Tamura Zairo had no idea what had just happened in the Raikage's office. He went home, slept soundly, and the next day arrived at the entertainment complex as agreed. However, the one he met was not Karura, but Pakura.
Only Pakura came. Rasa and Karura were absent.
"Where are Miss Karura and Rasa? Didn't they come with you?"
Tamura Zairo accepted the scroll Pakura handed over and asked casually.
"They went to buy some things to take back with them," Pakura replied, but her beautiful eyes were carefully studying the boy in front of her.
"Miss Pakura, is there something you want to ask?"
Tamura Zairo put away the scroll, seeing that she clearly had something on her mind.
"It felt like you were still holding something back in what you said last night."
Pakura wasn't entirely sure—it was just a feeling. But at the time, she had also seen pity in the boy's eyes. Pity directed at her.
That look had made her very uncomfortable.
"You could even tell that?"
Tamura Zairo was genuinely surprised. He had held something back—he just hadn't expected it to be noticed.
This woman is this sharp and still gets set up to die in the original story?
"It felt like you were thinking something… impolite," Pakura said, growing even more displeased. This kid was definitely hiding something.
"Here's a piece of advice for you," Tamura Zairo said meaningfully.
"In the future, don't shine too brightly. Once you reach a certain level, you can't rely solely on a ninja's way of thinking to handle things."
With that pointed remark, he turned to leave without waiting for her reply.
He treated that sentence as laying down a seed. If there were a chance in the future, he could go and recruit her—she would make a decent tool.
Of course, that would only work after establishing bonds. Only then could someone be firmly held in one's grasp. This was a method Danzo favored most, and as Danzo's most outstanding subordinate, Tamura Zairo naturally had to inherit his superior's way of controlling people.
Come to think of it, in the original story Pakura seemed to have a disciple—what was that name again?
And Karura's younger brother, Yashamaru, was also an excellent leverage point.
"Hey, brat—let's spar!"
Pakura suddenly proposed a match.
Although Rasa had rejected the idea of continuing contact to probe this boy's intelligence, a sparring match was still acceptable. She wanted to see his real strength.
"You said last night that my taijutsu isn't that strong. Your taijutsu should be pretty good—let's compare."
She knew Kumogakure ninja were generally proficient in taijutsu, especially nintaijutsu, and excelled in close combat.
This boy's ninja talent might be mediocre, but judging from his muscle lines, his physical training was definitely not bad.
"Just taijutsu is fine,"
Tamura Zairo turned around and agreed. He also wanted to see Sunagakure's style of taijutsu.
Moreover, Pakura was a standard ninjutsu-oriented ninja. Her taijutsu training existed mainly to support her ninjutsu and prevent her from becoming helpless once an enemy closed in.
That meant her taijutsu wasn't exceptionally strong—certainly nowhere near the level of specialists like Fuka'i or A.
That made this fight winnable.
"Taijutsu only!"
Pakura was very confident in her taijutsu. She had put in serious effort—it was absolutely not weak.
"Follow me,"
Tamura Zairo said, heading toward the training ground where he had first sparred with Fuka'i. It was remote, rarely used, and should be empty.
Pakura followed. The ANBU monitoring them in secret naturally had to follow as well.
They arrived at the training ground. As expected, no one was there.
As Tamura Zairo took out his shoulder armor and fixed it in place, he spoke:
"Since we agreed it's just taijutsu, basic ninja tools like kunai, shuriken, and senbon are fine. Let's leave explosive tags out of it."
He always wore his light armor; only the shoulder pieces were too conspicuous and were sealed into a storage plate. Before battle, he had to reattach them.
"You're being shameless,"
Pakura said, staring at the boy whose vital areas were now protected by light armor.
From the sheen alone, it was clear the armor wasn't ordinary steel. Its defensive power had to be considerable.
And then there were those two extra-long blades—completely unfair.
"My strength isn't enough, so I have to rely on equipment,"
Tamura Zairo replied calmly.
"Besides, you're a jōnin. In this spar, neither of us has an unfair advantage."
"You're right—I am a jōnin,"
Pakura suddenly smiled.
She drew two kunai and infused them with two different chakra nature transformations. One extended into an invisible wind blade, the other into a blade of flame.
This wasn't ninjutsu—just a basic chakra application technique using nature transformation, attaching it to weapons to enhance cutting power and reach.
"So you're basically a spellblade now,"
Tamura Zairo muttered.
He took the initiative.
Big Meow and Little Meow slashed and thrust in succession, launching a relentless assault—the strongest move he currently possessed: Monster Strength Combo.
Against a jōnin, he didn't dare hold back, even if she wasn't a taijutsu specialist.
Real ninja combat was far more brutal than what manga or anime portrayed. Burst speed and combat methods were on an entirely different level.
Pakura's footwork alone was agile and swift, truly like the wind—she deftly avoided Tamura Zairo's repeated blade strikes.
At the same time, the flame blade and wind blade extending from her kunai were flexible and unpredictable, forcing Tamura Zairo to constantly twist and evade. His combo rhythm was disrupted again and again.
If he hadn't spent recent days sparring with Fuka'i and improving his combat experience, he might not have been able to hold on under Pakura's pressure.
Pakura was astonished by the boy's swordsmanship and explosive power. She had originally thought he was just a decent genin—after all, he was only about ten years old, probably a fresh graduate from the ninja academy.
And the Raikage's son had said his ninja aptitude was mediocre. Naturally, she had assumed his combat power was genin-level at best.
Only after exchanging blows did she realize his strength far exceeded her expectations. His explosive force and blade techniques, when combined, were enough to rival a standard chūnin.
Although ninja ranks were more about authority and capability assessment rather than raw strength, there was always a minimum threshold.
A chūnin's strength was inevitably greater than a genin's.
For a ten-year-old to possess chūnin-level combat power—this kid could indeed be called a genius.
That said, he still had major flaws. Among the three ninja disciplines—ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu—taijutsu was the easiest to counter. Both ninjutsu and genjutsu could suppress it completely.
Relying solely on taijutsu and swordsmanship wouldn't be enough to advance to chūnin. This kid still needed time to grow.
While thinking all this, Pakura carefully observed and memorized Tamura Zairo's sword techniques during the exchange.
Kumogakure excelled at taijutsu, especially nintaijutsu and sword techniques. Learning more about them would only benefit her.
If Sunagakure ever had to face Kumogakure in battle, this knowledge could be valuable.
At the same time, Tamura Zairo was also observing Pakura's taijutsu style.
Sunagakure's taijutsu emphasized speed and sharpness—like the wind itself.
As a woman, Pakura leaned even more toward agility. This was very different from Fuka'i's combat style and gave Tamura Zairo fresh insights.
After two minutes of fighting, Tamura Zairo felt his chakra nearing depletion and prepared to disengage.
Chakra was the core of a ninja. Without chakra reinforcement, physical explosiveness would drop sharply, and combat power would decline.
But just as he intended to retreat, Pakura had no intention of letting him go.
The corner of her lips curved into a smug smile.
A draw wasn't what she wanted. No matter what, she was a jōnin—ending in a tie with a kid would be far too embarrassing.
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