Corpses of Iwagakure shinobi fell like dominoes around Pakura. Amid the chaos of the battlefield, her Scorch Release techniques burned with terrifying effectiveness, making it nearly impossible for enemies to approach.
Thud.
Thud. Thud…
"Everyone, stay back! Don't get close to her!"
The Iwa-nin encircling her had seen enough, the scorched bodies littered around Pakura were proof enough of her deadly might. Fear and caution spread like wildfire. No one dared step within thirty meters of her.
"None of you Iwa bastards are walking away from this."
Pakura's eyes burned with fury. As she glared at the retreating Iwa-nin, her voice carried a thunderous, wrathful weight.
As one of the shinobi left to defend the village, Pakura knew exactly how vulnerable Sunagakure was right now. The enemy forces at the village gates, mercilessly cutting down Suna shinobi, had made their intent glaringly clear.
They were here to pillage Sunagakure.
For Pakura, for Ken Ogasawara, and for every remaining defender, this was a battle they could not afford to lose.
If they fell, the village would be plunged into catastrophe.
"You're all going to die."
With a furious snarl, Pakura vanished in a blur.
Though her signature was Scorch Release, Pakura's speed was nothing to scoff at.
Scorch Release: Oversteam Kill.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Reappearing within a cluster of Iwa-nin, her searing fireballs ignited another handful of enemies, their bodies reduced to smoldering husks.
From a distance, two Iwa jōnin, Yū Shirota and Keisuke Minami, noticed the trail of destruction. Fresh from finishing off a Suna shinobi, they both reached the same decision.
Pakura had to be stopped.
They'd been observing her fighting style. So when they moved in to strike, they avoided close combat, despite it being their specialty.
Getting too close meant risking one of those blazing orbs circling her, one wrong step and you'd either be dead or wish you were.
In a battle like this, severe injury was just delayed death.
Earth Release: Great Mud River.
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet.
From Pakura's flanks, Shirota and Minami launched simultaneous Earth-style jutsu.
But it was pointless.
Pakura didn't try to tank the hit, she weaved gracefully between the attacks, her agile footwork keeping her just out of range. Then, without hesitation, she darted straight for Shirota.
Shirota saw her coming.
He didn't run. He couldn't. Her speed eclipsed his.
So, he made his stand.
"Die!"
Pakura's voice was a roar. She lunged in, kunai clenched tight, slashing straight for Shirota's neck.
Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!
Just as the blade came down, Shirota's right fist turned to stone, lashing out to intercept.
Clang!
Kunai met rock. Pakura's eyes widened, the sheer force behind his punch sent her weapon flying from her grip, clattering backward into the dust.
Not missing a beat, she hurled a fireball straight at his face.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
But Shirota wasn't slow. With swift movements, he twisted and dodged through her barrage, narrowly avoiding disaster.
Still, Pakura pressed the attack. She had him on the back foot.
Seizing the opening, Minami launched his own jutsu.
Earth Release: Earth Surge Spear!
Hands forming seals in a blur, he slammed his palms to the ground, spiked earth lances burst upward toward Pakura's back.
Fwhip!
Though facing the other way, she felt the danger. Instinct and speed took over, she was gone in an instant.
Speed and Scorch Release, those were her greatest assets. Against raw power, Pakura trusted her instincts.
Shirota and Minami, sensing their window, moved in synch.
Earth Release: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness.
Pakura's feet barely touched the ground before the technique triggered, walls of earth surged up, trying to trap her inside.
Shirota's goal was simple: lock Pakura down, then drain her chakra dry.
But he underestimated her.
Just as the dome was about to seal shut, a blazing fireball came screaming out, aimed straight at him.
"Shirota, watch out!" Minami's warning rang out too late.
BOOM!
The fireball struck Shirota squarely. His scream of agony was cut short as he collapsed, body scorched black.
"SHIROTA!"
Minami's voice cracked with rage. The Earth Prison Dome crumbled, its caster was gone. Pakura broke through with barely a scratch.
"You're next."
Her gaze locked on Minami, unbothered by the grief and fury burning in his eyes.
If hatred alone could kill, these Iwa-nin under Akagi would've wiped out the defenders long ago.
But they were still here, and she was still standing.
"I'll kill you. For Shirota!"
Shirota and Minami had been comrades since childhood. Even as seasoned jōnin leading their own squads, their bond remained unbreakable.
Now, with Shirota dead, Minami's rage turned volcanic.
"DIE!"
With a roar, he performed another set of hand signs.
Earth Release: Earth Wave!
The ground surged like a tidal wave of dirt and sand, crashing toward Pakura.
"You're the one who's finished!"
Pakura met his fury with her own. Her hands flew into seals, countering his Earth Release not with Scorch, but with something else entirely.
She wasn't just a Scorch Release user.
She wielded both Fire and Wind chakra, and she knew how to use them.
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