Naruto: The Strongest

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The Land of Wind, bathed in silver moonlight, stretched endlessly across the vast desert. 

Shigenari Shuuzawa and his team had taken shelter to rest within an abandoned village in this boundless wasteland. 

Nearby, Yuugao stood watch as the unconscious Pakura lay motionless on the ground. 

"Senpai, wasn't that a bit too much?" Shuuzawa glanced at Pakura, who still showed no signs of waking up, and shook his head at Shisui. 

"She hasn't woken up yet. We can't even interrogate her properly like this."

"Well..." Shisui opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words. 

Even Yuugao, who had been tending to Pakura, lifted her head with an odd expression and glanced at Shuuzawa. 

Their ambush on Pakura's squad had gone surprisingly smoothly. 

After all, the group had just engaged in battle, leaving them vulnerable to a well-timed attack from behind. 

But what truly left them speechless was Shuuzawa's sheer display of power. 

The colossal earth dragon he had summoned was nothing short of terrifying. 

Its devastating impact and sheer destructive force instantly wiped out the Sand shinobi.

This allowed Shuuzawa and Yuugao to coordinate swiftly with Shisui, surrounding the already disoriented Pakura. 

While Shisui had taken the lead in engaging her, and his genjutsu had ultimately rendered her unconscious, both he and Yuugao recalled something peculiar. 

It was Shuuzawa who had actually landed the most decisive blows. 

"Sorry, maybe I did overdo it a bit," Shisui admitted after a moment of hesitation, scratching his head in embarrassment.

Yuugao, however, couldn't help but roll her eyes. "You need to learn some restraint. Seriously, what kind of training did you go through?"

"Oh, my training? It was extremely, extremely strict." Shuuzawa arched an eyebrow before smirking slightly. 

Strict? That was putting it mildly—it had been sheer hell. 

But he had to admit, for all of Danzo's ruthlessness, the relentless training had forged him into the shinobi he was today. 

"Yeah, I figured as much. Otherwise, you wouldn't be this strong," Yuugao said, pressing her lips together before giving him a curious look.

"Where exactly did you train before? You're around our age, but I don't recall ever seeing you at the academy." 

"Well…" Shuuzawa blinked, realizing he couldn't exactly answer that question.

Before he could come up with an excuse, a sudden coughing fit broke the moment. 

Pakura was waking up. Shuuzawa exhaled slightly in relief. 

While the cursed seal no longer affected him, it prevented him from directly revealing classified Root information. 

However, since he intended to betray Danzo eventually, it was best to be cautious.

"She's awake. Let's focus on the task at hand," he said, shifting the conversation. 

"Right." Shisui and Yuugao turned their attention to Pakura. The sooner they got this done, the sooner they could complete their mission.

Pakura's head throbbed with pain, and her body felt heavy and weak. 

But as a seasoned kunoichi, she quickly recalled the events leading up to her capture, and her expression darkened in vigilance. 

Scanning her surroundings, she realized she was inside a decrepit building, with the three shinobi who had ambushed her standing nearby. 

Bound tightly, her fingers had also been forcibly dislocated, making even the slightest movement send a sharp pain through her.

"They didn't kill me, which means..." Despite the pain, Pakura's sharp mind pieced things together quickly. 

Her captors wanted information. 

She didn't know exactly what they were after, but the fact that they had targeted her meant they sought something significant. 

Most concerning of all was the genjutsu that had incapacitated her—it was no ordinary illusion technique.

"You're awake?" A clear voice broke the silence. She turned her head to see a masked figure approaching. 

It was the same one who had summoned that monstrous earth dragon. "Who are you people? And why did you capture me?" 

Pakura's voice was cold as she stared down the masked figure. Though she had her suspicions, she still asked, keeping her tone low and guarded.

"Our objective is simple. We need information about your village's military strategies and current operations," Shuuzawa replied. 

In truth, Shisui could have handled the interrogation himself—his genjutsu was exceptionally effective. 

However, Shuuzawa had his plans in mind, and Shisui agreed to let him take the lead.

"With your forces spread thin between Iwagakure and Kirigakure, your situation is dire. If things escalate further, the consequences won't just affect Sunagakure." 

"Are you idiots?" Pakura scoffed, a smirk of disdain crossing her face. 

"Why would I have access to such information? I'm a combatant, not a strategist. Even if I did know something, what makes you think I'd tell you?"

Despite her words, she subtly glanced at Shisui to gauge his reaction. Yet, there was no fear in her eyes.

"It seems she's unwilling to cooperate," Shisui noted as he approached. 

Seeing Shuuzawa struggling to get results, he asked in a low voice, "Should I take over? Shinobi of her level have strong wills. Standard methods might not work."

"I understand, but let me try a little longer," Shuuzawa responded with a smirk. "Besides, have you considered something, Senpai?" 

"Huh?" Shisui looked puzzled. 

Wasn't Shuuzawa supposed to be interrogating Pakura? Why was he asking him a question instead? Yuugao also leaned in, curious. "What are you thinking?"

"I've been considering this situation from the Kazekage's perspective," Shuuzawa said, glancing at the scowling Pakura. 

Lowering his voice, he continued, "At first, I couldn't quite figure out the best course of action. But after seeing her, I've come up with an idea."

"Oh?" Shisui remained skeptical, but Yuugao played along. "What idea?"

"It's simple." Shuuzawa extended a finger, pointing directly at Pakura. His tone was calm but carried weight. "They should hand her over to Kirigakure."

"...?!"

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"Still no news?"

"No, Lord Kazekage."

In the Kazekage's Sunagakure office, Rasa frowned as he looked at Yashamaru standing before him. He was in a terrible mood. 

The pressure from Iwagakure and Kirigakure was immense, and he had to choose for the village's sake. 

Kirigakure was too far away, while Iwagakure had direct conflicts of interest with them. 

So, without hesitation, he negotiated with Kirigakure and fought against Iwagakure to the end. 

However, the price Kirigakure demanded was too high—one of their conditions was Pakura. But now...

Pakura had gone missing after carrying out a mission. Judging from the traces at the scene, she had clearly been through an intense battle. 

What made matters worse was that several reinforcement squads had also disappeared. These were valuable combat forces—training shinobi cost money!

"Increase the search efforts. Keep looking," Rasa finally said in a low voice to his brother-in-law after a long silence. 

He did suspect that Kirigakure might have taken Pakura, but things would be far more troublesome if that weren't the case. 

He had to find Pakura. Even if it was just her corpse, it still had value.

"Understood, Lord Kazekage." 

Yashamaru nodded upon hearing this and then asked hushedly, "Should we send Elder Ebizō? With the help of the Anbu, it might be more efficient."

"Ebizō?" Rasa frowned, but after a moment of thought, he nodded. "Fine. Having the Anbu assist will indeed be more convenient."

"I have only one requirement—find her, no matter if she is alive or dead. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"

"Such a low-level attempt to sow discord. I thought you people would have something more clever up your sleeve."

Pakura listened to Shuuzawa's words inside an abandoned village house, the sarcasm on her beautiful face growing even more apparent. 

Handing her over to Kirigakure? The village would have to be insane to do something like that! 

Pakura's love for her village ran deep—how could she be shaken by mere words?

"Think whatever you want. I'm simply making my assessment," Shuuzawa shook his head. 

He knew perfectly well that a few words wouldn't be enough to sway her, but that didn't concern him. 

However, he knew how deeply betrayal could wound someone's loyalty to their village.

If not for the fact that her student had awakened her just in time, things might not have ended so smoothly for them.

"What exactly do you mean?" Shisui frowned, pondering for a moment before deciding to ask.

"Actually, we've been looking at this entirely from a shinobi's perspective—we haven't considered the village's point of view," 

Shuuzawa suddenly shook his head and stroked his chin deliberately thoughtfully before continuing.

"Tell me, how effective do you think Kirigakure's forces would be in this environment?"

"They would be severely impacted," Yuugao answered without hesitation. 

The Land of Wind was a barren desert where even water was scarce. 

Kirigakure, on the other hand, was composed mostly of water-release users. 

The Land of Water was surrounded by the sea, with abundant humidity and constant thick fog, providing them with natural conditions for training and developing their unique techniques. 

They had even refined the Hidden Mist Jutsu to enhance their assassination techniques. 

But their abilities would be significantly restricted in this dry, arid wasteland.

"So what you're saying is..." Shisui was thoughtful, seeming to grasp Shuuzawa's point.

"This place is unsuitable for Kirigakure's forces, and they have no nearby reinforcements. Am I right?"

"Exactly." Shuuzawa nodded, but Yuugao furrowed her brows.

"Then why is Kirigakure doing this? Have they lost their minds?"

How should I know if they've lost their minds? Shuuzawa silently complained in his head. 

However, considering Kirigakure's current leader was most likely that lunatic Uchiha Obito from the 'Mad Loyalist Duo,' everything suddenly made sense.

"I have no idea. After all, we haven't directly confronted Kirigakure," Shuuzawa shook his head. His gaze swept over to Pakura before he continued.

"Kirigakure has these disadvantages, so I believe the Fourth Kazekage will likely focus his efforts on Iwagakure, as they pose the greatest threat." 

"As for Kirigakure, I suspect he will employ other means to drive them away." 

"Without Kirigakure interfering, the Third Tsuchikage will have to reconsider his actions, and only then will the Fourth Kazekage have a chance to reclaim everything he wants."

Shuuzawa was basically narrating the logical progression of the political situation, but as he spoke, he grew even more frustrated with Danzo.

Although he suspected that their mission was initially meant to deal with Uchiha Shisui, it also dragged him into this mess!

"And what does this have to do with her?" Shisui understood the overall strategy now but also realized that Shuuzawa was blatantly trying to sow discord. 

He doubted it would work, but he decided to play along. If necessary, he could always resort to genjutsu.

"Do you two still remember what happened a year ago, between Kumogakure and Konohagakure?" Shuuzawa asked with a sly smile.

Both Yuugao and Shisui stiffened under their masks. That incident was one of Konoha's greatest humiliations.

Kumogakure had accused them of false charges and even used the threat of war to force Konoha into submission, ultimately leading to the death of a Hyūga clan member. They would never forget this.

"Hmm?" The two of them suddenly seemed to realize something, and Yuugao bluntly voiced her suspicion.

"Are you saying... her?"

"Yes." Shuuzawa nodded, his gaze once again locking onto Pakura.

"As I said before, we've been looking at this from a shinobi's perspective, not from the village's standpoint." 

"But once you consider the village's interests, things start to make sense." 

"If Sunagakure wants Kirigakure to back off, they must negotiate, and negotiations require leverage." 

"What kind of leverage would satisfy Kirigakure?" 

"Something that presents a major threat to them, someone whose hands are stained with the blood of their comrades, who has accumulated deep hatred against them, and who possesses a Kekkei Genkai they can research."

As Shuuzawa spoke, both Shisui and Yuugao slowly turned their gaze toward Pakura.

"Nonsense."

Pakura's smirk had disappeared, replaced by an expressionless stare as she looked at the three of them.

"Sunagakure is not like Konoha. Such petty attempts at provocation are laughable. Is this the best you can come up with?"

"You're right—Sunagakure isn't like Konoha. It's far weaker than Konoha," Shuuzawa scoffed, showing no mercy. 

"Even Konoha understood that after the Third Great War, the village needed to recover and rebuild its strength. Does Sunagakure not realize this?" 

"As I said before, looking at this from the village's perspective, wouldn't achieving the greatest gain at the lowest cost be the most logical choice?"

"The Hyūga Clan is a noble Clan in Konoha, yet when it came time to make a sacrifice, the Third Hokage didn't hesitate."

"And you? If handing you over could bring peace with Kirigakure and secure greater benefits for the village—what do you think would happen?"

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