One side wanted to kill. The other, to protect.
And since neither party was willing to back down or abandon their mission, battle became inevitable. A duel between Aoshi and Pakura was about to begin.
Signaling for Konan and the others to fall back, Aoshi drew his shinobi blade and pointed it at Pakura.
Likewise, Pakura gestured for her subordinates to step aside.
Although she didn't think dealing with Aoshi would be much trouble, the fact that he dared to lead a squad on his own suggested that he was at least a jōnin—someone whose strength shouldn't be underestimated.
"This guy must be insane… He actually dared to draw his blade on Pakura-sensei," one of her subordinates muttered as they escorted the captured Okubo off the battlefield, shaking their head at the sight.
None of them believed that this unknown Konoha ninja could possibly be a match for Pakura.
And Pakura herself held the same belief. "Out of respect for you being a Leaf shinobi, I won't kill you."
To be honest, if circumstances allowed it, Pakura would have loved to kill Aoshi and his entire team right then and there.
Eliminating Konoha's hidden genius would be a tremendous contribution to Sunagakure.
But the Second Great Ninja War had only just ended, and the village was still licking its wounds. There was no way Sunagakure could afford to provoke Konoha again.
If Konoha decided to retaliate with war, Pakura would go down in history as the one who brought calamity upon her village.
That was something she couldn't allow to happen.
Had Aoshi known what she was thinking, he probably would've burst out laughing.
Right now, though, he simply watched her with curiosity as she gripped her kunai tightly, and four blazing fireballs floated into existence around her.
Those four fireballs were her Scorch Release.
Scorch Release—a combination of wind and fire chakra—was a powerful kekkei genkai that could evaporate an opponent's bodily fluids on contact, turning them into a desiccated corpse.
It was a deadly close-range ability. Any enemy had to remain constantly vigilant against Hakura's fireballs.
Of course, Scorch Release wasn't limited to melee combat.
Before the thought even finished forming, Pakura had already launched herself toward Aoshi. The wave of searing heat from the four fireballs rushing in made Aoshi instinctively lick his lips.
Clang!
With one hand, he blocked her kunai with his blade, and with the other, he instantly formed hand seals to release a Water Release jutsu.
A massive stream of water surged forth, dousing the incoming fireballs and forcing Hakura to retreat.
One-handed hand seals to cast ninjutsu! This was something Aoshi hadn't been capable of in the past. But now, with top-tier water talent, executing Water Release techniques with one hand came naturally to him.
And when this scene played out before Pakura's eyes, her expression shifted to one of surprise.
It was common knowledge among shinobi that jutsu required two-handed seals.
However, those with great strength could perform techniques using only one hand—or even substitute an enemy's hand to complete a jutsu. Some were said to seal with their feet.
Pakura had even heard stories from older ninja about the legendary God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, who supposedly never needed hand signs to use Wood Release—just clapped his hands and summoned whatever he wanted.
She didn't know if that was true, but one-handed seals definitely existed, and anyone capable of using them was never ordinary.
Just this small display made her drop any lingering underestimation of Aoshi.
Only now did Pakura realize how naïve she had been. Anyone qualified to lead a team of three geniuses couldn't possibly be simple.
He probably had no reputation in the shinobi world yet because he'd been focusing on training the trio and rarely took missions.
In other words, Aoshi was another one of Konoha's hidden trump cards. Realizing this only ignited Pakura's fighting spirit further—after all, she was a genius too!
Until proven otherwise in battle, she wouldn't accept defeat at the hands of any peer. Now, she would fight Aoshi with everything she had.
"Konoha shinobi—state your name. You've earned the right to be remembered." Having judged Aoshi to be no ordinary foe, Pakura dropped her arrogant attitude and asked for his name.
Aoshi didn't intend to hide it and responded with calm confidence. "Hirakawa Aoshi."
"I'll remember that—Hirakawa Aoshi. Don't disappoint me." Though she acknowledged him, Pakura still brimmed with pride and unwavering confidence.
Her three subordinates, on the other hand, were utterly stunned. They knew just how proud Pakura was when facing shinobi from other villages.
This was the first time they had ever seen her voluntarily ask an outsider's name. Could it be… this guy wasn't just an arrogant nobody?
Of course, they hadn't seen Aoshi perform one-handed seals and were unaware of how rare and terrifying that ability was.
As Pakura's words faded, four more fireballs suddenly ignited in the air around her.
This time, Aoshi immediately sensed they were far more powerful than the previous ones.
She was getting serious. With a flick of her will, the four newly spawned fireballs launched straight at Aoshi at blinding speed.
Simultaneously, Pakura used Body Flicker to close the distance, unleashing a fierce close assault.
Pakura's taijutsu was formidable. Against most opponents—jōnin included—she would typically defeat them within a few moves, then finish them off with her Scorch Release, reducing them to husks.
Her strategy was simple: if Aoshi could use one-handed seals, then she'd give him no time to use them.
And judging from his previous display, he was clearly a ninjutsu specialist with a strong Water Release talent.
In most cases, a shinobi focused on ninjutsu would naturally lag behind in taijutsu. At least when compared to peers at the same level.
So as long as she could dominate the close-range combat, victory would be hers. That wasn't a flawed strategy. But she still underestimated Aoshi.
Despite Pakura's ferocious assault, Aoshi didn't falter in the slightest. He even managed to dodge all four fireballs cleanly.
Though he no longer had the chance to weave hand seals for ninjutsu, that didn't mean he was losing.
But for Pakura, a draw was unacceptable—she didn't want a stalemate. She wanted victory.
"Impossible! He actually blocked Pakura-sensei's full-on assault!"
Her subordinates were completely shaken. In their eyes, once Lady Pakura got serious, no one could withstand her—not even for a moment.
"I get it now—Lady Pakura must be holding back. She doesn't want to risk provoking Konoha into conflict."
"Exactly, that has to be it!"
They simply couldn't believe that their seemingly invincible Pakura was struggling against a peer.
Their voices reached Konan's ears, prompting her to sneer and retort: "Told you already—Aoshi-nii is seriously strong! Your teacher doesn't stand a chance!"
"Don't worry," Yahiko added proudly, "Aoshi-nii is kind. He won't kill your teacher."
The two's smug words and tone made Pakura's subordinates furious. They wanted to refute but were left speechless.
They could only stare at the fight anxiously, hoping that Pakura would turn the tide and slap their opponents in the face with a decisive victory.