Emotional Paving

"On the contrary, without that mission, there would be no Pakura as we know her today. If I had stayed in Sunagakure, I'd probably be just like Rasa now."

In order to intimidate Chiyo, Pakura made no attempt to conceal her strength.

Although he didn't know what Chiyo was planning, based on his understanding of her, this elder would never do anything pointless. Whatever she was planning, he believed that after seeing his strength, she would have to think twice before coming.

"Oh? So your strength comes from Konoha? No, Konoha wouldn't invest so heavily in training an outsider like you from Sunagakure, and even the Uchiha Clan wouldn't do this. You're Uchiha Gen? Pakura, you're really lucky to have found such a good home."

Uchiha Gen actually possesses such abilities; it seems we need to be more careful with the Land of Snow.

"Chiyo didn't come all this way just to have a chat, did she? I don't think someone like you would travel all the way to Konoha for such a trivial matter."

This old fellow truly lives up to his reputation as someone who has served several generations of Kazekage; he managed to think of so much in such a short time. Some people become more senile with age, while others become more astute...

"A small matter? This is no small matter, Pakura. I've already had Rasa drop the Sunagakure's warrant for your missing-nin as Sunagakure. I know that with your current strength, this warrant is completely insignificant to you, but what I want to say is that, regardless, this represents Sunagakure's own attitude. What happened back then was the fault of the higher-ups, but the ordinary comrades of Sunagakure were unaware of it. They are still your comrades. Sunagakure will not treat you as missing-nin. The one who was wrong back then was me, the village's higher-ups, not you. You are still a hero of Sunagakure. Come back and visit whenever you miss home."

Having witnessed Pakura's strength, Chiyo immediately adjusted her plans for the trip. Compared to Pakura now, One-Tail was no longer Gaara threat.

If it could improve the relationship between Sunagakure and Pakura, it would be worth Gaara even if ten or a hundred Gaaras died.

"What's the point of saying all this now? I'm already married into Konoha. Elder Chiyo, do you still naively believe I can go back to serve Sunagakure?"

By adopting such a humble posture, this guy must have a bigger plan. No one understands Elder Chiyo's malice towards Konoha's White Fang better than the ninjas of Sunagakure. As a former member of Sunagakure, Pakura certainly knows how much past hatred Elder Chiyo must have endured to come to Konoha on his own initiative and adopt such a humble posture.

"I understand that, of course. I don't expect you to return to Sunagakure and continue to contribute to the Sunagakure. After all, you now have your own home, and I won't be the villain to break up your happiness."

Given Pakura's current strength, the secondary objective of my trip—to ease tensions between Sunagakure and Pakura —has become the primary objective. As for getting Pakura back to Sunagakure, regardless of whether she herself is willing, it's likely that Konoha and the Uchiha Clan wouldn't allow it. It's like a chicken you raised being used to lay eggs for someone else; no one can accept that.

However, leaving Pakura's combat power unused would be a huge loss for Sunagakure, especially for the current Sunagakure, where the role of Pakura is even greater than that of the entire Sunagakure leadership.

Sending her back is impossible, but leaving her like this isn't an option either. Since she can't leave, I'll send someone else over. Pakura seems to have an apprentice in the village, doesn't he?

The girl named Maki may lack talent, but since Uchiha Gen has the ability to change Pakura's talent, even a tiny bit of it would be enough for Maki to benefit from for a lifetime. If Maki could learn the Scorch Release technique, it would undoubtedly be a great help to the impoverished Sunagakure.

Moreover, easing tensions with Pakura has other benefits. With her current strength, she is quite influential even in Konoha. As Pakura's family, Konoha will have to consider Pakura's feelings in its future attitude towards Sunagakure.

This can be considered a case of the fox borrowing the tiger's power. Pakura doesn't need to do anything proactively; with her current strength alone, she can bring a lot of benefits to Sunagakure. Of course, the premise is that the relationship between the two sides returns to normal.

"Oh, if that's all, then thank you very much, Chiyo, for your concern for Sunagakure. Sunagakure... I'll try to go back and visit when I have time."

I wonder how that girl, Juan, is doing now. I've been labeled missing-nin, she must be very sad. I wonder if she's being bullied by others.

"Yes, the gates of Sunagakure will always be open for you. Your old house will still be reserved for you. As for Maki, she was somewhat implicated because of what happened before. Although the village has lifted the warrant for your arrest, her relationship with her companions is still like that. If possible, I would like to send her here so that you can continue to teach her."

Chiyo, well-versed in human relationships, subtly reveals her true intentions while weaving in emotional entanglements.

"Is Juan not doing well? Well, with that guy's strength, it's no wonder she gets bullied in that environment. It's good that she came here; at least no one will dare to bully her here."

Pakura was completely unaware of Chiyo's intentions, or rather, her mind hadn't yet processed the implications.

"Well, since the past is behind us, I won't hide anything from you anymore. After all, you are a member of Sunagakure. Knowing me as you do, you should have guessed that my purpose in coming here is definitely not just to visit you. I know that no matter how I try to deny it, I can't dispel Konoha's suspicion and wariness. In that case, I might as well use you to tell me the real purpose of my trip."

Since Gaara isn't that important anymore, it's better to sacrifice his information to lower Pakura's guard. Otherwise, if I come to Konoha and do nothing but visit relatives, she'll definitely overthink things and become more wary of all my interactions with Sunagakure. This would be detrimental to Maki's subsequent actions.

It would be better to bring up Gaara, the One-Tail Jinchuriki Gaara, to divert attention, thereby assisting in the subsequent work of the scroll and eliminating Pakura's vigilance.

"So, visiting me was just a pretext? At this time, as an elder, I really can't figure out what Sunagakure's purpose is in coming to Konoha. The Third Great Ninja War is long over, the Fourth Great Ninja War is a long way off, and Sunagakure and Konoha don't have any personal relationships. What important matter could possibly warrant such a special trip for you, the pillar of Sunagakure?"

Using me as a mouthpiece? Could it be that they want to use me to achieve some other goal? So everything before was just a prelude, playing the emotional card? And this is the real objective? Thinking of this, Pakura's vigilance reached its peak.