"Evil Scorch Release ninja—die!"
The moment Fuguki Suikazan spotted Pakura, he exploded with terrifying enthusiasm.
Without hesitation, he charged forward, swinging Samehada with full force!
The massive sword tore through the air effortlessly, unleashing a piercing whistle as it slashed downward.
Sensing imminent danger, the gravely injured Pakura rolled to the side with all her remaining strength.
Just as she dodged, the ground where she had been was instantly torn apart.
A thick cloud of dust spread outward, obscuring everyone's vision.
Within the dust-filled chaos, Fuguki Suikazan discreetly tossed a piece of paper onto Pakura's body.
"Damn it, hurry up!"
After making his move, Fuguki Suikazan shot a nervous glance behind him, cursing under his breath.
If things didn't happen fast enough, someone might notice what he'd done!
Fortunately, it seemed like the untouchable figure behind this operation had heard Fuguki Suikazan's silent prayers.
The paper he had thrown bore four distinct kanji: 忍愛の剣 (Sword of Shinobi Love).
And in the next instant—
A familiar flash of yellow light appeared.
It was Konoha's Namikaze Minato!
And in his grip—
He held a woman dressed exactly like Pakura.
Her body shape, clothing, everything was nearly identical—so much so that at a glance, one could hardly tell the difference.
Only upon closer inspection could one notice slight differences in her face, even though Root's transformation techniques had made her look nearly perfect.
But that didn't matter.
The moment Minato appeared, he tossed the fake Pakura aside.
Then, moving with unmatched speed, he grabbed the real Pakura and instantly activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, vanishing from the battlefield.
The entire exchange had taken less than two seconds.
A perfect display of why he was called the Yellow Flash.
And what shocked Fuguki Suikazan the most—
Was that Minato even had the time to nod at him before disappearing.
Fuguki Suikazan was left stunned, followed by an overwhelming sense of dread.
If someone like Minato was serving that elder, and Fuguki Suikazan had already been marked by the Flying Thunder God—
Then his life could be taken at any moment.
And judging from how perfectly timed Minato's arrival was, that "untouchable" elder must have some kind of long-range surveillance ability.
Otherwise, there was no way he could have known exactly when and where to act.
The more Fuguki Suikazan thought about it, the more terrified he became.
Good thing he didn't betray that elder.
As for betraying Kirigakure?
What a joke.
With that elder's intelligence and power, forget Kirigakure—no village could oppose him.
Hadn't he already defeated both the Tsuchikage and Raikage?
If Iwagakure and Kumogakure together couldn't stop him, what chance did Kirigakure stand?
Even if they fought to the last man, all it would accomplish was more unnecessary deaths.
With that realization, Fuguki Suikazan's guilt vanished.
He wasn't a traitor to Kirigakure or the Will of Water—
He was protecting Kirigakure, reducing casualties.
He wasn't a traitor.
He was a hero.
Yes, that was the truth.
And just like that, in the blink of an eye, Fuguki Suikazan had convinced himself.
Now, he could fully embrace his new role and purpose.
The speed of this mental shift—
Even Minato himself would have to admit defeat!
This was the true "Flash of the Mind"!
With his thoughts completely clear, Fuguki Suikazan's gaze became firm.
As planned, before the smoke cleared, he swung Samehada down,
its jaws snapping shut around the head of "Pakura" on the ground.
Along with the head, it also devoured—
Minato's Flying Thunder God marker.
And Fuguki Suikazan's final bit of hesitation.
By the time the smoke dispersed, the Scorch Release ninja who had struck fear into Kirigakure's forces was already dead.
All that remained was a headless corpse, lying quietly on the battlefield.
Samehada, with its jagged teeth, was still chewing hungrily,
devouring what was once a recognizable face, now completely unidentifiable.
This, too, was part of Danzo's plan.
The biggest flaw in using a body double was the face.
But if Samehada simply ate it, then— problem solved.
As for any other inconsistencies?
There was no way the Mist ninjas would notice.
After all, it wasn't like any of them had memorized Pakura's entire body in detail.
Seeing this, Yagura Karatachi frowned.
"Stop, Fuguki Suikazan!"
His voice, though young, carried a deep authority.
Hearing the Mizukage's rebuke, Fuguki Suikazan let out a grinning sneer.
He gave Samehada a firm tug, taking his time to pry it free from "Pakura's" corpse.
"My apologies, Lord Mizukage!"
"But Samehada just couldn't help itself. Pakura's chakra was just too tempting for it."
Fuguki Suikazan spoke the words, but his face showed no remorse whatsoever—
only a wide grin.
"Fuguki Suikazan, what is the meaning of this?"
Mei Terumi's cold gaze cut through the air.
Due to Fuguki Suikazan's poor performance in the battle against Konoha,
Mei had long held a grudge against this "senior" of Kirigakure.
And now, hearing him speak so disrespectfully to the Mizukage,
she couldn't hold back any longer.
But no matter what, Fuguki Suikazan was still her elder—
he wasn't about to let a junior scold him so easily.
His eyes narrowed, and he spoke,
"I didn't mean anything by it."
"But you, Mei Terumi—"
"It seems like you have quite an issue with me?"
Mei, not backing down, shot back,
"I only have issues with people who lack ability."
Fuguki Suikazan's grin widened.
"Well then, why don't we test that out?"
He gripped Samehada, shifting into a battle stance.
"Enough!"
Yagura's cold voice instantly cut through the tension.
"Killing Pakura is a great victory. There's no need to fight over trivial matters."
"The corpse? If it's gone, then so be it."
With that, he settled the issue in a single sentence—
declaring it a minor detail unworthy of concern.
Which meant Samehada's actions would not be punished.
And in truth, this was only natural.
Samehada had always had a habit of absorbing chakra and devouring bodies.
Therefore, his current actions did not seem out of place.
Besides, for someone like Pakura—a frontline general and an abandoned pawn of Sunagakure—it was almost certain that precautions had been taken regarding her head.
Even if they had managed to preserve the corpse intact, the chances of extracting any useful intelligence from it were quite low.
Mei Terumi understood this logic as well.
But the way Fuguki Suikazan spoke was just too infuriating, making it impossible for her to tolerate.
In the end, under the direct order of Mizukage Yagura Karatachi, both sides finally calmed down and said no more.
Looking at the corpse on the ground, Yagura turned and said,
"Now that our objective is complete, let's go. Withdraw the troops."
Kirigakure's mission had been a total success.
Not only had they raided and plundered a major economic hub in the southern Wind Country, making up for their losses in Konoha,
but they had also eliminated Pakura, a major threat to their plans.
It could be said that Kirigakure had utterly crushed Sunagakure in this war.
Yagura's status as Mizukage skyrocketed, and his authority was now firmly established.
The next step was to regroup and strengthen Kirigakure as quickly as possible!
---
Meanwhile…
The severely injured Pakura stared at the people in front of her, completely stunned.
There were three individuals before her.
To her left stood the blond-haired shinobi who had suddenly appeared and rescued her from Fuguki Suikazan.
She knew of him—even if they had never met, his name was legendary across the shinobi world—
The Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato!
To her right, another shinobi—short black hair, a garlic-shaped nose, a short sword strapped to his back…
But most importantly—those crimson red eyes.
Pakura had seen reports about him in Sunagakure's ANBU intelligence files.
A genius from the Uchiha Clan, known as Shunshin no Shisui (Shisui of the Body Flicker)!
And seated between these two prodigies—
An old man, wrapped head to toe in bandages, sitting in a wheelchair.
The moment Pakura made eye contact with him, a chill ran down her entire spine, as if she had been electrocuted.
Her body reacted instinctively with fear.
Because this man was the most notorious figure in the entire shinobi world right now.
The legendary "Darkness of the Shinobi",
Konoha's elder—Shimura Danzo.
__
(I'm surprised about the negativity happening. I couldn't help but lament at what happened with humanity.
I want to clarify something. I still have my loyal monthly members.
So, with or without new membership.
There's no stopping me from doing the charity, just the scale will be a little smaller. Because I'm still getting money from them.
All of you here can also watch it later. Because I will share everything for public in my patreon.
If I'm doing a suspicious work, the cons would far outweight the gain.
You think I want to lose the trust of TENS of people who are already subscribed to me? Just for an extra $100?
Initially it's just announcement inside the patreon that I will gain less for them for a while. And announce it here to the people who already have the intention to subscribe.
I guess we can't please everyone. Sigh.)