Shindai choked at a critical moment. He had been exhausting his chakra nonstop to travel fast, and after using several Ninjutsu, he collapsed on the ground, completely drained and unable to move.
Pakura was now in complete shock.
Moments ago, she actually thought Shindai looked kind of handsome… As if!
At this rate, they were both going to die — when just one death was supposed to be enough.
Pakura desperately dragged Shindai behind her, struggling through her fatigue to form the hand seals before summoning another fireball.
The leading Sunagakure ninja glared at Shindai behind Pakura. "Tsk. Never thought this traitor would show up and get Menluo killed. Seems like you, Pakura, are close with this traitor. The Kazekage's decision was right — you must die. Now that this traitor has shown up too, we might as well kill him while we're at it — no more lingering worries."
Seeing the Sand ninja charge again, Pakura nervously turned to Shindai and urged, "Shindai, can you still move? If you can, run now — I'll buy you time."
"I can't move, but... I still have my ultimate technique!"
Though Shindai couldn't move at all, he remained completely calm.
Taking a deep breath, Shindai shouted, "Orochimaru-sama! Help us!"
Orochimaru slowly emerged from beneath the ground, facing Pakura and Shindai.
Pakura immediately tensed up when she saw Orochimaru. After all, Sunagakure and Konoha were enemies now. And standing before her was none other than Orochimaru — one of Konoha's legendary Sannin and an elite power in the village. How could she not feel nervous?
Yet remembering how Shindai had just called him "Orochimaru-sama," Pakura quickly realized that Orochimaru was actually on Shindai's side.
But Pakura couldn't control her body's instinctive reaction.
The three Sand ninja froze instantly upon seeing Orochimaru, staring in disbelief. "Orochimaru?! Why are you here?!"
Orochimaru didn't even acknowledge them. Without so much as a glance, his back remained toward them as his gaze locked onto Shindai.
Looking at Shindai, Orochimaru said, "You're usually far more level-headed. You knew perfectly well that by burning your chakra to rush here, you'd arrive too drained to fight. Was it really because of your fiancée that you lost your senses?"
Shindai felt extremely embarrassed.
Don't say it out loud!
Pakura wasn't his fiancée at all — he only said that to convince Sarutobi Hiruzen to support him fully.
Now bringing it up in front of Pakura? His lie was about to be exposed!
"Fiancée?!"
Pakura spun around, fixing Shindai behind her with a sharp, questioning stare, while he sweated bullets.
Seeing Pakura's reaction, Orochimaru raised an eyebrow — he immediately caught on.
"Oh? So you lied to Sarutobi-sensei, huh?"
"Shindai was obviously flustered, avoiding eye contact with Pakura and Orochimaru. 'W-who said that? I'm telling the truth… I just left out a few details.'"
The three Sunagakure ninja, seeing that Orochimaru completely ignored them and started chatting with Shindai, became furious. They formed hand seals with both hands and prepared to attack Orochimaru.
Orochimaru turned his gaze toward the three Sunagakure ninja behind him and uttered in a low voice, "[Binding Snake Glare Spell]."
Instantly, three white snakes tightly coiled around the three Sand ninja, immobilizing them completely. Then the snakes opened their mouths, baring two fangs each before sinking them into the men's necks, injecting venom into their bodies.
The ninja's blood vessels turned jet-black, their bodies convulsing violently before dying within moments from the poison.
Seeing how effortlessly Orochimaru eliminated these three Sunagakure ninja, Shindai felt extremely relieved.
It was absolutely perfect having Orochimaru come along.
Later, when he got the chance, he'd definitely plant a big kiss on Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead.
Thanks to Hiruzen's suggestion, if he had really come alone, he would've been finished.
After eliminating these three Sand ninja, Orochimaru looked toward his left front side. "The Mist ninja are closing in. Let's move somewhere else first? Neither of you looks like you can move on your own right now."
Orochimaru used the Summoning Jutsu to summon a giant snake.
The snake's tail wrapped around both Shindai and Pakura, while Orochimaru jumped onto the snake's head. The massive serpent slithered away from this location.
Right now, Shindai felt awkward — no, beyond awkward.
Because there was only one tail on the snake, wrapping two people together meant those two had to be in very close contact.
Currently, Shindai could see nothing but darkness, his breathing becoming labored.
Meanwhile, Pakura's cheeks were burning red, steam visibly rising from her head.
[Huff!] [Huff!]
With great effort, Shindai pushed his head up and finally saw light again, taking a deep breath. At the same time, he saw Pakura's flushed face. He wanted to speak, but suddenly the giant snake made a sharp turn, plunging Shindai's vision back into darkness.
Pakura warned angrily, "You better not push your luck, brat!"
Shindai strained to lift his head again. "What did I do? We can't even move right now! I'm stuck too, you know. You think I actually want this? I can barely breathe!"
More steam rose from Pakura's head, her cheeks reddening further as she gritted her teeth. "So it's my fault then?!"
"It's not your fault, but it's not mine either… uh…"
The giant snake jerked again, forcing Shindai's face back into Pakura's chest.
Struggling once more to lift his head, Shindai continued, "Blame this damn snake instead! Don't take it out on me!"
Having her face repeatedly shoved into Pakura's chest, Shindai struggled against the movement, making things even worse. Frustrated, Pakura snapped, "Just shut up already and stop moving around!"
Shindai frowned. "But... I need to breathe!"
Pakura's expression froze instantly. That argument actually had some merit.
"Just hold your breath till you pass out!"
...
After some time, the three finally arrived at a cave.
"I'm warning you, don't get mad over something like this! I was forced into it, got it? And stay still—let me treat your wounds already!"
Shindai, who had regained slight mobility, was using the healing ointment given by Orochimaru to treat Pakura's injuries.
Pakura really wanted to punch Shindai again. She had hoped to forget this whole thing completely, yet Shindai brought it up once more.
Orochimaru said to Shindai, "Rest for an hour and then we leave. Now is your chance to show some dominance."
Shindai's eyelid twitched sharply.
Sure, convincing Pakura to join Konoha was one thing—but why did Orochimaru have to mention showing dominance?
That was just bragging between men, something he had shared with Hiruzen Sarutobi; it wasn't meant to be taken seriously! What kind of dominance could he possibly have anyway?
Ever since they met Pakura, he'd constantly been on the receiving end of her heavy slaps on the back of his head.
Pakura stared at Shindai with a somewhat menacing gaze. "I'd really like to hear about that fiancée of yours you mentioned."
Right now, Shindai felt a wave of goosebumps—he had a feeling things were about to go really wrong!
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