Pakura of the Scorch Release

When the enemy advanced, we retreated. When the enemy camped, we harassed them. When the enemy grew weary, we attacked. When the enemy retreated, we pursued.

—Sixteen-Character Guerrilla Warfare Mantra.

After leaving Rock Town Village, Yotsuki Sora drew on our army's guerrilla warfare experience and made full use of the Land of Earth's "many mountains," "treacherous terrain," and "complex geography" to wage guerrilla warfare.

With monstrous physical abilities and chakra reserves comparable to a tailed beast, Yotsuki Sora still moved with ease even while carrying Samui and the half-dead Kitsuchi.

Of course.

Without supplies, even he would have been hard-pressed.

Even if he could go ten days without food or water, Samui and Kitsuchi could not endure that.

But the supplies from Rock Town Village had completely freed Sora from such concerns.

He could even hold Samui in his arms while using Kitsuchi as a cushion beneath him.

Fried eggs and sushi in the morning, grilled fish and rice balls at noon, and wine with barbecue at night.

The sight of it looked nothing like someone being hunted and surrounded. It was more like he had come to the Land of Earth for sightseeing, travel, and a picnic!

"By my estimate, it should be about time."

Standing on the trunk of a massive tree, Sora gazed into the distance. "Two days should have been enough for the Third to rendezvous with the main force. I'm sick of playing this little game of hide-and-seek."

"What are you planning to do?"

"Leave the battlefield, of course." Sora spoke as if it were obvious. "I have the Five-Tails and the Tsuchikage's son with me. As long as I take these two trophies out, no matter how this war turns out, we'll have enough bargaining chips for negotiations."

"What about Lord Third..."

Samui paused, suddenly realizing she had asked a pointless question.

The reason the Third Raikage had been able to rendezvous with the main force was precisely because Sora had helped draw away most of the attention.

If Sora went to find the Third Raikage now, wouldn't he simply be leading all these people back and adding needless pressure?

But on second thought, with Sora's strength, if he could join up with the Third Raikage, rescuing the main force should be much easier.

But when she thought of Sora's relationship with the village...

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Sora's gaze fell toward the southeast.

As the earth shook, a blazing fireball suddenly exploded, kicking up thick clouds of smoke.

From within the dust and smoke, a beautiful figure rolled out in a rather sorry state.

As she watched several figures break through the smoke and charge toward her.

Pakura's heart sank to the bottom.

She did not understand.

She had clearly come to carry out a support mission, to help the Hidden Stone deal with the Hidden Cloud, yet she was now being ambushed by her own "allies."

If her reactions had been any slower, that Earth Spear would have pierced her heart already!

"Scorch Release..."

"Earth Release: Earth-Shattering Palm!"

Pakura condensed a fireball, but the ground beneath her feet split apart, forcing her to leap into the air.

Looking at the figures before her, Pakura felt despair rise in her heart.

There were thirteen Hidden Stone ninja pursuing her, including four Jonin. Their leader was the renowned Hidden Stone genius, East Dead Man!

The Shinobi World's standards for judging the strong were somewhat vague, with only a rough benchmark.

Anyone capable of defeating a Jonin squad qualified to undertake S-rank missions on their own could be considered among the Shinobi World's strong.

If ninja of that level defected, they would generally be classified as S-rank rogue ninja.

Pakura of the Scorch Release, once famous throughout the Shinobi World, was naturally among the strong. Though East Dead Man could barely be counted among them as well, to ensure Pakura's death, he had directly brought one Jonin squad and two Chunin squads!

In a one-on-one fight, Pakura believed she had nothing to fear from him. She was even confident she could defeat him.

But she had been ambushed first, seriously injured, and there were so many pursuers.

This was already a dead end.

Pakura was filled with unwillingness.

"Why? We're allies, aren't we?! We have a common enemy!"

"Don't make me laugh. It's true that we share a common enemy, but whether we're allies..."

East Dead Man crossed his arms and sneered. "Once you're dead, the Lands of Wind and Earth should become quite fine allies, wouldn't you say?"

Pakura's pretty face froze.

I... I was betrayed by my village?

Pakura's eyes went blank. Her fighting spirit crumbled, and her convictions collapsed.

Over the years, she had risked her life and shed her blood for the village, carrying out missions and training day and night. Everything she had done was for that barren village of endless yellow sand to become better.

Yet in the end, what she received was betrayal from the village.

Was it because I threatened your position, Fourth Kazekage...?

Pakura was no fool.

With just a few words, coupled with the circumstances of this mission, she understood everything.

Before Rasa took office, she had also been a strong contender for the position of Fourth Kazekage.

But during the Wind-Lightning War, Rasa's performance had been far too outstanding.

With his Magnet Release Gold Dust Map Cannon, he had forcibly crushed the Hidden Cloud and directly ascended to the position of Fourth Kazekage!

After that, in order to consolidate his position, Rasa repeatedly employed various schemes and even launched a war against Konoha.

But she had never expected Rasa to make a move against her!

Granted, they had once been rivals.

She indeed had the potential to threaten Rasa's position.

But it was wartime. No matter what, she was one of Hidden Sand's top combat forces.

Could it be that before power, their past friendship and the village's safety had become so worthless?

Pakura's heart was filled with disappointment.

Was this my life?

How laughable.

Facing the charging Hidden Stone ninja, she even gave up resisting and stood there in a daze.

"Pray that you aren't born in Hidden Sand in your next life, hahahaha!"

But the death she expected did not arrive alongside East Dead Man's wild laughter.

Pakura opened her eyes in confusion and saw a broad, imposing figure standing before her.

His powerful body, like a work of art, seemed sculpted by heaven itself. The masculine allure radiating from him was simply impossible to resist.

Most eye-catching of all, among his black hair stood a pair of upward-curving horns. Combined with his wild expression, he resembled a savage beast!

Wait, horns?

"Yotsuki Sora?!"

There was no gratitude for surviving a disaster in Pakura's eyes. Instead, she looked utterly incredulous.

"Why did you save me?"

Her Hidden Sand forehead protector was right there on her forehead. Knowing full well that she was from Hidden Sand, Yotsuki Sora had still come to save her?

The instant Samui arrived and saw Pakura, her expression stiffened. "Lord Sora! She's Pakura of Hidden Sand's Scorch Release!"

"Pakura of the Scorch Release?"

Sora's gaze was intensely predatory. Like he had spotted some plump prey, he openly and brazenly examined Pakura.

"Good. Very good."

"It would be far too wasteful for a woman like you to die like this."

"?" ×2

Both Pakura and Samui wore bewildered expressions. Pakura clearly did not understand the meaning behind Sora's words, while Samui could scarcely believe what she had heard.

"Lord Sora, she's Pakura of the Scorch Release, a general-class ninja of Hidden Sand."

"During the Wind-Lightning War, she killed who knew how many Hidden Cloud ninja. She's even on our Hidden Cloud Gold Letter Wanted List!"

"...What the hell does that have to do with me?"