radicalducati Chapter 143 Yekura Akatsuki
Chapter 143 Yekura Akatsuki
Chapter 143 Yekura Akatsuki
S-rank rogue ninja, Scorching Release user Yekura!
Rasa's words shocked the entire Sunagakure leadership; they had never imagined that Pakura would become a rogue ninja of Sunagakure.
Just a few days ago, they were fighting side by side and working together against Konoha.
But in just a few days, their companions turned into enemies.
This!
The high-ranking officials present were shocked, but none of them raised any objections.
Power struggles are often accompanied by bloodshed and sacrifice. In this power struggle where the situation has already been settled and Rasa has become the Kazekage, it is normal for Yoko, the loser, to have any kind of ending.
Rasa's words were like the sharpest blade, shattering Yokura's last shred of dignity.
S-rank rogue ninja!
Wanted throughout the entire ninja world!
These words struck Ye Cang hard, both physically and mentally.
She opened her mouth, wanting to refute, wanting to roar, wanting to tell everyone present the truth, to tell them that she had never betrayed Sunagakure, never leaked any information, that she was just used as a bargaining chip, just used as a sacrifice for peace.
But is there any point in saying these things now?!
The moment Luo Sha spoke, her character was already defined, or rather, everyone present actually knew what the truth was.
"I won't kill you, because death means nothing to someone like you."
"But sometimes, living is more painful than dying."
Looking at the dazed Yekura in front of him, Luo Sha said to Yura beside him, "Throw her out of Kikyoyama Castle and let her fend for herself."
"If she survives, that's her fate. If she doesn't—that's also her fate."
"this----"
Yura was somewhat bewildered.
Are we just going to leave it like this?
That's not right, Fourth Hokage. Given your personality, shouldn't you have just dealt with it directly?
And having already gone this far, releasing Yekura would be like letting a tiger return to the mountains.
Do as instructed.
Rasa coldly said, "Although she attempted to assassinate me, committing insubordination, she was once a hero of Sunagakure. I will give her a last bit of dignity. It's better for her to die outside than to die at our hands."
"yes!"
Without further hesitation, Yura immediately called several Sand Village ninjas forward to lift up Yekura, who was already bound by sand gold and unable to move, and headed towards the outside of Kikyoyama Castle.
Seeing Yekura being taken away, Rasa waved his hand, signaling the other high-ranking Jonin to hold a meeting to discuss the next battle against Konoha.
Without Yekura, we lose a major fighting force, and many strategic aspects need to be adjusted.
"Our focus remains on dealing with Konoha. Although we have lost Pakura, we still have Elder Chiyo and everyone else."
"According to the intelligence team, the pressure that Iwagakure is putting on Konoha is enormous. Orochimaru has already left the front lines to support the Iwagakure battlefield, so even without Pakura, our pressure will only lessen. You all don't need to worry."
Upon hearing these words, everyone present was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.
They weren't surprised by power struggles.
Everyone here is a high-ranking official, and those who have reached this level are all shrewd and capable. What they really care about is how Sunagakure will handle its war against Konoha without Yekura as a fighting force.
Yekura's Scorching Release was extremely lethal on the front lines. Now that Yekura is gone, they are essentially missing an offensive spear.
Upon hearing that Orochimaru had gone to the battlefield in Iwagakure, everyone felt a sense of relief.
This reaction was naturally within Rasa's calculations. In fact, a large part of the reason why he attacked Yekura at this moment was because of Orochimaru's departure!
That damned Sannin brought them immense pressure on the battlefield of Sunagakure. Their giant snake summoning beast crushed the puppeteer forces, and their use of poison was no less than that of Granny Chiyo. Their various snake-based ninjutsu were even more monstrous than those who played with poison and puppets!
It can be said that if Orochimaru hadn't left the Sand Village battlefield, Rasa would never have been able to attack Pakura at that time.
The meeting quickly came to an end, and the Jonin left, but Chiyo and Ebizo stayed behind.
"Fourth Hokage, are you really just going to let her go like that?"
Granny Chiyo said in a deep voice, "Since you've already done it, you should have gone all the way. You and I both know Yekura's strength. What if she retaliates in the future—"
"revenge?"
Luo Sha sneered, "Mother-in-law, do you really think I'd let her leave alive?"
Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged a glance, understanding each other perfectly.
Luo Sha wants to have a legitimate reason for his actions, but he also wants to avoid any future troubles!
Although this practice is indeed somewhat despicable, and even unacceptable.
But if a Kage possesses such awareness, it would actually be a good thing for Sunagakure right now.
Outside Kikyo Mountain City, yellow sand filled the sky.
Four Sand Village ninjas carried Yekura, who was bound by sand gold, through heavy guards to a remote sand dune area outside the city.
Yura, who was leading the way, stopped and looked back at the majestic fortress, then at the once-powerful hero on the stretcher, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
"Let's stay here."
He waved his hand, and the Sand Ninjas lifted Yekura off the stretcher and roughly threw her onto the scorching sand.
The gold dust shattered, and Yekura's body fell heavily to the ground, the dust rising up covering her disheveled hair and tattered robes.
Yura stepped forward, looking down at the hero he once looked up to, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
thread.
regret.
fear.
But more than anything, it's a feeling of relief after completing a task.
"Lord Yekura, it would have been better if you had just obediently died at the hands of Kirigakure."
Yura subconsciously used the old title: "Although I don't know what Makoto Karatachi from Kirigakure said to you, since you already know, why do you still have to come back to seek attention?"
Yekura did not answer.
The bindings of the gold dust had dissipated, but her injuries were far from healed.
Furthermore, with her heart broken by despair, Yekura, forced to become a rogue ninja, was on the verge of a mental breakdown. She simply couldn't imagine that one day she would become a rogue ninja of Sunagakure!
Looking at the silent Yekura, Yura shook his head and took out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
"I am very grateful to you for saving me so many times, Lady Yekura. Truly, if it weren't for you, I might have already died at the hands of the Konoha ninja."
"But killing you is also my mission, for the village, for Sunagakure!"
Yura sighed softly.
He was indeed grateful to Yecang.
In those battles where he was on the verge of death, it was Yecang's Blazing Release that tore through the enemy's encirclement and saved his life.
But at this moment, he had to kill her.
This is an order.
It's the Fourth Kazekage's order!
As for Yekura, she was just a rogue ninja who was abandoned and destined to die.
"I'm so sorry, Lady Yekura!"
Yura took a deep breath, gripped his kunai tightly, and plunged it into Yokura's heart.
But at this critical moment...
call out!
A faint whooshing sound suddenly rang out.
Yura felt a numbness in his wrist, and the kunai flew out of his hand and landed on the sand several meters away.
"What?!"
Yura was shocked and instinctively looked up.
Amidst the swirling yellow sand, a figure descended slowly like an angel.
Her long, bluish-purple hair danced in the wind and sand. A pale blue paper flower adorned the right side of her head. Her beautiful face was as cold as ice, and her amber eyes held undisguised anger.
She wore a black uniform robe, and the wings on her back, made of countless white papers, fluttered slowly, making her appear holy and mysterious amidst the swirling yellow sand.
"Who...who are you?!"
Yura instinctively took a step back, quickly forming hand seals in preparation for an attack.
However, the next second, countless pieces of paper flew out from her body like a blizzard, instantly surrounding Yura and the three Sand Village ninja behind him!
"The Dance of Shikigami"
shhhhhh!
Countless sharp pieces of paper shot out like a torrential rain. Yura and the three Sand Village ninjas had no time to react before their skin was slashed by the paper, and blood splattered everywhere.
The three of them screamed and fell to the ground. Although Yura used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge the fatal attack, he still had several bloody marks on his arms and thighs.
"asshole!"
Yura cried out in terror, "Who are you? Why are you meddling in Sunagakure's internal affairs?!"
Xiao Nan ignored him, and simply walked slowly to Ye Cang's side and squatted down.
The injuries were severe, but most importantly, Ye Cang's eyes were dim, even lifeless.
Xiao Nan has seen this look many times. During wartime, many desperate people have this look, especially in the villages of the Land of Rain that were swallowed up by war, in the eyes of the survivors who lost all their relatives, and on the faces of the ninjas who were used as pawns by the great powers.
That was despair, a dead heart, a look in the eyes that held no more hope for the world.
Yekura slowly focused her eyes and looked at the stranger who had fallen from the sky.
Long, bluish-purple hair, a cool and aloof face, amber eyes, and wings made of countless pieces of paper.
An angel?
"you----"
"My name is Xiao Nan."
Konan's voice was cold and clear: "They're from the Akatsuki."
Akatsuki?
Yekura had never heard of this name before.
But at this moment, she no longer cared.
"Why did you save me?" Yekura's voice was hoarse. "Do you know me?"
"I don't know him."
Xiao Nan shook her head, then took out a soldier's ration pill from her bosom and offered it to Ye Cang's lips.
"Eat it."
Ye Cang was stunned.
She looked at the soldier's ration pill, then at Xiao Nan's cold yet inexplicably reassuring face, and for a moment she didn't know how to react.
"You are... a ninja from the Land of Rain?"
Yekura noticed the ninja headband on Konan's forehead.
Such headband markings are rare, but Yekura, being well-informed, quickly recognized the headband's identity.
Why did you save me?
Xiao Nan was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
"Because I don't like to see someone who once saved others die at the hands of those same people."
"Eat this first. Your injuries need to be treated."
Ye Cang stared blankly at the unfamiliar woman in front of him, then looked at the soldier's ration pill, and finally slowly opened his chapped lips and put the pill in his mouth.
The bitter taste of the medicine melted on her tongue, and a warm stream of chakra flowed down her throat into her limbs. Although it couldn't heal her injuries, it at least gave her nearly depleted chakra a chance to breathe.
"Thanks."
Ye Cang managed to utter two words, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible.
Konan nodded slightly, stood up, and finally turned her gaze to Yura.
"You just said she saved you many times. If she saved you, why did you kill her?"
Yura looked at the blue-haired woman who had fallen from the sky and instinctively took a step back.
He had no idea where this guy came from, or why he would ask such a brainless question.
However, the sharp paper-style technique he had just witnessed calmed him down slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Rain Ninja, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. This guy is an S-rank rogue ninja from Sunagakure. I was just carrying out a mission!"
"A rogue ninja?"
Xiao Nan's eyebrows were slightly furrowed.
"That's right!" Yura said, forcing a smile. "She betrayed the village, defied her superiors, and attempted to assassinate Lord Kazekage!"
Konan did not respond to Yura's explanation, but simply looked at him quietly.
That gaze was calm as still water, yet it made Yura feel an inexplicable sense of oppression, as if all her pretense and explanations were exposed in front of those amber eyes.
"I'm asking you this," Xiao Nan's voice remained cold, "she saved you, so why did you kill her?"
"Can't you understand human language?!" Yura roared, her voice trembling with fear. "She's a rogue ninja! It was Kazekage-sama himself who declared her an S..."
"A rogue ninja! As a Sand Village ninja, what's wrong with following orders to eliminate a traitor?!"
"As for her saving me—that's in the past! Now, she's an enemy of the village!"
"----so."
"No matter how many times she has saved you, no matter how much kindness she has shown you, as long as an order is issued, as long as she is labeled a 'traitor,' you can kill her without hesitation."
"Is this the code of conduct for you Sand Village ninjas?"
Yura was speechless when asked the question.
""
"I've seen many people like you," Xiao Nan interrupted him, her voice still calm, but carrying an indescribable sadness.
"In the Land of Rain, on those lands trampled by great powers, for survival, for so-called loyalty," for laughable "orders," people can betray those who once saved them without hesitation.
"Then they will tell themselves that this is unavoidable, that it is for the village, that this is a necessary sacrifice."
"But in fact—"
Konan paused, her gaze passing over Yura, looking towards the majestic fortress in the distance, towards the vast expanse of yellow sand.
"It's just because they weren't brave enough."
Yura was struck dumb, frozen in place.
Not brave enough?
he?
"What do you know!" Yura roared hysterically. "How could you, living in a small place like the Land of Rain, possibly understand the plight of Sunagakure! Do you think I wanted to kill her? But this was an order!"
"Lord Yekura is very strong and brave, and has helped us a great deal on the battlefield, but this is Lord Kazekage's order! Disobeying orders means death!"
"—So, in order to live, you can kill the person who saved you."
Yura's roar came to an abrupt halt.
He opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but found that his throat felt like it was blocked by something.
Xiao Nan didn't press further, but slowly turned around and looked at Ye Cang.
Yecang had struggled to sit up. Although her injuries were still severe, the effects of the soldier's ration pills had restored some of her strength.
"Yura, I don't blame you."
Yura was shocked and looked at Yekura in disbelief.
"You—you don't blame me?"
Ye Cang shook his head.
"Over the years, I have saved many people and helped many people, not just you, but also many, many young Sand Village ninjas, and Little Roll."
"I saved you because you are the future of Sunagakure, because I hope you can live, kill more enemies on the battlefield, protect more comrades, and make Sunagakure better and stronger."
"I never expected you to repay me."
She paused.
"But I never imagined that things would turn out this way—"
"Can I ask you for a favor, Yura?"
Yura looked up and asked instinctively, "What is it?"
"You just said that this was the Fourth Hokage's order. Then I want to know, did the elders—Granny Chiyo, Lord Ebizo—also agree?"
Yura remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded slowly.
"Yes. The Elders Council unanimously approved it. Whether it's sacrificing you or listing you as a rogue ninja, the decision was made after deliberation by all the high-ranking members."
Ye Cang closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Although I had expected this outcome, my heart still ached sharply when I actually heard it.
Grandma Chiyo, the senior whom she once regarded as a teacher and a family member.
Lord Ebizo, the wise man she always respected.
And those comrades who once fought side by side, those partners who once drank, laughed, and fought alongside them.
They all agreed!
What did she do wrong? Was it just because she competed with Rasa for the Fourth Kazekage position, and then Rasa took over, that everything changed?
"Oh----"
Yekura chuckled softly, no longer looking at Yura, but instead looking at Konan.
"Akatsuki organization—I've never heard of that name before."
"We are an organization dedicated to bringing true peace to the ninja world. As Yahiko once said, true peace should not be built on betrayal and sacrifice."
"If people can kill even those who have saved them without hesitation, then there will never be true peace in such a world."
Yekura fell silent.
Yahiko—she had never heard this name before, but the look in the woman's eyes when she said it, the firm yet gentle light, reminded her of her past self.
That version of myself that still believed in the village, believed in my companions, and believed in justice.
"You're too naive." Ye Cang smiled bitterly. "In this world, there is no true peace, only temporary truce."
"Perhaps," Xiao Nan said softly without refuting, "but at least we can choose not to be traitors."
She looked at Yura again, her voice still cold, yet carrying an undeniable authority.
"Today, I'm taking her with me."
Yura's face turned pale, and she subconsciously took a step back.
He wanted to stop them, to roar, to say that this was a matter for Sunagakure and that outsiders had no right to interfere.
He glanced at his three companions lying on the ground, but the words stuck in his throat.
Xiao Nan is right.
He wasn't brave enough.
He dared not disobey the Wind Shadow's orders for the sake of the person who had saved his life. He dared not utter a single word for Ye Cang in the face of the Elders' Council's decision. He even had to comfort himself by saying that killing Ye Cang was an order.
At this moment, let alone risking one's life for the mission.
"Get lost."
Amidst the swirling yellow sand, Konan helped Yekura walk towards the Land of Rain.
The paper scraps fluttered around them, forming a thin barrier that kept the sand and dust out.
Why did you save me?
Ye Cang asked again, his voice hoarse.
"I told you, because you shouldn't have died at the hands of that kind of person."
"Just because of that?"
"Just because of this."
Yekura fell silent.
Looking at the aloof profile of this stranger, and at the resolute light in her amber eyes, she suddenly felt a sense of irony.
The village she had protected for over a decade, her comrades who had fought alongside her, and the people she had personally saved—not a single one of them stood up to speak for her.
This complete stranger from the Land of Rain saved her, risking offending the Sand Village, for a reason she "shouldn't" do.
"What's your name?"
"Xiao Nan".
"Konan—" Yekura murmured repeatedly, "What exactly is your Akatsuki organization?"
Xiao Nan was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
"We are a group of people who want to change the ninja world. Yahiko said that as long as people can understand each other, and as long as there is no more betrayal and sacrifice, true peace will come."
"7
Ye Cang listened, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Konan, you're too naive. I've fought for Sunagakure for over a decade, saving countless lives, and what was the result?"
"He was offered as a sacrifice to Kirigakure, falsely accused of being a rogue ninja, and killed by the very person he once saved."
"Is this what you call mutual understanding?"
Xiao Nan paused in her steps.
She turned her head and looked at Ye Cang intently.
"So, you're just going to give up?"
Ye Cang was taken aback.
"You've been betrayed, sold out, and hurt. So you're just going to accept your fate, let them trample you into the mud, and comfort yourself with the idea that's just how the world is?"
"Then what's the difference between you and Yura?"
Yecang opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
"He wasn't brave enough to disobey orders. You weren't brave enough to continue living either."
"But----"
"But what?"
Xiao Nan interrupted her.
"But you're tired? But you're desperate? But you feel there's no hope left?"
"Then let me ask you, who gave you your Blazing Release technique? Who trained you to possess such power? Who gave life to the people you saved on the battlefield?"
It's yourself.
"You, Yecang, owe your success today not to the village, not to the Kazekage, not to anyone's charity. You earned it with your own blood and sweat, you risked your life for it!"
"Now that they want to trample you into the mud, are you really going to lie down and let them trample you?"
Yecang was stunned.
She stared blankly at the woman before her, at the flames burning in her amber eyes, and a storm raged within her.
Yes.
Why should she accept her fate?
Why should she let that hypocritical guy, Luo Sha, succeed?
Why should she die at the hands of someone she once saved?
"But—I have nowhere to go." Yekura's voice trembled. "I'm a rogue ninja, the entire ninja world is after me. Where can I go?"
Xiao Nan looked at her, her eyes softening slightly.
"If you have nowhere to go, then come to the Akatsuki."
Ye Cang was startled.
"The Akatsuki organization?"
"Yes." Konan nodded. "Yahiko said that the Akatsuki's door is always open to those who have been abandoned by the world but refuse to bow down to it."
"Although our strength is still weak, and our ideals seem unattainable, at least we will not betray our comrades."
Yekura fell silent.
She looked at Xiao Nan, at the stranger who had saved her life, and at the sincere light in her eyes.
Finally, she slowly nodded.
"it is good."
"I'll go with you."