The current ruler of Kirigakure, the Third Mizukage, was an old man.
He had once followed the First Mizukage to the first Five Kage Summit, but those glorious days were long gone. Now, he was just an aged man with squinting eyes.
At this moment, he sat on the seat reserved only for the Mizukage, squinting as he carefully read the scroll in his hands.
Beside him, an elder of similar age stroked his bald head, his gaze fixed on a young man with pale blue hair in the room.
"Sunagakure has agreed to our terms."
Placing the scroll on the table, the elder's close confidant, Genshi, stepped forward, picked up the scroll, and respectfully handed it to the elder.
Unlike Konohagakure, Kirigakure granted its elders power equal to that of the Kage.
So even though Genshi's actions might have seemed disrespectful, the Third Mizukage didn't take offense.
"They want us to take action? That's the Scorch Release user, Pakura—the one who took down countless of our shinobi."
The elder chuckled when he saw how Rasa wanted to play the nobleman and still get what he wanted.
"But since they're willing to use a fake excuse to lure her over, we shouldn't take too many losses if we strike in an ambush."
The Mizukage was optimistic about this operation.
Everyone knows that shinobi have poor defenses.
Dust Release may look impressive, and whoever it's aimed at dies...
But a kunai thrown precisely is still enough to kill a shinobi.
In all his long years, the Mizukage had only seen two people who couldn't be killed by a kunai.
One was Uchiha Madara. The other was Senju Hashirama.
The former possessed the legendary Susanoo, the ultimate defense.
The latter had absurd regenerative powers. A single kunai? Even a hundred wouldn't mean much.
Oh, and rumor has it Hashirama once tried to commit suicide with a kunai—only to be stopped.
Tsk tsk, whoever fell for that must've been a real idiot. Who would believe a kunai could kill that guy?
"What do you think?"
Coming out of his thoughts, the Mizukage turned his expressionless gaze to the pale-blue-haired youth before him.
"We should end our conflicts with the mainland villages as soon as possible and focus on recovery."
The young man's tone was calm and steady.
"Hmm. Well said, Yagura."
The Mizukage nodded and assigned the task to him.
"Then it's yours to handle."
Originally, this kind of mission would have gone to Fuguki Suikazan.
But that fool had died on the Land of Fire's soil, not even leaving behind a whole corpse.
Even Samehada had been seized by Konoha.
Not just Samehada—also the Lightning Blades, the Executioner's Blade...
Even the Three-Tails—
What they thought would be a simple raid ended up with their side suffering the most.
Iwagakure had struck Kumogakure on one side and Konohagakure on the other—then retreated unscathed.
Kumogakure attacked Sunagakure but got repelled. Then they attacked Iwagakure, only for a Kage to be ambushed and killed. Now they were going after Konoha, but with no progress. The newly appointed Fourth Raikage was stubbornly hell-bent on continuing the fight.
Sunagakure had lost its strongest Kazekage in history, got smacked around by Kumogakure, but didn't suffer any major losses. Now they were quietly licking their wounds.
Only Kirigakure—lost the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, lost a ton of shinobi, lost a tailed beast... and didn't even dare speak of it.
Damn it, Konoha.
Everything else could be tolerated—but losing a tailed beast? That was something he had no solution for.
All the shinobi on that mission had died, so the Mizukage didn't even know if the beast had been sealed or destroyed.
If it was the former, that was trouble—it meant the already frightening Konoha had gained even more power.
If it was the latter, well, then they'd just stake out where the Three-Tails would respawn, wait for it, and capture it again.
"Sunagakure doesn't know its place. They should think: if even we couldn't gain anything from this, what makes them so confident they can succeed?"
As an old-school leader of the shinobi world, the Mizukage could see right through Rasa's little schemes.
He just wanted to piggyback on Kumogakure and strike at Konoha.
If even the mighty Iwagakure couldn't manage it, what makes you think you can?
If there was even a sliver of hope, that two-faced guy would've never agreed so easily to unconditional peace.
"Once this operation is done, send a letter to Konoha. If they're willing to return the seized ninja swords, we're willing to sign a peace treaty."
The loss of a tailed beast must never be made public. It would affect their village's reputation and far more.
"I agree," the elder nodded.
...
To kill Pakura, Kirigakure mobilized fifty shinobi.
They set up an ambush at a chokepoint canyon and waited in silence for Pakura to arrive.
Before entering the canyon, Pakura encountered the Kirigakure shinobi who had come to receive her.
Everything happened in a flash.
A kunai pierced her back, and the words from her attackers made her realize she had been betrayed by her village's leadership.
If everything went according to plan, Kirigakure could eliminate Scorch Release Pakura without a single casualty.
But then... an unexpected guest showed up in the canyon.
Unable to endure the "delicacies" of Shikkotsu Forest any longer, Takeshi, despite Slug's pleas, chose to leave and find some decent food elsewhere.
That led him straight to the ambush.
The mist in this area was thick—much like that in Shikkotsu Forest.
The sounds of battle drew Takeshi's attention, and he soon realized there was a fierce fight happening just ahead.
"This place... a narrow canyon, perfect for an ambush. You really shouldn't walk into this kind of spot casually."
Commenting on the tactical terrain, curiosity got the better of him and Takeshi crept into the combat zone.
Pakura, having been caught off-guard earlier, was clearly weakening. The fireballs she created with her Scorch Release could no longer protect all her vitals. Kunai kept slipping through her defenses.
"Tsk tsk, that back.... She's from Sunagakure, huh?"
Seeing the forehead protector and the attackers' Kirigakure gear, even Takeshi could piece together the scene.
"Betrayed Scorch Release kunoichi, Pakura... yeah, that was her name, right?"
As Takeshi tried to recall her name, the battle not far away was approaching its end.
Unable to form fireballs any longer, Pakura's vision began to blur.
[Am I going to die here? Rasa, you—]
"Let go of that woman! I'll take it from here!"
A youthful voice rang out. After weighing the pros and cons, Takeshi decided to step in and save her.
If she could be useful to him, all the better.
And if not—
Then he'd force her to serve him!
"Who's there?!"
The Kirigakure shinobi were caught off guard by the sudden voice. Then they saw the damp ground begin to freeze over.
As they struggled to pull their feet from the ice, before they could figure out who the attacker was, Takeshi's voice echoed across the canyon:
"Sage Art · Ice Release · Grand Ice Funeral!"