It Might Hurt a Little, Samui

With all the chakra in her body completely sealed, the weakness made Pakura feel deeply uncomfortable.

She looked at Sora, who lounged nearby, using the half-dead Kitsuchi as a cushion while flipping through a Hidden Stone secret scroll, and felt as though none of this was real.

This guy, who looked like nothing more than a brute, had not only mastered exceedingly intricate sealing techniques, but had also managed to run over a thousand Hidden Stone ninja in circles while dragging along three deadweights.

That clearly did not match her usual impression of Hidden Cloud ninja.

The enticing aroma of roasted meat wafted over from one side as Samui placed a batch of skewers over the campfire.

The hunger rising from her stomach made Pakura swallow involuntarily.

While fleeing, ordinary ninja usually relied on military rations or cold rice balls to solve their food problems, but Sora had no such concerns.

Not only did every meal involve a fire, there had to be fish and meat as well...

"We're getting farther and farther from the Heavenly White Mountains in this direction, aren't we?"

Dragging her weakened body over, Pakura came to Sora's side. "Aren't you planning to rendezvous with the Third Raikage?"

"My mission is to draw attention. Why would I rendezvous with him?"

"...Then the Third Raikage is probably in trouble next." Pakura glanced at the half-dead Kitsuchi. "You caused far too much of a commotion this time—the Earth Tsuchikage's son, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, a destroyed core supply point, and over a hundred Hidden Stone ninja killed... If you just leave the Land of Earth like this, those Hidden Stone ninja will go mad."

"At that point, countless Hidden Stone ninja will vent every bit of emotion in their hearts on the Third Raikage and the encircled Hidden Cloud ninja."

"What the fuck does that have to do with me?"

Sora replied calmly, "Without me, they would already be under attack from those Hidden Stone ninja. I bought them time and eased their pressure."

Hearing Sora's words, Pakura fell silent for a moment.

She carefully examined Yotsuki Sora before her, and a thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Could it be that he had conflicts with his village too?

Pakura could clearly sense Sora's indifferent emotions, and they were obviously not directed at her.

"What did you mean earlier by qualifications, and by asking whether I had... dated before?"

"Of course I was testing whether you were qualified to bear my children."

"?"

Faced with Sora's utterly frank answer, Pakura's eyes still widened despite having already guessed it. "Y-You want me to have your children?!"

"Why else would I keep you?"

"I'm from Hidden Sand!"

"I don't care."

"..."

If she still had chakra, Pakura would probably have fired off Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder and steamed Sora into a dried corpse on the spot.

"Are you serious?" Pakura took a deep breath and looked at Sora with a solemn expression. "You want someone from Hidden Sand to bear children for Hidden Cloud's most exceptional genius? Would those elders in your village agree to that?"

"What the fuck does it have to do with me whether they agree or not?"

Sora raised his head to look at Pakura. "You, on the other hand—why do you keep worrying about whether I agree or not? Do you agree?"

"What nonsense! I-I obviously would never agree!"

Pakura denied it loudly, but her eyes could not help flicking over Sora a few more times.

The firelight outlined Sora's features. His resolute, handsome face carried a hint of wild arrogance, while his feral eyes held an unquestionable dominance.

He was practically the perfect man!

No, what am I even thinking?!

"Heh. Does it matter whether you agree or not?"

"You want me to have your children, and you're asking whether my agreement matters? I..." Pakura's words abruptly stopped as she suddenly remembered their current positions.

She was a captive!

What right did a captive have to refuse?

"Good. Looks like you've recognized your place."

Sora calmly accepted the roasted skewers Samui handed him and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing. Samui silently passed one to Pakura, then began eating as well.

Pakura held the skewer and stuffed it into her mouth, but it tasted like wax.

What the hell was this!

For the revival of her village, she had traveled thousands of miles to the Land of Earth to carry out a perilous S-rank mission.

Yet the moment she arrived, she had been stabbed in the back by her allies and betrayed by her village.

Now she had been captured and was even expected to bear children!

Even Pakura nearly could not withstand such a massive contrast.

"Alright."

Of the dozen or so meat skewers, Samui and Pakura each had one, while all the rest went into Sora's stomach.

He wiped his greasy hands twice on the Kitsuchi cushion beneath him, then took out a soldier pill from his ninja tool pouch and stuffed it into his mouth. After making sure he would not accidentally kill him, Sora stood up and clapped his hands.

"You should have more or less adapted to the chakra from before, Samui."

"Yes, Lord Sora!"

Samui answered respectfully as she stepped in front of Sora.

Sora's large hand moved from top to bottom, sensing the chakra within Samui's meridians and acupoints.

"Very good. Though it's only a trace, this is a good start."

A moment later, Sora nodded in satisfaction. "Today, we'll increase the intensity a little."

"Yes, Lord Sora!"

The cryptic exchange between the two left Pakura utterly confused, but she soon understood what they were doing.

Sora took out a large treasure, then unfastened Samui's vest.

"It'll hurt a little."

"I can take it, Lord Sora!"

"Then here I come."

"Ah! It's so swollen!"

"..."

The sight before her made Pakura's eyes widen.

This was... tailed beast chakra?!

Sora had already taken out the Amber Purifying Pot and released part of its seal, directly extracting a portion of tailed beast chakra from within.

An evil aura coiled around Sora's hand. After forming several hand seals, he slammed his palm, covered in tailed beast chakra, onto Samui's smooth lower abdomen!

"Iron Armor Seal!"

"Buzz!"

Amid Samui's cry, that wisp of tailed beast chakra was forcibly sealed inside her body by Sora.

Although it was only a tiny strand of chakra, and Samui had long prepared herself, the instant it entered her body, her petite frame immediately began to twitch and convulse, her eyes rolling back.

"Are you insane? You're pouring tailed beast chakra directly into a human body—are you afraid she'll live too long?!"

Pakura was stunned.

In order to gain control of tailed beast power, Hidden Sand had attempted to create Jinchuriki many times, but every attempt had failed.

And as one of the higher-ups, Pakura had been present for every experiment.

She had personally seen what those half-finished subjects turned into under the corrosion of tailed beast chakra.

If the chakra refined within a human body was a gentle stream, a tranquil lake, then tailed beast chakra was a raging tempest upon the vast sea!

Once the two came into contact, the possibility of them stably merging was practically zero!