You Just Know How to Sweet-Talk Me

Pakura walked over and sat across from him at the stone table, placing her kunai on the tabletop.

"What do I need to prepare?"

Qian Ye took a sip of cold tea.

"You don't need to prepare anything."

"For this trip to the Land of Earth front lines, I'm going alone."

Pakura froze halfway through pouring tea.

She raised her head and looked Qian Ye straight in the eye.

The courtyard fell silent.

"You're not taking me?"

Pakura's voice was calm.

But Qian Ye could hear the anger simmering beneath that calmness.

"That's right."

"You're staying in Konoha."

Pakura abruptly rose to her feet.

The teacups on the table shook, spilling tea across the stone surface.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Do you think I'm a burden?"

"Or do you think my Scorch Release is useless on the battlefield?"

Qian Ye waved a hand.

"Sit down. Don't get worked up."

"I'm not saying I dislike you."

Pakura did not sit.

She braced both hands on the stone table and looked down at Qian Ye.

"Then why are you leaving me in Konoha?"

"I'm a ninja!"

"I've been killing enemies on the battlefield ever since I was young."

"What are you leaving me in the rear for?"

"To guard your home?"

"Or do you simply not trust me? Are you afraid I'll take advantage of the chaos on the battlefield to flee back to Sunagakure?"

The more Pakura spoke, the colder her voice became.

Rasa and Chiyo had betrayed her at Handover Canyon, and anger had long been festering inside her.

She had originally wanted to vent it through this war, but Qian Ye was leaving her directly in the rear.

To her, this was not protection. It was rejection.

Qian Ye did not get angry.

He leaned back in