"o tha," Masashi waved his hand dismissively, ign the wary rea his words triggered.

  His Sharingan caught the slight tension in her shoulders as he voiced the question that had been b him for a while. "I'm just curious—how exactly did you get yourself caught like that?"

  He genuinely couldn't uand it. Wasn't she supposed to be one of Suna's elites? How could she be taken down so easily?

  Granted, elite fighters don't always fall in dramatic fashion, but this was just… too simple.

  Pakura was momentarily stunned.

  Her first instinct had been to assume Masashi had ulterior motives for saving her. Why would a Konoha ninja help her without wanting something iurn?

  But this question? That was what he wao ask?

  "I was representing my vilge to iate a friendship treaty with Kiri," she expined.

  She offered this critical piece of information because he had saved her, and she too harbored doubts about the situation. This was a matter of great importance, after all.

  During the Third Great Ninja War, Suna had allied with Konoha to trate its forces on tering Iwa's invasion. However, alliances between vilges were always tenuous at best.

  The Third Raikage had died in an ambush orchestrated by Iwa, yet if the circumstances dema, Kumo wouldn't hesitate to ally with Iwa anyway.

  Power shifted like desert sands in their world.

  Even the life of a Kage was expendable in the grand scheme of things.

  Despite the Fourth Raikage's seething hatred for the Third Tsuchikage, it haded into ht war.

  Pakura had always distanced herself from such vilge politics, preferring to remain uninvolved.

  But in this instance, she'd been far too detached.

  "Yeah, I figured as much." Masashi nodded. "I hypnotized a Kiri ninja earlier, and he said you were a bargaining chip for the alliance."

  Pakura didn't respond. Her hands ched briefly before rexing. She wasn't naive. She'd uood the moment she was ambushed.

  Her desire to stay above it all had ultimately left her isoted.

  For a fleeting moment, she sidered returning to her vilge to front Rasa. But she quickly dismissed such a childish notion.

  She uood him well enough. His sole focus was oalizing Suna, and to achieve that, he was determio implement a strategy prioritizie forces.

  This must have been the elders' decision.

  After the Third Kazekage's death, the vilge had entered an era where the Kazekage shared deaking power with the elders.

  Whether Rasa had agreed to this particur decision no longer mattered.

  "By the way, aren't you going to treat your wounds?" Masashi reminded her. "I wiped some of the blood earlier, but some spots are still bleeding."

  He had removed the ten or so shuriken lodged in her body while repositioning her earlier. He'd treated her wounds as best as he could on the move, but his methods were temporary. Sure enough, the bleeding had resumed.

  "Your poison is tricky. My antidote doesn't quite match up, so you'll have to ha yourself."

  After some thought, he added, "My suggestio's team up for now. I've got a mission in this area, and two people w together watch each other's backs."

  Pakura, no fool, uood his underlying meaning. He wants something from me, but right now, I need him too.

  "Thank you."

  "You're wele. Go rest ient and treat your wounds properly."

  With that, he y down on a pile of hay and began to rest.

  Pakura was likely wrestling with plex emotions, but the more flicted she felt, the better.

  Kunoichi, generally proud and self-reliant, required a delicate approach. To hahem, one o be firm but not overly domineering, to show resped . Most importantly, one had to subtly create an atmosphere of dependency.

  Don't ask why.

  It was just the right rhythm.

  Wheime was right, strike decisively.

  When the mome natural, bold as came off as ear rather than pushy.

  Building rapport between men and womeher romantic or ptonic—required avoiding obsequiousness. People instinctively despised sycophants. Mutual respect was essential for meaningful es.

  Refleg on his past experiences, he felt a bit nostalgic. Smiling to himself, he turned over and drifted to sleep.

  Behind him, Pakura watched for a long moment before quietly entering the tent.

  Before long, the sounds of her moving around echoed from within.

  On the haystack, Masashi smirked and finally rested in ear.

  He was fident that Pakura would eventually join the Police Foro would turn down a ce to gain another bloodline user.

  The night passed in silence, broken only by the crag campfire.

  ---

  The following m, Masashi was fully prepared before dawn.

  He wasn't someone who gave up easily. So what if Fuguki was dead? Kiri had plenty of other avenues he could exploit.

  At the very least, Mei romising didate.

  Kiri's chaotic future was undoubtedly tied to its internal dissent against the Fourth Mizukage's policies, prompting Obito to eliminate his political enemies in the most brutal way.

  But Masashi wasn't about to let anyone disrupt his carefully managed pns.

  It was time to visit some old friends.

  Behind him, the tent opened, and Pakura stepped out.

  "How's your recovery?" Masashi turo face her.

  She seemed fine on the surface.

  Chakra granted humaraordinary capabilities. For ninjas, who excelled at harnessing this energy, even severe injuries could be swiftly mitigated. Unless it involved missing limbs or simirly grave damage, a strong jonin like Pakura could recover from superficial wounds in a single night.

  "Don't worry. I'm fine. I won't slow you down."

  "Good. The's head out."

  "Where to?" Pakura asked, suspeg he to no good. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

  "Back to Kiri, to meet some old friends."

  "You realize that after what happened yesterday, the Kiri ninjas are likely hunting us. And you're on a secret mission, aren't you? Your tacts are promised."

  "Not promised at all. He's dead. So, he 't betray me," Masashi corrected her. "And as for my old friends, we're on very good terms. They'll be thrilled to see me."

  With that, he extended his hand. "Give me your hand."

  Though fused, Pakura plied out of basic trust. She pced her hand on his.

  In a fsh, they vanished from the cave.

  For Pakura, it felt like a momentary whirlwind. When she regained her bearings, she and Masashi stood on a hill.

  Not far ahead on the pins, a group of Kiri ninjas was charging forward at full speed.

  Kiri was in any shinobi were moving about because the mission to kill Pakura had uedly failed. Moreover, she had been rescued.

  "Captain, over here!" a shinobi called out, kneeling beside one of the fallen.

  The team sent on the mission found the bodies of their rades. Preliminary analysis revealed that they had been instantaneously killed by a massive force while gathered together.

  Only one corpse showed signs of a broken neck, likely from interrogation.

  "Someone kly how to kill them," the captain muttered, examining the precise nature of the wounds. "No wasted movement, no unnecessary damage."

  The enemy was undoubtedly a top-tier shinobi, someone of jonin-level her.

  Having su individual infiltrate their homend was something Kiri couldn't tolerate—they had to capture the perpetrator.

  "We should deploy all avaible forces!"

  "And leave our borders undefehat's exactly what they want!"

  This was just a jonin. Kiri had its owe, after all.

  However, the indecision in the Mizukage Tower was causing u among the notoriously irritable Kiri shinobi. The majority of those gathering were non-injas from the vilge, while the s had other s.

  Kiri's Bloody Mist policy was deeply unpopur among injas. The emphasis on ae-focused strategy reduced the scale of their ninja forces, signifitly increasing the danger for injas otlefield.

  These s observed the shifting dynamics of ninja s across the ti. While shinobi excelled in solo bat due to their diverse abilities, their small numbers and the high cost of nurturie ninjas were signifit drawbacks.

  This was especially true for s with bloodline limits. Awakening a bloodline limit was a challenging hurdle, and losing such users ainful blow.

  During the Seizukage's reign, the Hōzuki was Kiri's leading powerhouse. However, the First Great Ninja War devastated the early wiping out a geion.

  They were still rec.

  Now, the Hōzuki was merely on par with s like the Yuki, who were once sed-tier. The s had not fotten the lessons of the past, fueling their dissatisfa.

  Ihird Great Ninja War, bloodline s felt even more embittered because of a certain Uchiha who could steal bloodline limit abilities. While he was only firmed to have copied abilities involving fire, water, and wind, who knew if that was just the tip of the iceberg?

  The test infiltrator bore bat signs simir to this White Ghost. Acc to reports, he had even intercepted Konoha's rampaging ails at his doorstep.

  If true, this meant the White Ghost was now a bona fide Kage-level threat, even more dangerous than before.

  Search missions? Let someone else ha, was the prevailing thought among the members.

  Meanwhile, reseoward the Mizukage was growing. He had promised to abolish the policies of the Third Mizukage before taking office, but now it seemed those policies were intensifying.

  The younger geion, however, was discussing other matters i.

  ---

  In a hidden chamber beh one of Kiri's abandoned buildings, moisture dripping from stactites provided natural cover for versations.

  Two young individuals were meeting.

  " you firm it?" asked a young man with white hair tied in a vertical braid, a bandage around his neck, and sharp, shark-like teeth.

  "No," replied a girl with long, wavy auburn hair, her eyes sing the shadows. "But I hope it's him. The pattern matches. Fuguki was likely discovered and killed. What's your side saying?"

  "Ah... Zabuza's getting nervous now. His faith is shaken." Despite his sharp teeth, Masu's appearance was otherwise handsome. "Mei, you're not in love with the White Ghost, are you? Anyone shows up, and you assume it's him? Sure, he's strong, but he wouldn't e to the Land of Water alone, would he?"

  "Stop joking, Masu." Mei frowned, her fingers curling into a fist. "Just because he didn't steal the Hōzuki 's Hydrification Teique st time doesn't mean he won't ime. Don't be careless."

  "Even if he did, it wouldn't matter." Masu smirked. "Our studied his teiques. He's more ied in abilities like yours. So, why did you call me here today?"

  "The Mizukage Tower remains silent. I suspect Fuguki was right—something might have happeo the Fourth Mizukage."

  "And if he's right? Are you pnning to front the Fourth Mizukage? With all due respect, I think you'd be killed on the spot."

  "No. He is no lorustworthy. We should tinue Fuguki's strategy and send someoo tact Konoha."

  "Konoha shinobi won't a our is. It'll turn us into the 'Vilge of Fools,' not the 'Vilge of the Bloody Mist.'"

  Masu shrugged. He didn't trust outsiders—hardly anyone in Kiri—except a few, Mei included.

  "Anyway, what's your decided?" Mei asked.

  "The old men believe it's the White Ghost and won't act."

  "And you?"

  "Hehe…" Masu chuckled darkly. "I'll go, of course. Since when have I followed their orders? I'm taking Zabuza and Ameyuri with me."

  "Then I'll join. If he's provoked too much, the White Ghost will start a massacre." Mei asked, "When do you leave?"

  "Later. The old meg closely."

  The two parted ways after making arras, melting into different shadows of the underground chamber.

  ---

  While Kiri's fas were embroiled in chaos, the notorious Masashi, much maligned by the Kiri shinobi, ying a game of cat and mouse with his pursuers.

  His version of hide-and-seek was explosive.

  "Maintain formation!" a squad leader shouted as shadows flickered through the mist. "Don't let him separate us!"

  As a fire jutsu sent a group of Kiri shinobi fleeing in disarray, the inferno illuminating the mist in brilliant e, Masashi reappeared elsewhere with Pakura in tow.

  "I don't uand what you're doing," Pakura remarked, frowning as he released her hand. "This is just wasting chakra. What's the point?"

  "It's fine," Masashi replied fidently. "I'll recover quickly. I'm just letting an old friend know I'm here."

  Old friends—who were also old enemies.

  He wasn't about to let Obito get too fortable in Kiri. Even if Masashi couldn't pletely derail his pns, he'd make sure to disrupt them.

  "Your old friend is your enemy, isn't he?" Pakura said ftly. "I hope you know what you're doing."

  "Rex. This is under trol." Masashi grinned. "By the end, the Kiri shinobi will escort us out with a grand farewell."