion is Sunagakure's entire fiscal revenue for four years! It is absolutely impossible!"

"What I want is exactly four years of your fiscal revenue!"

Xuandou's smile turned cold:

"What else? Given the shamelessness of Sunagakure, are we supposed to wait for you to catch your breath, only for you to tear up the treaty and invade the Land of Fire again in four years?"

He swept his gaze across the Sunagakure group:

"It would be better to just stagnate your development for a few years so everyone can have some peace."

The Sunagakure group was left speechless by these words.

Refute him?

It seemed that Sunagakure had indeed always been that way.

In the end, it was Rasa who spoke up:

"Ten billion is truly beyond what we can bear... could you reduce it a little?"

Uchiha Gento shook his head mercilessly.

"Don't even think about it!"

"If you can't provide it, we'll just take it ourselves. We promise that once we've looted enough to reach ten billion, we'll stop immediately. How about that?"

Rasa's face turned completely black.

They absolutely could not let Konoha continue to plunder.

Otherwise, if the Feudal Lord of the Land of Wind flew into a rage, Sunagakure would be the one to suffer the consequences.

At this moment, Pakura, who had been silent all along, suddenly looked up, her gaze burning as she stared at Uchiha Gento:

"Uchiha Gento, treating the civilians of the Land of Wind like this... do you not feel ashamed before the ancestors of the Uchiha clan?!"

Uchiha Gento shifted his gaze to look her over, then suddenly laughed:

"Oh? Are you trying to use morality to hold me hostage?"

Uchiha Gento shook his head and said:

"It's a pity, though; I have no morals, so you can't hold me hostage."

For a moment, the scene fell into a stalemate.

A few moments later, Uchiha Gento suddenly spoke again:

"Actually, it's not impossible to reduce the amount, it's just..."

Rasa's eyes lit up at these words:

"Just what?"

All the Sunagakure ninja looked at him in unison.

Uchiha Gento's gaze fell on Pakura, a faint smile playing on his lips:

"I can settle for five billion ryo!"

The Sunagakure group breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Although five billion ryo was still a lot, it was half the amount of ten billion ryo.

Moreover, five billion ryo happened to be Rasa's psychological bottom line.

Uchiha Gento continued:

"It's just that Pakura needs to come back to Konoha with us."

Pakura's pupils constricted:

"...What?"

"What's wrong? Aren't you all about morality? Trading one female ninja for five billion ryo is a very profitable deal."

"Countless citizens of the Land of Wind could be spared because of you."

Chiyo, standing to the side, fell silent.

Rasa, meanwhile, revealed an expression of being moved.

He suddenly turned and walked up to Pakura, lowering his voice:

"Pakura, the village really cannot come up with that much money. Why don't you... agree to his terms."

Pakura stared at him blankly, a look of disappointment appearing on her face.

She had bled for Sunagakure and carried out countless dangerous missions.

How many enemies had once trembled at the mention of her Scorch Release?

Yet now, she was to be used as a bargaining chip?

Chiyo also slowly walked up to her.

"Pakura, this is the village's decision... and it is a mission."

A mission!

Yes, wasn't the primary duty of a ninja to carry out missions?

As a female ninja, even as a Jonin, how many missions would she have to complete to earn five billion ryo?

Pakura's lips trembled as her gaze shifted from Chiyo's face to Rasa's, and finally to the silent Sunagakure ninja standing behind them.

She suddenly felt a chill run through her.

Should she resist?

But if she left Sunagakure, where else could she go?

If she refused the mission, what kind of ninja would she even be?

In the end, she lowered her head, her voice so soft it was barely audible:

"...Yes."

She walked step by step toward the Konoha contingent.

Hizashi Hyuga stepped forward, his fingers striking in rapid succession with the Gentle Fist to seal her chakra flow.

The familiar flow of chakra was severed in an instant.

Having just been abandoned by her village, she now found that even the chakra she had relied upon since becoming a ninja was no longer under her control.

A sense of helplessness washed over her.

Xuandou watched Pakura walk to his side, his face breaking into a joyful grin.

This meant that after dual cultivation with her, he would be able to claim a luxurious S-rank treasure chest!

He turned to look at Rasa:

"Then, gather the remaining five billion within three days. Once the money arrives, we leave."

Rasa looked toward Chiyo, who gave a slow nod.

"...Very well."

He turned and left with over a hundred ninja.

Three days later, Rasa returned and handed a sealing scroll to Xuandou.

Xuandou sent men to count the funds, confirming everything was correct.

Five billion ryo, not a single coin short.

He stowed the scroll away and shouted:

"Konoha forces—withdraw!"

"ROAR—!!!"

A thunderous cheer erupted from behind him.

"Slow down."

"Let the entire Land of Wind remember the figures of us victors!"

Afterward, Xuandou ordered his men to find a camel-drawn carriage, and he climbed inside.

The procession set off slowly, leaving the angry, humiliated gazes of the Sunagakure crowd behind them.

After traveling several miles, Xuandou knocked on the carriage wall and ordered:

"Someone, bring Pakura inside. I shall interrogate her personally!"