Yes, the Hokage

“Fenglan…” Minato cast a slightly reproachful glance at him, “Marriage is not only a lifelong matter for women, but also for men. Don’t treat it simply as a diplomatic incident.”

“It’s definitely not a simple diplomatic incident, because she also served as a pawn in my plan to hide in Kirigakure. This was just a simple matter of protecting my subordinate, just like with Obito before and Pakura later.” Feng Lan’s answer was very calm.

“No, no, no, it’s completely different.” Minato stubbornly shook his head. “You wouldn’t use marriage to protect Pakura and Obito, you… uh, would you?”

His initially confident tone wavered; after all, it was Feng Lan, who was capable of anything.

"Of course not," Feng Lan replied casually.

"call--!"

Obito's tense expression relaxed, and he let out a long breath. Shisui, standing next to him, couldn't help but cover his mouth and chuckle.

Pakula, unaware of his own presence, wandered aimlessly around the house until he reached the window, turning his back to the noisy others.

"Pakula?" Minato keenly noticed this, but since he wasn't very familiar with the other person, he only tentatively asked, "Are you alright?"

"pretty good."

She didn't know if she was saying this to Minato or to herself, nor did she know what the phrase "it's good" actually meant, but after Pakula finished speaking, she didn't do anything to prove the validity of her statement.

Minato wanted to ask more questions, but Fenglan continued, "In short, she's not even an adult yet. There's no need for a marriage or even an engagement ceremony. It's just a way to establish a relationship. It's better for me, for her, for Kirigakure, and for Konoha."

"It's just a relatively cost-effective deal. Neither side has paid much, but the benefits are huge. That's the meaning of a marriage alliance."

"That's not how it is!" Minato also shifted his focus, taking the lead in refuting Fenglan, "You can't always think about everything so pragmatically. The foundation of marriage should still be love. Since you chose Terumi Mei, it proves that you have some feelings for her. Interests are not the starting point or the end point of everything..."

"Profit is not everything, but you can't do without it."

I'm talking to you!

"..."

The noise behind her continued, but Pakura's attention was no longer on it. She couldn't remember how long she had been standing at the window—it could have been a few minutes, or it could have been longer. The sea breeze in Kirigakure was salty and damp, and it felt a little cold on her face. She looked at the dark sea outside the window, confirming that she was still breathing, still standing, and that her feet were still touching the ground.

But she seemed... unable to feel her own existence, as if her soul had left her body and drifted away to who knows where.

Pakura admitted that her mind went blank the moment she heard Fenglan propose. It wasn't jealousy; she was certain she wasn't jealous. Terumi Mei deserved to live, a fact she knew better than anyone. It was she who had asked Fenglan to save her.

But his request had an unexpected result.

She originally thought that if Lord Fenglan was willing to save Mei Terumi, it was because he respected Mei Terumi's value, or because he needed to maintain the stability of Kirigakure. Both explanations were acceptable.

But she hadn't anticipated that the word "marriage" would get involved. Did this mean that in that person's heart, Mei Terumi was someone special? Just like the Fourth Hokage said.

Although it's hard to imagine that Lord Fenglan would want to get married, the other person is, after all, human, and to be honest... Pakula knows the other person's gentleness better than anyone else. He is not a person without feelings; he just disguises this gentleness and affection as a transaction.

If he really does have those kinds of feelings for Mei, what is his stance?

Pakura never dreamed of becoming someone special in Sunagakure. She was a hero, an idol, a figure revered by the villagers and trusted by the Kazekage.

All he craved was a fixed position, which he had once been abandoned by Sunagakure, but later regained with Lord Fenglan—as his subordinate, as his strategist, and as someone he was willing to prioritize protecting. All three were now confirmed.

They even gained more, acquiring an independent personality and dignity.

But what she sees now is that even after confirming three things, there are still people confirming a fourth thing—the person who will spend their life with Lord Fenglan.

She didn't know what this fourth item meant, whether she needed it, or whether she was missing out on it. All she knew was that her emotions were extremely unstable, and that she was definitely more than just surprised.

Pakula remembered what Fenglan had said to him: "Are you willing to walk this path with me?"

I remember answering yes, and I am very happy to be able to help you.

She remembered that when she uttered the word "happiness," she truly felt that way, and she still doesn't regret it to this day. But now she's also wondering: Is there more than one person standing on that road, and is her position the destination that Lord Fenglan can reach, or just a dispensable stop on the side of the road that he passes by without even glancing at her?

Pakula subconsciously reached into his robes and pulled out a notebook of moderate size. It contained many things: the planning and post-battle statistics of each specific battle during his time in Kirigakure, how he imitated Maple Lord's thinking to reflect on and advance the battle lines, what to pay attention to from the perspective of a chess player, and so on.

But what's truly important isn't these written experiences, but rather two things tucked between the pages: a crumpled passbook and a flower that has been picked and played with.

Normally, seeing these two things would always fill her with strength, but at this moment, Pakula suddenly realized that the expiration date of the pass had long passed, and the flower had long since withered and died, so fragile that it would break in the wind.

At that moment, Pakula suddenly lost control of his emotions: "Sorry, I'm going out for a walk."

The four people making a ruckus inside all turned to look at her questioningly, but she didn't respond to any of them, including Feng Lan, and hurriedly pushed open the door and left.

“Fenglan.” Shuimen cast a meaningful glance at you. “I’m sure she feels the same way about you…”

“I’m sure you’re wrong.” Feng Lan pushed the golden retriever away. “It’s not jealousy, it’s just a strange, vague sense of displacement, worrying that our relationship might change because of it.”

“Fenglan,” Shuimen said helplessly, “Girls who worry about this kind of thing usually have feelings for you.”

“I do have some goodwill towards her, but it’s far from what you’re thinking.” Feng Lan said, standing up as she did so. “However, we can’t let her wander around outside alone, since the area isn’t very safe.”

"The remnants of the Blood Mist Village?" Minato's gaze sharpened.

"Not only that, there's also the Sand Village, and the latter is even more dangerous." Feng Lan looked at Obito, "Pakura hasn't encountered any Sand Village ninjas during this time, has he?"

"No." Obito shook his head.

“That means they are still lying in wait for an opportunity, and now is a good one,” Feng Lan said calmly. “Because of the Hokage’s arrival, Kirigakure, which is already short of manpower, has to transfer many people to ensure the defense of the inn. Under these circumstances, if Pakura strolls outside the village, it will be the best time for them to launch a sneak attack.”

"Take this with you."

Even after hearing this, Minato didn't insist on going with her. He simply tossed her a Flying Thunder God kunai: "Regardless of whether she was attacked or not, the only person she wants to see right now is you."

Chapter 176 The Assassination of Sunagakure

Pakula wandered alone in the village, and people would come up to greet her from time to time. After all, she was the supreme commander of the entire Kirigakure civil war, and she was highly respected by the resistance forces, the Akatsuki organization, and even many villagers.

In the past, Pakura would have stopped and responded politely, perhaps even offering a few words of encouragement, just as she would when she was a hero in Sunagakure. But this time, she simply walked past everyone in a daze.

It wasn't that they were deliberately distancing themselves or refusing; rather, they were completely unaware that someone was greeting them, and they didn't even realize they had walked out of the village step by step.

What was she thinking? The answer is no. Perhaps Pakula wanted to seriously consider her position, but her mind was completely blank.

She walked on at a leisurely pace, perhaps still holding onto a sliver of hope that Lady Fenglan would catch up and explain everything to her.

But even before that, though his brain wasn't really thinking, his ninja instincts had already sensed the killing intent.

“Swish, swish, swish—!”

Suddenly, countless kunai shot out from all directions, almost like a heavy rain, completely enveloping Pakula. How similar this scene was to her death in the original work!

But Pakura was, after all, an elite Jonin, and had been instilled with a lot of dark ideas by Feng Lan. Even if she was distracted, her body had already reacted. She suddenly twisted her flexible waist, and several large fireballs appeared on her side to protect her vitals.

The terrifying power of the Scorching Release caused all kinds of kunai to melt instantly upon approaching. However, these fireballs were not Truth-Seeking Balls and could not be changed at will for defense. Some kunai still managed to pierce through the gaps in the fireballs. Although Pakura tried her best to dodge, she was, after all, a mid-to-long-range attack ninja and was not good at close combat. Otherwise, she would not have exposed her weakness when surrounded by several Jonin.

Therefore, several kunai still hit their target. Although they did not hit vital organs, Pakula suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded.

“This thing…” she sneered, “is it poison that Granny Chiyo herself concocted?”

She straightened up again, surrounded by several fireballs: "Come out, my people."

There was no response. Clearly, the people sent by Sunagakure were all experts in assassination. They knew that Pakura's ranged destructive power was astonishing, so they would not show themselves after a successful attack. They would wait for the poison to slowly erode her body until she was no longer able to resist before killing her.

"hateful……"

In fact, Pakula had long guessed that Sunagakure would try to kill him, and he had imagined countless times how he would react when he actually encountered this moment. Would he roar angrily and say that they had wronged him? Or would he be cold and aloof and say that they could ignore him in Sunagakure and that they could not reach him in Konoha? Or would he shout that he had done a great service for Sunagakure and that he had shed blood for the Kazekage?

When it actually happened, she realized that she no longer cared much about Sunagakure, and she didn't feel much anger or hatred. Instead, she was still thinking about Maplestorm.

His body collapsed limply to the ground, his vision blurring. Pakula couldn't help but think: [I wonder what Lord Fenglan's reaction will be when he finds my corpse. Will he angrily declare war on Sunagakure...? No, probably not. To answer with his usual phrase, it's that I'm not worth that price.]

Or perhaps, Lord Fenglan was too busy with his wedding to notice me at all...

"Hmm, she can no longer maintain her Scorching Release." Maki, who had been observing from the shadows, waved his hand forcefully. "Kill!"

To be honest, he didn't expect things to be so simple. The Sunagakure ANBU had been lying in ambush near Kirigakure for about a month, but they still couldn't find an opportunity. Even on the night the Blood Mist Village was destroyed, Obito was there to protect the enemy, so they couldn't find an opportunity at all.

If Konoha and Kirigakure form an alliance now, Pakura will most likely have to retire after achieving his goal. Would they dare to chase after him to Konoha and launch a sneak attack?

Unexpectedly, just when Maki had already concluded that the mission was going to fail, Pakula left the village alone, looking lost and dejected, and without any precautions, plunged headlong into his own encirclement.

If he hadn't witnessed her commanding the battle with such confidence, he would have suspected that this woman had been abandoned by Sunagakure and, having lost her resolve, had come here to seek death.

“Swish, swish, swish—!”

Countless kunai, each carrying deadly poison, shot out from all directions once again, but this time, Pakula didn't even have the strength to lift his hand.

"I'm such a useless person." She could only close her eyes and await death. "I finally found a place to stay, and it's all like this..."

"Clang clang clang—!"

Just then, a white light suddenly streaked across the night sky, spinning rapidly around Pakula, and actually knocked all the kunai away.

"You Sand Village ninjas are truly heartless." Feng Lan jumped to Pakura's side, casually folding up her ninja umbrella. "Are you already planning to kill your own village's hero so soon?"

"Feng, Lord Fenglan?" Pakula looked up, but could only see a blurry figure from behind. She hurriedly and weakly called out, "My lord, hurry! These people are carrying the poison created by Granny Chiyo..."

"Oh, so you brought poison with you." Upon hearing this, Feng Lan flicked his wrist and pulled out a vial from his ninja tool bag, then plunged it into Pakula's thigh vein.

As early as when he realized that Granny Chiyo was going to take action against Pakula, he asked Tsunade to create a number of antidotes. Although the puppeteers of Sunagakure were powerful, they all had one flaw: they would keep using a single poison as long as it worked, and never prepared several other types as backups.

In Shippuden, Sasori of the Red Sand spared Kankuro's life, which resulted in Sakura creating an antidote for him. However, at that point, he couldn't find any other types of poison to use against him, so all his puppets were poisoned with the same kind of poison. In the end, he even lost the Third Kazekage.

Therefore, Fenglan boldly speculates that he probably learned this habit from Granny Chiyo. The antidote that Tsunade prepared during World War II will most likely still be effective.

Of course, even if it doesn't work, it doesn't matter. He can just go to Scorpion behind Pakula's back and have him prepare an antidote on the spot. As for whether the other party agrees or not? No problem, he has plenty of ways to manipulate children who lack parental love.

Just as Feng Lan had predicted, after one injection, Pakula felt the numbness gradually subside, and after catching his breath, he actually sat up.

Maki: "???"

When he saw Feng Lan appear, he was already prepared to retreat. In any case, Pakula had been poisoned to the point of certain death, so there was no need to confront someone he couldn't afford to offend head-on.

As for killing Feng Lan? You're asking for trouble! Golden Flash will go berserk!

But now, Pakula, who was on the verge of death, has been miraculously saved by a single injection, so he certainly can't just leave like this.

"Lord Fenglan," Pakula gasped, "I..."

"Lord Fenglan." Maki appeared after a moment's thought. "This woman is useless now. For the sake of friendship between Konoha and Sunagakure, could you hand her over to me for disposal?"

He dared to step forward because he was confident. First of all, in Maki's eyes, Pakula was just a hostage sent by Granny Chiyo. Since Konoha and Sunagakure had reached a long-term cooperation agreement and even dealt with the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, the hostage naturally lost his value.

As for Pakura's performance in Kirigakure, although it can be seen as following Feng Lan's orders, isn't this exactly how she was used as a black glove? The black glove is used up and it should be discarded now, otherwise what if people use this to make a fuss in the future and accuse Konoha of interfering in other countries' internal affairs?

However, to Maki's utter surprise, Fenglan immediately retorted, "Dream on! My subordinates, when did it become Sunagakure's place to make decisions for you?"

“Lord Fenglan…” Maki frowned. “Pakula is one of our Sunagakure people, right? He’s just temporarily entrusted to Konoha as a messenger.”

“You said it yourself, she’s now a messenger in Konoha, so naturally she’s my subordinate.” Feng Lan sneered. “I’m not like those old guys from Sunagakure who can just throw away loyal subordinates. Pakura is mine now. Go back and tell Rasa and Chiyo to stop messing with her in the future.”

Hearing this, Maki's lips twitched involuntarily. If you hadn't been so aggressive back then, would Sunagakure have had to sacrifice Pakula to save the king? And now you're so righteously rebuking us, you really have a thick skin.

"Consultant Fenglan... are you really not going to reconsider?"

With a wave of his hand, all the ninjas hidden in the shadows appeared, exerting an invisible pressure: "You have already stepped into our barrier. Even the Yellow Flash probably won't be able to come to your rescue so quickly."

Unfortunately, Feng Lan was completely unfazed by the pressure: "Get lost!"

Maki's face darkened, and he issued a command in a deep voice: "Change to non-toxic ninja tools."

He absolutely dared not kill Feng Lan. If he accidentally injured the other party with a poisonous ninja tool, causing the poison to cause death, Minato would definitely fight Sunagakure to the death. He could not bear that responsibility.

So he could only have his subordinates change their ninja tools and continue the attack. After all, even if Pakura had been cured of the poison, he was temporarily unable to move. And Fenglan was not known for his combat strength. As long as he could bypass him, kill Pakura, and then run away, would you really go against Sunagakure for the sake of a hostage?

“Swish, swish, swish—!”

The surrounding ninjas immediately sprang into action. Those skilled in long-range attacks continued to hurl kunai from various angles, while those adept at close combat charged forward, preparing to bypass Feng Lan and head straight for Pakura.

"act recklessly."

But Feng Lan's lips curled into a cold smile. He twisted the umbrella handle forcefully, channeling chakra into it, and then raised the ninja umbrella high:

"Sand Iron Boundary Law—!"

Chapter 177 Threatening Words: You'd Better Say Less of That

Feng Lan's wrist suddenly sank, and the ninja umbrella unfolded from his palm. The umbrella ribs made a low hum as they tore through the air, and black iron sand emerged from the gaps in the umbrella surface.

It was neither smoke nor liquid, but countless fine, magnetized metal particles. These black substances spread outwards along the umbrella ribs like a tide, rapidly spreading across the night sky to form a giant net covering the entire encirclement.

Iron sand particles attract and rotate with each other, emitting a soft, clattering sound. In the twilight outside the Hidden Mist Village, they extend into thin, sharp black lines, interlocking and crisscrossing to form a massive net.

The Sand Village ninja at the forefront slammed on the brakes and tried to run back, but it was too late. The sand was spreading too fast, and they didn't have time to scatter. Some were pinned to the ground by the sharp sand, some were impaled in mid-air, and some tried to rush forward with taijutsu, but they bumped into large pieces of sand and were sent flying backward, spitting out blood, as if they had been hit by a great wind.

The kunai and various ninja tools that came from a distance suddenly veered off course in mid-air and were attracted to the giant net, just like iron filings being attracted by a magnet. Not only did they fail to hit Pakura, but not a single ninja tool could even land near Feng Lan and the other person. They were all directly hung on the iron sand net, unable to move like dried fish.

Iron sand is the nemesis of all kinds of metal utensils.

“This is…” Maki’s pupils contracted instantly. He naturally recognized the Third Kazekage’s signature ability, but he did not expect that Feng Lan could also control it.

“Impossible, he doesn’t have the Magnet Release bloodline limit at all… Is it that umbrella?” His gaze fell on the ninja tool in Feng Lan’s hand, recalling that there was a large amount of iron sand in the transaction between Sunagakure and Konoha.