Walking alone through the valley of the Land of Water, Pakura encountered a Mist ninja sent to greet her.
The Mist ninja offered to guide her toward Kiri.
Because of her earlier suspicions, Pakura remained alert.
Just as she walked ahead, the Mist ninja shot her a look full of hatred. Holding a kunai, he suddenly stabbed at Pakura's back.
Sensing movement behind her, Pakura quickly turned around and slashed with a hidden kunai she had taken out earlier, cutting off the Mist ninja's right hand.
The Mist ninja immediately jumped back, creating distance between them. The pain from his severed wrist twisted his face into a mask of agony.
Pakura asked coldly, "Why? I'm a messenger representing Sunagakure, delivering an important scroll to your Mizukage! Why attack me?"
Clutching the wound on his wrist, the ninja glared at her with hatred in his eyes. "Of course, so you can experience the same suffering our comrades felt when they were mercilessly slaughtered by Sunagakure, especially by you!
Our village's grudge cannot simply disappear. Your death is nothing more than slight comfort for us all. Hah, how pitiful—you still haven't realized it yet?
You think you're some kind of official envoy from Sunagakure? You are indeed representing Sunagakure—but as their sacrificial pawn! Our village exchanged your life to secure peace between Sunagakure and Kirigakure! Come out!"
Countless Mist ninjas emerged along the ridges of the valley, encircling the area.
Pakura's pupils constricted into tiny points. "Wha... How could this be?!"
Pakura never expected that after devoting her entire being to Sunagakure, always rushing headfirst into the most dangerous situations, her beloved village would betray her like this—using her as a bargaining chip for peace with Kirigakure.
The Mist ninja sneered cruelly. "How could this be? What else would we be hiding here for? Damn it, I wanted to be the first one to strike you from behind, but you actually noticed! You cut off my right hand—I'll chop off all your limbs too!"
Pakura forced herself to stay calm, but the current situation—the entire valley swarmed with Mist ninjas—seemed like a deadly trap with no escape routes left.
A storm of shuriken and kunai rained down on Pakura from above.
Facing such a dense wave of projectile attacks, there was absolutely nowhere for Pakura to dodge.
Glancing up at the gray sky, was today truly destined to be her day of death?
She had given everything—her heart, her strength—to Sunagakure, only to be betrayed by the village she loved.
She had dreamed of bringing Shindai back to Sunagakure… but perhaps it's better if he never returns to *this* Sunagakure.
Suddenly, Pakura froze.
Shindai had given her a special belonging before.
Though she wasn't sure whether it would work, she still had to give it a shot. She wanted to live and didn't want to die yet—she wanted to survive and see Shindai again.
Pakura dug out the Scroll that Shindai had given her from her ninja gear pouch, unfurled it, and called forth the orb sealed inside.
The orb quickly floated above Pakura, and numerous Iron Sand Bodies emerged from within it.
The intense magnetic pull redirected the kunai hurled at Pakura toward the Iron Sand Body.
Seeing this, some Kirigakure ninjas charged toward Pakura while others immediately formed hand seals, preparing to launch a Ninjutsu attack against her.
At the same time, multiple barrels extended from the surface of the orb device. Using the internal Raikō Ken mechanism, small-scale missiles were instantly loaded and indiscriminately fired in all directions.
In an instant, explosions rang out one after another, and rocks tumbled down continuously into the valley.
Simultaneously, large numbers of Poison Senbon shot forth from the orb. The Kiri ninja who had been cut off at Pakura's right side was directly pierced like a porcupine, foamed at the mouth, rolled his eyes, and collapsed onto the ground.
The orb device attached itself to Pakura's back.
Floating in midair, the iron sand covered Pakura's body and lifted her up as it carried her flying upward.
Pakura muttered in disbelief, "So it can actually fly without anyone controlling it? I figured it was just a gimmick."
The reason the iron sand could lift Pakura without any manual control was because the orb itself was a driving mechanism. Once identifying Pakura, the internal program of the drive system automatically started running.
The iron sand carried Pakura forward swiftly through the air.
However, the mini-missiles only caused minor chaos among the ambushing Kirigakure ninjas. As they saw Pakura flying into the sky, they launched attacks at her using various Ninjutsu techniques.
Pakura dared not use Scorch Release, her Kekkei Genkai fire style.
Because the temperature of Scorch Release flames was too high, it would cause the magnetic stability of the iron sand to disappear, thus rendering it useless.
Therefore, Pakura formed hand seals with both hands.
[Wind Release! Sickle Weasel Technique!]
She infused chakra into the wind, creating a widespread storm that blocked most of the incoming jutsu attacks.
But there were simply too many techniques; some inevitably slipped through. Two water bullets struck her—one hitting her back and another striking her left shoulder.
These two water bullets packed quite a punch. The one that hit her shoulder completely pierced it, while the one that struck her back felt like it had injured her internal organs. A thin line of blood traced down from her lip.
[Wind Release: Air Current Barrage Jutsu!]
Pakura performed hand seals again and cast another technique. Air burst from both palms, accelerating her flight speed.
Soon, Pakura had already escaped from the valley.
The Kirigakure ninjas glared furiously and chased after her relentlessly.
In a dense forest, the iron sand finally lost its effect, causing Pakura to plummet and crash onto the ground.
"Hiss~"
The fall had reopened Pakura's wounds, causing her to suck in a sharp breath in pain.
Pakura examined the injury on her left shoulder. Although it was pierced through, thankfully the bone wasn't damaged—a small blessing amidst misfortune.
She took out medicine and bandages from her ninja gear pouch, applied the medicine carefully, then wrapped the wound properly with the bandage. She let out a long sigh afterward.
"I owe my survival... to Shindai. Now I must think about leaving the Land of Water as soon as possible. But... where exactly am I?"
In this unfamiliar place shrouded in misty woods, Pakura had no idea where she currently was.
She decided to get out of the forest first and then figure out where she was.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Her heart immediately tightened.
Could it be that the Mist ninjas had already caught up?
Just as Pakura was about to hide herself, a voice called out: "There's no need to hide, Pakura. We're comrades. We came to rescue you."
As the figures drew closer, four people emerged, each wearing a forehead protector bearing Sunagakure's symbol.
"Our village—Sunagakure—was deceived by Kirigakure, so we rushed over to rescue you. Please come with us, Pakura. We'll get you out of the Land of Water."
The leading Sand ninja smiled and held out his hand to Pakura, motioning for her to come with them.
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