Sarutobi Hiruzen unleashed the Water Dragon Bullet, disrupting the sealing formation Chiyo had set up, forcing her to get up and evade the next wave of attacks.
Fast hand seals, agile movements, mastery of various large-scale destructive ninjutsu, and an abundance of battle experience...
Even someone as seasoned as Chiyo couldn't gain the upper hand against Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Fortunately, reinforcements had arrived.
Golden sand suddenly surged from the ground, forming a massive hand that lunged at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Seeing the sand surge like a great wave, Sarutobi Hiruzen leapt and twisted skillfully, escaping the attack's range in a few swift moves.
Casting his gaze skyward, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression grew serious.
"You're the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa?"
"That's right, Third Hokage. I didn't expect Sakumo would send you."
Rasa's face was also stern. Sarutobi Hiruzen's initial attack had successfully worn down Sunagakure's morale. Even though he was held off by Chiyo, Konoha's resistance remained fierce.
Moreover, the defense at Kikyo Pass had been significantly reinforced.
Sunagakure was ill-suited for a prolonged battle. Their village's overall strength couldn't compare—they simply couldn't outlast Konoha.
They needed a swift, decisive victory.
At this point, Rasa had no other choice. The only viable path was to defeat Sarutobi Hiruzen and crush Konoha's morale.
...
In Shikkotsu Forest.
Compared to the mounting tension in the shinobi world, Shikkotsu Forest was full of a peaceful, homely atmosphere.
Thanks to the pocket money and mission rewards he'd saved over the years, Takeshi had bought a large number of household supplies and food. At this moment, he was sitting with a small clone of Katsuyu around a stove he built with his own hands, quietly waiting for the food in the clay pot to finish stewing.
Any shinobi knows that aside from daily living expenses, the biggest cost is ninja tools.
Especially for shinobi like Takeshi and Minato who used the Flying Thunder God Technique in combat—their specialized kunai were far stronger than standard ones and needed custom forging.
So don't be fooled by how cool Minato looked tossing kunai on the battlefield. Afterwards, picking them up was a whole ordeal (deleted scene).
Takeshi never bothered picking his back up—and he never bought any either.
If he ran out, he'd just ask Danzō. If Danzō wasn't home, he'd just take them from the Root.
So when he looked at his packed savings account, Takeshi couldn't help but shout,
"I can't even spend it all! It's literally impossible!"
As the aroma gradually escaped from the pot's steam vent, Pakura, who was lying not far away, twitched her nose. Still unconscious, the scent reached her, and her intense curiosity stirred her awake.
"Mmm..."
With a faint groan, Pakura fully regained consciousness and turned her head toward the source of the smell.
Hearing the slight movement from Pakura and figuring she was probably waking up, Takeshi turned to look at her—just as the Konoha forehead protector around his neck came into view.
"A Konoha ninja?!"
Seeing the symbol, Pakura instinctively summoned a Scorch Release fireball and shot it straight at Takeshi—only for it to vanish instantly.
Pakura was suddenly overcome by a numbing sensation. Her entire body lost strength, and she couldn't gather chakra anymore.
"Is that how you treat the person who saved your life?"
Unfazed by the situation, Takeshi calmly turned back to the pot. With ice crystals forming at his fingertips, he easily lifted the scalding hot lid.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Shimura Takeshi—your lifesaver."
Seeing that the food wasn't quite done, he added a few spices and replaced the lid.
"By the way, just to make sure you didn't refuse to repay the favor, I engraved a few curse seals on you."
Even without turning around, he could imagine Pakura's face darkening.
"Relax, it's nothing dangerous. It just makes you unable to attack me, reveal my identity, or harbor hostility toward me."
Standing up, Takeshi slowly walked over to Pakura.
"Also, I only did it after getting your consent."
"Bullshit."
Though she now understood the situation, Pakura was still disgusted by his blatant lies.
I was unconscious! How could I possibly have agreed?
"I'm serious. I asked if I could engrave the seals, and you didn't say anything, so I took that as a yes."
Takeshi shrugged and offered his hand.
"So, what do you plan to do? I really am your savior, after all."
Pakura narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the "girl" before her, whose features were refined and delicate.
What a nightmare.
Falling into the hands of such a twisted brat was even worse than dying under the blades of a Mist shinobi.
But...
Staying alive meant she had a chance for revenge...
In the end, Pakura clasped Takeshi's hand back—and at that moment, she remembered something important.
Shimura Takeshi... the White Reaper of Konoha...
This bastard... is a guy!
...
Pakura's condition wasn't good.
Not physically—but mentally.
Once, she had believed that the will to protect her village would make a shinobi stronger. But the very village she swore to protect had sold her out without hesitation.
War hero? Honored shinobi?
To the higher-ups, she was nothing more than a slightly more valuable chess piece.
"Rasa, you bastard!"
Pakura cursed loudly without caring about appearances, then raised her cup and drank a large swig of liquor.
A small slug beside her echoed her mood, extending its feeler to refill her glass.
Wait... how did these two end up drinking together?
Off in the distance, Takeshi was focused on developing a new jutsu. He intended to train seriously, but Pakura's foul-mouthed outbursts kept drifting over, making it impossible not to eavesdrop.
After all, her insults were impressively filthy.
"No no, focus. Ignore distractions. I need to study the angles of mirror reflection."
Having once been struck by the Illusion during the Third Great Ninja War, Takeshi knew all too well how troublesome visual genjutsu could be.
He wanted to use Ice Release to create genjutsu that manipulated visual perception.
"Start from here... then this spot... finally this spot."
Stepping into the array of ice mirrors, Takeshi dismissed the unnecessary ones and left only the key placements. He observed the field of vision firsthand.
"Hey, Pakura! Stop drinking and come here!"
Once the last mirror was positioned, Takeshi turned and called to Pakura for testing.
"Hah?"
Already in a foul mood, Pakura grew even more irritated by how casually he summoned her. Just as she was about to lash out, she remembered the curse seals.
"...Fine."
Swallowing her rage, she walked to the spot Takeshi indicated and looked up at the ice mirrors.
"This is..."
Despite being a bit drunk, Pakura's combat instincts were sharp. The moment she saw the mirrors, she sensed something was off.
Too many of herself.
She launched a Scorch Release fireball and shattered one of the mirrors—but the disorientation in her vision remained. The mirrors were so strategically placed that even her peripheral vision caught her own reflections.
That twisted Shimura brat...
He actually has Ice Release?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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