71 A Not So Cold Night

"What do you mean we're the last to know about this village?" Ebizo looked at a ninja from the intelligence department with disbelief as he pounded the table with both hands, ignoring the pain that followed from the surprise.

"Yes, Elder Ebizo," confirmed the ninja with veiled embarrassment. "The other villages are paying a considerable price to gather information about this village that seemingly emerged out of nowhere, but no one has been able to collect even a few shreds of information." He handed over a scroll with the information.

Ebizo took it and opened it to read the scant lines with a darkened face.

"Are you kidding me?" Ebizo looked up at the ninja with a less-than-friendly expression. "This isn't even reliable information; it barely qualifies as rumors!"

"In reality, Elder Ebizo, the possibility of Ameyuri Ringo deserting from Kirigakure to this village is almost confirmed by our spies there," the ninja reported.

"Do you think that's even relevant?" Ebizo shouted, throwing the scroll onto the table in frustration. "Every ninja knows that Ameyuri Ringo is dying! Even Tsunade couldn't cure her condition if the copy of the medical records we obtained is accurate; she's basically a walking corpse!"

The ninja didn't know how to respond. There was truly no reliable information about Seimeigakure at the moment, not even on the black market.

Ebizo sat back and rubbed his forehead, recalling how they knew about his tea reserve.

How is it possible that there's such a difference between the two sides?

"Tell me at least you've been observing the envoys from that village without any issues."

"Yes, there haven't been any anomalies so far. They seem curious about the surroundings of the village, their specialties, and based on our observations, it seems the shirtless man is more perceptive than he appears. He's also been pulling apples from somewhere non-stop to eat."

"I don't care about his apples!" Ebizo looked dissatisfied at the ninja.

Why are they paying attention to some insignificant fruit?

"By the way, Kazekage-sama wants to know if there has been any dangerous mission received by the village recently," the ninja changed the topic.

Ebizo raised an eyebrow and looked seriously at the ninja.

"Tell Rasa that if he intends to send one of our ninjas to die for his stupid insecurities, I'll personally make sure he falls off the chair he's been wobbling on since Pakura's death!" he said, almost shouting, as he emanated a bit of murderous intent, making the ninja tremble.

The village was already unstable and impoverished enough to allow an insecure, resentful idiot with a sick need for validation to further deplete their meager assets!

If it weren't for his ability to extract gold from the desert, he would have been kicked out years ago, and a new Kazekage, truly qualified for the position, would have been chosen!

"Yes!" The ninja left the office, worried about how Rasa would react when he conveyed, letter by letter, the warning to stop being a childish idiot.

...Meanwhile, in another part of the village...

"Do you need a big distraction?" I looked at Pakura confused. "For what? You know we don't need something like that if we want to take someone."

"It's for Maki," Pakura replied as she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "If she accepts another mission in her current state, it would be suspicious because she would practically be unarmed. Despite everything she went through, she feels uncomfortable leaving without notice. So, I was hoping we could do something to cause chaos in the village and divert attention, making her disappearance difficult to notice."

"...You know this is unnecessarily complicated, right?" I pointed out the obvious. "She's in a team; if she doesn't report in a few days, they'll know about her disappearance anyway."

"I know, but even if she's a kunoichi, she's still a kid."

"Did you think about how she'll react when she sees Haku, Kimimaro, and Ameyuri?" I suggested. "You told me she doesn't like Kirigakure, rather hates it to the core."

"I don't think it will be a problem. Haku and Kimimaro are kids who were just born outside the village, while Ameyuri humiliated Kirigakure by deserting, so I believe she'll actually like them," reasoned Pakura. That, along with the fact that she had already explained the situation a bit to Maki and had no negative reaction. In fact, she felt quite sad for Haku and Kimimaro.

"And what kind of big distraction were you planning?" I asked, as I seriously doubted she wanted to use explosives or bursts of electricity.

"Well... you once joked that you could make it snow even in this place. I think a bit of snow would be enough to confuse everyone without causing too much damage," Pakura commented. "Unlike Kusagakure, there are innocents here."

I liked that idea. Just imagining Sunagakure's ninjas running around confused like ducks because it started snowing in their village makes me want to laugh. In fact, I mentally noted that I would do it sometime, but I just didn't have any valid reason to justify it to myself.

"You know, I love your way of thinking," I said jokingly as I bent down to bring our faces a few centimeters apart. "I almost feel the urge to kiss you."

Pakura looked into my eyes and swallowed, surely feeling her throat suddenly dry. I maintained the posture for a few seconds, but it seems she was too blank from my abrupt declaration and didn't seize the opportunity.

Too bad.

"What would be a good time for the distraction?" I asked as I straightened up, and she was startled by the question. "We can act from tomorrow since the village is already close."

Pakura blinked and took a moment to get back into the conversation.

"Let's do it tomorrow morning," she said after thinking for a bit. "I'm not saying it in that sense!" she added, blushing as she saw me raising an eyebrow at her ambiguous words and drawing a playful smile. "Maki needs a few hours to pack everything without attracting attention. Her neighbors are very nosy old ladies, and they might notice something unusual," she explained while clenching her fists a bit.

I nodded and took out the den den mushi to call Ameyuri and explain how I needed her cooperation with Haku to cause the snowfall tomorrow at the specified time. Haku wasn't really necessary, but it would be good practice for him and speed up the preparations.

Once the plan was laid out clearly, we spent the rest of the day visiting places where Pakura felt nostalgic and buying some local spices (so expensive that it's a daylight robbery) before going to sleep. Let me clarify something; it's incredible how nights are so cold in the desert. I knew about the temperature's bipolarity beforehand, but it's still a surprising phenomenon.

I was lost in my thoughts when suddenly the door opened (the hinges of this place urgently need maintenance), and I saw Pakura peeking in while holding a cushion against her chest under the starlight filtering through the window.

"The cold of the night brings back bad memories of that time, do you mind making room for me?" she asked with teary eyes and flushed cheeks.

I had to fight with all my might to maintain a serene expression and ensure that the huge smile struggling to emerge didn't succeed at that moment.

"Of course," I replied softly as I lifted the blanket for her to enter.

It seems that tonight the cold will avoid both of us.