Chapter 9 — Pakura
The clear river water flowed with a gentle splash, like a soft aquatic solo.
"Rustle, rustle…"
In the forest near the riverbank, a fifteen-man elite squad of Sunagakure ninja leapt between the trees, advancing along the river.
"Lady Pakura, ahead at the riverbank, there's a chakra signature… only one. It should be the target mentioned in the intelligence," reported the sensing ninja to the young, beautiful kunoichi leading at the front, her greenish-yellow hair swaying as she moved.
"Our mission target should be this person," said the beautiful kunoichi named Pakura, relaying the information she knew. "Continue forward. Everyone, be extremely cautious. According to the intelligence, over the past five days, at least thirty of our comrades—including those who came to investigate and those who simply passed through—have died at that riverbank ahead. The only ones who returned alive with information were three genin five days ago."
"In addition, the Sixth Harassment Squad—twenty-one elite ninja, including two jōnin and one elite jōnin—was completely wiped out by this enemy. Another thirty-man patrol squad led by an elite jōnin likely met the same fate at this enemy's hands." She concluded gravely, "This enemy is extremely strong. He possesses an unknown and powerful kekkei genkai. His strength is already very close to Kage level."
"Yes!"
The other Suna ninja responded in low voices. This was a formidable enemy who had already killed more than a hundred ninja. No one dared underestimate him. Otherwise, their names would be engraved upon the Hero Memorial.
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Damn it… he's already lured and killed this many of our ninja.
When Pakura led the elite squad to the designated location, she and the others couldn't help but clench their fists, hatred rising in their hearts for the murderer of their fellow villagers.
The entire riverbank was littered with the corpses of Suna ninja. The number far exceeded the thirty mentioned in the intelligence—there were over a hundred bodies scattered among the gravel along this short stretch of shore. It looked as if a mid-scale encounter battle had taken place here.
These were ninja who had been unaware of the situation. After seeing their comrades' corpses and detecting no apparent danger—or believing the chakra signature they sensed belonged to a gravely wounded ally—they had come to investigate or retrieve bodies. Unfortunately, they had all fallen beneath Tsukigami Ren's gun. Among them were squads of more than ten Suna ninja and even powerful jōnin.
"The only chakra signature is near the center, close to the river. That boy. There are also many forehead protectors beside him," the sensing ninja reported without waiting for Pakura to ask, pointing out the position of Tsukigami Ren, who lay motionless on the gravel like a corpse.
Though shocked by the enemy's youth, what they felt more was hatred—and a trace of jealousy. Konohagakure always seemed to produce an abundance of astonishing geniuses.
They did not attack immediately. Pakura gestured, and the Suna ninja began carefully observing the surroundings—especially the riverbank strewn with their comrades' bodies. Since the enemy had lured and slaughtered them here, he must have set something up nearby.
However, they had encountered no traps on the way here. After observing for a long while, they still found no trace of any.
Whoosh, whoosh!
After prolonged observation without discovering any flaws, Pakura flicked her wrist. Two kunai shot toward the "corpse" of Tsukigami Ren.
Thud! Thud!
The sound of blades piercing flesh rang out as the two kunai accurately embedded themselves into Tsukigami Ren's neck.
A flicker of joy rose in Tsukigami Ren's heart. Another enemy has arrived.
This area had already moved away from the central battlefield and was close to Suna-controlled territory. Over the past five days, all he had encountered were Suna ninja. Even if Konoha ninja infiltrating the area passed by and saw so many Suna corpses, they would not dare approach casually.
Seeing the kunai strike his neck, Pakura frowned.
Beside her, the sensing ninja immediately checked and said, "The enemy is not injured. His chakra fluctuations remain steady."
"The intelligence states he has an unknown kekkei genkai. We cannot be careless. Continue observing. Stay alert to the surroundings," Pakura said quietly. She did not reveal herself, instead leading the Suna ninja to shift positions cautiously and continue watching, even though the kunai had already exposed their presence.
Her words were also a reminder to the others. She did not suggest it might be a puppet, because within several kilometers, the sensing ninja detected only a single enemy chakra signature. In battles between ninja, intelligence and carelessness could both cost lives. In war, their objective was to kill as many enemies as possible.
"Quite cautious, aren't you? Come out. There are no traps."
Seeing that the enemies hidden in the forest still refused to show themselves after probing, a cold voice rang out by the riverbank. Tsukigami Ren, who had been sunbathing while pretending to be dead, sat up and turned his gaze toward the forest where the Suna ninja were hiding.
Through his infrared electronic eye, he had already seen them—though daylight did somewhat affect its performance.
...
There was no reply. The forest remained motionless, silent except for the wind and flowing water.
Seeing that the enemy still would not appear, Tsukigami Ren stood up and kicked the pile of Suna forehead protectors beside him.
"They were all killed by me on this riverbank. Not one of them even had the chance to flee into the forest. You… dare to come over?"
Hearing his words, the Suna ninja clenched their fists in fury—not because of his taunts, but because of the way he kicked the forehead protectors of their fallen comrades.
Seeing this—and noticing that his gaze had remained fixed on the forest where they hid—Pakura knew they had been discovered. She gave several hand signals and led eight of them leaping out of the forest, landing on the riverbank.
Pakura of Sunagakure, the user of Scorch Release. As expected, they sent someone specifically to deal with me. So Suna already knows what's happening here. Looks like I can't stay here any longer… Tsukigami Ren thought with regret as he looked at the leading kunoichi.
"Not all of you came out. Saving them to run away? Or perhaps you just want to break the record that no Suna ninja has managed to flee into the forest from my hands. In that case, congratulations—you've succeeded." His cold tone was filled with disdain and provocation.
"No. Today, you will die on this riverbank, buried alongside the heroes of Sunagakure," Pakura replied just as coldly.
With a wave of her hand, four orange-red fireballs appeared, floating around her.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…!
The eight ninja who followed her moved swiftly, turning into afterimages as they spread out in a semicircle, surrounding Tsukigami Ren. Four of them were jōnin; the others were elite chūnin.
"No. I think you'll simply become one more among them. Your forehead protectors will surely become my trophies as well." Tsukigami Ren pointed to the corpses on the ground and the pile of headbands beside him.
His voice remained emotionless—cold as ever.