Rescuing Pakura

"Kirigakure, so soon?" Pakura gripped the kunai in her hand, her heart tightening.

"Be careful, there's an ambush ahead. It must be Kirigakure!" Pakura warned her teammates simultaneously.

"Huh? Aren't we here for peace talks? Is Kirigakure going back on their word?" Although Deputy Envoy Kankuro said this, his eyes remained as calm as water. This situation had been explained by his superiors before they even set out. Though it pained him, everything was for the sake of Sunagakure.

"It seems we've been discovered! Everyone, come out; there's no need to hide anymore!" The voice arrived before the person, and two elite jonin from Kirigakure, accompanied by an Anbu squad, sprang from the nearby thicket.

"The person you wanted has been delivered. Our transaction is complete. Remember your promise—we are withdrawing!" Following the deputy envoy's order, the entire Sunagakure team began to retreat rapidly, acting without any command from their leader, Pakura.

Seeing this, Pakura offered a bitter smile. For a fleeting moment, she even wanted to just end it all.

"The Scorch Release user, Pakura? How pathetic! It doesn't feel good to be betrayed by your own village, does it? Would you like to join our Kirigakure?" Hozuki Zangetsu grinned, revealing a mouth of sharp teeth as he spoke with a feminine, sinister tone.

"No. The Pakura of Sunagakure died the moment this happened. From now on, I will live for myself!" Pakura shifted into a defensive stance and said calmly.

Although the enemy had the numbers, she recalled the rumors about Uchiha Gen's combat prowess in Konoha. Even if only one-ninth of those rumors were true, this battle was winnable.

Besides, since Uchiha Gen dared to come, he must have been certain he could lead her to safety. Mere Kirigakure shinobi were not worth mentioning! After all, she was Pakura of the Scorch Release!

"Hmph, stubborn to the end. Then go to hell! Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Hozuki Zangetsu began the traditional pre-combat ritual of Kirigakure, setting up the terrain to his advantage. The next step should be assassination with a blade, right? Although Hozuki Zangetsu didn't carry one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist, the blade on his back suggested he was quite skilled in that art. In fact, Kirigakure felt more like a village of swordsmen; it seemed more people used blades than Water Release!

"The throat, the heart, the forehead..." Hozuki Zangetsu seemed intent on destroying Pakura's psychological defenses step by step, but he was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Uchiha Gen.

"Tsukuyomi! If you're going to fight, just fight. Why so much chatter? Watch yourself in the next life!" With a single Tsukuyomi of massive intensity, Hozuki Zangetsu was instantly reduced to an idiot. It wasn't even a battle on the same level, but fortunately, Uchiha Gen held no grudge against him and didn't use the low-level, cruel version of Tsukuyomi he used on Danzo. If the enemy didn't deploy Danzo, he wouldn't use the cruel Tsukuyomi!

After all, he believed in killing without torturing; torturing damaged one's karmic merit. Uchiha Gen understood that much. From now on, he would avoid using the cruel version whenever possible.

"Oh no!"

"Lord Zangetsu!"

"Attack!"

Seeing this, the surrounding Kirigakure Anbu swarmed forward.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

"Water Release: Rain of Thousand Needles!"

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

"Hmph, mere gravel is not even half as strong as me!" Uchiha Gen didn't even bother to dodge, standing his ground and looking at the Kirigakure forces with utter contempt.

Hiss, so cool. As expected of the man I, Pakura, have set my sights on! Pakura thought from a distance, looking at Uchiha Gen's arrogant profile with a hint of infatuation.

"Masaka!"

"Nani?"

"Is this guy a monster?"

"This is impossible!"

"The ninjutsu had no effect at all?" Kirigakure Cangming looked at the man before him, his face turning ugly as he pondered a countermeasure. As one of the elite jonin leading the team, Cangming could barely maintain his composure, but the mental fortitude of the other members wasn't as strong. After all, once they encountered someone immune to ninjutsu, their combat effectiveness dropped by ninety percent.

"Stay calm, don't panic! This must be a secret technique similar to the Hozuki clan's! Try Lightning Release and close-quarters combat!" Cangming forced himself to reassure them.

"So that's it?" Soldier A.

"Is it the same as the Hozuki clan's hydration technique?" Kirigakure B.

"Thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem so scary!" Anbu C.

"Um, who among us knows Lightning Release?" Kirigakure D.

"..." All the Kirigakure shinobi.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Kirigakure B.

"We are from Kirigakure. Aside from the Lightning Blade among the Seven Ninja Swords, have you ever seen a Kirigakure shinobi use Lightning Release?" Anbu C.

"Everyone, don't panic. Although I'm not very proficient, I do know a few Lightning Release techniques. I'll go first, and you all use your swordsmanship to support me in close combat!" At this moment, Captain Cangming stepped forward. This was why learning more skills was never a bad thing! Didn't it come in handy at a critical moment? Young ones, take note!

"Understood, let's do it!" the Kirigakure shinobi echoed.

"Tsukuyomi!" ×17

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...

With the sound of bodies hitting the ground, the entire Kirigakure squad was wiped out.

"So flashy, and yet so much internal monologue?" Uchiha Gen looked speechlessly at the Kirigakure shinobi lying in a heap.

"Is this guy actually this strong? I suspect that even the Third Kazekage, the strongest in history, didn't have his current level of power!" Pakura, standing to the side, looked shocked.

"Little Paku-paku, why are you dazed? Let's go, come back to Konoha with me!" Uchiha Gen waved his phantom hands in front of Pakura's eyes.

"Ha, you guy, what 'Little Paku-paku'? That's so cheesy! I'm probably older than you!" Pakura snapped back to reality, blushing as she retorted.

"Alright, Little Paku-paku, I got it, Little Paku-paku!" Uchiha Gen continued to do exactly as he pleased.

"Hmph, you annoying person!" Although she said that, Pakura secretly accepted the slightly cheesy nickname.

The two of them bickered all the way as they headed toward Konohagakure.

Ninja World, Land of Fire, Konohagakure, Main Gate.

"I am Uchiha Gen, and this is my wife, Pakura. The situation is clear enough, so why won't you let us in? Is my Sharingan not obvious enough?" Uchiha Gen was speechless; he hadn't expected to be blocked while trying to return home.

"I understand the logic, but the problem is that I have no record of your departure. Furthermore, if the intelligence is correct, this Ms. Pakura appears to be an elite jonin from Sunagakure. Without a diplomatic warrant, please forgive me for not being able to grant entry. However, I have already sent someone to notify the Hokage of the situation here. We will wait for the Hokage to arrive and decide from there," Kotetsu Hagane, the gatekeeper of Konohagakure, replied strictly by the book. Uchiha Gen had clearly left the village without authorization; if it were anyone else, they would have been dragged off for interrogation long ago. But this man's background was simply too significant, and a small fry like him had no authority to handle such a matter.

After all, Uchiha Gen was not a professional active-duty ninja, and he only had a superficial understanding of these protocols. Although he had inherited the memories from the original work, he had mostly viewed them like watching a movie. His own habits and behaviors were still rooted in his past life! Uchiha Gen had never imagined that there would be a system requiring one to file a report just to leave the village.