Rasa, who had been kicked stumbling backward, showed no reaction at all. His eyes remained vacant and dull.
Seeing her once bitter enemy reduced to such a pitiful state, Pakura's heart was filled with the satisfaction of vengeance finally achieved.
If it weren't for Takeshi saying this guy still had some use, she would have already burned him into a dried corpse with her Scorch Release.
But waiting another day wasn't much of a loss.
Pakura narrowed her eyes and studied Takeshi, both admiring and fearing his next moves.
...
Land of Wind, the Daimyō's mansion.
The Daimyō was hosting a banquet in his own residence, summoning all capable retainers under his command.
He had been watching the turmoil in the Land of Lightning. Seeing firsthand the overwhelming power of shinobi, the Daimyō felt grateful that he had long adhered to the policy of suppressing ninja.
Even so, Rasa had dispatched people to seize control of the checkpoints, and under the guise of "accidents" had caused the deaths of many nobles.
That inhuman monster—did he really think this Daimyō was a fool?!
The only reason the Daimyō hadn't erupted in fury on the spot was because he was waiting for his forces to fully assemble.
More importantly, he had secretly sent word to the reclusive siblings Chiyo and Ebizō, hoping that someone inside Sunagakure would eliminate this creature who was no longer worthy of being called human.
"The Fourth Kazekage lacks virtue. He's forgotten that without the permission of the Daimyō's mansion, even a foothold to live in would be impossible for them. And now he openly opposes us. I intend to raise an army against them. What counsel do you all have for me?"
The Daimyō lifted his cup, drained it in a single gulp, then clapped to halt the dancers' performance. The discussions with his ministers turned to serious matters.
If not for Kumogakure serving as a grim example, the samurai clans would have surely sworn on their lives that they could easily deliver Rasa's head to their lord.
But Kumogakure's shinobi had already shown every Daimyō across the lands the terrifying reality—once shinobi discarded morality, nightmares for the Daimyō's mansions would begin.
Thus, the samurai present only exchanged uneasy glances. None dared speak up to share the burden with their lord.
The civil officials whispered amongst themselves, but not one dared step forward to voice an opinion.
The Daimyō grew irritated, slamming his cup down with such force that the whole mansion began to tremble.
Huh?
Was his strength truly so great?
Looking at the table that wouldn't stop shaking, the Daimyō thought for a moment that perhaps he had awakened some hidden divine strength. But when he saw, through the hall's windows, the sky outside filled with golden sand, he instantly understood the true source of the tremors.
"That's… gold dust?!"
One of the samurai serving the Daimyō immediately recognized Rasa's technique. He rushed forward to protect his lord, preparing to lead him out through the back gate.
The ministers abandoned all pretense of dignity, scrambling and tumbling over one another to flee.
"Get him out, hurry!"
The samurai outside began their counterattack. Several sharp-eyed warriors spotted Rasa riding atop a golden sand cloud. They seized their muskets and fired at him.
But every bullet was stopped before reaching its target, swallowed by the gold dust.
"Gold Dust Funeral!"
Rasa gave no warning. His hands swept outward, commanding a tidal wave of gold dust that surged down and engulfed the entire Daimyō's mansion.
The Daimyō barely managed to crawl out of the wave's range.
But the samurai who shielded him weren't so fortunate—they were crushed into bloody paste under the pressure of the sand.
"Damn you, damn you! Rasa, you filthy cur!"
The Daimyō's legs trembled. He no longer cared about the wetness soaking his robes beneath him. Flattened to the ground, he spat curses at Rasa.
"Scorch Release: Departure Flame."
Just when the Daimyō thought he would perish under Rasa's hand, a woman's voice jolted him back to his senses.
Twin fireballs spiraled around Rasa, forcing him to halt his manipulation of the gold dust.
A graceful figure landed before the Daimyō, shielding him from harm.
"You vile traitor! To think you would lay hands on the Daimyō—have you forgotten your duty as Kazekage?!"
The woman with her beautiful back bared was none other than Pakura. At this moment, she appeared as the Daimyō's righteous protector, denouncing the despicable actions of the Fourth Kazekage.
Rasa said nothing. With a sharp motion, he blasted the fireballs away with gold dust, condensing the grains into jagged lances and thrusting them mercilessly toward Pakura and the Daimyō behind her.
"Scorch Release:."
Pakura shifted her flames, transforming the fireballs into a blazing wall. The wall melted the gold lances before they could strike.
Foiled in his attack, Rasa did not hesitate further. He turned to flee—but his body suddenly failed him, plummeting from the sky.
At some point, the golden sand cloud beneath him had been burned away by Pakura's flames. Midair, fireballs struck him directly, evaporating the moisture from his body bit by bit.
As the last trace of water vanished, the confused haze in the Fourth Kazekage's eyes finally cleared.
"Damn that Shimura Takeshi…"
In the final moment of his life, Rasa finally understood Takeshi's true intentions. But it no longer mattered—nothing was tied to him anymore.
His withered corpse hit the ground and shattered like brittle clay, scattering everywhere.
Seeing this, the Daimyō felt no fear. Instead, his body surged with a strange, ecstatic thrill.
The beast… was finally dead!
Having witnessed Rasa's death with his own eyes, the Daimyō rose in spirit at last. Ignoring the fact that nearly all his samurai and ministers had been annihilated, he strode forward and kicked Rasa's broken skull several times.
"Forgive me, Daimyō-sama, it was my failure to protect you."
Only after the Daimyō had vented his rage did Pakura step forward at the right moment to speak.
"No need for such formality, brave warrior. You are…?"
The Daimyō finally had the composure to carefully examine the woman before him.
Her looks were indeed striking—though a pity she was a shinobi.
"I am Pakura, once a kunoichi of Sunagakure."
Pakura presented herself with flawless courtesy, leaving no opening for the Daimyō to find fault.
"Pakura?"
The Daimyō thought the name sounded familiar.
But what concerned him more was what she said next.
In Pakura's account, she had once been Sunagakure's hero against Kirigakure. But having seen through Rasa's sinister, treacherous nature, she was spurned by him. As a result, he colluded with Kirigakure to frame her.
Though she slew many Mist shinobi at the cost of her own life's blood, her body was left shattered. And with Rasa supported by the village's higher-ups, she could only hide away to heal in silence.
Once she finally recovered, she immediately hurried to the Daimyō's mansion to expose Rasa's plot—only to stumble upon his assassination attempt on the Daimyō himself.
Hearing her story, even the Daimyō, wary as he was of shinobi, could not help but sigh in heartfelt admiration at Pakura's loyalty.
A loyal vassal! A truly loyal vassal!
What, you ask, why didn't he suspect this was a scheme?
Rasa was already dead. Have you ever seen a fool sacrifice the life of their village's own Kage just to spin a conspiracy?
Moreover, the Daimyō recalled bits and pieces of Pakura's deeds.
Yes—this woman was indeed a loyal retainer, a great one who had once resisted Kirigakure.
There had even been those who recommended her as candidate for Fourth Kazekage back then, though too few high-ranking officials supported her.
Everything now connected. Clearly it was Rasa, that inhuman creature, who feared Pakura would contend for the Kazekage's seat, and so he struck a dirty bargain with Kirigakure to have her eliminated!
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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