Chapter 268: Pakura 's Submission
"…"
Pakura stood wide-eyed, stunned by the scene before her, her face filled with shock.
Yes, those seven had nearly exhausted their chakra thanks to her.
Yes, Windwalker was undeniably strong.
But—this difference was insane!
She had fought tooth and nail just to survive and wear down the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's chakra. She understood their strength well.
And yet, those same seven shinobi, any of whom could have killed her, were just… wiped out. Effortlessly.
He had waved his hand, and they died as if it were nothing.
Too powerful!
To Pakura , it felt like their strengths weren't even in the same dimension.
Even if the Seven Swordsmen had been at full power, they would've suffered the same fate. That invisible, lightning-fast slash was unstoppable.
Even she—couldn't block it.
"Damn it!"
"How does he control it like that?!"
Pakura was bitter. She had managed to develop Scorch Release: Flash Piercer, showing a high level of control over her chakra.
But to freely control a high-temperature ray like that? She couldn't do it.
And yet Li Yao's Wind Clone could. It left her frustrated.
Li Yao, unaware of her thoughts, reached out. With a pull of Wind Release chakra, six of the swords scattered across the battlefield flew to him.
Poof poof poof...
They vanished midair.
"Summoning contracts, huh," Li Yao thought, smiling.
He had wanted to bring them back for Sasori to study, but it was too late.
Each of the Seven Swords were now bound as summonable weapons. Once their wielder died, someone from Kirigakure would detect it and automatically summon the sword back—keeping it out of enemy hands.
So be it.
Li Yao turned and asked, "You going back? Or are you coming with me?"
Pakura , still dazed from his overwhelming display of strength, replied instinctively, "Of course I'm coming with you."
"Then come here."
He gestured, pulling her into his arms with a stream of Wind chakra, scooping her up in a princess carry and taking off into the sky—heading toward a Kirigakure outpost.
"Wha—what are you doing?!"
"Put—put me down!"
Pakura flushed red. Her voluptuous, soft body squirmed. Her small hands pushed against his chest, heart pounding.
Strangely, her sister's words echoed in her mind.
"Once this war ends, you should marry Lord Windwalker too."
"You're beautiful and powerful. Only Lord Windwalker is worthy of you."
"And Lord Windwalker needs your support as well."
Her sister truly saw Li Yao's Wind Clone as her everything—always putting him first.
Seeing her own sister's strength, she wanted Pakura to marry him too, to help solidify his role as Kazekage.
Back in the village, her sister had often spoken to Pakura about marrying him.
Now, suddenly being carried like this, Pakura 's body went soft. She didn't know how to react.
"Indeed, strength is attractive—everywhere."
Li Yao smirked, glancing at her reaction.
If he weren't the Fourth Kazekage…
If he didn't vastly outclass her…
Would this proud little woman be melting in his arms?
Probably not.
She might've vaporized him with a heat ray the moment he touched her.
But now? Her struggling hands were more symbolic than real.
For all her previous outbursts, Li Yao was making it very clear with his actions: he wanted both sisters.
And Pakura had no response.
Or rather—deep down, maybe she wanted this too.
At least this way, she wouldn't have to worry about someone stealing her beloved sister. They could always be together.
Of course, all of this depended on one thing—Li Yao being strong enough.
So strong that Pakura couldn't even think of resisting.
"Enemy attack!!!"
"Quick—!"
The outposts Kirigakure had set up in the Land of Wind were usually located near oases or mines.
At this moment, the alert came from a mining site where sensory ninja had spotted Li Yao's Wind Clone approaching with Pakura in his arms.
"Hold on tight."
Li Yao reminded her.
Pakura obediently wrapped her arms around his neck, clutching him tightly—so tightly that her two "coconuts" squashed flat against his chest.
Li Yao stretched out his hand, aiming at the outpost below.
"Wind Release – Slash."
Zzzt zzzt zzzt...
The sound of space being torn echoed faintly.
And then—silence.
Pakura turned to look. Not a soul remained in the outpost.
Only pools of blood on the ground hinted at what had happened to the Kirigakure shinobi.
Pakura trembled, arms still around him.
Li Yao's ruthless killing unsettled her.
He noticed and said gently, "You should go back. I'm going to wipe out the rest of the Kiri outposts."
"No. I'm going with you," Pakura shook her head firmly. "This is war—kill or be killed."
She was young, but she understood war's brutality.
Too many Suna shinobi had died.
Feeling pity for the enemy now would only insult their memory.
They continued onward.
Li Yao had received the locations of every Kirigakure outpost from Suna's intel squads.
Combined with his soul perception ability, no Kiri base could escape him.
Most of the outposts were set up around the Land of Wind's vast mining operations.
Geographically, the Land of Wind resembled Saudi Arabia.
Over 80% of its territory was desert.
By normal logic, such a land shouldn't be one of the Five Great Nations.
But there was one key reason: money.
Yes, quite literally—money.
The endless sands of the Land of Wind were filled with rich veins of gold and other valuable metals.
In the Naruto world, the Land of Wind was essentially a shinobi Saudi Arabia—overflowing with wealth.
Thanks to its gold mines, the Wind Daimyō and his nobles were fabulously wealthy. With that wealth, they hired the most ninja clans during the Warring States Era, cementing the Land of Wind as one of the Five Great Nations.
Sunagakure rose with it. The First Kazekage had even dared to stand up to Hashirama himself.
In short, the mineral riches of the Land of Wind had long been coveted by the Lands of Water and Earth.
This Third Shinobi War began because Water and Earth couldn't resist their greed. They invaded to seize those mining resources.
As a result, most of Kirigakure's outposts were located at coastal desert mining sites.
Of the ten Kiri outposts Li Yao had destroyed so far, eight were mines.
He made no distinction.
Every Kiri ninja at those sites—he killed them all.
A week passed.
Alone, Li Yao's Wind Clone had slaughtered every single Kiri shinobi stationed in the Land of Wind.
His attacks were so swift that Kirigakure only realized it was the Fourth Kazekage after he had already started wiping out their outposts along the coastal islands.
(END CHAPTER)
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