Kitahara Kaede gripped Pakura's wrist, leading her rapidly toward a predetermined direction.
He didn't look back once along the way.
He shifted their course several tis, twice skirting the edge of a stream before suddenly diving into the cover of low-lying shrubs.
Following behind, Pakura kept her gaze fixed on his back.
This man had just saved her, but being saved did not equate to being trustworthy.
Sunagakure had been perfectly willing to deliver her into the blades of Kirigakure. Kirigakure had used a secret code to lure her in, only to attempt to execute her the mont they t.
By what logic should she believe this stranger who had suddenly appeared was "clean"?
Suppressing her breathing, Pakura began to analyze him.
His silhouette was unfamiliar. His footwork was unfamiliar.
She ntally ran through a list of every Sunagakure operative who might be present in the Land of Water. Not a single one matched.
Since Sunagakure had already decided to sacrifice her, they wouldn't have sent soone to rescue her.
Then who was he?
Pakura shifted her gaze slightly downward. The hand gripping her wrist was steady. With every change in direction, he had already accounted for their landing point.
This person knew exactly where he was going. He also knew exactly where the Kirigakure pursuers were likely to track them.
Pakura suddenly rembered that she had ntioned the peace talks mission to one person. However, she hadn't told him the ti or the location.
That boy was rely her contact in Kirigakure—a fifteen-year-old Chunin. His job was to pass intel, await orders, and survive.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have been on that main road, and he certainly wouldn't have been capable of snatching her away from two Kirigakure Jonin.
Then there was that Lightning Style.
Pakura had encountered many Lightning Style users in her ti, but that attack had been different. The explosion of power was too fast; the entry was too precise. To tear through a Lava Style blockade, wound the enemy, and retreat instantly in such a chaotic situation required a level of skill that didn't belong to a re intelligence pawn.
Up ahead, Kitahara Kaede suddenly slowed his pace.
Pakura remained silent. She listened as the sounds of movent in the forest behind them gradually faded. The Kirigakure shinobi had lost their trail.
At least for now.
Kaede led her in a wide arc toward the southeast. This route deviated from the most likely pursuit path while remaining relatively close to the harbor area.
Pakura scanned the surrounding terrain, her brow furrowing slightly.
The transit point for their retreat had been perfectly chosen. This man had mapped out the escape route before he had even made his move.
After another ten minutes, they stopped in a hollow. The terrain blocked the line of sight from behind, and stunted trees concealed the entrance.
Once they ca to a halt, Kaede looked up at the sky and used the shadows of the trees to confirm the ti.
They still had ti.
He turned to face Pakura, his eyes scanning her shoulders, arms, and waist.
"Are you injured?"
Pakura looked at him. "I'm fine," she replied, her voice steady.
A mont later, she looked down at her wrist. "Can you let go now?"
Kaede looked down. He was still holding her. He couldn't let go during the retreat, but there was no longer a need.
He released her. "Sorry."
Pakura took a half-step back. It wasn't a great distance, but it was enough for her to draw a kunai or form a hand seal. She refused to drop her guard simply because she had been rescued.
Seeing her posture, Kaede did not move closer.
Pakura's right hand hung by her side. "Remove your disguise."
Kaede noted her defensive stance. Continuing to hide his identity would only lead her to misjudge the situation and waste precious ti.
He nodded. "Alright."
Pakura stared at his hands. "Slowly."
"Understood."
Kaede ford a hand seal. White smoke billowed out, and the disguise faded away, revealing the youth's original face.
Black hair. Eyes that were far too calm.
Pakura's gaze locked onto his face. In that instant, even her fingers, which had been poised at the edge of her tool pouch, froze.
"It's you?"
Kaede looked at her. "Yes."
Pakura didn't speak imdiately. She had seen this face many tis. Every ti, he had been quiet—delivering intel, listening to instructions.
Occasionally, he would offer her a few reminders. She had always viewed him as a subordinate who needed her protection. She had even thought...
And yet, the person who had just dragged her out of a death trap was him.
Pakura took a step forward, her gaze sharpening.
"How could it be you?" she demanded. "I only told you there was a peace talks mission. I didn't tell you the ti. I didn't tell you the location. And I certainly didn't tell you the details of the mission."
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was heavy with pressure. "Kitahara Kaede, just how much have you been hiding from ?"
Kaede remained silent for a mont. Explaining too much now would make his words sound like a pre-fabricated lie. Pakura had just been betrayed by Sunagakure; any further secrecy would only make her view this entire situation as another trap.
He spoke calmly, "I started investigating the mont you ntioned the instructions were abnormal."
Pakura glared at him. "Investigating what?"
"The missions Sunagakure was giving you. And the recent movents of Kirigakure."
Kaede's tone remained level. "You ntioned that Sunagakure was frequently confirming your location. Your missions increased, the content beca repetitive, and the risks grew. It wasn't normal."
Pakura didn't refute this.
Kaede continued, "Later, you said you were participating in peace talks and would be transferred out of the Land of Water once they were complete. Taken individually, those things are fine. Taken together, they make no sense."
Pakura's hand twitched by her side.
Kaede looked her in the eye. "You are a combat specialist. Matters like peace talks shouldn't be entrusted to you."
Pakura's expression shifted.
"So," Kaede added, "I checked the Kirigakure side. At the sa ti, in the sa direction, Kirigakure also had a contact mission."
Silence fell over the hollow.
Pakura looked at him. The coldness in her eyes hadn't vanished, but it was now mixed with sothing else.
After a mont, she asked, "So you suspected I was being sold out long ago?"
Kaede didn't commit to an absolute. "I couldn't be certain. But the probability was very high."
Pakura let out a short, mirthless laugh.
"Very high," she repeated, looking up at him. "Then why didn't you just tell ?"
"You wouldn't have believed ," Kaede answered.
Pakura's gaze returned to his face. This ti, she didn't argue.
If Kaede had told her a few days ago that Sunagakure was handing her over to Kirigakure for execution, she would have simply thought he was being overly cautious. She might have even felt he was trying to undermine her resolve.
Pakura's fingers slowly relaxed, then clenched tight again.
"So, in your eyes, I've always been stupid?"
Kaede shook his head. "You simply placed too much faith in Sunagakure."
Pakura pressed her lips thin. That statent was more cutting than a mockery, and far harder to refute.
For the past few years, she had believed she was the superior. The handler. She had even considered applying to the higher-ups to have this boy evacuated with her once the peace talks ended.
And yet today, he was the one who had saved her from Kirigakure's blades.
Looking at him, a thought suddenly occurred to her.
"Why did you co?"
Kaede didn't answer imdiately. Pakura pressed forward half a step.
"Do you realize that if Kirigakure had caught your scent, you would have been exposed too?"
"I know."
"You might not have made it out."
"I know."
"Then why did you still co?"
Kitahara Kaede looked at her.
"Because I knew you were in danger."
Pakura's gaze froze. She didn't press him further, nor did she imdiately look away.
The words had been spoken softly, but suddenly, she didn't know how to respond.
From the mont she ntioned the irregularities in the orders from Sunagakure, he had been investigating.
From the mont she failed to answer whether there was "a way out," he had been mapping out that route.
From the mont she arrived at the rendezvous slling of blood, he had been mindful of her injuries.
Pakura looked down at her wrist; he had held her there the entire way.
Kitahara Kaede looked at her and spoke once more.
"You asked before."
She averted her eyes.
"Whether life would be different if you weren't part of Sunagakure."
Pakura remained silent. She had assud Kitahara Kaede wouldn't rember those words.
"Now, you aren't part of Sunagakure anymore."
"You can choose to live the life you actually want!"
Pakura's throat tightened.
"You..."
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