After escaping an ambush by Kiri ninja, Pakura encountered four Sunagakure ninja in the forest.
The leading Sunagakure ninja reached out his hand toward Pakura, trying to spirit her away from the Land of Water.
Pakura, however, took a step back and studied the four men with deep suspicion. "Those Mist ninja said I was a sacrificial pawn—that my village intended to use my life to reach a truce with Kirigakure. Is that true?"
The Suna ninja shook his head. "Pakura, how could you believe what those Mist ninja say? They must be lying to you! You're one of our finest warriors—one of our own. Come on, let's go—we're comrades. Those Kirigakure ninja are chasing you even now."
Still unconvinced, Pakura remained alert. "You four… aren't you guards personally assigned to the Kazekage? Tell me your exact location—I'll leave on my own. I don't need you to lead me anywhere."
Sighing, the lead Suna ninja finally spoke, "These idiots from Kirigakure couldn't even kill you properly but sure talked enough to spill everything. Since you insist on making this hard for yourself, don't blame us. Honestly, we'd rather not fight someone from our own village either.
"The Kazekage urgently needs to make peace with Kiri. This decision came after discussions among all our village's top leaders. So yes, Pakura, all of this is for the good of the village—for the sake of the village, you should die here."
All hope finally extinguished, Pakura's heart filled with deep hatred toward Sunagakure.
[Scorch Release! Overheated Kill!]
Four fireballs floated around Pakura as she glared fiercely at the four Sunagakure ninja before her. "I'm going to slaughter all of you!"
"Heh, what you're doing right now is outright Rogue Ninja behavior. Also, Pakura of Scorch Release—did you really think we would come unprepared?"
Three of the Suna ninja simultaneously rushed toward her.
Pakura hurled the four fireballs behind her at the four attackers.
Meanwhile, the remaining Suna ninja unfurled a Scroll covered in magical runes.
[Fire Sealing Method!]
A surge of chakra engulfed the four incoming fireballs, sealing them into the Scroll, where a bold 'Seal' mark appeared prominently at its center.
The three Suna ninja had already reached Pakura when she used Scorch Release again, conjuring more fireballs.
However, the same Suna ninja stationed behind produced another new Scroll and once again cast [Fire Sealing Method], imprisoning Pakura's flames within it.
Now wounded in her left shoulder, Pakura fought the three Suna ninja while clutching a Kunai in her remaining good hand.
Pakura found herself in a dire spot. Every time she released her Scorch Technique, that Suna ninja immediately countered with flame seals. Worse still, the pain wracking her body hampered her movements.
To make matters worse, Pakura's left arm was nearly unusable. This meant forming hand seals was extremely difficult, and successfully executing ninjutsu techniques nearly impossible.
These three Sunagakure ninjas were clearly of jonin-level strength. Using Wind Release: Blade of Wind, their chakra manifested from fingertips like sharp blades as they fought against Pakura.
If she could use Scorch Release, Pakura believed she could at least escape even if she couldn't win outright.
But unfortunately, her Scorch Release was currently unusable, her ninjutsu techniques were unavailable, and her taijutsu abilities had been reduced to their limits due to the pain in her body.
Because she moved too abruptly, the pain from her left arm wound caused Pakura's movements to stall momentarily, and her enemies immediately seized this opportunity.
Pakura was kicked in the stomach and sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a tree trunk.
She nearly couldn't catch her breath after this impact, temporarily unable to move.
The three Sunagakure ninja rushed toward Pakura with their Blades of Wind ready to pierce her.
Seeing this unfold before her, Pakura felt a wave of despair—had she truly failed to escape death this time?
Suddenly, a massive Iron Sand spear fell from the sky, impaling one of the Sunagakure ninja and pinning him to the ground.
At this critical moment, Shindai finally arrived, glaring intensely at the remaining Sand ninja with bloodshot eyes.
The Sunagakure ninja frowned as they looked up into the sky, noticing Shindai and the one-armed Kannazuki.
That Iron Sand spear had been formed by transforming part of Kannazuki's missing arm.
Pakura also struggled to look upward, her eyes filled with disbelief.
How did Shindai get here?
Seeing Pakura covered in injuries, Shindai immediately flew into a rage, manipulating Kannazuki's body to transform into a mass of iron sand. "I haven't even treated her this badly! Who gave you the right to bully her?!"
[Magnet Release! Iron Sand Cylinder!]
The iron sand transformed into a giant cylinder and smashed violently toward the three Sunagakure ninjas standing before Pakura.
Except for the ninja already impaled by the Iron Sand spear, the other two retreated to either side of the remaining comrade who was still in position.
The Sunagakure ninja pierced by the Iron Sand spear was simply crushed into pulp.
Shindai manipulated the iron sand once more, reforming it into Kannazuki's shape, then began launching miniature missiles at the surviving trio of Sunagakure ninjas, bombarding them relentlessly.
While continuing his assault, Shindai turned his head slightly to ask with concern: "Hey, Pakura, can you hold on?"
Pakura coughed slightly, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Still...okay. Not dead yet."
A throbbing vein bulged on Shindai's forehead as he turned his head back, staring angrily at the three fleeing Sand ninja. "Just endure it! I'll take revenge for you—wait there!"
Pakura stared blankly at Shindai's back, somewhat entranced.
Wait… why does Shindai look kinda hot all of a sudden?
Pakura's cheeks flushed slightly. After regaining her senses, she shook her head hard, but the motion tugged at her wounds again, making her suck in a breath sharply.
Upon hearing Pakura's sharp inhale, Shindai quickly rushed to her side and asked anxiously, "Pakura, are you okay? Don't push yourself too hard. I only have Military Rations Pills here—eat one to restore some chakra."
Shindai grabbed a handful of Military Rations Pills from his ninja gear pouch and stuffed them into Pakura's mouth.
Caught completely off guard, Pakura had her mouth instantly stuffed full of pills: "Mmm…"
Who eats Military Rations Pills like this anyway?!
Seeing the three Sunagakure ninja charging at her, Pakura—unable to speak with her mouth full—frantically pointed behind Shindai.
Shindai turned around and spotted the Sunagakure ninja rushing toward them both. He grinned savagely and said, "I was afraid you'd try escaping!"
[Magnet Release! Iron Sand Tidal Wave!]
As Shindai prepared to cast his Ninjutsu, his body suddenly convulsed and then he collapsed rigidly onto the ground.
Pakura immediately spat out the pills and endured the pain to lift Shindai's head. "Shindai! What's wrong with you?!"
Shindai's forehead was soaked in cold sweat. "N-no chakra left…"
He had been constantly exhausting every bit of chakra inside him just to keep moving forward. Whenever he managed to regain even a little, he used it to travel—but he never had much to begin with, so now he was completely drained.
"Eh?!"
Pakura's expression turned extremely frightened. Wait, did this idiot Shindai actually come here—heading to his end?
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