I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 331 Returning to the Village!

Ms. Yekura considered it for a long time.

She did not give a clear answer until Nara Rinka left Kikyo Castle and returned to the Land of Hot Springs.

Even though becoming the Kazekage is the lifelong dream of most Sunagakure ninjas, Pakura is no exception.

However, Pakura is still different from other Sand Village ninjas.

Most importantly, Yokura was a prisoner of Nara Rangsei, a prisoner in every sense of the word, both physically and mentally.

If we say that when she was first captured, Yekura escaped from Nara Rinka's clutches through her own efforts and successfully returned to Sunagakure.

She certainly wouldn't hesitate at all about becoming the Fourth Kazekage!

Furthermore, the other Sand Village ninjas wouldn't make things difficult for her just because she was once a Konoha ninja prisoner.

The problem now is that Yekura has been living under the clutches of Nara Rinka for far too long.

For almost half of the Third Shinobi World War, Yekura was secretly "imprisoned" in Kikyo Castle, completely cut off from Sunagakure.

In this situation, even if Yekura really did "escape" from Kikyo Castle and return to Sunagakure as Nara Ranke said, the other ninjas in the village would never easily trust her.

Not to mention recommending her to become the Fourth Kazekage!

In itself, Yekura had no ambition or desire for the throne of the Fourth Kazekage.

From the moment she became Nara Rinka's prisoner, she had essentially extinguished her dream of "becoming the Kazekage".

Now that Nara Rinka had suddenly brought up this matter, it disturbed her peace of mind.

"If it's really like that guy said, that he'll use Konoha's power to become the Fourth Kazekage, then what will Sunagakure become?"

Yekura scratched her hair in great distress, unable to calm her restless emotions even with her usual reading material.

"An affiliated village of Konoha?"

But if Yekura really missed this opportunity, she would feel extremely regretful.

Nara Rinkazu's mention of "becoming the fourth Kazekage" has a dual meaning in Yokura's understanding: freedom and power!

They can escape the control of Nara Rinka and return to the freedom of their hometown.

He became the Fourth Hokage through his own strength and gained control of Sunagakure.

The latter is secondary.

Ms. Yekura has very little ambition now; she just wants to live a simple and peaceful life.

The key is the former!

After all, Pakura is a ninja from Sunagakure.

Having "lived" in Kikyo Castle for so long, it's inevitable that I'd want to go home and visit.

Although caged birds have no pressure to survive, their pursuit of freedom never ceases.

"Can we just go back to the village and not do anything like being the Kazekage?"

Yekura looked around, wanting to discuss things in detail with Nara Ranka, but unfortunately he couldn't see her.

"I'll find another opportunity to have a proper talk with that guy..."

……

The Land of Hot Water, a temporary research base.

Nara Rinka's figure appeared in the air, and he also checked the remaining chakra within the [Shadow Blade] mark.

"Enough for one more use, no need to recharge now. Recharge when it runs out!"

Nara Rinka put down the Shadow Blade kunai in his hand, thinking of Tsunade and Pakura who had just separated.

"Becoming Hokage is not what I want, but as for Kazekage... we'll see! If Yekura really wants to go home, then let her go back. It's always easier to deal with someone you know than a stranger."

If Yokura refuses the suggestion to "become the Kazekage," Nara Rinka won't have much to regret.

If we let acquaintances take control of Sunagakure, then we can use the communication methods that acquaintances use.

But if it's a stranger...

Nara Rinka never hesitated to use his fists to communicate with other ninjas.

Stepping out of the temporary research base, Nara Rinka, bathed in the dim sunlight, saw the little Jinchūriki, whom he had abducted from Kumogakure, meticulously carrying out his daily training.

The blonde little girl held a black short sword about the length of her forearm, and practiced sword techniques one after another on the wooden dummy in front of her with a cold expression.

Nara Rinka watched Samui practice the Cloud Flow Sword Technique and nodded slightly in his heart.

During this period, in addition to teaching Samui to be familiar with and master the power of the Two-Tailed Cat Demon, he also spent a lot of energy instructing him on ninjutsu and swordsmanship.

Practice has shown that Samui's preference for swordsmanship far surpasses his preference for ninjutsu.

Nara Rinkei simply handed over all the Cloud Flow sword techniques he had "secretly learned" from the Hidden Cloud Village to the other party.

"Cloud Flow - Flame Slash!"

With a soft shout, Samui unleashed a dazzling blue flame from the blade of his black ninja sword, "Little Jizo," causing the surrounding air to distort slightly.

The ninja sword, wreathed in blue demonic flames, traced a sharp arc in mid-air, cleanly severing the neck of the wooden dummy in front of it. The rough wooden head rolled several times on the ground.

Blue flames still clung to the broken neck of the wooden figure, quickly spreading to its entire body and burning it into a human-shaped charcoal.

It is quite obvious that this is not an ordinary fire-style ninjutsu, but a special ninjutsu that combines the "cat fire" of the Two-Tails Matatabi.

Panting heavily, Samui's face lit up with joy. He quickly stepped back a few paces from the wooden dummy, away from the range of the blazing flames. Beads of sweat streamed down his fair and delicate face.

After training silently under the shadow of darkness for so many days, she has finally mastered the basic method of guiding and releasing the chakra of the Two-Tails Matatabi! Moreover, she has successfully integrated it into her swordsmanship!

How could Samui not be happy about this?

clap clap clap!

A loud round of applause rang out from the side.

Samui suddenly turned his head and saw Nara Rinka looking at him with a smile. The little girl's eyes lit up immediately.

With heavy steps, Samui jogged to Nara Rinkazu's side and looked up at him with her little face.

"teacher!"

Well, although Nara Rinkei had always refused Samui's title of "teacher," the little girl's stubbornness far exceeded his expectations.

Over time, Nara Ranke became too lazy to change how the other person addressed him.

A teacher it is!

"Very good. [Cloud Flow - Flame Slash] is a B-rank ninjutsu, yet you mastered it so quickly. It seems you do have a high talent for swordsmanship."

Nara Rinka patted Samui's head and praised him generously.

"The most important point is that you have integrated the flames of the Tatakae into your swordsmanship, and you have not given up your training in the power of the tailed beasts."

"Samui, you're really good!"

Upon hearing Nara Langui's praise, Samui's already rosy cheeks turned even redder.

"It's all thanks to the teachers! Teachers are the coolest!"

"We'll stay in the Land of Hot Springs for a while longer, maybe not too long, before we head back."

"Go back? Cloud Village? Oh..."

"Yes, back to Konoha."

Nara Rinka patted Samui's head again to soothe his disappointment.

"Since it's inconvenient for you to travel with the main group, I'll send a clone to take you back before we head back to the village..."

"Um."

Samyi gave a soft "hmm".

Nara Rinka patted the little girl's head again, and was about to go to the Five-Tailed King to absorb some of the long-lost "deer" energy.

But just then, a memory suddenly flooded into his mind; it was a message sent back by his clone who had been left behind at the main camp.