Xuandou immediately nodded at Pakura's suggestion:
"I happen to have something to discuss with him too. Let's go together."
With another flash of Flying Thunder God, the three vanished from the Imperial Palace.
The Land of Iron, an underground prison.
Cold, damp air assailed their nostrils.
Ever since Kurotsuchi began cooperating with the Hidden Xuan Village, relations between Xuandou and Iwagakure had grown increasingly friendly.
Although Ōnoki and the others had yet to be fully released, they had been moved to better quarters.
Rasa was now the only one left in these cells.
Rasa was confined in the deepest cell, his hands bound by sealing chains and his body covered in talismans.
He was leaning against a corner with his eyes closed, his thoughts unknown.
Hearing footsteps, he opened his eyes and looked at the people outside his cell.
His expression changed drastically when he saw Pakura.
Pakura strode furiously up to the cell door and pulled Mashu to her side:
"Rasa, open your eyes and look! This is my disciple!"
"Back then, you sent me away as a disposable pawn to protect your own position. Now you're twisting the truth behind our backs, slandering Lord Xuandou by saying he abused me!"
"You were a Kazekage, for goodness' sake, yet you stooped to something this vile!"
Rasa's face alternated between livid and pale. His lips trembled, but he could not utter a word.
His gaze darted away. He dared not meet Pakura's eyes, nor look into Mashu's questioning ones.
"And another thing..."
Pakura's voice grew even colder and harsher.
"Those lies you made up about how Lord Xuandou abused me and imprisoned me."
"Look for yourself. Do I look like I've been abused?"
"My life now is a hundred times better than it was in Sunagakure!"
"And you? A mighty