Rasa's Resolve! Pakura the Maid!

"Now, choose a Kazekage among yourselves and have them sign a treaty with me!"

"But don't take too long. My patience is limited, and if you make me impatient, that will be your fault. The consequences will be severe."

Heat waves rolled across the scorched earth.

Several thousand surviving Suna Ninja knelt on the ground, not daring to even breathe too loudly.

The enormous craters left by those dozens of meteors were like scars upon the Ninja World, constantly reminding them that resistance meant death.

Tobirama Uchiha sat atop a relatively flat boulder with one leg crossed over the other, his fingers lightly tapping against his knee.

"Time's up."

His indifferent voice spread across the entire field. "Who's in charge now? Get out here and sign."

A disturbance rippled through the crowd.

The Third Kazekage had been captured, Chiyo and Ebizo were dead, and more than half of the council of elders had been wiped out in the meteor shower.

The current Sunagakure was nothing but a flock of headless flies.

At last, a young figure rose to his feet, trembling.

He had red hair, and his eyes held fear—but even more than that, a tragic resolve.

Rasa.

The future Fourth Kazekage.

At this moment, he was only an elite jonin, but with his Magnet Release: Gold Dust, he was already Sunagakure's strongest remaining fighter.

Rasa took a deep breath, stepped over the rubble littering the ground, and walked before Tobirama before heavily dropping to both knees.

"Uchiha... no, Lord Hokage."

Rasa buried his head in the dust, his voice hoarse. "I am Rasa, the highest-ranking surviving jonin of Sunagakure. On behalf of Sunagakure... I accept all terms."

He wasn't stupid.

Stepping forward now meant taking the blame.

Those astronomical reparations and humiliating treaties—whoever signed them would become a sinner in history.

But he had to sign.

If he didn't, that god of death in the sky would truly slaughter every remaining person.

To preserve Sunagakure's last spark, to let the wives, children, and elderly behind him survive, he, Rasa, would bear this burden!

Tobirama glanced at him and casually tossed a scroll into his face.

"Good. At least you know what's best for you."

"Sign it. Leave your handprint."

Rasa opened the scroll with trembling hands. As he looked at the terms that could drain the Land of Wind dry for a hundred years, his heart bled.

But he didn't dare hesitate.

He bit his finger and pressed down a bloody handprint.

"Very good."

Tobirama took back the scroll and nodded in satisfaction.

"Starting today, you are the Fourth Kazekage. Remember to pay your protection money on time every year. Short me by even one coin, and I'll come here and drop a meteor for fun."

"Yes... this subordinate understands." Rasa lowered his head in humiliation.

"Alright, there's one last matter."

Tobirama rose to his feet. His gaze passed over Rasa and landed precisely on the beautiful female ninja at the back of the crowd, dressed in a backless outfit with green-and-black hair.

Pakura of Scorch Release.

Sunagakure's hero, and its strongest remaining fighter besides Rasa.

Tobirama raised a hand and pointed. "I'm taking that woman."

Boom!

The moment those words were spoken, the Suna Ninja who had just breathed a sigh of relief tensed up again.

Pakura?

She was the village's hero!

Pakura abruptly raised her head, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief and fury.

"In your dreams! I'm a ninja of Sunagakure! I will never go to Konoha as your prisoner!"

She gritted her teeth, and scorching chakra surged from her body.

Even if she died, she still had the dignity of a strong warrior!

Yet Tobirama didn't even look at her. He merely lowered his gaze to Rasa, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Rasa, this is also part of the terms."

"Hand her over to me, or... I'll kill everyone left here and take her corpse with me."

"I'll give you three seconds to choose."

"Three."

The air instantly froze.

Rasa jerked his head up and looked at Pakura, his eyes full of pain and struggle.

On one side was his companion, his comrade-in-arms.

On the other were the thousands of lives in the entire village—the future of Sunagakure.

"Two."

A dangerous light had already lit up at Tobirama's fingertips.

"I'll hand her over!!"

Rasa howled, seeming to age ten years in an instant.

He turned away, not daring to meet Pakura's eyes, and shouted, "Pakura! For the village... make this sacrifice!"

"What?"

Pakura was struck as if by lightning, her entire body freezing in place.

She looked around.

The subordinates who had once respected her, the villagers who had once admired her, were all looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Lady Pakura... please, go..."

"Yes, if only you sacrifice yourself, we can all live..."

"Don't drag everyone down with you..."

At that moment, Pakura's heart shattered.

More thoroughly than the earth that had been crushed by the meteors.

Fear? Anger?

No.

What filled her heart now was the icy coldness of betrayal.

Was this the village she had fought so desperately to protect?

Was this the Kazekage she was meant to serve?

Before absolute violence, she was discarded without hesitation like a piece of merchandise.

"Heh... hehe..."

Pakura gave two miserable laughs, and the chakra around her dissipated.

She looked at Rasa, her eyes hollow and lifeless. "Fine, Rasa. Well done."

"I'll go."

"From this day onward, I, Pakura, sever all ties with Sunagakure..."

Tobirama watched the scene, a teasing smile curling at his lips.

Such was human nature.

Only by making Pakura completely despair of Sunagakure could this blade be held in his hand someday.

"Come here."

Tobirama beckoned.

Pakura walked to Tobirama's side like a living corpse.

Tobirama wrapped an arm around her slender waist and placed his other hand on Rasa's shoulder.

"Work hard, my Fourth Kazekage. Remember, don't think about revenge unless you want to see the Third Ninja World War... oh no, the Sunagakure Extinction War."

Whoosh!

Golden light flashed.

The Flying Thunder God activated.

The two vanished from thin air.

Only Rasa remained kneeling on the ground, letting out a furious yet powerless roar toward the empty desert.

Konoha, Tobirama's private residence.

It was a luxurious estate with a courtyard, located in Konoha's most central district.

Golden light flashed, and Tobirama appeared in the living room with Pakura.

Pakura staggered before steadying herself.

She looked at the unfamiliar yet warm surroundings, confusion flashing through her eyes before turning into vigilance.

"If you want to kill me, then kill me. Don't even think about humiliating me!"

Though her heart had died, the pride of a Scorch Release user remained.

Tobirama removed his Hokage Cloak and casually tossed it onto the sofa. Then he took a bottle of chilled milk from the refrigerator and drank a mouthful.

"Kill you?"

He glanced at Pakura, his gaze brazenly sweeping across her long legs, full of wild beauty.

"What a waste that would be. Starting today, you're neither Sunagakure's hero nor Pakura of Scorch Release."

"You're my exclusive maid."

"A... a maid?!"

Pakura's eyes widened, and her face instantly flushed red with shame and anger.

"A warrior may be killed, but never humiliated! I'd rather die!"

"Die?"

Tobirama walked up to her, pinched her chin, and forced her to raise her head and look into his Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan.

"Your life was sold to me by Sunagakure. You can die if you want, but every time you die, I'll kill a thousand Sunagakure villagers to accompany you."

"If you don't believe me, try it."

Pakura trembled from head to toe.

Looking into those eyes that seemed to contain Hell itself, she knew this man would do exactly as he said.

A man who could make meteors fall like rain—what couldn't he do?

Hatred surged within her, but even stronger was a deep sense of helplessness.

Even her right to die had been taken from her.

"...I understand."

Pakura bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. In the end, she lowered her proud head.

"Master."

"Too quiet. I can't hear you."

"Master..."

"That's more like it."

Tobirama released her and smiled in satisfaction.

Taming a thorny rose like this gave an even greater sense of conquest.

Just then—

"Teacher Tobirama! You're back!"

A clear, pleasant child's voice came from the staircase on the second floor.

A tiny figure quickly ran downstairs.

With blue-purple hair and a paper flower in her hair, it was Konan.

She wore clothes Tobirama had chosen for her, making her look like a delicate porcelain doll.

The moment she saw Tobirama, Konan's eyes seemed to light up. She rushed over and hugged his leg.

"Teacher, Teacher! Look!"

Konan eagerly held out her little hand.

Chakra surged, and an ordinary sheet of white paper seemed to come alive in her hand. It instantly folded and transformed, finally becoming a lifelike paper crane.

The paper crane flapped its wings and actually rose into the air, wobbling as it flew a circle around Tobirama.

"I figured this out all by myself! Isn't it amazing?"

Konan tilted up her little face, her expression clearly saying, "Praise me already."

Pakura, standing beside them, was stunned.

She looked at Tobirama, who had been as cold and ruthless as a devil just moments ago, and saw that his gaze had actually become... gentle?

Tobirama reached out and gently patted Konan's head, a sincere smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

"Not bad. You're very talented."

"But your chakra control still isn't precise enough, and the paper isn't hard enough."

"Ah..." Konan pouted in disappointment. "Then what should I do?"

"Don't worry. Your teacher will teach you."

Tobirama crouched down and extended one finger.

"Konan, watch carefully. Paper isn't merely paper. You need to infuse chakra into it, making it harder than steel and lighter than wind."

Tobirama flicked a finger.

The paper crane suddenly blazed with light, instantly coming apart and transforming into countless sharp paper fragments. They formed a longsword in midair, then scattered again in an instant, becoming a blooming lotus.

"Wow!!"

Konan's eyes sparkled with stars, her admiration impossible to hide.

"I want to learn! I want to learn that!"

"Alright. I'll teach you slowly."

Tobirama rose to his feet and glanced at Pakura, who stood beside him like a wooden doll.

"Hey, you. Pakura."

Tobirama's tone returned to its usual coldness.

"Yes... Master." Pakura answered awkwardly.

"Go to the medical department and find Tsunade. Tell her I'm back and have her come over for dinner tonight."

Tobirama pointed toward the front door.

"Don't think about running. You have my Flying Thunder God Mark on you. Even if you run to the ends of the earth, I can bring you back in a second. And besides... think about Sunagakure."

Pakura's body stiffened, and the light in her eyes dimmed.

"Yes. I'll go."

Watching Pakura's lonely figure leave, Konan curiously tugged at Tobirama's sleeve.

"Teacher, who was that big sister? She looked so sad."

Tobirama picked Konan up and headed upstairs.

"Just someone who lost her way."

"Never mind her. Come, Konan. I'll teach you the core incantation of this technique, Paper Dance..."

Inside, the lights were warm.

Outside, Pakura walked through Konoha's bustling streets. As she watched the laughing, cheerful crowds around her, her heart was a barren wasteland.

There was only one sentence in her heart: People's joys and sorrows are not the same. I only find them noisy.