Chiyo narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Pakura.
"Pakura, are you willing to return to the village? If you come back, Sunagakure will revoke your missing-nin status. You will once again be our hero."
Pakura let out a cold laugh, her fingers brushing the deep slash across her Suna forehead protector.
"Hero? That title belongs to the living. I was long buried beneath the sands of Sunagakure."
She tapped the scar across the metal plate.
"This mark isn't proof of betrayal. It's the 'certificate of loyalty' you gave me."
Her gaze hardened.
"The Pakura of the past is dead. I now belong to Uchiha Wen Lan. I am the blade in his hand."
Chiyo closed her eyes slowly. Her withered hand trembled faintly.
She knew Sunagakure had wronged Pakura.
But at the time, it had been for the sake of the village.
Yet now—
A former Suna shinobi serving Konoha was undeniably defection.
Every village executed traitors without hesitation.
More importantly, failing to pursue missing-nin would invite ridicule from other nations.
Yes, all villages except Kumogakure had defectors.
But "everyone has them" did not mean letting them live freely.
Wen Lan's eyes sharpened when he noticed Chiyo's fingers twitch.
His left hand gripped the hilt at his waist.
"Old woman," he said coldly, "are you planning to make a move here?"
Chiyo opened her eyes.
Her five fingers snapped open—
Chakra threads shot forward instantly toward Pakura.
"You're courting death."
Wen Lan drew his blade.
A crescent arc of steel flashed, severing the chakra threads in midair. Without pause, the blade swept toward Chiyo's throat.
Chiyo retreated at once, flipping open a scroll and slamming her palm onto it.
Smoke exploded outward.
Ten puppets materialized, fanning out in formation, weapons raised.
White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets.
The entire exchange took less than a second.
By the time Shikaku and the Suna shinobi reacted, the two sides were already locked in combat stance.
At that same instant, over thirty ANBU appeared, encircling Wen Lan and the puppets. Masked faces gleamed under dim light, weapons poised.
Wen Lan stood with blade in hand, eyes cold.
"Attacking inside the Hokage Tower, Chiyo. Are you declaring war on Konoha?"
Behind her puppets, Chiyo's wrinkles deepened with grim resolve.
"War? I am merely executing a traitor."
Her fingers twitched sharply.
The puppets lunged.
Wen Lan's lips curved faintly.
Flames erupted along his blade, sweeping outward in a blazing arc. One puppet's joints shattered, its wooden body collapsing in charred fragments.
The others recoiled from the heat.
Chiyo adjusted instantly. Three puppets formed a triangular seal formation, chanting:
"Buddha! Dharma! Sangha!"
"Three Treasures Vacuum Collapse!"
A violent suction force erupted, dragging the surrounding flames inward.
Wen Lan's eyes shifted—
Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Amaterasu."
Black flames burst forth.
The moment the Three Treasures technique absorbed them, it destabilized.
Amaterasu devoured the puppets from within.
Black fire raced backward along the chakra threads.
Three puppets were reduced to ash in seconds.
Chiyo severed the threads in haste, but the damage was done. The remaining puppets retreated.
She stared at Wen Lan's eyes—
"Mangekyō?!"
Her pupils contracted.
For a fleeting moment, she remembered another face—
Uchiha Madara.
She had witnessed that terror once before.
Those eyes.
That forbidden power.
"God's Eyes."
And now—
This child possessed them.
Cold dread crept up her spine.
Black flames flickered in the scorched air.
Wen Lan shaped the flames with Kagutsuchi, wrapping Amaterasu around the Kusanagi blade. The sword burned with undying black fire, radiating lethal stillness.
He stepped forward.
Each step felt like a blade against Chiyo's nerves.
Suddenly—
Shikaku pressed a hand against Wen Lan's shoulder and whispered urgently:
"She cannot die here. We do not kill envoys. If she dies in Konoha, we lose moral standing among the villages. It will harm us more than help."
Wen Lan's eyes flickered.
The sword halted.
The black flames danced quietly.
After a moment, he retracted Amaterasu.
"You've picked up your life today," he said coolly. "Pakura belongs to Konoha. If Sunagakure continues issuing assassination orders, that will mean war between Suna and Konoha."
Chiyo's face was ashen.
Her grip on the threads tightened, then loosened.
"I understand."
She turned and left without another word.
Wen Lan stood still, watching her depart.
He had truly intended to kill her.
But reason suppressed the impulse.
The ninja world could not withstand another war.
Yes, Konoha was still recovering.
Yes, it could crush the weakened Sunagakure alone.
But war would invite vultures.
Other villages would intervene.
Perhaps even unite.
That would spell catastrophe.
Wen Lan exhaled slowly and sheathed his blade.
Pakura stepped forward.
"Thank you."
He shook his head lightly.
"You are Konoha's shinobi. We will never hand you back."
"If we did, how would we be any different from the old Sunagakure?"
Pakura said nothing.
But in her heart, she had already decided—
Her life belonged to Wen Lan.
A few days later, Minato returned from Kirigakure.
With him—
Kaguya Kimimaro.
Hōzuki Suigetsu had not been transferred. The Hōzuki clan was foundational to Kiri; Yagura would never allow it.
But the trade succeeded.
Massive quantities of supplies arrived.
Konoha's reserves had tripled—perhaps quadrupled.
Give it ten years.
Konoha would rise stronger than ever before.
Why ten?
Because the old guard was dying.
Veteran jōnin across every village had fallen or been crippled.
All great nations now faced a gap in high-level combat power.
What they needed most—
Was time to train the next generation.
—------------------------------
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