Rasa

Land of Wind.

In the vast desert.

Within a forest of wind-eroded pillars.

Pakura, her back exposed and her figure proud, stood there as if waiting for someone to arrive.

It was unknown how much time had passed when, amidst the sound of swirling sand, a set of footsteps emerged.

A squad of ninjas wearing Sand Village headbands arrived. The man in the lead had his hair wrapped in white cloth, with greasepaint markings on his face.

This man was Baki, the mentor to Gaara, Kankuro, and the others. In the original timeline, he was the elite jonin of the Sand Village who killed Gekko Hayate during the Chunin Exams; his strength was ranked among the best in the entire village.

Pakura looked at Baki, a flash of loneliness crossing her eyes. It seemed the person who arrived was not who she had hoped to see. Although she had known this would be the result, she still felt quite miserable now that the moment had come.

"I didn't expect it to be you. How is Maki?"

Facing Pakura's inquiry, Baki stepped forward and said with a solemn expression, "There is no need for you to worry about her affairs. Pakura, for the sake of the village's peace and for our fellow countrymen, surrender."

"Hmph..."

Pakura appeared dismissive of Baki's attempt to persuade her to surrender.

If Maki had come today, she might have held back out of respect for their master-disciple bond, but unfortunately, only the elite Anbu of the Sand Village had arrived. She was now completely disillusioned with the village; for her to show mercy was impossible, let alone surrender.

"Since I mastered the Scorch Release bloodline limit, I have never used it against ninjas from my own village. Today, I will let you lot know my true power."

With that, Pakura formed hand seals, summoning several orange-red fireballs.

These fireballs were the manifestation of the Scorch Release power; once struck, the victim's moisture would instantly evaporate, turning them into a dried corpse.

This method of death could be called quite cruel. During the Third Shinobi World War, countless Kirigakure ninjas died under this technique, which was why the Kirigakure, who hated Pakura to the bone, had made her a condition for the peace treaty.

Now, the tables had turned, and this hero who once protected the village was going to use the same technique against her former colleagues.

Seeing Pakura use her Scorch Release power right from the start, Baki's expression tightened.

Although he was also an elite jonin, there was still a significant gap between him and a jonin who had mastered a bloodline limit like Pakura.

Even with the help of the teammates behind him, let alone capturing or killing her, even simply defeating Pakura was a slim chance.

But even so, they did not retreat, instead forming hand seals one after another to unleash ninjutsu against Pakura.

Soon, Pakura began a fierce battle against the Anbu elites led by Baki within the forest of wind-eroded pillars.

During the battle, Baki and the others faced several precarious situations against Pakura's Scorch Release attacks, but by relying on their numerical advantage, they barely managed to reach a stalemate.

As the battle progressed, Baki, who had been waiting for reinforcements that never arrived, began to feel secretly anxious.

According to the plan, the other teammates should have arrived by now. Why was there no sign of support? Could it be that something had gone wrong with the others?

Pakura seemed to see through Baki's thoughts. While driving her Scorch Release fireballs to destroy the various ninja tools flying at her, she said, "You dared to come after me with just this group of people, relying on the others who might support you at any time, I presume? It's a pity, but I'm afraid your plan is going to fail."

Hearing Pakura's words, Baki's expression changed. He said gloomily, "Could it be that you also called for help?"

"What else? Do you think I am still that naive person from before?

Today, I will make the Sand Village feel pain. I will let you know how miserable the price of betraying me is."

Pakura said viciously. These people had followed Rasa's orders to set a trap to capture her, so she had already identified them as enemies. And toward enemies, she had never been soft-hearted.

Baki realized that Pakura had not fallen for the trap from the beginning but had come prepared. Although his expression became more serious, he did not panic.

Because he knew that for this operation to deal with Pakura, the Fourth Kazekage had prepared to finish it in one stroke. The others were just there to make up the numbers; the one who could truly settle the matter was Lord Kazekage.

No matter how strong Pakura was, in this desert, she could not be a match for the Kazekage, Rasa.

It was precisely because of this confidence that Baki and the others had not collapsed, even as they faced Pakura's increasingly desperate attacks.

However, Baki and the others did not know that the Rasa they were desperately hoping for this time was likely to disappoint them.

In a stretch of Gobi desert.

Blood flowed across the sand, then quickly seeped deep into the ground.

Severed limbs and arms were everywhere. Such a cruel scene made the newly arrived Sand Village Anbu squad gasp.

Looking at their companions who were barely breathing, those Sand Village Anbu were all furious, their eyes fixed on the black-robed figure standing leisurely among the crowd.

The opponent was wrapped in a special robe, wearing a mask engraved with a gale pattern.

Who exactly was this mysterious person blocking their path?

Even though the time difference between the arrival of the two teams was not large, they were still a step late. The opponent had managed to finish off their predecessors in such a short time; such strength was likely more than just an elite jonin.

Looking at their companions, each riddled with holes—injuries that should have been caused by some sharp weapon—could the person in front of them be an expert in ninja tools?

But they had looked for a long time and did not see any weapons in the vicinity. So how did the opponent do it?

Just as this Anbu squad wanted to launch a tentative attack to figure out the mysterious person's methods, a voice came from behind them, stopping them in their tracks.

"All of you, fall back and keep your distance. I will deal with this person myself."

To the group of Anbu, this sudden voice was like finding their backbone. They turned back one by one, excitement etched on their faces, to see a man with short red hair. Though he looked young, his demeanor was calm and composed—the unmistakable air of someone in a position of high authority.

"It's the Kazekage!"

"Thank goodness! With the Kazekage taking action, this person before us is definitely nothing to fear."

It was not hard to tell from the words of these Anbu that the newcomer was none other than the Fourth Kazekage of the Sand Village, Rasa, master of the Magnet Release and the power of Gold Dust.

Rasa looked at the strange, masked figure ahead. The opponent stood amidst the corpses of the Sand Village ninja, observing him in return with a gaze so brazen it felt as if he were merely looking at an object.

"Are you a helper Pakura brought in? State your identity!"

Faced with Rasa's inquiry, the masked fellow shrugged.

"I'm just an ordinary bounty hunter, taking money to solve problems for others. You... can understand that, right?"

Rasa naturally did not believe such a flippant answer. Since when did bounty hunters possess the strength to wipe out an Anbu squad with such ease? Such evasiveness suggested that the person's identity was highly suspicious.

"Pakura's personal wealth couldn't possibly offer you much of a reward. To make an enemy of our Sand Village for such a meager profit—this is hardly a wise move."

"Hmm, you make a fair point."

The man nodded, seemingly in agreement with Rasa, before his tone shifted and he spoke in a low voice.

"But if I add you to the reward, then it becomes plenty generous!"