By the time they got back to the Manor, the craftsmen had already left.
The night sky was completely black.
Inside another room, Sarutobi Ryo was listening to the Transportation Company members give their latest reports.
"Lord… I need to become stronger."
Guren was kneeling, realizing that she wasn't as strong as she thought.
Facing Pakura's incredible power, she finally understood how important true strength was.
Even that white-haired kid, Kakashi, who was with Namikaze Minato, was someone she couldn't underestimate.
Guren's competitive spirit flared up. She felt she couldn't improve her skills much further here.
"Alright, from now on, you'll be under my command and work with my Anbu Squad Six…"
Seeing that it was the right moment, Sarutobi Ryo placed Guren directly under the command of Anbu Squad Six.
The start of the Ninja World War was a perfect chance for her to get stronger.
The businesses here would slowly be handed over to other managers.
With the war starting and the high chance of Kirigakure attacking the port sooner or later, Sarutobi Ryo was determined to move his main operations to the Land of Waves.
After everything was settled, only Yamanaka Hui, Hyuga Ruri, and the Umino couple were left in the room.
Sarutobi Ryo looked at them. The Umino couple were wondering why Young Master Ryo hadn't told them the whole truth.
Or, was Pakura, the one they'd captured, just a Shadow Clone?
Pakura had been famous for so long, a well-known powerhouse from Sunagakure, and the two of them really weren't sure if Young Master Ryo had captured the real one.
It was normal for them to have doubts.
After all, Pakura's reputation was enormous. Young Master Ryo had defeated her with just a few simple moves - how could they not be shocked?
But Sarutobi Ryo didn't want to tell them the truth because he had his own reasons.
He wasn't just planning to instill the Will of Fire into Pakura to get the Swift Release and Scorch Release abilities. He also had a bigger plan in mind.
This wasn't just about Konoha winning the Third Shinobi World War, but also about the future of the entire Ninja World!
"I'm going to try again to get some information from Pakura's Shadow Clone, because the Shadow Clone might disappear at any time…"
Sarutobi Ryo stood up and left his seat.
The Umino couple exchanged glances, the doubt in their eyes lessening slightly.
So, they didn't capture the real one after all. What a pity.
"Let's go, Ruri, I'll take you out for a walk…" Yamanaka Hui said, leading Ruri out of the Manor, ready to enjoy the Night Market.
With the Great War starting, there wouldn't be many more chances for such relaxing times in the future.
----
In the dim underground room, candles flickered.
When Pakura woke up, she felt incredibly weak.
The Yamanaka Clan's mind-probing technique hadn't completely destroyed her brain.
The tough hero from Sunagakure was still holding on.
But it had left her exhausted, with almost no strength left.
"You…" Pakura glared at the young man standing in front of her.
Her mind had been searched for information, and Pakura wanted to kill herself on the spot to atone for her failure.
Because of her carelessness, the Honorable Kazekage's plans had been revealed, which was…
"I'm quite interested in your plan."
Sarutobi Ryo stood in front of Pakura, his hands behind his back, slowly pacing back and forth.
His words surprised Pakura.
"We in Konoha already have three Elders who cause us enough trouble. Your Sunagakure has more than a dozen old geezers; your heads must explode every day…"
Sarutobi Ryo's calm words confused Pakura: "What do you want?!"
"The Third Kazekage's plan is to get rid of the troublesome people in Sunagakure. It's a pretty good plan…"
Sarutobi Ryo continued.
"But there will be many problems along the way. Even Rasa will become an obstacle to your plan…"
"…"
Sarutobi Ryo's words made Pakura's expression turn serious.
How much does this guy know about our Sunagakure? Damn it … Could that Yamanaka Clan woman have dug out all the information from my mind?
No, that couldn't be right.
To completely read someone's mind, even Yamanaka Inoichi would need several days.
But Pakura knew she had only been mind-probed for a short time.
"Rasa is the Kazekage's student, but he's loyal to the Council of Elders… Of course, if he knew the Third Kazekage was still alive, he wouldn't dare to keep giving in to the Elders…"
In the original story, Rasa constantly gave in to the Council of Elders, which eventually led to Pakura's death.
Later, when Gaara became Kazekage, it was pretty much the same. The Elders were just too hard to deal with.
Pakura in the original story was blindly loyal because she didn't expect the Elders to be so shameless.
But in this world, thanks to the Third Kazekage's influence, Pakura had started to see the problems in Sunagakure.
Looking at the results.
If Rasa becomes Kazekage, Sunagakure will slowly decline, eventually having to rely on Rasa's Magnet Release to mine gold and sell it to keep the economy going.
But if Pakura becomes Kazekage, Sunagakure will become even stronger.
From Konoha's point of view, a weaker Sunagakure would be better for them, but that was a short-sighted view.
Thinking about the long term, with the Akatsuki, Infinite Tsukuyomi, Uchiha Madara, Ōtsutsuki aliens… and so on.
A strong Sunagakure could provide a lot of help.
In the original story, Naruto and Gaara had a good relationship, helping each other and both benefiting.
Sarutobi Ryo planned to make that happen earlier, setting things up for the future.
"Pakura, I have a proposal…"
Sarutobi Ryo's eyes burned as he stared at the Sunagakure woman tied to the chair in front of him.
Her fair skin, lit by the candlelight, shone in Sarutobi Ryo's eyes.
Even though she was from the Land of Wind, she hadn't been affected by the wind and sand at all.
The few small wounds on her body added to her heroic charm.
Her impressive figure, emphasized by her backless dress, showed how confident Pakura was.
"You help me, and I'll help you, what do you think?"
"Wh-?"
Before Pakura could react, the Sarutobi Clan's Summoning Weapon slowly rose in the darkness, like the rising of the red sun.
Bright and shocking.
The system said he needed 20% progress to get Swift Release, so…
"Let's eat something first, don't be shy, I'll feed you…"
Sarutobi Ryo stared at the surprised face of the woman, her red lips clearly visible.
Then, he stepped forward.
Pat.
The delicious food landed on Pakura's smooth, fair nose.
Pakura, her eyes wide, looked at the special dish from the Fire Country in disbelief, her eyes almost popping out.
There was no way she could resist, it was just too tempting...
The next second.
Sizzle~!
Pakura: "Mmph~!"
The night grew darker.
The night's rhythm, the Will of Fire Set Meal, was entertaining the Sunagakure guest who had come from so far.
Sarutobi Ryo smiled, constantly feeding her.
"Pakura… eat up…"
Pakura: "Ugh, bleh~!"
*
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[T/N:
Final Total Power Stone Collection : 114 PS
Goal : Reach +50 Total PS = +2 Bonus Chapters next day! 🚀
Want to support my work and get early access to chapters? Check out my Patreon! 👇
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]