Pakura felt a wave of goosebumps. The phrase 'how to use you' made her heart pound with unease, and she turned her face away. "You... what exactly do you want to do..."
By now, Pakura's tone was completely different from when they started; her eyes were hesitant, her voice trembled, and she breathed heavily as she spoke, no longer possessing the demeanor of a heroic female Ninja.
"It's not about what I want to do, but what you can do. Do you... want to become the Kazekage?"
Pakura was stunned for a moment. In her extreme shock, her original tension and fear eased significantly. "Me? Become the Kazekage?"
Vegapunk carefully observed Pakura's expression and found that her surprise was genuine. He couldn't help but laugh out loud. "I see, you're a complete political novice! No wonder you were sacrificed so easily!"
Whether it was the Pakura from the original story or the one standing here now, both were essentially prone to being directly screwed over by the higher-ups. Although this hero of the Sand Ninja had excellent combat skills and high prestige, she truly lacked any sense of political maneuvering, let alone the realization that she was actually a threat to certain people.
"What... what do you mean?" Pakura remembered what that middle-aged Sand Ninja had said before she was knocked out, and an ominous feeling began to grow in her heart.
"It means that because your strength is too great and your prestige is too high, you've become enough of a threat to the current Kazekage's position. That's why this Lord Kazekage packed you up and sent you right over!"
"I'm afraid even if the battle between the Sand Ninja and the Kirigakure was a stalemate instead of being one-sided like it is now, he would have eventually used you as a sacrifice anyway!"
Vegapunk's words completely shattered the last line of defense in Pakura's heart. She stood dazed for a long while before finally coming to her senses, understanding why she had fallen to such a state.
"How could... Rasa! Does a man like him even deserve to be the Kazekage?! Are the Elders blind?!"
"So, how about it? Are you willing to cooperate with me and make that threat a reality?"
"Think about it. To eliminate you as a threat, Rasa sent you directly to our Sea Ninja Village as a gift. He couldn't possibly be unaware of what would happen to a beautiful kunoichi with a precious Bloodline Limit like yours here!"
"Don't you want revenge? Making what he once feared become real—isn't that the best way to get back at him?"
Hearing Vegapunk's words, Pakura lowered her head, her voice raspy. "You're no good person either! You say you want to help me get revenge, but you actually just want me to destabilize the Sand Ninja Village!"
"Then do you think you have any other choice? Besides, I don't really care whether or not you destabilize the Sand Ninja Village."
"I can tell you that the current Sea Ninja Village already has nearly a hundred Bloodline Limit Ninjas, the number of Jonin is close to 200, and there are as many as five or six hundred of those Special Jōnin!"
"If we really wanted to deal with the Sand Ninja, we could just steamroll them! I only want you to be a puppet Kazekage to reduce some of the post-war chaos!"
Pakura couldn't take it anymore and stared at Vegapunk. "You've flat out said 'puppet Kazekage', so why should I agree to your terms?"
"So, you'd rather choose to start a Bloodline Limit clan here in the Sea Ninja Village?" Vegapunk said with a threatening look.
Pakura shuddered. "Who would want to do something like that?!"
"Then do you think you still have a choice?"
After a long silence, Pakura calmed down slightly. "You won't support me in truly becoming the Kazekage. If I really became the Kazekage, you wouldn't be able to control me either. No one can treat the Shadow of a village as a puppet! A chaotic Sand Ninja Village is more beneficial to you..."
"I said, don't underestimate people! It seems you didn't believe the data I gave you at all, and you still think the current Sea Ninja Village is only slightly stronger than the Hidden Sand Village?"
"Besides, wasn't the previous Mizukage of Kirigakure used as a puppet for all those years by a certain Ninja with the Sharingan?"
"The current Mizukage of this Sea Ninja Village is also my puppet. Isn't he doing just fine?"
Pakura was stunned. Because the information Vegapunk casually revealed was so overwhelming, she found it impossible to believe for a moment.
"What on earth are you talking about? If you're trying to lie to me..."
"I'm just asking you, if given this chance, are you willing to do it!" Vegapunk rolled his eyes and asked with some impatience.
Pakura opened her mouth, and thinking of the consequences if she refused, she couldn't help but shudder. Then, thinking of the culprit who caused her current predicament, she finally gritted her teeth. "Fine, I agree!"
'I'll just act as the situation dictates once I'm out of here! Once I leave this place, with my strength, how could it be so easy to control me?'
'If he uses something like a Curse Mark on me, at worst, it's just my life!'
"Very well, then there's only one question left! How many confidants do you have in the Sand?"
Vegapunk clapped his hands and asked with a smile.
The air suddenly went silent. Pakura kept her head down without saying a word, and the smile on Vegapunk's face gradually froze.
"In the Sand... you don't have a single confidant, do you? You're supposed to be a war hero!"
Pakura's face turned red. "I never thought about such things before. Although I had many subordinates... it was always strictly professional!"
"Oh right, I have one apprentice... but she's a bit young, even younger than you..."
Vegapunk rolled his eyes. When Sasori of the Red Sand killed the Third Kazekage and defected from the Hidden Sand Village, he was fifteen or sixteen at most, yet even he had left more than one mole behind in the village.
You've been a commander of an entire front for the Sand Ninja, and yet you don't even have a single confidant. Don't you find that embarrassing?
And Rasa—just how many tons of sand are in his head for him to believe that someone with only prestige and no power base or subordinates could threaten his position as Kazekage? Or rather, Rasa, you 'Gold Miner', just how little confidence do you have in yourself?
No wonder in the later stages, the Sand Ninja had no young or middle-aged experts left besides Rasa—the 'Shame of the Kage-level' who was arguably the bottom-tier figure among the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages—leaving only the Jinchuriki Gaara to carry the burden. Could they all have been screwed over by Rasa?
"Forget it, I understand! It seems the modification for you will have to be a bit more radical. Since you have no power base to rely on, you'll have to force your way through with absolute strength. No matter how much of a bottom-tier the Hidden Sand Village is, it's still a Great Ninja Village. Your strength needs to increase at least two or three times for you to have some certainty in competing for the Kazekage seat."
Vegapunk finally said helplessly.
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