Capturing Pakura, the Entire Army Cheers for Their Little Sister-in-Law

Pakura froze.

The deadly burning sensation inside her body was actually fading.

What was this brat doing?

Qian Ye was drenched in sweat.

He had to focus completely. One moment of carelessness, and his water-nature chakra would be devoured by the fire-nature chakra inside Pakura.

"You..." Pakura's cheeks were flushed red, though it was impossible to tell whether it was from the heat or anger.

In all her life, she had never been subdued like this by a man.

Even Sunagakure's lofty elders had to speak to her politely.

And now, she was being pinned to the ground and saved by a civilian Genin from the Hidden Leaf.

"What do you mean, 'you'?" Qian Ye panted heavily and glared at her viciously.

"Listen carefully!"

Qian Ye leaned close to Pakura's face, their noses nearly touching.

"I'm the one who saved your life."

"Someday, you'll have to pay me back!"

The moment those words came out, the air inside the barrier fell into an eerie silence for two seconds.

Pakura was completely stunned.

A twelve-year-old Hidden Leaf Genin was pinning down her, a Sunagakure hero, and saying something like that.

Absurd.

Ridiculous.

Yet the burning sensation inside her was being soothed bit by bit.

She opened her mouth, wanting to curse him out, wanting to smack this brat away, only to realize she could not summon any strength at all.

Seeing Pakura's frustrated expression, Qian Ye felt immensely satisfied.

Served you right for scorching my ass with fireballs!

Served you right for chasing me all over the battlefield!

And now, didn't you still have to lie there obediently, owing me your life?

Outside the Four Violet Flame Formation.

Hidden Leaf and Sunagakure shinobi had already sealed off both ends of the canyon so tightly that not even water could pass through.

Choza Akimichi carried a huge iron club over his shoulder and craned his neck to peer into the barrier.

"Lord Choza, what's going on in there?" That chatty Chunin sidled over again.

"Can't see a thing. That violet fire is too blinding." Choza shook his head.

"I think I just saw the War God pin Pakura down," a Genin beside them muttered quietly.

The surrounding crowd instantly exploded into an uproar.

"Pinned her down?!"

"Three minutes! What could he possibly do after pinning her down at a time like this?"

"The War God truly is the War God! Is he really taking down Sunagakure's hero right on the battlefield?!"

Qian Ye felt like his chakra pathways were about to burn up.

He pushed his water-nature chakra to its absolute limit.

It poured continuously from his palm into Pakura's wrist, then was driven by wind-nature chakra to forcibly complete a cooling cycle within her body.

The dark red color across Pakura's body finally stopped spreading.

The searing temperature that threatened to roast her dry began to recede bit by bit.

She gritted her teeth hard. From the agony and exhaustion, her entire body trembled uncontrollably.

"Don't shake." Qian Ye was drenched in sweat, his knee pressing firmly against her leg. "Your chakra pathways have only just stabilized. If you move around now and your chakra goes berserk again, not even a god could save you."

Pakura panted heavily, her eyes fixed firmly on Qian Ye's face.

She wanted to smash this Hidden Leaf brat into pulp.

But she did not even have the strength to lift a finger.

After the fire-nature chakra inside her had been forcibly suppressed, an unbearably terrifying emptiness followed.

It was a feeling more humiliating than death.

A proud Sunagakure hero was utterly unable to resist before a twelve-year-old civilian Genin.

Qian Ye had no time to care what she thought.

He silently counted the seconds in his heart.

Two hundred ninety-eight.

Two hundred ninety-nine.

Three hundred.

Three minutes were up!

Qian Ye abruptly let go. Like a lump of mud, he collapsed onto the scorching sand and panted in huge gulps.

His chakra was completely exhausted.

He did not even have the strength to raise a hand.

Pakura went limp as well, lying helplessly on the ground with her chest heaving violently.

At that moment, the four violet walls of flame around them began to flicker intensely.

The Barrier Team's chakra had also reached its limit.

With a faint hum, the Four Violet Flame Formation turned into sparks and completely vanished into the air.

The wind outside immediately rushed into the canyon.

The noisy sounds from outside flooded into their ears as well.

Shinobi on both sides craned their necks in unison, every gaze focused on the center of the canyon.

The air suddenly fell silent.

Everyone saw an utterly shocking sight.

Qian Ye sat sprawled on the ground in disheveled clothes, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

At his feet, Pakura, Sunagakure's ace Scorch Release user, lay defenselessly on the sand.

Her backless combat uniform was completely soaked with sweat, large patches of skin flushed an unnatural red. Her body was limp, and she did not even have the strength to stand.

The Sand Assault Force was utterly dumbfounded.

Several Jonin at the front rubbed their eyes, their faces full of disbelief.

"Lady Pakura..."

"That's impossible! How could Lady Pakura..."

"What exactly did that Hidden Leaf Genin do to Lady Pakura?!"

Sunagakure's formation instantly descended into chaos.

On the Hidden Leaf side, after a brief deathly silence, earth-shaking cheers erupted.

"War God!"

"The Bare-Assed War God is awesome!"

"Three minutes! It really only took three minutes! He took down Sunagakure's Shadow Level expert just like that!"

Choza Akimichi gripped his enormous iron club and charged out first.

His massive body slammed down in front of Qian Ye and Pakura with a boom, shielding both of them behind him.

"Nicely done, brat!" Choza turned and gave Qian Ye a thumbs-up. "Leave the rest to us!"

A huge number of Hidden Leaf shinobi charged into the canyon right after him.

On Sunagakure's side, Rasa stood atop a Gold Dust Disc as he hurried from the rear to the front lines.

The moment he saw Pakura lying within the Hidden Leaf formation, Rasa's face turned black as a pot.

"Lord Rasa! Lady Pakura has been captured!" A Sunagakure Jonin was so anxious he nearly jumped in place. "Should we gather our forces and charge over to take her back?"

Rasa looked at the broken-up formation around him.

Then he looked at the Hidden Leaf's main force, which had already completed its encirclement.

Take her back?

With what?

Pakura had stretched the assault force too far in her pursuit of that Hidden Leaf Genin. Now they could no longer look after both their front and rear.

Although the Hidden Leaf's Four Violet Flame Formation had been lifted, Orochimaru's main force had already pressed forward.

If they charged in now, this entire assault force would be wiped out.

Worse still, Pakura was Sunagakure's hero.

Chiyo and Ebizo would never allow Pakura to die here, much less allow the Hidden Leaf to use her as a bargaining chip.

"Retreat!" Rasa clenched his back teeth and forced out those two words.

"But Lady Pakura..."

"I said retreat!" Rasa suddenly turned, his gaze frighteningly cold. "If we keep fighting, every last one of us will die here!"

The Sunagakure army began retreating like a receding tide.

Their originally overwhelming all-out offensive instantly fell apart because Pakura had been captured.

The Hidden Leaf camp erupted completely.

Several Medical Team shinobi ran over carrying a stretcher. With swift, practiced movements, they tightly bound Pakura and lifted her onto it.

Pakura did not even have the strength to struggle. She could only glare murderously at Qian Ye.

Two Hidden Leaf Chunin helped Qian Ye up from the ground.

"War God, those three minutes were way too fierce. You made Sunagakure retreat outright!"

One Chunin sidled up with a suggestive grin and lowered his voice.

"Don't worry, War God. We'll escort her to the Medical Team first. The brothers know what they're doing."

Another Chunin chimed in, wearing an exceptionally lecherous grin.

"Yeah, yeah, we definitely won't let our little sister-in-law suffer the slightest grievance!"

Qian Ye nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Who the hell is your little sister-in-law?!" Qian Ye snapped furiously. "I was saving her just now! Her chakra went berserk and she nearly burned herself to death, understand?!"

The nearby shinobi exchanged looks that plainly said, "All men understand."

"Sure, we understand."

"The War God is worried about her."

"Saving an enemy female shinobi on the battlefield? I've only seen that kind of plot in novels. The War God truly is the War God."

Qian Ye had no way to defend himself. He felt like he would never clear his name for the rest of his life.

He could already imagine the absurd versions of the story that would spread through both the Sunagakure and Hidden Leaf camps tomorrow.

"Enough nonsense." Choza walked over and patted Qian Ye on the shoulder. "Lord Orochimaru wants you at the command tower immediately."