The Kirigakure shinobi struggled to pull their feet out of the ice. Just as they were about to get a clear look at the person launching the attack, they felt something grab their legs again.
When they looked down, they were nearly scared stiff by the eerie sight before them.
Translucent, crystalline skeletons were staring up at them with hollow eye sockets, their sharp fingertips deeply embedded in the shinobi's protective gear.
In an instant, wails of agony rang out one after another.
While the Kirigakure shinobi fought desperately against the skeletons, a Flying Thunder God kunai shot out from the shadows, piercing the ground near the collapsed Pakura. In her hazy vision, she saw a refined figure teleport before her.
Reinforcements?
No… she'd clearly been betrayed by the village. How could there still be any reinforcements?
It must be a hallucination in the moments before death.
With that thought, Pakura closed her eyes.
"These Kirigakure shinobi are surprisingly honorable."
Noticing no signs of poison around the wound, Takeshi commented on their sense of honor as he flicked out two poison-laced senbon in reverse grip.
"Sorry, I'm busy right now. We can talk later."
Ignoring the Kirigakure shinobi who had fended off the skeletons, Takeshi began treating Pakura.
Healing wasn't simple either. Because they were on opposing sides, Takeshi had to keep her alive while also ensuring she wouldn't recover too quickly.
What if the treatment went too smoothly and she ran off the moment he wasn't watching?
The Kirigakure shinobi blocked Takeshi's senbon and countered by repelling two skeletons attempting to subdue him, flashing a confident grin.
"Relax. I won't take up too much of your time."
This shinobi believed he'd seen through Takeshi's tricks. The jutsu seemed terrifying, but that was all—it just looked scary.
After all, they were artificial constructs. Their movements were predictable. They could kill genin or chunin, but against a powerful jōnin like himself—
He coated his BLADE with chakra and slashed down hard, only to be blocked by an ice wall just before reaching Takeshi.
"You really are a handful. Since you insist..."
The Kirigakure shinobi tilted his head to dodge a kunai, but then felt a sharp pain in his waist.
"Then let's play."
A young voice spoke behind him. The shinobi turned in pain to see Takeshi standing where the kunai had landed.
"This kind of technique… Damn it, don't underestimate the shinobi of the Bloody Mist!"
Realizing too late what had happened, he tried to issue a threat, but the next moment, he dropped to his knees clutching his waist, groaning in pain.
He didn't even notice a second Takeshi appearing at his side. All he knew was that his still-intact kidney was now being pierced by a ninjatō. The searing pain left him unable to fight back.
Takeshi didn't waste time with trash talk. He pulled the blade free and drove it into the shinobi's neck, ending his life on the spot.
With the death of the leading Kirigakure shinobi, the battle within the canyon neared its conclusion.
Though artificial, the skeletons held the upper hand with their numerical and surprise advantages, sending many unlucky Kirigakure shinobi to meet the Sage of Six Paths.
After eliminating the last survivors, the two Takeshis slowly turned into blocks of ice.
The ice wall dissolved quietly, revealing Takeshi treating Pakura with full concentration—while still managing to pull a few tricks on the side.
"Alright, with this in place, she won't be able to do anything to me once she wakes up."
Satisfied with his work, Takeshi clapped his hands and summoned a shadow clone. He unceremoniously tossed Pakura over.
"Carry her back to Shikkotsu Forest."
The shadow clone tilted its head.
"Weren't we going to get something tasty?"
"Yeah. You carry her back to Shikkotsu Forest. I'll go find something tasty in town and then come back. Perfect plan, right?"
"..."
Watching the reluctant clone walk off, Takeshi didn't forget to stage a little corpse-cleaning act before leaving. A single Fire Release jutsu erased all traces of the battle from the canyon.
By the time the Kirigakure reinforcements arrived—impatient from the lack of updates—all they saw was devastation.
"Fire Release traces. Matches Pakura's fighting style."
Standing at the center of the scene, Yagura's face was stiff as he listened to his subordinate's report.
What was supposed to be an easy ambush turned into a massacre. All fifty Kirigakure shinobi were wiped out.
Was Pakura a monster? Or were his men just that useless—fifty-on-one, and they still got slaughtered?
He stabbed his green-tipped rod into the ground with such force that it perfectly conveyed his inner turmoil.
The reporting shinobi flinched at the sudden violent movement. He nearly cursed aloud but quickly bit his tongue.
This seemingly underage brat was one of Kirigakure's few remaining elite jōnin. Anyone who survived the Bloody Mist and rose to jōnin rank had their own unique methods.
Still, the shinobi couldn't help feeling wronged. What's the point of taking it out on me? The facts are right here. If you've got a problem, go yell at the killer.
Yagura remained silent, standing in place as he waited for the results of the trace analysis.
The reporting shinobi also stayed quiet, grumbling internally.
The scene sank into an eerie silence, broken only by the crackle of burned corpses being moved.
"Yagura-sama, no signs of Pakura's escape."
"Yagura-sama, the number of corpses doesn't match."
Both reports came in at once.
Yagura's headache worsened.
The situation now was: they didn't know whether Pakura was dead, and they weren't sure if Sunagakure had fulfilled their end of the bargain.
Yagura clenched his teeth in frustration, but there was nothing he could do.
"Report to the village: the mission was a success."
After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, Yagura finally made a decision.
"Yes, sir."
There was no choice. The whole deal had been secret. This was a fifty-on-one ambush—if they launched a full investigation, the nearby nations would definitely take notice.
Then the whole ninja world would learn about Kirigakure's disgrace. And the heat would shift from Sunagakure's betrayal to Kirigakure's incompetence.
Especially since this operation had been his responsibility—
Right when he was about to become the Fourth Mizukage!
Fuming, he spun his staff around, then led the team in further erasing the evidence before finally departing.
By the time the report reached the Mizukage, the scroll contained only one sentence: "Mission accomplished."
Out of trust for Yagura, the Mizukage and the village elders asked no further questions and proceeded to sign the peace agreement with Sunagakure.
Meanwhile, upon receiving the message, Sunagakure's leadership immediately followed the prearranged plan: they blamed Pakura's death on Iwagakure, intending to use it as a future pretext for war.
At the same time, Rasa began searching for an excuse to launch an attack on Konoha.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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