Analyzing the Ninja World Starting from Konoha

Chapter 149 The Severed Bonds

Yekura's movements suddenly froze.

Under the dim light of an oil lamp, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

It was still that familiar smile.

Green leaves of the mountain city.

Yecang looked at the person in front of him, the scorching fireball in his palm slowly dissipating, but his expression did not show much surprise.

"You really came."

Her voice was very calm, almost unnaturally calm.

Aoba smiled and countered, "Didn't you already know that?"

Yecang didn't speak, but just quietly watched the flickering candlelight in front of her.

Aoba's smile faded. She leaned against the table, looking directly into Yekura's dark amber eyes, and softly asked...

"What I'm curious about is, you should know the ending, so why did you still come? Do you still have any illusions about Sunagakure, or rather, about Rasa?"

Yekura's body trembled slightly, her lips pressed tightly together, and she remained silent.

A long silence fell over the cabin.

Only the sound of waves crashing against the hull was exceptionally clear in the silence.

Her heart was like this swaying boat, violently rising and falling in the waves. She loved the village deeply, but Rasa's actions pushed her into the abyss time and time again.

The long silence was louder than any answer.

Aoba sighed softly, stood up, and walked to her side.

"Don't move."

Ye Cang was slightly taken aback, but did not resist.

Aoba placed his hand on Yekura's shoulder, his chakra surging within him.

Under Yekura's astonished gaze, Aoba's body changed again. His height, build, and even the color of his clothes and green hair in a high bun became exactly the same as Yekura's!

The next day.

The ship finally arrived at a remote island in the Water Kingdom.

-

A thick fog enveloped the entire island, reducing visibility to almost nothing. The air was filled with the salty sea breeze and a faint, lingering smell of decay.

Because it was a classified mission, no Sand Village ninja accompanied them.

Yekura stepped off the deck alone, her feet landing on the slippery rocks.

According to the map provided by the Sand Village Anbu, she traveled along the coastline into the island's interior, passing through a canyon on the island to reach the designated meeting place.

Inside the canyon, the perpetual fog makes visibility extremely poor.

This is the unique climate of the Land of Water, and also the battle environment that the Hidden Mist Ninja are most adept at utilizing.

After walking for about ten minutes in the canyon, a figure suddenly emerged from the thick fog ahead.

It was a young Hidden Mist ninja with a warm smile on his face, who quickly came to greet him.

"You must be Lord Yekura of the Scorching Release? I've come to greet you."

The Hidden Mist ninja smiled broadly and was extremely respectful. "It is an honor to meet you. After all, the fog is so thick that you will probably need someone to guide you."

"Thanks a lot."

Ye Cang nodded lightly, "But it's just crossing a valley. Even with thick fog, we shouldn't get lost."

The Hidden Mist ninja scratched his head sheepishly: "Yes, you're right. Well then, please come this way."

As he spoke, the Hidden Mist ninja turned to the side and gestured for them to proceed.

Yecang was completely unprepared and strode forward.

Just as the two brushed past each other, Yecang completely exposed his back to the other person!

The smile on the Hidden Mist ninja's face vanished instantly, replaced by a terrifying ferocity and killing intent.

He slid a kunai coated with deadly poison from his sleeve and, without the slightest hesitation, plunged it into Ye Cang's back with incredible speed!

puff!

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was particularly jarring in the silent canyon.

"What are you doing?!"

Ye Cang turned her head and looked at the other person with disbelief.

"What are you doing?"

The Hidden Mist ninja's face was contorted with rage, his eyes filled with hatred.

"Of course, it's so you can experience the pain those comrades who were brutally murdered by Sunagakure felt in their final moments!"

Whoosh whoosh!

Just then, countless kunai and shuriken, each bound with an explosive tag, shot out from the thick fog on both sides of the canyon, completely engulfing Yekura like a torrential rain.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The deafening explosion echoed through the canyon, and the raging flames instantly engulfed Yekura's body.

After the explosion subsided, several Kirigakure ninja wearing ANBU masks emerged from the mist and confirmed that the target had lost vital signs.

Don't misunderstand.

At this moment, the Hidden Mist ninja slowly stepped forward, looked down at Yekura who seemed to be dying with her eyes wide open, and said in an icy tone, "The resentment of our village cannot be completely eliminated by your death alone. Your death is only a small consolation to Hidden Mist."

He paused, a sarcastic smile curving his lips.

"The ridiculous thing is, those Sand Village high-ranking officials who willingly handed over you, their village hero, to quell our anger must have thought the same thing, right? How does it feel to be betrayed by the village you swore to serve to the death? Hahaha!"

Amidst unrestrained laughter, the Hidden Mist ninja waved his hand.

Several members of the Hidden Mist ninja swiftly stepped forward and quickly buried the body on the spot.

The whole process was clean and efficient, showing that the person was well-trained and clearly had done this kind of work before.

Having done all this, the Hidden Mist ninjas vanished into the thick fog as silently as they had arrived.

The canyon returned to its deathly silence.

Only the wind whistled and moaned among the rocks.

A long time passed.

Two figures slowly emerged from the depths of the canyon.

It was Aoba and Yekura.

Qingye walked to the burial site and formed a "巳" mudra with his hands.

The soil that had been buried there suddenly turned over on its own, revealing a mangled corpse inside, which had now transformed back into the form of a White Zetsu.

Looking at the White Zetsu's body, which had been blown to pieces, Qingye clicked his tongue twice, his tone full of regret.

"What a pity, it's completely unusable now."

This White Zetsu's body is quite useful; it's a shame to just throw it away like this.

Ye Cang stood to the side, motionless.

Her gaze was fixed on the white Zetsu corpse in the pit, which had been blown beyond recognition. Her expression was neither sad nor angry, but rather a kind of empty, wooden blankness.

In her eyes, that broken and mangled body was herself.

That's her.

That's Yekura.

Hagura of Sunagakure is dead.

He died on an unnamed deserted island in the Land of Water, killed by the kunai and explosive tags of the Hidden Mist ninja.

To be honest, from the moment she received this so-called "peace negotiation mission," she already had her suspicions.

She understood when Luo Sha bowed his head to her in Feng Ying's office.

Ironically, the person who understands you best is often your rival.

As both an opponent in the election and a former teammate, Yosakura knew Rasa very well.

How could such a proud person bow his head?

The glint in the man's eyes, the overly meticulous arrangements for the covert escort, and the secret route deliberately kept away from crowds.

Everything was silently telling her the truth.

But she still came.

It's not because of stupidity, nor because of naivety.

Rather, it was because deep in her heart, a last, faint, almost non-existent hope remained.

What if?

What if Luo Sha has truly repented? What if this is really just peace talks? What if the village really needs her?

She's not stupid, she just doesn't want to admit it.

She didn't want to admit that the village she had risked her life to protect would actually treat her as an object, a bargaining chip, handing her over to the enemy in exchange for a peace that never existed.

However, when the Hidden Mist ninja's kunai pierced "her" back without hesitation.

When the weapons strapped with explosive tags rained down on "her" and completely engulfed her.

When the Hidden Mist ninja stood beside "her" corpse, mocking her for being "betrayed by the village she swore to serve to the death."

That last glimmer of hope, like a body shattered by an explosive tag, vanished completely.

What's the most ridiculous thing?

Even though Rasa sacrificed her, a hero of Sunagakure, and personally delivered her to Kirigakure's blade, Kirigakure's hostility towards Sunagakure did not diminish in the slightest.

The Hidden Mist ninja made it very clear that her death was only "a small consolation" for the Hidden Mist Village.

Her sacrifice was meaningless.

She felt that her life had been a joke.

They risked their lives for the village, enduring infamy, but what they gained in the end was not recognition and glory, but a one-way ticket to a pure land.

Yecang raised his head.

At some point, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

The rain in the Land of Water came without any warning. The raindrops were as fine as needles, falling silently and wetting her long hair, which then slid slowly down her cheeks.

She closed her eyes.

It was impossible to tell whether the water streaming down her cheeks was rain or tears.

Maybe there are.

A long time passed.

Yekura opened her eyes.

She raised her hands and slowly untied the Sand Village headband that was tied to her forehead.

She glanced down at the metal plate on her headband, engraved with an hourglass symbol, and gently ran her thumb along the scratches worn away by time.

She started wearing this headband when she was ten years old.

Training, fighting, bleeding, getting injured, and facing countless life-or-death situations, she used everything she had to defend everything that headband represented.

But now, everything that the headband represented has already abandoned her.

Yekura drew a kunai from his waist.

The sharp blade pressed against the metal headband, producing a faint metallic scraping sound.

laugh-

A clear scratch ran down the center of the headband, splitting the sand-covered symbol in two.

Clean and efficient.

No hesitation.

In the ninja world, this represents one thing.

Rogue ninja.

Yecang fastened the headband, which had been scratched, back onto her forehead with a light, slow, yet unusually firm motion.

From this day forward, Pakura, the Scorching Release user, is no longer a ninja of Sunagakure.

After doing all this, Yecang turned around and looked at Aoba, who had been standing quietly to the side.

Rain dripped down her hair, and there was no longer any confusion or struggle in her amber eyes.

"What do you need me to do?"

Yekura's voice was calm.

There was no anger, no sadness; it seemed that all emotions had been severed by that single scratch.

Aoba raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this and retorted, "What, don't you want to go back to Sunagakure and seek revenge on Rasa?"

Ye Cang shook his head.

"No need."

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