Moonlight washed over the desert of the Land of Wind, turning the endless dunes a pale silver.
Inside a long-abandoned village buried in sand, Ren, Yugao, and Shisui were using a crumbling house as a temporary shelter.
Not far from them, Pakura lay unconscious on the ground.
"…Don't you think you went a little too far, senpai?"
Ren glanced at Pakura, who still hadn't woken up, then shook his head toward Shisui.
"She's been out this long. We can't even question her for intel."
"…That—"
Shisui opened his mouth, then closed it again, genuinely at a loss.
Even Yugao, who had been checking Pakura's condition, looked up with a strangely complicated expression when she heard Ren's comment.
The ambush itself had gone smoothly. Pakura's unit had just finished a brutal engagement with Kirigakure forces when Ren's team struck from behind. They'd never had the chance to recover.
And Ren—more than anyone—had played an outrageous role.
That colossal earth dragon he summoned had left a deep impression on everyone present. The sheer scale of it, the raw impact, the terrifying destructive power—those Sand shinobi hadn't stood a chance.
Because of that, Ren and Yugao had been able to coordinate with Shisui and quickly overwhelm Pakura, who was already disoriented by the shockwaves.
Technically, Shisui's genjutsu had been the decisive factor in knocking her out—
But if they were being honest?
The one who'd really delivered the "heavy blow" felt suspiciously like Ren.
"…Sorry," Shisui said after a moment, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Maybe I really did hit her too hard."
That honest admission finally made Yugao snap.
"You should rein it in too," she said, giving Ren a look.
"Seriously—what kind of training did you even go through?"
"Oh, extremely strict training," Ren replied lightly, raising a finger.
"Very, very strict."
Strict enough to kill people, he added silently.
Still, he had to admit one thing—Danzō was a bastard, but that kind of brutal training was exactly why Ren had reached this level so quickly.
"…I can believe that," Yugao muttered.
"Otherwise you wouldn't be this strong."
She hesitated, then asked the question that had clearly been bothering her.
"But where did you train, exactly? You're about our age, but I don't remember ever seeing you at the Academy."
"That's—"
Ren blinked.
Yeah, that was not something he could explain.
He cleared his throat—
—cough, cough—
Before he could dodge the question properly, a weak coughing sound came from the floor.
Pakura stirred.
Ren immediately felt genuine relief.
Not because of guilt—but because this was a perfect escape.
"She's awake," he said smoothly.
"Let's focus on business."
Shisui and Yugao exchanged a glance, then shifted their attention to Pakura.
The sooner this was resolved, the sooner they could wrap up their mission.
Pakura's head throbbed.
Her limbs felt heavy, unresponsive.
But she was a seasoned shinobi. Memory snapped back into place almost instantly.
The ambush. The dragon. The illusion—
Her eyes flew open.
She was inside a ruined building. Bound. Fingers deliberately dislocated—pain flared sharply the moment she tried to move.
And the three attackers were still here.
"…So you didn't kill me," she thought, her expression darkening as she endured the pain.
"Which means… you want information."
She didn't know what they wanted yet—but choosing her as the target made one thing clear: their objectives were serious.
And that genjutsu—
That wasn't ordinary.
"You're awake?" a calm voice said.
A masked figure stepped forward.
Pakura recognized him immediately.
The one who summoned that monster.
"What are you?" she demanded coldly.
"And why did you capture me?"
"Our goal is simple," Ren replied evenly.
"We want to understand certain deployments and arrangements within your village."
Normally, interrogation like this would've been Shisui's specialty—his genjutsu was more than sufficient.
But Ren had insisted on trying first.
And Shisui, confident he could intervene if needed, had agreed.
"Let me be clear," Ren continued.
"You're dealing with Iwagakure to the north, Kirigakure to the east. If the situation escalates any further, it won't just be Sunagakure that suffers."
Pakura laughed.
A short, contemptuous sound.
"Are you idiots?" she sneered.
"I don't know anything about village deployments or policy. I'm a combat shinobi."
Her eyes flicked briefly—almost imperceptibly—toward Shisui.
Still, there was no fear in her gaze.
"And even if I did know something," she continued,
"what makes you think I'd tell you?"
"So you still don't grasp how serious this is," Ren said mildly.
He already knew she didn't have the information they wanted.
If she did, she wouldn't be here—she'd have been disposed of long ago by her own village.
But appearances mattered.
"And which village are you from?" Pakura asked coolly.
"Iwa? Kiri? Kumo? Or… Konoha?"
Seeing the exchange stall, Shisui stepped forward.
"It's not going well," he said quietly to Ren.
"Her willpower is strong. Conventional pressure won't work. Want me to take over?"
"I know," Ren replied, smiling as he shook his head.
"But I want to try something else first."
"Something else?" Shisui frowned.
Yugao joined them, her clone still watching the perimeter.
"What do you mean?"
Ren glanced at Pakura, who was glaring at them in silence, then spoke slowly.
"On the way here, I kept thinking… if I were the Kazekage, facing this situation, what would I do?"
He paused.
"At first, I couldn't find an answer."
Then his finger rose—and pointed directly at Pakura.
"But after seeing her, I think I've figured it out."
Shisui blinked.
"…And?"
Ren's voice was calm. Almost casual.
"It's simple."
"Just send her to Kirigakure."
"...?"
The air went dead still.
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