Chương 72: Suna Village in White

Despite Pakura being so shy, it's surprising how uninhibited she becomes once she decides to let loose and take what she wants with determination.

Several times!

And here I am, trying to contain my laughter at the warning look she gave me after hearing a puzzled Maki's question about why she walks so strangely.

"I'll tell you another time," Pakura responded, trying to shift the topic to something else. "Are you ready? Haven't forgotten anything?"

"Yes, sensei," Maki had a scroll the size of her leg tied to her waist, and all her meager possessions were there. "But how are we going to distract everyone?" she asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Enel will take care of everything," Pakura reassured while pointing her thumb at me, trying to divert attention away from her odd way of walking.

Technically, it's Haku and Ameyuri who will create the snowfall, but I'm not in a position to contradict Pakura. Today is her... special day.

Yes, let's go with that.

"I'll be in her care," Maki is very polite and bows to me.

We haven't even exchanged a word yet, and I already like her!

I can't help it, let's give a dramatic twist to the events.

"Don't worry, it's natural for me to take care of my fiancée's apprentice," I assured her, causing Pakura's eyes to widen in horror.

"Sensei?!" Maki looked at Pakura, shocked and excited at the same time.

I didn't expect her sensei to move so quickly!

Wait, isn't he the tall man who told her that he rescued her from dying?

It's like a fairy tale...

So romantic! She wanted to know all the details. After settling in, she had to find her sensei and ask him a bunch of things.

"What?" I shrugged innocently at Pakura's heated look. "You weren't planning on hiding it, were you? Get used to it. I've never been ashamed of what I do, and I'm not going to hold back because of it."

Pakura was about to say something—I know from how she opened her mouth and pointed at me—but after hearing that I wasn't going to "hold back," she closed her mouth and acted like a tsundere, turning her head while crossing her arms.

Immensely amusing for Maki, who sent me approving looks for being able to handle her teacher this way. Or at least, that's what I understood.

It would have been more convincing if she didn't blush like a schoolgirl.

In any case, she really needs to open her mind a bit now that the relationship is already sealed, or Ameyuri will steal the best moments.

Maki suddenly interrupted my train of thought.

"Is it going to rain?" she asked, sounding puzzled as she saw the dark clouds that had been gathering since she left her house.

I don't blame her; according to Pakura, the last time it rained in Suna Village was six years ago, and it didn't even last half an hour. That's how scarce water is in the area.

"That's our distraction," I told her as our group began to move.

And as if waiting for my signal, the temperature, which hadn't risen too much since the night, dropped further, and snowflakes began to fall.

The villagers around looked extremely confused at the snow that started to fall, their first thought being that they were experiencing a strange white sandstorm.

After all, how can it snow in Suna Village?

That thought didn't even cross their minds in the first few minutes; the fact that many of them had never seen snow made it even more confusing.

...Kazekage's office...

Rasa had just sat down in his chair and was looking at the few papers on his desk with resignation. Since the missions intended for his village were "stolen" by Konoha, he had more free time, undoubtedly, but he had to invest that time and more in expeditions to collect gold from the desert to prevent the economic collapse of the village.

If only his useless younger son could control the tailed beast, he could unleash some skirmishes to plunder the surroundings. But no, the boy was just a failure who killed his wife in childbirth. Cursed monster.

What the hell was he thinking, using something as defective as a jinchuriki?

And he still remembered how annoying the words of those irritating brothers were, who for some reason still hadn't retired, complaining that Gaara's seal was too sloppy and the main reason for his instability.

All nonsense!

He performed the sealing himself with great effort and considering himself one of the best seal experts in the village, naturally, he did a top-notch job. To say that the seal on the jinchuriki was so bad was to say that he didn't know what he was doing and a complete slander.

They were just looking for excuses to undermine his already precarious political influence, for sure!

It didn't help that the Wind Daimyo was so blind and full of himself, preventing him from seeing the great Kazekage he was. He knew that he favored Pakura for the position, and his displeasure became even more evident when he learned of her "heroic" death that resulted in his ascension to the position.

Damn Pakura, even dead, she gives him headaches.

That his own village looked at him badly for being the reason they didn't receive a single ryo from him made him furious.

Sure, maybe he keeps eighty percent of the gold he extracts from the desert for himself, but it's not like he has any other choice. His techniques, and by extension, his strength, depend on the amount of golden sand at his disposal.

And he wasn't going to weaken himself just so the village could gain a few extra million ryos; that would be ridiculous!

As Kazekage, he needs to be powerful enough that no one dares to challenge his authority. He would prove that none of his predecessors were at his level.

"Kazekage-sama!" a village jonin burst into the office with an alert expression.

"What's happening?" Rasa frowned, internally annoyed.

Doesn't anyone have manners these days? He didn't even ask for permission to enter!

"Kazekage-sama! Outside... it's snowing in the village!"

Rasa thought he misheard and turned his head to look out the window unconsciously. When he saw that indeed, the roofs and the ground began to fill with snow, only one thought crossed his mind.

What the hell?!