The Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
Boom!
A tongue of flame erupted wantonly at the Kazekage's office building, its scorching heat instantly melting even the sheet metal.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust!"
A wave of sand and gold surged from the ground, rapidly extinguishing the flames. Rosah stood on the gold dust, his expression indifferent as he looked at the slender, masked figure in black not far away.
"Pakura, stop hiding. Only your Scorch Release can produce such high-temperature fireballs!"
"Hmph! Rosah, you dog, you don't deserve to be Kazekage!"
Pakura no longer bothered to conceal her identity. Seeing the Rosah who had framed her, her anger could no longer be contained. She controlled the surrounding fireballs and charged at Rosah.
"Scorch Release: Over-Evaporation Kill!"
"Hmph, mere trifles!"
Facing countless high-temperature fireballs, Rosah sneered. He casually manipulated the sand and gold to block all the fireballs. Pakura's abilities were completely countered by him. After all, true gold fears no fire, and sand fears no flame.
"Pakura, you stole village secrets and faked your death to escape. Today, I, Rosah, the Fourth Kazekage, will bring you to justice!"
"You're talking out of your ass!"
Pakura couldn't help but curse. The beautiful face beneath her mask contorted, and she roared, "It was you, Rosah, who sold me out to the Hidden Mist Village for your own gain! You hypocrite, Rosah, you're so fake!"
"Hmph!"
Rosah remained unmoved, controlling the surrounding sand and gold to surge towards Pakura. The Sunagakure shinobi in the vicinity also began to gather.
"Pakura, you can't escape. Surrender quickly!"
Pakura dodged the sand and gold attacks, spitting at Rosah. "Dream on!"
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Spear!"
Rosah manipulated the sand and gold into spears, continuously thrusting them at Pakura, aiming for vital points with no intention of capturing her alive. There were still many elders in the village who sided with Pakura, and Rosah would not allow her any chance to make a comeback!
Pakura was, after all, a former Sunagakure hero. Inciting public opinion could affect his position as Kazekage, so she had to be eliminated!
Although countered by Rosah, Pakura's movements were extremely agile. After two and a half years of training, her strength had improved significantly, especially her footwork.
"Hmph! Let's see how you dodge this!"
"Magnet Release: Great Burial of Gold Dust!"
A cold glint flashed in Rosah's pupils. Disregarding that they were in the village, he directly unleashed a large-scale ninjutsu. Pakura had to die!
"Well said, Kazekage. Rosah, you are truly cold-blooded!"
Pakura's feet shifted, and her legs sank as if stuck in mud. Above her, a vast expanse of sand and gold was about to bury her completely.
Due to the immense area of effect, many surrounding houses were swallowed by the sand sea, and a few unlucky Sunagakure shinobi who came to assist were also caught in it.
Rosah stood calmly on the gold dust, his expression cold. "To ensure the village's interests, what does it matter if there are some sacrifices? But don't worry, only you will die!"
Pakura looked at Rosah coldly, then suddenly broke into a smile. "Guess why I dared to come to Sunagakure alone?"
"Hmm?"
Rosah frowned. Just as he was about to spread his sand to expand his sensory range, a dark figure struck him like lightning.
"Shi no ikketsu: Willow Dance!"
"This is...!"
Rosah had no time to be surprised. He hastily manipulated his sand and gold to defend, but his opponent was like a close-combat king. Not only was their taijutsu superb, but their attacks were also completely without any wasted movements.
Caught off guard, Rosah was knocked off the gold dust. However, he didn't suffer much damage. It seemed the opponent only possessed exquisite taijutsu but lacked the corresponding strength.
The opponent also showed no signs of further attack. After landing a blow, they retreated outwards, knocking down several Sunagakure shinobi along the way.
"Chase them!"
Rosah shouted at the surrounding Sunagakure shinobi. He then suddenly came to his senses and looked at Pakura, who was bound by the gold dust. But by then, Pakura was nowhere to be seen.
Rosah's face was so grim it seemed about to drip water. He, the dignified Kazekage, had been played. He hadn't even seen through such a simple escape tactic.
No! Pakura must die, or his position as Kazekage would be unstable.
"Issue an order: classify the Scorch Release user Pakura as an S-rank rogue ninja! Double the defenses around the village!"
Rosah manipulated the gold dust to release the unfortunate few who had been caught earlier, then flew into the Kazekage's office building. He needed to convene a meeting with the Sunagakure high command.
The surrounding Sunagakure shinobi began to clean up the battlefield or departed to carry out their orders.
Among these Sunagakure shinobi, there was a little girl with short brown hair, her eyes teary as she watched in the direction Pakura had left.
"Master..."
...
Beneath a rock face on the outskirts of Sunagakure. The rocks here had been weathered by the wind and sand. They looked hard, but they would crumble with a slight touch.
At this moment, several figures landed here one after another from the sandstorm. The person in the lead was none other than Pakura.
"Whoosh!"
Pakura removed her mask, revealing her beautiful face. The past two years seemed to have brought no changes to her, but rather made her more mature and captivating.
The two behind her also removed their masks. The shorter one immediately started complaining, "This environment in Sunagakure is too harsh! Not wearing a mask is like eating dirt!"
"Suigetsu, stop complaining."
The two were the Hozuki brothers. The older brother, Mangetsu, glared at his younger brother, indicating that the Sunagakure shinobi Pakura was still present.
"Don't worry about me. I can't stay in a village that profits by selling out its comrades!"
Pakura knew clearly that the Kazekage alone couldn't decide everything. Sacrificing her life for the village's interests must have been a joint decision by the Sunagakure higher-ups.
But Rosah must have been a staunch supporter of it. He had to die!
"I knew it! This dump of a village is full of people eating dirt all day. I think even the brain cells of Sunagakure shinobi are made of dirt... I wonder what kind of rotten luck it took for a ninja as naturally beautiful as Sister Pakura to emerge!"
Suigetsu saw Pakura squinting at him and quickly corrected himself. He had been beaten like a sandbag countless times over the past two years. Fortunately, his Hozuki clan was resilient, otherwise, he would have met a heroic end long ago!
Soon, Kimimaro also arrived. His clothes were stained with a bit of blood, but it wasn't his own.
"Thank you for your trouble, Kimimaro."
Kimimaro nodded, then sat down on the side by himself.
Suigetsu patted Kimimaro's back and chuckled, "No trouble, no trouble. As long as the money's right, everything's negotiable!"
"Don't worry, my savings over these few years are quite considerable!"
Pakura also knew that in her organization, money was the only currency. Because facilities needed to be added and training supplies purchased, one had to pay out of pocket. That stingy leader wouldn't give a single cent!
Pakura had also temporarily hired the Hozuki brothers and Kimimaro. The former needed money to build a luxurious swimming pool, while the latter needed to buy training supplies and medicinal herbs.
"Sigh, I underestimated Rosah. His gold dust completely counters my Scorch Release."
Pakura felt she had been too hasty. Suigetsu and Kimimaro hadn't fully grown yet, and Mangetsu wouldn't go all out for fear of harming his brother. Moreover, Rosah had the entire Sunagakure village protecting him, making him extremely difficult to kill!