"Come on, come on—let's go interrogate that Pakura."
Urged on by Tsunade's brisk voice, Uchiha Ran had no choice but to keep tightly in step with her long strides.
To be honest, Tsunade was genuinely interested in Pakura. In the shinobi world, there were plenty of outstanding kunoichi, but most of those who reached the top eventually returned to family life. Very few continued to operate actively on the front lines.
Pakura, however, was different. Even among shinobi, she belonged to the truly renowned—someone whose name carried real weight.
Tsunade was, at heart, a shameless admirer of beauty. In her eyes, Pakura ranked among the very best on the entire ninja continent—whether in strength, appearance, or overall qualifications.
Because of that, Tsunade couldn't help thinking that a ninja like Pakura ought to be brought back to Konoha. Let her live in the village, become one of Konoha's own, recover properly… and perhaps even leave behind descendants.
With that in mind, Tsunade led Uchiha Ran straight to the underground holding chamber where Pakura was temporarily detained. It had to be said—shinobi were shinobi. Setting up a camp and carving out a functional underground prison was something they could do with absurd ease.
"Well, if it isn't Pakura. Didn't you talk big last time? Why give up struggling so easily this time?"
The moment she stepped into the basement, Tsunade's gaze locked onto the woman seated calmly in the chair.
Pakura showed not a single visible wound, but the exhaustion in her eyes made it obvious—she had been tormented and restrained through genjutsu.
Which made sense. Shinobi were strong-willed by nature; ordinary torture was rarely enough to shake their resolve.
"Heh."
Pakura curled her lips into a mocking smile as she looked at Tsunade.
"Oh?"
Tsunade raised a brow, mildly surprised. Judging by Pakura's condition, it seemed Konoha had already extracted quite a bit of information from her mind.
"Lady Tsunade, Lord Ran—this is the intelligence obtained from Pakura's memories. A copy has already been sent to Lord Orochimaru. Please review this version."
A female ninja stepped forward and handed the report to Tsunade.
"If I remember correctly, you're Yamanaka Haitang, aren't you?" Tsunade said with a smile. "When you were little, your father even carried you to me for treatment. I never imagined that after more than ten years, you'd grow into such a beautiful young woman."
Hearing this, Yamanaka Haitang's eyes lit up with delight. She hadn't expected Lady Tsunade to remember a little girl from over a decade ago.
To be honest, Tsunade was the object of admiration for nearly all the kunoichi of Konoha. She had single-handedly established the entire medical-nin system. Haitang had grown up listening to Tsunade's legends—she'd admired her since childhood.
And now, to receive praise from Tsunade herself…
"Thank you so much, Lady Tsunade!" Haitang bowed deeply, unable to hide her excitement. "I can't believe it's been over ten years—yet you still look like you're only in your twenties, just like me!"
Tsunade laughed heartily and nodded. "Hahaha, little Haitang, you really know how to talk. Alright… you can step out for now. Ran and I will look over the report."
After Haitang withdrew, Tsunade began flipping through the information extracted from Pakura.
According to the report, Sunagakure believed the disappearance of the Third Kazekage had been leaked by Konoha, leading to Iwagakure's surprise attack on the Sand Village. This, in turn, indirectly reignited the Third Great Ninja War. Meanwhile, Konoha—appearing to remain uninvolved—became the target of resentment from all sides, ultimately triggering the joint assault by three major villages.
Pakura herself believed there was a strong possibility that the Third Kazekage's disappearance was connected to the Fourth Kazekage. Through her own covert investigations, she had gradually confirmed that the incident was indeed tied to internal forces within Sunagakure.
As for who exactly was responsible, she still hadn't been able to uncover the truth.
Because of this, Pakura had firmly opposed Sunagakure launching an attack on Konoha. During wartime, Rasa could harvest enormous political capital from conflict. If things continued down that path, even if Pakura later discovered proof that Rasa was behind the Third Kazekage's disappearance, she would have no way to impeach or punish him.
More importantly, Sunagakure itself was already fractured internally. Rasa was merely using the war to force a temporary unification. If the war failed—or dragged on into a quagmire—the village would inevitably plunge into an even more violent civil conflict.
That was something Pakura simply could not accept.
Unfortunately, public sentiment and the decisions of Sunagakure's leadership had already sealed the matter. This war was inevitable.
"Tsunade-jie, Tsunade-jie—let me see too."
Uchiha Ran reached out and directly took the documents from Tsunade's hands, carefully reading through them.
All he could say was that things matched his expectations almost perfectly.
This entire mess could be dumped squarely onto Danzo's head.
Without Lord Danzo's behind-the-scenes instigation, the war would never have unfolded along this particular path.
Despite lacking the power to back it up, Danzo always loved pulling these kinds of elaborate schemes…
"Pakura," Tsunade said calmly once she had finished reading everything. She called Yamanaka Haitang back in, handed her the scroll for safekeeping, then turned her gaze back to the prisoner. "Do you have anything you'd like to say?"
Pakura looked at Tsunade and Uchiha Ran, a bitter smile spreading across her face.
"I was captured by you once before… and now you've caught me again," she said quietly. "Even if I return to Sunagakure this time, how am I supposed to face those furious villagers?"
Her voice carried deep exhaustion.
This was the second time she'd been captured alive by Uchiha Ran. She knew that returning to Sunagakure would inevitably invite suspicion—perhaps even the label of traitor due to political struggles.
The relationship between Konoha and Sunagakure had never been good. Historical grudges and the inherent competition between shinobi meant their hostility had existed since the villages were founded.
This time, Pakura couldn't help but feel that Konoha—and Uchiha Ran in particular—had deliberately captured her alive, ensuring she could never truly return home.
After all, how could a village trust an elite jōnin who had been captured twice during wartime and yet never killed?
Everyone else died. Only you survived.
If you weren't a spy, what were you?
"No," Tsunade said, shaking her head. "Pakura, I think you've misunderstood."
"Huh?"
The sudden shift in Tsunade's tone left Pakura momentarily stunned.
"We didn't come here this time merely to interrogate you—or to decide whether to imprison you or send you back to Sunagakure."
"Then… what do you want?" Pakura asked, completely confused. If they weren't locking her up and weren't sending her back, then what exactly were they planning?
"Our teacher has always been very lenient toward foreign shinobi," Tsunade explained. "Most likely, your chakra will be sealed, and you'll live in Konoha for a period of time—at least until the war ends."
"…What?" Pakura's eyes widened. "Seal my chakra? That's unacceptable!"
She was an elite jōnin—how could she remain in Konoha as an ordinary civilian? That was absolutely intolerable.
"Oh?" Tsunade looked at her with a faint, teasing smile. "You're unwilling?"
The moment their eyes met, Pakura felt a chill race through her entire body.
Konoha had always handled things this way.
For shinobi who possessed kekkei genkai, the priority was capture—followed by appeasement, assimilation, and gradual integration into Konoha.
And Pakura, who wielded Scorch Release, was naturally no exception.
Bringing her back to Konoha… and "educating" her slowly?
That, too, was perfectly in line with tradition.