Pakura looked at the scroll in her hand, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
Pakura looked up at Shendai in front of her, her eyes filled with complexity: "Shendai, I hope you haven't lied to me. I really... don't want to think that you are using me, and I don't want us to become enemies."
Shendai raised his arm and wiped the tears from Pakura, who was a head taller than him: "Of course I don't want to be your enemy either. You're such an adult, yet you're still crying. Keep your guard up in everything you do, and don't be so naive as to trust everyone. What if I really had turned bad? If I'd set a few traps here, you'd be done for."
"If you confirm that what I said is true, don't be foolish enough to go and do something stupid like questioning them about why they did it. You are just a Ninja. Even if your reputation is high right now, you are still just a Ninja with no power whatsoever."
"If Rasa, Chiyo, and the others want to mess with you, you have absolutely no way to stop them. Just like me—I had no way to stop them. If it weren't for my wit, I might have been dead long ago."
Pakura sniffled and said with dissatisfaction: "Don't act like an adult, you little brat! I am your big sister!"
Shendai curled his lip: "Tch, big sister? You're just a bit older than me. Apart from that, I'm much more mature than you in every other way. In my eyes, you're no different from a little brat; you're terribly naive."
Pakura slapped Shendai directly on the head: "You're the one who's terribly naive! Phew... that feels good. I've missed that feeling!"
Shendai covered his head and glared at Pakura unhappily.
Seeing Shendai puffing up like a hamster, Pakura immediately burst into laughter.
That sense of estrangement gradually faded, and the sense of familiarity returned.
Shendai said grumpily: "What's so funny!"
"Alright, alright, I'll stop laughing." After taking a few deep breaths and calming her laughter, Pakura asked: "Are you doing well? Have those Konoha Ninja been bullying you?"
Shendai shook his head: "Bullying? Not really. They treat me quite well and see me as a comrade. They haven't bullied me or discriminated against me because I used to be a Hidden Sand Village Ninja. It's just that I can't go back to those comfortable days of staying at home all day, which bothers me a bit."
Pakura said helplessly: "You... I used to urge you to go out and walk around every day, but I'm relieved to see you're doing well. It seems the Konoha Ninja are actually decent people."
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara, who were eavesdropping, had their faces darken.
What do you mean by "actually decent people"?!
Can't she see that they've raised Shendai to be so plump and healthy?
At the beginning, Shendai looked so scrawny that one would think he had been abused back in the Hidden Sand Village.
Shendai asked: "By the way, do you still have the scroll I gave you?"
Pakura nodded and took it out of her Ninja tool pouch: "Yeah, I've kept it with me all along."
"Give it to me, I'll upgrade and improve it."
Shendai took the scroll from Pakura's hand and then summoned the item inside.
It was a black sphere the size of a watermelon.
The moment it was summoned, the sphere tried to transform, but Shendai immediately pressed a button, causing it to stop transforming.
Pakura asked curiously: "By the way, what is this thing?"
Shendai explained while disassembling the sphere: "Something that can save your life. This sphere is filled with poison-tipped senbon and Sand Iron. The drive mechanism inside can use the Sand Iron to carry you in flight for a certain distance. It triggers automatically the moment it's summoned, which is why I specifically warned you in the letter I gave you not to summon it unless it was a last resort."
After disassembling the sphere, Shendai summoned a few small missiles from his Lightning Flash Sword and then proceeded to modify the sphere.
When Pakura heard that Shendai made this to save her life, it would be a lie to say she wasn't touched, but she still stubbornly said: "I am Pakura of the Scorch Release, do I need this little gadget of yours to save my life?"
"Oh, give it a rest. When danger comes, no one cares whether you're Pakura or not; even if you scream at the heavens, it won't help. There, it's done."
The sphere, modified by Shendai, was now twice its original size.
Shendai sealed the sphere back into the scroll and handed it to Pakura: "Same thing as before: do not use it unless it's a last resort."
Pakura muttered: "I won't even need to use it!"
However, Pakura still honestly took the scroll from Shendai and put it into her Ninja tool pouch.
Shendai warned her again: "If you confirm that what I said is true, don't do anything unnecessary. Follow orders when you need to, and just act as if nothing happened. Just keep it in mind and be cautious."
"Even if I was betrayed by the Village, I am a Konoha Ninja now, and we are in an antagonistic relationship. Don't try to speak up for me; it will only make your life in the Hidden Sand Village difficult."
"We'll talk about the future later. Maybe... maybe after the war ends, the Hidden Sand Village and Konoha will restore their alliance, and you'll be able to come to Konoha to see me."
Pakura gently hugged Shendai and rested her chin on his head.
Pakura felt very sad; she had no other family and treated Shendai like her own younger brother.
But now... because of the war, she and Shendai were in opposing positions.
Pakura said softly: "Take care of yourself, Shendai."
Shendai didn't speak because he was feeling very strange right now.
Why was it strange~
Pakura was a head taller than him now, so as she hugged him, his head was buried in her chest.
"Tsk, I remember it being quite flat before..."
Pakura was a bit confused when she heard Shendai's muttering, but when she heard his next mutter, her face instantly turned bright red.
"What have you been eating? It's been over a year, how did you develop so well?"
Shendai even shamelessly rubbed against her.
Pakura's face turned from red to purple, her chest heaving with anger.
And this made Shendai cry out that he couldn't take it.
"Go to hell!"
Pakura jerked her head up and then slammed it down, her chin striking Shendai's head with force.
"Hiss..."
Shendai and Pakura both gasped in pain at the same time.
Obito and the other two, who were peeking, also scrunched up their faces; it looked painful just watching it.
Shendai and Pakura both stumbled back several steps, one holding his head, the other holding her chin, tears of pain welling up in the corners of their eyes.
Shendai rubbed his head vigorously: "No, what are you doing?!"
Pakura was also rubbing her chin for dear life: "You really did learn bad habits in Konoha! You've actually become a little pervert!"
Shendai retorted: "Who's a little pervert! Who doesn't know that I, Shendai, am the most upright person around!"
Pakura gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and said in shame and anger: "You just... you just... groped my chest!"
Shendai rolled his eyes: "Groped my foot! If anyone did any groping, it was clearly you who groped me first. Didn't you initiate the hug? You can't just frame me like that!"
Shendai's shameless comment left Pakura, as well as Obito and the other two, stunned.
----------------------------------
I've already posted 70 new chapters on Patreon!
If you like the story and want to reaad more, please visit my patreon. Every support is very meaningful!
[patreon.com/Kazenova223]
Thank you very much!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"