- W-who? - Pakura blinked slowly, but shifting her gaze to her hair, she exclaimed in surprise: - Uzumaki!
However, she immediately started coughing, spitting out the blood that had accumulated in her lungs, which I hadn't had time to drain. After helping her roll onto her side and waiting until she was more ready to take in the information, I shrugged.
- Almost - Nara Ryo at your service, better known as....
- Mizu no Seirei," the kunoichi exhaled, eyes wide.
- I guess they know me in Suna," he grinned slightly, but then grew serious, "but you can save the introductions for later - there should be more Mists coming here soon, even if they're leaner than this couple, and you're not in any condition to dodge even the occasional projectile or ninjutsu, so I suggest we move somewhere to the side, and then we can do some more healing and talking.
- I... don't mind," she nodded weakly, glaring hatefully at the bodies of the recent assassins who had been victimized by the role reversal.
- Fine," I said with a smile, "but we should clean up a little first.
I tossed the clones the scrolls for the bodies and the great sword and waited for them to pack up the loot and bring it back, then, with a single gust of Futon: Daitoppa (Air Release: Great Breakthrough), I swept away most of the traces of the recent battle.
The rest would be done by the desert in a couple hours and everyone would be left wondering what had happened to the two swordsmen of the Mists. No other country compares to the Wind Country when it comes to the ease of covering one's tracks.
With that out of the way, I turned my attention to another problem that needed immediate attention: a sword lying nearby that looked more like a scaled club than a sword.
The clones hadn't touched it, having thrown it close to me with a rope and hook removed from Kiriarare's body, since chakro-constructs could risk being sucked out by it.
Kiri's toughest sword, to the credit of a great number of ninjutsu experts, which I am. And now, I need to deal with Samehada, as trying to seal a half-intelligent creature that devours the chakra of even a biju would be a waste of time if I didn't have Rikudo Sennin's treasure at hand.
Naturally, I didn't just grab the hilt of the sword - given the rumors that had been circulating, it could end in a very bad way, and being near this club, it felt like you were being scrutinized by a wild beast, ready to claw at your throat at any moment.
Directing the palm of my hand at the great sword, I released a chain of ordinary chakra from the tenketsu and wrapped it around the hilt, without surprise when I saw it literally vaporize on contact.
There was a low rumbling sound, and I hummed - given the density of the chakra and the basic element of water, I must be better than the previous owner.
The feeling of a predator nearby lessened, and I decided to take up the hilt and immediately began pouring obscene amounts of chakra into Samehada, very quickly draining my reserve by a third.
As a result, the sensation of someone else's contentment reached me, making me wince, but the natural, satiated rumbling that came from the scaly club calmed me down a bit.
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