When Byakuya saw Pakura again, this Kage-level Sand kunoichi looked extremely haggard.
It was the eighth day since he had returned to the Land of Rivers.
They "met" at the location of their very first encounter. Or rather, Pakura had tracked the clues Byakuya left behind and actively sought him out here.
"Brat, are you really that cowardly? Another Shadow Clone?"
Pakura looked at him with disdain and shouted loudly.
Byakuya remained unmoved, pointing to the barren wasteland nearby that had been devastated by her Scorch Style. "Has senior forgotten her own handiwork?"
"You killed Sansan Kaoru, yet you won't allow me to take revenge?"
"Sansan Kaoru was a Sand spy. I am a Leaf ninja. Killing him was only natural."
"Cut the crap. You slaughtered those Sand ninja and deliberately left traces to lure me here. What do you want?"
Pakura was on high alert.
She strongly suspected this was a kill trap set by the Leaf. She feared she had been lured here, and that Leaf ninja were already lying in ambush all around, waiting for the masked boy's command to swarm her.
Byakuya laughed. "Don't be so nervous, senior. It's just me... well, just a Shadow Clone. There are no traps set for you. Besides, with senior's Scorch Style being so powerful, ordinary Leaf ninja would be useless no matter how many came."
Pakura sneered and walked towards him. "You have something to say?"
"Indeed. But I need to know if senior still harbors killing intent towards me."
"You killed my comrades. I wish I could slaughter you right now! Shuten-doji!!!" she gritted out through clenched teeth.
Byakuya's Shadow Clone spoke softly, "Our positions are different. More Leaf ninja have died at your hands than Sand ninja at mine! And yet, I don't harbor such naive thoughts as you."
"Naive? Send your main body here, and I won't kill you," Pakura said.
This Leaf Root ninja, Shuten-doji, was acting strangely. Every place he appeared was a location where she had briefly stayed.
It was as if his purpose in coming to the Land of Rivers was solely to meet her.
Of course, this was just a guess. Pakura decided to see for herself. She was confident that even if it was a trap, she could escape.
"Really?"
"Really."
"I don't believe you."
Byakuya stared at her expression as if discovering a new continent. "Senior's current state is terrible. It looks like some firm belief of yours has been shaken.
Let me guess. Does Rasa suspect you? Does he think you want to compete for the Kazekage position?
Or did your One-Tail Jinchuriki die after fighting the Rock ninja?
Don't tell me the Sand is about to attack the Leaf immediately?"
Pakura didn't stop walking. She was getting closer and closer.
"I don't want to talk to a Shadow Clone. Let your main body face me."
As she spoke, she raised her hand, summoning a miniature sun burning with orange flames.
Scorch Style: Steam Murder.
"Senior's killing intent towards me is too heavy."
Just as his words fell.
Two small orange suns suddenly appeared on his left and right.
Collision.
Explosion.
All the moisture in the Shadow Clone's location was instantly evaporated.
Pakura turned her head to look at another spot.
"Not bad. Much improved since last time. But do you think you've escaped?"
New orange flames ignited on the blazing spherical energy orbs.
Four of them this time.
"Storm Style: Thousand Blades."
Byakuya stood atop a rock cliff, his hands rapidly forming three seals.
Ox - Hare - Dragon.
Storm Style chakra gathered in his mouth, spewing high-density laser beams.
These lasers weren't like Water Style: Water Severing Wave, nor were they like Sage Art: Storm Style Light Fang.
Instead, they resembled thin, high-pressure streams of water, but manifested as blinding blue-white lasers.
In an instant.
Byakuya spat out four laser beams, precisely piercing through Pakura's Scorch Style: Steam Murder orbs.
Explosion.
The sky seemed to darken for a moment.
Pakura's expression changed drastically.
"Scorch Style: Incinerating Barrier."
She slammed her hands onto the ground. Chakra exploded instantly, forming a semi-transparent wall of scorching orange heat in front of her.
The moment the blinding blue-white lasers touched this barrier, they were evaporated into steam.
Byakuya looked down from above.
Storm Style: Thousand Blades fired relentlessly like a machine gun.
Beam after beam of blue-white laser light smashed into the orange heat wall.
The power was so great that it felt like an earthquake was shaking the ground.
This new Storm Style jutsu he developed sacrificed the flexibility of guided trajectory and area coverage. Its advantage was low chakra consumption, yet each beam carried the full destructive power of a Torrential Lightning strike. It was perfect for pinpoint sniping.
"Enough!"
Pakura shouted.
"Scorch Style: Steam Murder!"
Byakuya immediately stopped Thousand Blades and formed seals.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall."
He spat a waterfall-like torrent that spun around him, protecting him from all angles.
Four Steam Murder orbs collided with the water wall.
A sharp sizzling sound erupted.
The spreading steam was thicker than fog; you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face.
Everything within sight was a vast expanse of white.
"When did you dispel the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Pakura's voice called out.
Byakuya replied, "When senior used Scorch Style."
"So you lured me here to show off your new jutsu?"
"Since senior demanded to see my main body, here I am. However, I came to show senior the Leaf's goodwill, and because I have some words I'd like to discuss with senior privately."
Pakura sensed the chakra of Byakuya's main body, wary of a sneak attack from this brat whose strength had increased significantly. She used Wind Style to continuously blow away the dense steam.
Until she saw Shuten-doji wearing his mask, looking down at her like the legendary demon king himself.
"Come down! Talk to me face to face."
"Senior's killing intent hasn't decreased in the slightest."
"I want to kill you."
"Why? Just because I killed a few Sand ninja from the standpoint of the Leaf? Senior should know that I didn't kill all of them—that was my way of expressing goodwill."
"Cunning Leaf brat! What exactly are you trying to do?!"
Pakura was gasping for air. She spread her arms, and over a dozen burning orange energy spheres laid out in formation around her.
Byakuya sensed the Flying Thunder God formula he had left nearby. He leaped down from the rock wall, stirring the mist as he slowly walked toward the dangerous Pakura.
"Senior Pakura, squeezing out your chakra like this... aren't you afraid of death?"
He was still testing Pakura's bottom line—or rather, her caliber.
"..."
Pakura's pupils constricted slightly as she stared at Shuten-doji, who had grown half a head taller since last time. "I am afraid. Being afraid of death is what proves the value of sacrifice."
"It seems the Sand Village really wants a ninja like you to die."
"Huh?" Pakura was stunned for a moment, then sneered. "Trying to sow discord?"
"Senior's strength is clearly comparable to a Kage, yet you're exhausted to this wretched state. If that's not the Sand Village wishing for your death, what is it?"
Byakuya stopped a dozen meters away from her and laughed. "If senior dies, there will be no one left in the Sand Village who cherishes the lives of their comrades.
To be honest, a Sand Village like that would no longer pose a threat to the Leaf. In fact, one day, it might even become a vassal of the Leaf.
I'll just call you Pakura. Calling you 'senior' over and over makes me uncomfortable.
Pakura, if you were in peak condition, I would never choose to fight you head-on. But looking at your exhausted state now..."
She watched as Byakuya drew the katana from his back.
"Pakura, you have two choices before you. Withdraw your jutsu and talk with me calmly.
Or continue to be stubborn and willingly die for such a worthless Sand Village, disregarding the lives of your comrades."
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