Instead, they were fiercely debating how to proceed.
Using the death of a hero to express Kirigakure's determination for a truce.
Indeed, nothing could be more suitable.
The Orphanage.
"Matron, here is the reply."
An old man wearing thick-rimmed glasses handed a letter to Nonō Yakushi.
Nonō took the letter, quickly tore open the envelope, and carefully read the contents.
Every line of text felt like a heavy stone pressing down on her heart. The expectant look in her eyes gradually dimmed as she scanned the words on the paper.
The content did not bring the funds she had hoped would save the orphanage.
The corners of Nonō's mouth turned down slightly, and she felt a trace of disappointment.
Did Shimizu encounter some difficulty? All this time, she had relied on Shimizu's financial aid to keep the orphanage running, but now, the amount in the letter had been cut significantly.
Unknowingly, the majority of the orphanage's cash flow had come to rely on Shimizu. If he were to stop his aid in the future, the orphanage would face the risk of bankruptcy. If that happened, none of the children would have food or clothing.
"This amount... isn't nearly enough to fill the orphanage's deficit."
She sighed softly, the letter paper trembling slightly in her hand.
Perhaps the fifty thousand ryo from last time was already the limit of what Shimizu could provide.
"Something must have happened."
Nonō put the letter away.
Before retiring from the ninja profession, she had been on the battlefield herself. Now, with ninja deployments and conflicts becoming fewer and fewer, it indicated that the war was drawing to a close.
At a time like this, a ninja's daily expenses would gradually decrease, allowing them to save more money. Since they still received wartime pay but no longer needed to purchase large quantities of paper bombs and ninja tools, Shimizu's wealth should logically be increasing.
Yet, he had only given half of what he provided last time.
Inevitably, Nonō felt a bit resentful.
She understood that everyone had their own difficulties, but the innocent faces of the children in the orphanage and their expectant eyes made it hard for her to let go.
Soon, however, she shook her head, dispelling these thoughts.
Shimizu's kindness had already been more than enough.
He helped out of kindness, but he had no obligation to do so. To think otherwise was pushing her luck; she was being too unreasonable.
"Have any other villagers come to donate recently?"
"Yes, Matron, but... only eight hundred ryo."
The bespectacled old man produced a stack of wrinkled banknotes.
"Sigh, then let's continue to expand our search range. See if there are any odd jobs available in the surrounding area."
Nonō had already resigned from the noodle shop she worked at previously. Her wages alone could not support so many people. They had to find a more profitable solution.
Traces of fatigue appeared on Nonō's once smooth and delicate face, and dark circles were deeply embedded beneath her compassionate eyes. Every time she distributed the pitifully small portions of food to the children, her heart ached dully.
"Yes, Matron."
Seeing the Matron reveal her exhaustion, the old man felt guilty that he was just a cook with no other skills. He closed the door and went to check the surrounding villages as instructed.
Land of Wind.
Beneath the rolling sand dunes lay several houses built of earth and stone.
"This should be the place."
Pakura looked at the hazy structures ahead and quickened her pace.
The Fourth Kazekage had assigned her a classified mission, requiring her to act as Sunagakure's envoy to negotiate with Kirigakure.
"The war is finally about to end."
Pakura walked with a light heart.
Once the war was over, everyone in the village would surely smile again. They wouldn't have to live in such a depressing atmosphere, mourning the dead every single day.
As she neared the destination, a ninja dressed in Kirigakure attire emerged from the yellow sand.
"Lord Pakura of the Scorch Release, I am here to welcome you. It is truly an honor to meet you. The wind and sand are strong here; surely you need a guide."
The Kirigakure ninja made a gesture of invitation.
"Thank you for your trouble. But I am a ninja of Sunagakure; how could I possibly get lost in the wind and sand?"
"You make a good point. My negligence." The Mist ninja scratched the back of his head.
Pakura walked straight past him.
This Kirigakure ninja is truly strange, she thought. This is the Land of Wind—my home turf. He should be the one being careful, yet he's reminding me, a Sand ninja, about the sand.
In a blind spot Pakura couldn't see, the Mist ninja's mouth curved into a cruel smile.
Pfft!
"What... are you doing..."
Pakura's pupils constricted violently as a sharp, intense pain radiated from her lower back.
"If you want to blame someone, blame your own village."
The Mist ninja viciously twisted the kunai.
Pakura's lower back was a mangled mess of flesh and blood. Blood gushed out like a spring, and she collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
She felt her strength draining away along with her blood, becoming weaker and weaker.
"Our village's hatred will never disappear. You can only be considered a consolation prize. Isn't that right, Hero of the Sand?"
Pakura's ears were ringing, and her consciousness began to blur. She could only move her eyes to look at the Mist ninja beside her.
"Those Sand ninja who handed you over... they must think so too, right?"
The Mist ninja looked at Pakura's wretched state and couldn't help but shake his head.
What hero? Just cannon fodder. A sacrifice pushed out by the village.
He raised his right hand high, signaling the Mist ninja ambushing the surrounding area. Immediately, numerous ninja emerged, holding kunai and poised to throw.
Pakura looked at all of this in despair.
She couldn't understand. Wasn't Kirigakure supposed to sign a truce with her village? Why kill her?
And what did they mean by saying I was pushed out by the village?
In that split second, Pakura thought of many things. Unfortunately, there was no time left for her to continue thinking.
She heard the sound of kunai tearing through the air, creating shockwaves.
"I never imagined that I, known as the Hero of the Sand, was just a joke all along..."
Pakura closed her eyes.
Just as she accepted her death with resentment, a familiar, playful voice rang out.
"Almost arrived late."
Pakura opened her eyes. Through her hazy vision, she saw a handsome face before plunging into the darkness of unconsciousness.
"You... You are Konoha's Shunshin Shimizu!"
The Mist ninja recognized his appearance immediately.
The name of Namikaze Minato was enough to make enemy ninja abandon their missions on sight without facing any punishment. As Minato's subordinate, Shimizu Uchiha was obviously a priority target for observation as well.
They shared the same lineage of speed!
"Good eyes."
Shimizu casually pulled out a kunai and deflected every single incoming projectile.
Every collision of kunai sparked a chain of fire. Under the dense rain of weapons, Shimizu's hands moved so fast they left afterimages. To the onlookers, it looked as if firecrackers were exploding in front of him.
"Do you want to intensify the war between Kirigakure and Konohagakure?!"
The group of Mist ninja swallowed hard.
Their strength was nowhere near Shimizu's level. They had only come to ambush Pakura because they had intel from Sunagakure, allowing them to catch her off guard. Facing her head-on would have been difficult enough, let alone facing Shimizu.
"Of course I don't."
Shimizu took eight kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
A one-eyed Mist ninja felt a surge of joy and asked, "In that case, let's pretend what happened today never occurred. Pakura is about to die from blood loss, and our mission is complete. We stay out of each other's way."
"No, no, no, you misunderstand. If you all die, no one will know, right? The relationship between Konoha and Kiri will only get better."
A cold sneer appeared on Shimizu's lips.
He threw all the kunai in his hands.
The yellow sand flowing in the air seemed to slow down. The cacti swaying in the gale in the distance appeared to freeze.
Under the incredulous gazes of the Mist ninja, Shimizu vanished.
It was as if a streak of black lightning was continuously flashing through the area.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Several heads flew into the sky.
There was only one thought in their minds: Shimizu actually learned Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique! After Minato, this high-level ninjutsu has found a successor!
Thud, thud...
The heads rolled onto the ground.
Shimizu wiped clean the kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God formula and collected them back into his pouch. Perhaps because of his black hair, the afterimages he left behind when teleporting looked like black lightning.
If Namikaze Minato was the Yellow Flash, then Shimizu was the Black Flash.
Shimizu walked over to Pakura. His hands glowed with a pale green light as he treated her wounds.
He checked the time casually.
After mailing the money to Nonō Yakushi, he had suddenly realized he could send a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God formula to the Land of Demons. Calculating the time, the courier ninja should have delivered it by now.
"Flying Thunder God Mutually Instantaneous Revolving Technique."
Holding Pakura, Shimizu vanished into the sky full of yellow sand.
Only the wind continued to blow the sand and dust, and the vultures circling overhead let out loud, piercing cries.
It was unknown how much time had passed before another group of ninja arrived.
"Pakura actually managed to kill all these Mist ninja."
"Did she survive?"
Several Sand ANBU looked at the headless corpses scattered on the ground.
"No, here is a piece of a torn ninja sleeve. Pakura always wears these on her arms when she's out. That pool of blood below should be hers."
One Sand ANBU pointed at the bloodstain.
With that amount of blood loss, unless a medical ninja treated her immediately, it was impossible to survive. And Pakura herself did not know medical ninjutsu. Furthermore, this was a highly classified mission; apart from the contacting Mist ninja, no one else could possibly know.
"Let's look around a bit more. If we really can't find the body, we'll go back and report to Lord Rasa."
The Mist ANBU looked at the tracks covered by the yellow sand and felt troubled.
Among the Five Great Nations, the Land of Wind had the harshest environment. Every day, endless yellow sand was whipped up, burying everything in the desert; only a few patches of green soil were spared.
This was why their First Kazekage, when the Tailed Beasts were being distributed, didn't want a Tailed Beast but insisted on asking for fertile land instead.
"This guy... what did he send?"
Lady Miroku, supporting her big belly, opened the package.
She found it was a kunai.
Engraved upon it were strange black markings.
"Your Highness, please take care of your body."
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