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[NTU] [ARC-15] Chapter : 195
🕑 Added 2024-10-26 16:44:44 +0000 UTCWith his keen hearing, Toshiro discerned that the voice belonged to a middle-aged man, seemingly the leader of the group of sand ninja who had just arrived.
"Ridiculous! The Kazekage is clearly already..."
"Ignore him—this guy just wants to take advantage of the chaos!"
The Kazekage's dead body had been verified with their own eyes, so where did these sudden arrivals get the authority to claim they acted on his orders? It was absurd.
"Stubborn fool!"
"Don’t hold back—any rebels are to be executed on the spot!"
The leader gave the command without hesitation.
He had numerous tasks to handle tonight and no time to waste on these imbecile traitors. If they were willing to surrender, he might have spared them, but their obstinacy left him no reason to delay.
"Ahh, you guys~" Toshiro started.
With negotiations failing, the battle before them intensified noticeably, and the conflict began to spread from the front yard toward them.
"Why don’t we find a place to hide first!"
Seeing the impending clash, Toshiro had no choice. These sand ninja would become unpredictable, especially with Pakura among them—what was with her calm demeanor? He couldn't figure out what role she was playing today.
Noticing his concern, Pakura finally relented. After clearing any signs of their presence on the ground, she took Amika and concealed themselves in a corner.
From the look of it, anyone would think they were just ordinary civilians caught up in the ninja skirmish—even Amika played the part quite convincingly.
"Women really are born actors!"
Grumbling about Pakura's unpredictability, Toshiro didn't break his stride and joined the two, blending in as if they were just passersby.
"Move over!"
As Toshiro drew near, Pakura seemed to touch a sore spot, her body trembling uncontrollably. She spoke in a low, tense voice, her expression dark.
"Keep it down—the people outside are about to come in!"
Unfazed by her words, Toshiro didn’t back off. Instead, he edged closer toward Pakura. Just as the sand ninjas in the fight began approaching, he reached out and pulled Pakura into his arms.
"You..."
Pakura was about to respond, but before she could, two figures stumbled into the backyard, interrupting her words mid-sentence.
"Don’t resist any further—Kazekage-sama has already uncovered your scheme!"
"If you surrender now, the Kazekage might recognize you as a fellow sand ninja and grant you mercy!"
Entering with the two desperate sand ninja were several others hidden in the shadows, led by Yashamaru, a trusted subordinate of the Kazekage.
It seemed that they were mindful of the fact that they were all sand ninjas—or perhaps hoping to preserve more lives for the village—Yashamaru looked at the two cornered ninjas and made one final appeal.
"Don’t lie to us. For those of us in opposition, capture only means death!"
"Rasa won’t spare us! Better to take one of you down with us—at least that’s something!"
To show his resolve, one of the rebel sand ninja pulled a large stack of explosive tags from his ninja pouch.
Toshiro and Pakura, standing nearby, frowned. The threat was all too real—such a large bundle of explosive tags going off together would make it impossible for them to keep pretending to be bystanders.
"Calm down!"
Seeing this, the operatives facing the rebellious sand ninja grew visibly cautious. Yashamaru, in particular, looked on with mounting anger.
"Don't deceive us. For those of us in the opposition, capture only means death!"
"Rasa won’t spare us! Better to take down at least one of you—then it won’t be a total loss!"
To prove his resolve, one of the sand ninja pulled a large stack of explosive tags from his pouch.
Toshiro and Pakura, standing nearby, frowned; the threat was indeed real. If that many tags detonated at once, there’d be no chance of remaining unnoticed as mere bystanders.
"Stay calm!"
Witnessing this, the operatives facing the rebellious sand ninja grew visibly uneasy. Yashamaru, in particular, looked on with increasing anger.
They should not have given any chance to repent.
"Whether it’s the border of the Land of Water or the Land of Earth, there is an urgent need for manpower. Although you are part of the opposition, you aren’t its core leaders—the real leader was just killed by us!"
"Kazekage-sama is willing to give you a chance to atone for your actions!"
These rebels were fierce and defiant, but without a glimmer of hope, they might actually decide to go down fighting. Whether the Kazekage would actually grant them mercy would ultimately depend on Rasa’s mood.
"Even so, it just means dying sooner or later."
"With our status, if we were sent to the front lines, we'd likely be given the most dangerous missions—and wouldn’t last long either way!"
One of the sand ninja, noticing a slight shift in their favor, hesitated briefly before tightening his grip on the explosive tag, as if still intent on resisting.
"Fool!"
Ignoring Toshiro, Pakura, and the others nearby, Yashamaru grew frustrated; if the rebels continued like this, there could be unnecessary casualties on their side too.
As for Toshiro and the others, they weren’t his concern. Ordinary people caught up in ninja battles rarely met a good end—either struck by stray jutsu or exploited by ninja seeking information.
Although they were from the same village, the tag’s explosion would leave none of them unharmed.
"Wait..."
Just as Yashamaru was about to launch a full assault with his team, he suddenly had a moment of insight, refocusing on the rebel who seemed intent on a mutual demise.
"Are you really not reconsidering?"
"Though the death rate for front-line missions is high, there’s still a chance of survival!"
The man across from him let his guard down for a moment, and that moment was enough for him to restrict the rebel ninja. Even in such a dire moment, Yashamaru tried to win, showing an impressive resolve.
"Let’s go!"
After considerable effort, they finally managed to capture the two sand ninja, and Yashamaru had no intention of lingering any longer.
He cast a brief glance at Toshiro and the others before heading out of the shop with his subordinates. His responsibilities were many tonight, and he had no time to worry about the fates of a few civilians.
"Let go already!"
Initially, when Toshiro embraced her, Pakura's entire body tensed. If it weren’t for the timely arrival of Sand Shinobi, she might have lashed out right there.
To her frustration, he only tightened his hold, pressing closer to avoid being noticed by the Sand Shinobi. But as soon as they left, her voice turned icy.
With a sharp slap, she pushed Toshiro's arm off her.
"Still as cold as ever!" he said, unfazed by her reaction. Then, with an amused tone, he added, "I'm curious—what exactly did you do tonight to make those Sand Shinobi turn on each other?"
This person had appeared out of nowhere in the small inn, pursued closely by her relentless hunters. Despite the imminent threat, she remained composed, showing no signs of panic.
Then, a familiar figure emerged, shrouded in shadows, who quickly dealt with the Sand Shinobi trailing her, whisking them away one by one.
"Hmm~ Who are you?" Toshiro asked, his curiosity piqued.
The innkeeper, who had been pretending to be a terrified bystander, couldn’t help but study Pakura closely. Despite her disguise, her old friend recognized her almost immediately.
"Pakura... You've defected, haven’t you? So why show up in my establishment now?"
Though she wore a new face, the Amika saw through her disguise. After all, they had history.
