Chapter 387: Killing the Third Kazekage? Sure. Killing Hatake Sakumo? Not Happening.(Bonus)

Scorpion's shock made Takuya burst out in laughter.

"What, surprised? Haven't you always wanted to get rid of the Third Kazekage?" Takuya taunted. "Now, I'm giving you a hand. You get to eliminate one of the people responsible for your parents' deaths, and in return, I represent Konoha and get some war benefits. As for the Kazekage's corpse, it's useless to me—you can turn it into a puppet."

Do you really think I'd believe you that easily?

No matter how Takuya knew he wanted to kill the Kazekage, Scorpion wasn't about to trust him that easily. Taking out two sealing scrolls, he slowly backed away, controlling the puppets by his side.

If Takuya made a move, Scorpion would instantly release more puppets to attack and buy time to escape.

Seems like being too straightforward scared the guy off.

Rubbing his chin, Takuya turned and started to walk into the forest.

"I'll give you a day to think about it. If you agree, come find me in the forest tonight. If you report it and bring a whole team to ambush me, that's fine too," Takuya said, vanishing into the trees.

Scorpion kept retreating until he was far enough to feel safe. Then, he stopped, turning to look in the direction of the forest.

He pondered whether Takuya's offer to join forces and kill the Third Kazekage was genuine or a trap to frame him.

After parting ways with Scorpion, Takuya returned to the cave.

Pakura sat alone by the fire, staring blankly. A deer leg was roasting over the flames.

Takuya's sudden return startled her; she instinctively recoiled, clutching a kunai tightly. Upon recognizing him, she slowly relaxed.

Sitting by the fire, Takuya grabbed a kunai and sliced off a piece of meat. He turned his head slightly, teasing, "What's wrong? No one found your marks and came to rescue you, so you're disappointed?"

Crap.

Pakura's face went pale; she thought Takuya hadn't noticed.

He did.

"Hmph!" Pakura knew punishment was inevitable. Instead of defending herself, she just turned her head away with a snort.

To her surprise, Takuya didn't seem to have any intention of punishing her. Instead, he took a bite of the meat and casually asked, "You didn't poison this, did you?"

I spent hours roasting that—you think I poisoned it?!

Pakura's frustration boiled over. She grabbed the meat, stuffing it into her mouth to prove her innocence.

Seeing her cheeks puffed with anger as she ate, Takuya couldn't help but smile. He cut off another slice and continued eating, adding, "Your markers have already been found by Sunagakure shinobi."

Pakura froze mid-bite, her eyes widening as she stared at him.

If the village found her marks, it meant they had come—and now they were dead.

Her back straightened for a moment, but then she slumped. Hope was slipping away.

Already feeling defeated?

The real despair is yet to come.

Swallowing his bite, Takuya added nonchalantly, "Afterward, the Red Sand Scorpion showed up. I wanted to strike a deal with him, so I let him go."

Pakura's hope, which had just been extinguished, flickered back to life. Takuya didn't mind letting her have that momentary spark—what would happen when Scorpion returned, well, that wasn't his problem.

With renewed hope, Pakura even managed to eat more than usual.

Takuya knew exactly what she was thinking, but he didn't bother to point it out.

Night fell, and after washing up, Pakura returned to the cave to rest. By now, she had completely given in to his demands. As long as the orders weren't too much, she complied—like making sure to bathe every day. If she didn't, Takuya would just throw her into the river.

Time ticked by, and Takuya remained by the campfire at the cave entrance until a shadow appeared.

"No need to lurk—just come over," Takuya called. "Looks like you're willing to work with me."

Scorpion's arrival hadn't escaped Takuya's senses. He'd known the puppet master would agree—after all, the person Scorpion hated most was the Third Kazekage.

It was the Kazekage's orders that led to Scorpion's parents infiltrating the Land of Fire, which ultimately got them killed by Hatake Sakumo.

The second person on Scorpion's list? The White Fang of Konoha—Hatake Sakumo himself.

That was why, in the original timeline, Scorpion silently killed the Third Kazekage, which triggered the Third Great Ninja War.

In hindsight, Sunagakure's logic was pretty weird.

The Kazekage went missing, and instead of quickly appointing a Fourth Kazekage to stabilize the situation, they launched a huge search.

And fine, search if you must—but why make it so public? And then, why turn the search into a reason to start a war?

What were they thinking?

They launched a reckless war and got beaten so badly they had to crawl back, eventually turning to Konoha and practically begging to be an ally.

"What makes you so sure I'd agree to your deal?" Scorpion asked, stepping out of the shadows.

"Scorpion?!"

Hearing voices, Pakura ran out of the cave, her emotions running high. Unfortunately for her, Scorpion hadn't come to rescue her. In fact, he didn't even spare her a glance, treating her like she was invisible.

Without hiding anything from Pakura, Takuya gestured for Scorpion to sit by the fire.

Scorpion didn't refuse, but even while sitting, he remained wary of Takuya.

Throwing a few more sticks into the fire, Takuya looked up.

"The fact that I made the offer means I knew you'd come find me. The Third Kazekage was one of the people indirectly responsible for your parents' deaths. You want to kill him, and that's no secret. If I hadn't approached you, you'd have probably done it yourself once you were strong enough."

Scorpion wasn't exactly the village's poster child of morality, otherwise he wouldn't have killed his own Kazekage.

He did it without anyone realizing—a testament to how ignoble the Kazekage's end was.

It was likely poison—there's no way a puppet master like Scorpion could take down the Third Kazekage in direct combat. The Kazekage's Magnet Release would naturally counter any puppeteer.

Even though it wasn't detailed in the original, Takuya was sure Scorpion had used poison to do the job.

And the Kazekage, knowing that Scorpion was Chiyo's grandson and a promising talent, wouldn't have expected an attack—even if he knew Scorpion resented him for his parents' deaths.

That underestimation led to the Kazekage's downfall, ultimately allowing Scorpion to turn him into a puppet.

"Between the Kazekage and Hatake Sakumo, I'd rather kill the White Fang," Scorpion stated.

"Then I'm afraid I can't help you. Killing the Third Kazekage benefits me, which is why I proposed the alliance. Hatake Sakumo—that's a no-go," Takuya replied.

Yagami Takuya wants to ally with Scorpion to kill the Kazekage?!

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Next Bonus: 700-> 1000 power stone

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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 450+ at Patreon com/ Emik01. 

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