Godslayer Genin, Bare-Assed Public Humiliation

Chiyo took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in her heart.

She knew now was not the time to assign blame.

Sunagakure's situation was already bad enough. They could not afford internal fractures as well.

"No second time." Chiyo ultimately compromised.

"I will report this matter to the village truthfully."

Pakura's heart sank.

Only the higher-ups knew about the Kazekage's disappearance. The official story was that the Kazekage had entered seclusion to train.

If this matter reached the village, those who wanted to fight over the Kazekage's position would definitely seize on it.

Just then, Ebizo suddenly coughed twice.

"Chiyo, I think there's something suspicious about this."

Chiyo turned to look at her younger brother.

"What do you mean?"

Ebizo's cloudy eyes stared at Pakura.

"Pakura, do you have some special relationship with that Hidden Leaf Genin?"

The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the entire tent became strangely delicate.

Pakura abruptly raised her head, her face full of astonishment.

"Lord Ebizo, what are you talking about?"

"I don't even know that Hidden Leaf Genin. How could I possibly have a special relationship with him?"

Ebizo shook his head.

"If you truly didn't know each other, why did you chase him for so long?"

"Your Scorch Release could kill a Chunin in a single strike. Ten seconds would have been enough to deal with a Genin."

"But you chased him for a full ten minutes and even let him escape alive back to the Hidden Leaf positions."

Ebizo paused before continuing.

"Besides, rumors are spreading throughout the main camp that you and that Hidden Leaf Genin are former lovers."

"Similar rumors have even spread on the Hidden Leaf side."

"If there truly was no connection at all, how could such rumors become this outrageous?"

Pakura's face instantly turned deathly pale.

She had never imagined things would develop to this point.

"I don't know him at all!" Pakura gritted out.

"That Hidden Leaf Genin angered me with his words. I only chased him because I acted on impulse!"

"As for the rumors, they're complete nonsense!"

But Ebizo clearly did not believe her.

"Angered? What could he have said to anger you this badly?"

Pakura opened her mouth, but no words came out.

She couldn't exactly tell them that the Hidden Leaf Genin had said she wanted a man, could she?

If she said something like that, she would lose all face completely.

Watching Pakura stammer, Ebizo became even more suspicious.

"Pakura, you'd better tell the truth."

"If you have any unspeakable connection with Hidden Leaf, it's not too late to confess now."

"But if we uncover it ourselves, it won't be a simple punishment then."

Pakura felt like she was going insane.

She did not know that Hidden Leaf Genin at all!

That brat was merely lucky, knew a few strange ways to escape, and was good at provoking people with words.

She had chased him for ten minutes in a moment of impulse, and now she was being accused of colluding with Hidden Leaf.

Where the hell was the justice in that?

"I'll say it again: I don't know that Hidden Leaf Genin!"

There was obvious anger in Pakura's voice.

"If you don't believe me, investigate all you want!"

Chiyo frowned even more deeply as she watched Pakura.

She still understood Pakura fairly well.

Though this woman was easily impulsive, her loyalty to the village was beyond question.

But Ebizo had a point as well.

Pakura's actions had indeed been far too abnormal.

Without some special reason, she could not have made such a foolish decision.

"Forget it. Let's set this matter aside for now." Chiyo ultimately chose to believe Pakura.

"But Pakura, remember this. If something like this happens again, I absolutely will not let you off lightly."

Pakura gritted her teeth and nodded.

"This subordinate understands."

Chiyo waved her hand, signaling for Pakura to leave.

Pakura turned and walked out of the tent, her expression ugly to the extreme.

Thinking of that Hidden Leaf Genin's face, she wanted nothing more than to rush to the Hidden Leaf positions and tear that brat to pieces.

It was all that damned little bastard's fault!

If not for him, how could she have ended up in such an embarrassing situation?

After Pakura left the tent, the atmosphere inside remained oppressive.

Rasa looked at Chiyo and Ebizo before carefully speaking up.

"Lady Chiyo, Lord Ebizo, do you really believe Pakura?"

Chiyo closed her eyes, her voice somewhat weary.

"Whether we believe her or not, now is not the time to pursue it."

"Pakura is one of Sunagakure's main forces. We can't allow internal conflict at such a critical moment."

Ebizo sighed.

"I don't want to suspect her either, but this matter is truly too strange."

"Have ANBU investigate that Hidden Leaf Genin's background later."

"If he really is just an ordinary Genin, then let it go."

"But if they uncover any problems, Pakura shouldn't blame me for showing no mercy."

Chiyo nodded.

"Then that's how we'll handle it."

Outside the tent, Pakura stood in the darkness with her fists clenched so tightly they had turned white.

She wanted nothing more than to immediately charge back into the Hidden Leaf positions and cut that damned bare-assed war god into a thousand pieces.

But she knew she absolutely could not act impulsively now.

If she acted impulsively one more time, she would truly be beyond redemption.

Pakura took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

"Bastard, just you wait."

The command tower of No. 3 Outpost was still smoking.

Half a wooden beam jutted diagonally from the wall. The smell of char mixed with blood, making everyone's chest feel tight.

Orochimaru stood before a map, holding a freshly unsealed intelligence scroll.

The scroll had come from Hidden Leaf.

The words on it were very brief.

So brief that they were laughable.

Hidden Cloud had reinforced its border, Hidden Stone's movements were unclear, and Hidden Mist's fleet was suspected of having left port.

The village was temporarily unable to dispatch high-level combat forces to support Kikyo Pass.

The Third Hokage's order contained only one sentence.

"Hold the line at all costs."

Orochimaru looked at those words, and the corner of his mouth slowly curled upward.

"Hold the line at all costs?"

The adjutant beside him did not dare respond.

The command tower was silent.

Outside, the occasional screams of wounded soldiers could be heard, along with the suppressed, impatient urging of medical ninja.

Orochimaru held the scroll over the candle flame.

The paper curled, and the fire swallowed those words.

"The village is quite interesting."

The adjutant's forehead was covered in sweat.

He knew Lord Orochimaru was in a very bad mood right now.

The Sunagakure army was pressing in at the border. Rasa, Chiyo, and Pakura were all on the front lines, and even the One-Tail jinchuriki was stationed in the rear to hold the line.

Yet Hidden Leaf had only sent back the words: hold the line at all costs.

More laughable still, Hidden Leaf clearly had someone capable of changing the course of the battle.

Sakumo Hatake.

The White Fang of Konoha.

If that man appeared at Kikyo Pass, Sunagakure's offensive momentum would immediately be torn apart.

But that man was currently trapped in the village by rumors.

Drowned in the spittle of his own people.

Orochimaru lowered his head to look at the map, his gaze terrifyingly cold.

"A village presses its own blade into the mud, then makes the soldiers on the front lines use their hands to block the enemy's blades."

The adjutant's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Lord Orochimaru, the village said Lord Hatake's current condition is unsuitable for battle."

Orochimaru laughed.

The laughter was soft, yet it made the adjutant's back turn cold.

"Unsuitable condition?"

He reached out and tapped the location of Kikyo Pass on the map.

"So how many people have to die here before their condition is suitable?"

The adjutant shut his mouth.

He did not dare relay such words back to the village.

Orochimaru had not expected an answer from him anyway.

He understood the Third Hokage's difficulties very well.

Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Mist were all watching Hidden Leaf's wounds.

If anything happened in any direction, Hidden Leaf would be dragged into an even larger war.

But understanding was one thing.

It was still truly laughable.

At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

An ANBU ninja dropped to one knee.

"Lord Orochimaru, the casualty report from the right flank has been compiled."

Orochimaru did not turn around.

"Speak."

The ANBU ninja's voice tightened.

"Hidden Leaf suffered one hundred and seventy-three dead and sixty-two severely wounded. Sunagakure has confirmed two hundred and thirty-seven dead, at least twenty-three of whom were killed by Qian Ye's special ninja tools."

The adjutant's eyelids twitched.

Twenty-three corpses at the hands of a Genin.

Put that number in a battle report, and it would make many Chunin burn with shame.

The ANBU continued, "In addition, numerous rumors concerning Pakura and Qian Ye have appeared within the Sunagakure main camp. Pakura is suspected of having been questioned by the higher-ups."

Orochimaru finally turned around.

"Rumors?"

The ANBU briefly recounted the information they had gathered.

The command tower fell silent for a moment.

The adjutant's expression twisted, and he nearly failed to hold it in.

Orochimaru looked at the map, a hint of interest appearing in his eyes.

"A civilian Genin killed more than twenty Sunagakure ninja and dragged Pakura away from the main battlefield for ten minutes."

He lightly tapped the table.

"And now he's made Sunagakure start doubting their own hero."

The adjutant hesitated. "Lord Orochimaru, should we transfer him to the rear and keep him protected?"

Orochimaru looked at him.

The adjutant immediately lowered his head.

He knew he had asked the wrong question.

Kikyo Pass was short on manpower now. Anyone who could kill the enemy had to go to the battlefield.

Besides, Qian Ye had already caught Sunagakure's attention.

Protecting him would only make Sunagakure more certain that there was something seriously unusual about the kid.

Orochimaru said, "Bring him here."

The ANBU acknowledged and vanished.

At that moment, Qian Ye was lying facedown in the wounded soldiers' camp, his butt covered in ointment.

He felt like his life had already fallen apart.

The pain was secondary.

The problem was that everyone in the wounded soldiers' camp was sneaking glances at him.

One Chunin with a broken arm was holding back his laughter so hard that his wound split open again.

The medical ninja was so angry that he started cursing.

"What are you laughing at? Keep laughing, and I'll stitch you into a sandbag!"

Qian Ye buried his face in his pillow.

Right now, he only wanted to find a hole and bury himself in it.

Just then, an ANBU appeared beside his bed.

"Qian Ye, Lord Orochimaru wishes to see you."