Chapter 299
Back at the foot of the Konoha outpost, Pakura spat out a scroll she had kept hidden in her mouth—something she had specially prepared in advance after developing her Crimson Heat Mode, precisely for situations like this.
After changing back into her clothes, she began ascending toward the halfway point of the mountain.
She wore her usual seductive shinobi outfit, revealing her beautiful back and two long, pale arms.
Through the crucible of war, Pakura had acquired a unique aura unlike other women.
There were many women who were beautiful and well-built, but few who could match that while also being stronger than most men.
And that kind of woman… ignited something primal in men.
As Pakura returned, the Suna-nin stationed at the base couldn't help but recall the fleeting glimpse of her graceful, naked back just moments earlier. Even the two wounded men instinctively gulped.
Eyes burned with passion—suppressed but barely contained—were cast her way.
Pakura was used to this. She didn't care. No matter how hot their gazes burned, they could never have her. Let them look.
"…You two stay here. The rest, come with me."
Pakura didn't waste words. She left two men behind to escort the wounded back, taking the other six to continue deeper into the Land of Fire, pressing the attack on more Konoha outposts.
This time, they were going to wipe out as much of Konoha's strength as possible.
"Caw—!"
Less than three minutes into their advance, a hawk's cry echoed from above. The team stopped.
"One of ours, Lady Pakura ," a Suna-nin said.
Pakura nodded—she had recognized it too.
Each village had their own trained messenger hawks. Though the breeds were the same, their calls had been trained to differ, making them recognizable to their handlers.
But to get the hawk to descend, they needed to respond with a specific signal.
Fortunately, one of the Suna-nin could mimic it.
"Screee!"
The shinobi cupped his hands and whistled a trained signal. The hawk responded immediately, swooping down and landing on a nearby shinobi's shoulder.
There was a scroll tied to its leg.
The hawk's handler removed the scroll and handed it to Pakura .
"A message… at this time?"
Pakura frowned slightly, a strange unease building in her chest.
The moment she read the content, that feeling became reality—so much so that even she was visibly stunned.
"He lost?!"
Her pupils trembled. The message was brief:
Sasori had been defeated—by none other than the infamous Sakumo of Konoha, who had risen to fame in the last war by crushing Suna's forces.
Even more shocking—Sasori survived. He had fled.
That didn't make sense.
As much as she disliked admitting it, Pakura acknowledged Sasori's strength. She knew that even she couldn't withstand a direct hit from his Iron Sand Thunder Realm.
And Sasori could fly. That alone gave him superiority.
Konoha didn't have any flying shinobi.
Sakumo specialized in Lightning Release and speed—not flight.
So logically, she had assumed that:
Either Sakumo relied on a sudden blitz supported by Orochimaru, managing to strike a fatal blow.Or Sasori would take to the skies—where even Sakumo 's speed and sharp strikes would be useless.
That meant either Sasori would be killed, or he'd be able to stall both opponents using his Puppet Core's superior endurance.
But now?
Sasori wasn't dead—and yet, he ran.
There were only two explanations:
Either Sasori was gravely injured and couldn't keep fighting.
But the message said nothing about serious injury.
If he wasn't heavily wounded, yet still ran, there was only one conclusion:
The enemy had a technique that ignored Sasori's defenses—an attack that could hit even while he was in the air.
Something like her brother-in-law's Wind Release: Slash, which bypassed all defenses and struck directly at the core.
That would be the only reason Sasori would choose to retreat.
Pakura exhaled in admiration.
"As expected of the man who even forced my brother-in-law to retreat in the past…"
A sparkle of excitement lit her eyes. She wanted to face the man who had made her brother-in-law eat dirt.
If she could beat him… oh, the joy of mocking him face to face.
Her lips curled into a mischievous smile.
"Lady Pakura …" Her team noticed her shifting expression and looked worried.
"We're heading back. Sasori's been defeated."
Pakura quickly composed herself, summarized the contents of the message, and tossed the scroll to the others. Then she turned and sprinted toward the Suna forward base.
The rest followed.
As they ran, they read the scroll—and saw the shocking truth: Sasori had been beaten by Sakumo .
Even though they knew Orochimaru and Sakumo were both powerful Kage-level shinobi, and even though Sasori facing two of them had a high chance of losing…
It was still hard to believe.
After all, Sakumo had once forced the Fourth Kazekage to retreat—the same Kazekage who beat the One-Tail into submission.
They had mentally prepared for the possibility of Sasori's defeat.
But it was still shocking.
For the past year, Sasori's overwhelming power had been obvious to all. His Iron Sand Thunder Realm looked even more terrifying than Li Yao's Wind Release: Slash.
Many in Suna had quietly come to see Sasori as invincible—they just hadn't realized it themselves.
Now that belief had shattered.
"This is bad."
Once the shock faded, anxiety settled in. The tide of war would no longer favor them as it had.
Sasori's defeat meant Konoha had a new powerhouse.
And on their side… all eyes shifted to Pakura .
Whatever worries they had began to vanish.
Before today, they hadn't believed Pakura could match Sakumo .
Even though her Scorch Release was fearsome, if Sasori couldn't win, how could she?
But now, after seeing her terrifying speed—her molten figure dancing across the battlefield—they realized Pakura might not be any weaker than Sakumo .
Sakumo was known for his insane speed and his short blade of white lightning that could cut through anything—intel that Suna knew well.
But now Pakura possessed a speed that rivaled or even surpassed his.
And her Scorch Release had both pinpoint-kill attacks (Flash Piercer) and wide-range AOE like Thermal Pressure.
Her blazing Scorch Release had clearly been developed to counter close-range fighters—a direct counter to Sakumo .
Now that she had fixed her speed disadvantage, any melee fighter would fall into despair when faced with her deadly heat-based taijutsu.
Their confidence was back.
They now even looked forward to seeing Pakura and Sakumo clash—to find out who was truly superior.
And very soon…
That showdown would happen.
(END CHAPTER)
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