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[NTU] [ARC-15] Chapter : 193
🕑 Added 2024-10-24 18:32:22 +0000 UTCIn the backyard of an inn in Sand Ninja Village, the yellow sand, baked under the sun all day, radiated lingering heat. The final rays of the sunset intensified the last wave of dry warmth.
In a special sand bath area for travelers, a head emerged from the golden sand.
"This sand bath in the Land of Wind is truly a unique experience!" Toshiro remarked, his body fully immersed in the heated sand. He found the experience quite enjoyable, thinking it was worth repeating.
While it might not provide any real physical benefits, it certainly helped to relax his mind and relieve the accumulated fatigue of his journey.
"what is this, dear hostess?" he asked, noticing something unusual nearby.
Toshiro looked curiously at the wooden tray in the hostess’s hands, filled with various bottles and jars of oils. He raised an eyebrow, intrigued, but then quickly realized what was about to happen, a playful expression crossing his face.
"Impressive!" he remarked, a grin spreading across his face. "Not only does the proprietress excel at barbecuing, and brew a unique, aromatic tea, but even in this... skill, she’s first-class. No, superb!"
"Flatterer! Even now, you find time to joke, My name is Emika" Emika replied with a light chuckle as she worked.
"So the proprietress's name is Emika?" Toshiro asked, feeling more at ease.
"Hmm! Feels great, doesn’t it?"
Before Toshiro could continue complimenting her, his words were cut off by Emika’s next move. The sound of firm pats echoed—slap! slap! slap!—as she increased the pressure of her massage.
"Are you comfortable now?" she asked, her tone teasing.
"Absolutely," he replied with a sigh, clearly enjoying the moment.
'Hmmm! Emika-chan’s hands are truly exceptional!' Toshiro thought to himself, appreciating her massage skills. Her precision—whether applying pressure or finishing with soft pats—was perfect.
Thud! A dull noise suddenly filled the air, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
"Ahh!" Emika started to react, startled by the sudden appearance of a figure in the room. She hadn’t yet seen who it was but instinctively tried to cry out for help, hoping to alert any nearby patrols to the disturbance.
Swish! Before her voice could escape, the figure moved swiftly, covering her mouth. In a heartbeat, the intruder's gaze shifted toward Toshiro, who remained lounging on the massage table.
With a disapproving glare, the figure spat out, "Huh, You’re really a pervert.."
Pakura never imagined that when she would encounter this scoundrel again, and that too would be right here in Sand Ninja Village.
"..."
Toshiro, feigning innocence, responded casually, "I was just trying out the sand bath, and then the proprietress noticed how young and, well, golden I am. So, she offered me a massage. Do you believe me?"
With an impish grin, he gently shifted the proprietress off of him, looking at Pakura with an unapologetic cheeky expression. He certainly hadn’t expected their next meeting to be in such an awkward situation.
Pakura shot him a glare, clearly unimpressed. "What do you think?"
Rolling her eyes, she didn’t buy a single word of his excuse. These two seemed way too comfortable together for it to be just a simple massage. And besides, who wears so little for something so innocent?
"Uh..."
This time, Toshiro genuinely had no idea how to explain himself. He was lying there, nearly naked except for a pair of trousers. To make matters worse, the proprietress, seemingly affected by the evening heat, wasn’t wearing much either. Her cool, smooth skin had been pressing against his back as she straddled him, and the warmth of her body was hard to ignore.
But... these were all completely innocent circumstances, right?
Before Toshiro could come up with a reasonable explanation, his mind drifted to why Pakura had shown up so suddenly. It all went back to her mission to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, that evening.
Earlier, Pakura, fully prepared for the task, had disguised herself as an ordinary resident of Sand Ninja Village. Dressed in simple clothing and accompanied by two other Sand Ninja, she made her way toward the Kage Building, ready to carry out the mission.
The timing they chose was perfect. It was the hour when most of the officials from the Kazekage's office had finished their work for the day. The building would be largely deserted, leaving only the Kazekage, a few ANBU guards, and the officers on duty.
Initially, they had planned to assassinate the Kazekage at his home. However, considering his child was a Jinchuriki, housing the One-Tail, they wanted to avoid any potential complications. Thus, they decided to carry out the assassination before the Kazekage could return home.
To minimize disruption and avoid drawing too much attention, Fugi and his team were tasked with dealing with the Kazekage's guards, while Pakura took on the mission of eliminating the Kazekage himself.
The entire operation went smoothly. When Pakura struck, Rasa, the Kazekage, didn’t have time to react. His guards were efficiently held back by her accomplices, leaving him defenseless in the face of her sudden attack.
However, not everything went as smoothly as planned. After the successful assassination, Fugi and—those supposed allies—did not follow through with the agreed-upon plan to take control of the situation. Instead, they turned on Pakura, launching a sneak attack against her.
Fortunately, Pakura, having learned from her previous betrayal, remained cautious and narrowly avoided their assault. It was clear her so-called allies intended to silence her permanently.
After a tense but relatively brief skirmish, Pakura managed to escape and began to evade their relentless pursuit. She hadn't expected, though, that after finally shaking off her pursuers and reaching the outskirts of Sand Ninja Village, she would stumble upon Toshiro.
And seeing him in his current state only served to fuel her frustration and anger for some reason.
"Let's deal with your wounds first!" Toshiro said, pointing to the kunai lodged in Pakura's body, signaling her to take care of the injury.
Despite their somewhat ambiguous relationship, Toshiro wasn't in the mood to explain everything right now, especially not under these circumstances.
"Hmph."
Pakura snorted coldly, clearly showing her displeasure, and ignored both Toshiro and the woman whose mouth he had covered.
"Looks like it's poisoned," Toshiro remarked. Even without touching it, his heightened senses had already detected the faint, telltale scent of venom on the kunai embedded in her.
Toshiro wasn't surprised that the kunai were poisoned—standard practice for Sand Ninja.
Jingling!
Upon hearing Toshiro's concern, Pakura, suddenly irritated, didn't even bother inspecting the kunai carefully. With a flick of her hand, she threw them to the ground, ignoring the poison still coating their tips.
"Hey!" Toshiro exclaimed, his voice tinged with frustration. "What were you thinking? You should’ve been more cautious, not just rushing to kill Rasa!"
Watching Pakura hastily tend to her wounds, he grew more anxious. He could sense another group of pursuers approaching, likely sent to track her down.
"Listen," he offered, lowering his voice. "We should hide first. I'll cover you."
