Looking in the direction of the Hidden Sand Village, Pakura instinctively tightened her grip on the water bottle, a complex expression on her face.
Truthfully, she still wanted to return to the Village that raised her, but the actions of those elders filled her with resentment.
According to their plan, they should be holding her funeral right now.
Thinking of this, a hint of sadness flashed in Pakura's eyes.
She didn't want to go back, but she couldn't abandon her friends and companions; that girl, Maki, must be crying very sadly at my funeral right now…
"Cough cough!"
Seeing the other party remain silent, Ren cleared his throat, drawing their attention to himself, and said,
"Pakura, only a small portion of people used you, but most of the Hidden Sand Village villagers still adore and respect you as a hero, or rather…"
Ren paused, but Ryufeng, who was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and continued,
"You are more like a Kazekage than Rasa."
Hearing this, Pakura's pupils constricted, her previously somewhat unfocused gaze sharpened, and a look of anger appeared on her face.
In fact, both she and Rasa were strong candidates for the Fourth Kazekage, but Rasa's abilities greatly benefited the Hidden Sand Village, and he had the support of most of the Elder Council. Chiyo and Ebizo, two elders who could sway power, chose to remain neutral, which ultimately led to her losing the Kazekage competition.
Although it was regrettable, she held no resentment. Instead, she returned to the front lines to continue guarding the border, then exposed and thwarted the Stone Ninja's conspiracy, earning the title of hero.
At the time, she thought it was fine to continue like that, but she never expected the other party to betray her. What right did he have to be Kazekage, acting like that?!
Suddenly, Pakura's gaze darkened again as she thought of something, and the water bottle tightly clutched in her hand loosened slightly.
It was too late to say anything now; the other party was still the Kazekage, and even if she returned, she couldn't overthrow him, who had the support of half the Elder Council, regardless of whether she had evidence or not.
At this moment, Ren spoke at the opportune time.
"So, how about making a deal with us?"
"Hmm?"
Pakura subconsciously looked up at Ren, then, after a moment of dazedness, suddenly reacted and said, somewhat startled,
"You mean… Rasa?"
"Uh-huh."
Ren walked over to Ryufeng, and despite Ryufeng's disgusted expression, he took the water bottle, drank from it, wiped his mouth, and then continued,
"How about it? It's absolutely reliable. You don't need to get involved. We can quietly eliminate him. Then, as a hero of the Hidden Sand Village, it would be a matter of course for you to become the Fifth Generation Kazekage."
"…"
Pakura looked at the water bottle in her hand, a conflicted expression in her eyes.
Ren did not urge her, but instead, took out several Ninja Swords from a sealing scroll and began to tinker with them alongside Ryufeng.
Boys, they just have an excessive interest in these swords and blades.
Suddenly, Pakura looked up, the conflict in her eyes gone, and she said to Ren in a deep voice,
"What do you need?"
Pakura didn't believe that the other party would help her kill Rasa without any ulterior motive; there was no such good thing in the world.
"It seems you've made up your mind."
Ren slung the Executioner's Blade behind his back and chuckled.
"It's simple. After you become Kazekage, end the war with Konoha as soon as possible. The war, it's time for it to end."
Fighting from last spring until now, a full year, the Five Great Villages, which had barely recovered from the last Second Great War, were instantly brought back to square one.
By now, they were basically running out of steam. It was a competition to see who surrendered first, so they could gain more benefits at the negotiating table.
Compared to that guy Rasa, Ren was more willing to replace him with a Kazekage to whom he had shown kindness.
Pakura also understood Ren's meaning and agreed after a brief moment of thought.
She was not a weak and incompetent person; otherwise, she wouldn't have reached her current position.
Since Rasa wanted to kill her, what was wrong with her fighting back? As for those old guys in the Elder Council, she would deal with them slowly.
"Alright, let's get going then."
After the discussion, the group stood up and headed towards the sea. That's right, they planned to cross the sea directly and return to the Land of Wind.
They set off in the morning and landed on the coast of the Land of Fire in the afternoon. After a short rest, they continued their journey, traveling through the night. When the sun rose again, they finally reached their destination.
The Land of Wind was still the same, with yellow sand constantly swirling in the air, threatening to get into your eyes and cause discomfort if you weren't careful.
"Land of Wind…"
Looking at the familiar scenery before her, a sense of familiarity appeared on Pakura's face. No matter what, she was born in this country; her home, friends, and companions were all here.
"Uh, I say, Big Sister."
Ren and Ryufeng were wrapped tightly from head to toe, with only their eyes exposed, which they covered with their hands, leaving only a narrow slit to look out.
"How about we find a place to rest first? Otherwise, we might collapse from exhaustion before even reaching the Hidden Sand Village."
"Uh…"
At Ren's words, she also felt a hint of sleepiness. The three of them had indeed been very tired these past two days.
After leaving the Hidden Mist Village, they were first chased by those Mist Hidden Tracking Unit guys for two days, and then they didn't sleep for another day and night, rushing all the way here.
Although Ninja were accustomed to roughing it, under the current circumstances, it wouldn't hurt for the three of them to rest for a day. Anyway, given Rasa's strength, Ren didn't take him seriously at all.
The two followed Pakura for half an hour through the desert before they saw a small town. They found a random inn, each rented a room, and then went to rest.
When they woke up again, it was already dark. Fully recovered, they ate something quickly in town and then continued their journey, finally arriving outside the Hidden Sand Village before dawn.
The Hidden Sand Village was surrounded by towering rock walls, with only a narrow path leading outside. The terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack, known as the "One Line Sky."
When Pakura reappeared here, it immediately caused a huge commotion. All the prepared Sunagakure Ninja gathered, surrounding the area, looking at her in shock.
"You, are you really Lady Pakura?!"
Facing the doubts from the crowd, Pakura directly waved her hand, conjuring a fireball that hovered in her palm. This act was more convincing than anything else.
Pakura was respectfully welcomed back to the Village by everyone. The news of her return spread rapidly throughout the entire Village like a whirlwind. Rasa and the elders, upon hearing this news, all changed their expressions; her return directly disrupted all their plans.
Among them, Rasa was in the worst mood. When Pakura stood before his Kazekage's desk again, he could only suppress his emotions and feign concern, saying,
"Pakura, you're finally back. Everyone was so worried about you."
"It's been a while."
Pakura bowed slightly, looking at the other party's smiling face, and respectfully replied,
"Lord Kazekage!"