"Someone's coming."
Hikaru kept walking forward through the howling sand when his brows suddenly lifted. He spoke in a low voice.
In this yellow-sky wasteland—especially with the wind blowing straight into their faces—visibility was atrocious.
But no matter how bad it got, Hikaru's sensory perception still caught every subtle change in the surroundings.
At first, he didn't care much. After all, they were walking into someone else's territory—there was no way nobody would notice.
Besides, their mission should've been formally communicated. Someone coming to receive them would be completely normal.
But very quickly, Hikaru frowned.
Because the approaching presence wasn't just "nearby."
It was chakra.
And the chakra was getting sharper and stronger by the second.
This didn't feel like a reception party.
It felt like trouble.
"Prepare for combat."
Hikaru didn't know what was happening—but that didn't mean he'd stand there and wait to be killed.
Years of ANBU instincts told him one thing: if you look weak on a mission like this, your ending is written.
Kakashi immediately tensed.
The three tomoe in his left Sharingan began to rotate faintly.
When Hikaru gave an order, Kakashi obeyed—no hesitation. He'd considered that the newcomer might be an escort… but he trusted Hikaru's sensing more.
"WHOOOM—!"
Sure enough, the next instant, a scorching fireball slammed toward them.
The trajectory was clever.
It covered both Hikaru and Kakashi… while avoiding Yashamaru behind them.
Hikaru and Kakashi jumped at the same time, dodging the fireball—but they moved differently.
Kakashi sprang sideways, cleanly clearing the blast zone.
Hikaru, however, hopped straight back toward Yashamaru without any mercy.
He'd already noticed: the attacker didn't seem interested in harming Yashamaru.
In that case, Hikaru didn't mind using Yashamaru as a sandbag.
If Yashamaru died?
That wasn't his problem.
As expected—when Hikaru positioned himself beside Yashamaru, the next fireball didn't target him.
It went straight for Kakashi.
"Rescue attempt?"
Hikaru thought quickly.
His tantō slid free with a whisper.
A casual twist of his wrist—
CLANG!
He knocked a kunai out of the air.
At the same time, his left hand yanked Yashamaru backward.
Hikaru shifted his body, tucking fully behind him—then chopped Yashamaru's neck with a knife-hand strike.
Yashamaru's chakra was sealed, but he could still move.
Hikaru wasn't letting a prisoner ruin his rhythm.
And as he finished that motion—
A figure became visible through the sand.
"This… Pakura?"
Green hair interwoven with dusty yellow.
A striking face.
And behind her—floating fire-orbs, burning with an eerie intensity.
Hikaru recognized her almost immediately.
But it also made him feel oddly confused.
Pakura was one of Sunagakure's strongest—high-profile, useful, respected. She was famous for hunting Mist raiders. She should've been informed of something.
Even if she didn't know details about Yashamaru, she should've received a notice—something like:
Konoha will escort a 'lost' Sand ninja back to the Land of Wind to avoid unnecessary incidents.
"But what is she doing?"
"And even if this is Suna's stance… they wouldn't be this indifferent about Yashamaru."
Hikaru's thoughts flickered.
But his senses caught something crucial—
No other Sand chakra signatures.
Only Pakura.
Sending one person to mess with two Konoha ANBU?
That wasn't a "message."
That was delivering a kekkei genkai to Konoha's labs.
Hikaru hadn't paid much attention to what happened to Yashamaru in custody, but he was certain of one thing:
After the interrogation, that man had definitely left blood behind in Konoha's research rooms.
And now Pakura was here alone.
Bold.
Confident.
Reckless.
"You two—who are you?"
Pakura's voice was cold.
"Why did you capture a Sand shinobi? Tell me your purpose—otherwise I'll make sure you never speak again."
Hikaru stared at her without answering.
But he noted one thing: she still had a brain.
She'd seen their uniforms and realized they were from Konoha—so she'd stopped short of escalating into an all-out slaughter.
"Not talking?" Pakura's chakra surged. "Then I won't hold back—even if Konoha and Sand are allies!"
"Allies?"
Hikaru laughed silently.
If that alliance meant anything, would Yashamaru have ended up in his hands?
Would Sand—years later—fall for Orochimaru's bait so easily and decide to attack Konoha?
And Rasa's fate wasn't any better. Orochimaru would kill him, too—his body left to rot in the wild.
If the alliance ever truly worked, it was only under Gaara's leadership—because Gaara was changed by Naruto… and because he was young enough not to be fully shackled by interests and rot.
While Hikaru's thoughts ran, Pakura attacked.
The strange-colored fire-orbs behind her burned brighter.
Hikaru shoved Yashamaru toward Kakashi.
He didn't care about that prisoner's life—but he cared about something else far more:
Pakura.
In Hikaru's memory, she was the textbook definition of high offense, low defense.
Her strength was unquestionable.
And her death—was one of the most suffocatingly tragic in the entire era.
Backstabbed at the gates of Kirigakure.
Killed by a swarm of kunai.
Sold out by her own village.
A brutal, humiliating end—born from a single mission.
Hikaru didn't know exactly when that mission began… but he knew it wasn't far off.
As ANBU, he had access to foreign intel.
He knew Sand was getting harassed by Mist nonstop.
He also knew Sand's upper ranks were about to face Iwa directly.
So meeting Pakura here?
If he wasn't curious, he'd be lying.
"If it's real… then this is a direct line into Sand's internal situation."
"Not taking that would be a waste."
Hikaru signaled Kakashi—watch Yashamaru.
Then the blue-white glow of chakra flashed along his blade.
The instant Kakashi caught the prisoner—
Hikaru shot forward.
His tantō howled through the wind, slashing down at Pakura.
"Childish."
Pakura snorted.
She turned lightly and slipped past his strike.
Then one of her fire-orbs rammed straight into Hikaru.
But Hikaru's movement was too fast.
He blurred sideways, narrowly evading the orb—and kicked at her without hesitation.
Pakura's lips curled into a cold smile.
She was a kekkei genkai shinobi. Close combat didn't intimidate her.
"If you want to die—then don't blame me!"
Her hands snapped down.
She caught Hikaru's kick—
—and her expression instantly shifted.
Because the force was enormous.
At first glance, these two ANBU looked young.
And usually, youth meant limitations.
Yes, the shinobi world produced monsters sometimes… but those monsters rarely ended up in ANBU so early.
That assumption was one of the reasons she dared to move.
In chakra reserves alone, she believed she had the advantage.
But this single kick made her realize something was wrong.
This boy's strength was ridiculous.
Still, her hands didn't stop.
She gritted her teeth, seized Hikaru's leg harder—and her chakra spiked violently.
"Scorch Release: Excessive Steam Kill!"
In an instant, the "captured" Hikaru screamed.
Pakura's gaze slid toward Kakashi—ready to punish the second ANBU next.
Scorch Release wasn't a simple bloodline.
Under Pakura's control, it could evaporate the moisture in a body with a single strike.
Victims shriveled into something like mummies.
Cruel?
Yes.
Effective?
Even more.
Fear created hesitation.
Hesitation created openings.
And this technique had multiple forms—one of which allowed the fire-orbs to be controlled and used in tandem with taijutsu.
That was exactly what she was doing now.
And it was subtle.
She didn't want to kill them—especially if they were truly Konoha's ANBU.
But she wasn't stupid.
Konoha ANBU appearing in the Land of Wind was already justification enough to act.
Especially when those ANBU were escorting a bound Sand shinobi.
"Hm?"
Just as Pakura prepared to turn on Kakashi—
Her brows snapped together.
Because the ANBU she was "burning" suddenly turned into smoke.
"Shadow clone? When?!"
She didn't have time to process it.
Because a violent surge of chakra exploded from the distance.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"
Pakura reacted instantly.
She sensed the ground shift beneath her feet and leapt—
barely avoiding spikes that erupted upward like spears.
But Hikaru wasn't finished.
In the desert, he could use Water Release—
—but the chakra drain would be brutal.
Earth Release, however?
He was more than comfortable with it.
With the System's support, his Earth Release was nearly as smooth as his Water Release—he just preferred water in most situations.
"Earth Release: Earth Stone Dragon!"
Hikaru formed seals again.
A massive earth dragon surged from the sand under Pakura, roaring as it lunged.
Pakura frowned.
She was mid-air—no good angles to dodge.
So she clenched her teeth and slammed a fire-orb into it.
BOOOOM—!
The moment the Scorch orb collided with the earth dragon, the explosion ripped through the dunes.
Sand erupted into the sky in a violent bloom.
Pakura tumbled down hard.
She landed in a roll, dirty and battered—fresh cuts visible on her body.
That blast had been too close.
And in mid-air, she hadn't been able to retreat in time.
This was shinobi combat.
Unless you were Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha—
One mistake could mean death.
Pakura narrowed her eyes.
The ANBU who fought her hadn't displayed overwhelming raw power…
But his jutsu sequencing, timing, and combinations had forced her into a humiliating position.
Worse—there was another Konoha ANBU watching like a wolf from the side.
Two-on-one.
Bad.
"Now I have to get serious… and be ready to retreat at any moment."
She still had a far more important mission.
Wasting time here was already unwise.
Dying here would be unforgivable.
And then—
A kunai flew toward her.
It wasn't fast.
The wind and sand weakened its throw.
Pakura tilted her head slightly and dodged.
At the same time, her chakra began to boil again—
But her eyes suddenly widened.
Because she felt cold steel at her throat.
A tantō.
And a warm voice whispered beside her ear:
"Looks like you don't get a chance to go all out."
Pakura didn't understand what had happened.
She didn't even get to ask.
A sharp pain struck the back of her neck—
And her consciousness dissolved into darkness.
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