Chapter 49: Betrayal
The next morning, before dawn.
The sun had yet to rise, and the air outside was damp with a biting chill.
As the early-rising villagers pushed open their doors, the cold breeze washed over them, making them shiver instinctively. Rubbing their arms, they began another ordinary day.
At the same time, the Kirigakure kunoichi lying in Asuka's room shivered as well.
Her unfocused eyes slowly regained their clarity. She surveyed the empty room before her gaze settled on the neatly made bed.
Did that man... and the orange cat already leave?
She walked over to the mirror, removed her clothes, and carefully examined her body.
Her skin was flawless.
Not a single wound or bruise remained from everything she had experienced the night before.
Then what was that unbearable pain...?
Was that part of the genjutsu too?
Knock. Knock.
A sudden knock came from outside.
Calmly getting dressed, she opened the door.
Standing outside was a man with short black hair. His forehead protector sat slightly off-center, while bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face and neck. Sharp, shark-like teeth flashed into view as he spoke.
"How did you find me?"
He looked her over from head to toe. Seeing that she merely appeared exhausted, he said coldly,
"I sensed your chakra fluctuate."
"Ameyuri Ringo... did you run into an enemy?"
"No."
"Good."
"We've already obtained intelligence on the Jashin Organization.
"We're leaving."
"Hm."
Ameyuri Ringo nodded and picked up her weapon.
Meeting her companion's icy gaze, she instinctively looked away as a trace of guilt flickered across her face.
She had revealed quite a bit the previous night...
But most of it had been information about Mei Terumī.
That couldn't really be helped.
After all, Mei was a Bloodline Limit user.
Betraying information about an ordinary comrade would invite bad luck...
But Bloodline Limit users didn't count.
With that convenient justification, the guilt in her heart quickly faded, replaced once more by the same cold indifference.
Then she remembered the pitying look that man had given her.
Her expression darkened.
I'm terminally ill...?
I'm dying?
---
Elsewhere...
Asuka absentmindedly cleaned out one ear while staring at the Orange Cat in disbelief.
"Her name is Mei Terumī?"
"That's right."
The Orange Cat nodded with absolute certainty.
"She said her name was Mei Terumī."
Asuka fell silent.
That was rare.
If he remembered correctly...
Mei Terumī didn't have shark-like teeth.
Sure, the reason she remained unmarried had everything to do with her sharp tongue...
But it definitely had nothing to do with her teeth.
"...By the way."
The Orange Cat tilted its head.
"What did you mean yesterday when you said she didn't have much longer to live?"
Asuka forced the bizarre image of a shark-toothed Mei Terumī out of his mind and answered casually,
"She has a serious illness.
"It just hasn't reached the symptomatic stage yet.
"So right now it's still in the incubation period."
"What a pitiful person."
The Orange Cat sniffed the air before pointing toward the northeast.
"I can still catch that faint scent.
"Combined with everything we learned during the interrogation...
"Pakura should be in that direction."
"Let's go."
Asuka channeled chakra into his feet.
His figure vanished in an instant.
---
As the sun slowly climbed into the sky, the morning fog only grew denser.
Inside the mountain valley, thick mist swallowed everything.
It was as though daylight itself could never penetrate it.
Pakura looked at the towering cliffs on either side before sweeping her gaze across the endless sea of white.
She frowned.
What an isolated place.
Kirigakure actually chose somewhere like this for the negotiations.
She adjusted her ninja pouch to make it easier to draw from, checked the kunai inside, then looked toward the mist ahead.
Taking a slow breath...
She stepped forward.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
The valley was eerily silent.
So silent that the only sound she could hear was her own footsteps.
Splash...
A faint sound echoed somewhere ahead.
Pakura narrowed her eyes at the blurry silhouette hidden within the mist.
"Sunagakure's Pakura has arrived."
"Scorch Release Pakura-sama!"
The figure stepped forward.
His appearance gradually emerged from the fog.
His eyes swept over her reversed kimono, her yellow-green hair, and finally the Sunagakure forehead protector resting on her brow.
So... Sunagakure really sent her.
After confirming her identity, the Kirigakure shinobi forcibly suppressed the hatred in his heart and smiled politely.
"I've been sent to receive you.
"You may call me Mitani."
Pakura gave him a slight nod.
Although she still resented the countless concessions Sunagakure had made to Kirigakure, the long journey had allowed her emotions to cool somewhat.
She understood the village's circumstances.
Once the village recovers... we'll settle this debt.
Suppressing her dissatisfaction, she looked at the smiling Kirigakure shinobi with an expressionless face.
"You've worked hard."
"It's nothing."
Mitani scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed laugh before walking ahead of her.
"It's an honor to meet you.
"The village was worried that, since this is your first visit to the Land of Water and the fog is so thick, you might lose your way.
"So they sent me to guide you."
"It's only a valley.
"I won't get lost."
Pakura paid little attention to the display of hospitality.
After forcing Sunagakure into one concession after another...
Now they wanted to pretend to be courteous?
This entire trip was nothing more than a formality.
"You're absolutely right."
Mitani laughed awkwardly.
Stepping aside, he bowed and gestured respectfully.
"This way, Pakura-sama."
Pakura walked past him.
She hadn't lowered her guard completely...
Just not enough.
The instant she passed—
Mitani's smile twisted into something hideous.
A kunai flashed from his sleeve.
Pfft!
The blade plunged deep into her back.
A bolt of searing pain exploded through her chest.
With every heartbeat, the agony intensified.
Breathing became impossible.
Pakura slowly turned her head.
She looked at the man who had been smiling only moments before.
His face was now twisted with vicious delight.
"...What are you doing?"
"Hahaha!"
"You were sold out by your own village!"
Mitani sneered as he looked at the kunai buried deep in her body.
"I'll make you suffer the same agony our comrades endured when they were slaughtered by Sunagakure!"
Gripping the handle with both hands—
He drove it in even deeper.
Then he kicked off the ground and leaped backward.
Bang!
Pakura staggered forward several steps before collapsing onto the ground.
I... can't breathe...
I can't even move...
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mitani retreating the way she had come.
At the same moment—
Kunai rained down from both cliffs.
Her mind screamed at her to dodge.
Her body refused to respond.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
One blade after another pierced her flesh.
Yet she barely felt them anymore.
The agony in her chest had already drowned out everything else.
Only a single thought remained.
The village... betrayed me...
---
Moments later...
Splash...
Mitani returned and stopped in front of the dying Pakura.
Looking down at her frail body, barely clinging to life, he sneered.
"Don't misunderstand.
"The hatred our village bears isn't something that can disappear so easily.
"Your death is only a small consolation.
"The Sunagakure elders who handed you over probably think the same way.
"You're nothing more than a sacrifice...
"...for this worthless ceasefire agreement."
A bargaining chip...
For the village's interests...
I was traded away.
At last, Pakura understood everything.
She truly...
Had been abandoned.
Like the images inside a revolving lantern, memories from her life flashed before her eyes.
She asked herself one final question.
Had I ever betrayed Sunagakure?
No.
Never.
Her eyes shifted weakly.
She looked at the smug smile on the Kirigakure shinobi's face.
There was no hatred left.
Only sorrow.
Her gaze drifted past him...
Toward the path she had taken into the valley.
Toward the direction of Sunagakure.
So... this is where I die.
Perhaps it was nothing more than the illusion that came before death.
But in the distance...
She thought she saw a familiar figure racing toward her.
Asuka...?
It must be a hallucination.
He should've gone back to Konoha by now...
Enjoying the warm welcome of the villagers.
What a shame...
Thinking back to all the stories Asuka used to tell while lazily lounging on the sofa, the corners of her lips curved into the faintest smile.
That silhouette... really does look like him.
Right now...
I suddenly want to hear...
"The story of a young Bloodline Limit ninja who died without ever falling in love."
If there is another life...
Perhaps I...