Overdrafting the Future, Starting in Naruto

Late at night on the second day after Pakura left the Sand Village, Kinoshita Genichi, like a ghost, infiltrated the home of a high-ranking Sand Village official.

The sleeping Mato was suddenly startled awake, his eyes opening to meet those of Genichi, who was hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"The Sharingan…"

Mato was shocked, but he had already lost control of his body. His eyes went blank as he was hypnotized by Genichi.

In the Land of Water, Genichi, who was monitoring Pakura, suddenly received the memory feedback from his shadow clone: "Sacrifice Pakura, attack Konoha."

Although the Sand elder, Mato, was old and frail, he had once been a jonin. Even with the Sharingan's hypnosis, the information obtained was limited. But just a few words were enough to piece together the bigger picture.

An alliance with the Village Hidden in the Mist to attack Konoha? A fine plan indeed.

Genichi sneered to himself. On second thought, the Sand Village's decision was very reasonable. They had suffered such heavy losses in this war; they needed to recoup them somehow. Looking around, the Land of Fire was the most prosperous. And there was also the Land of Rivers, the buffer zone between the Fire and Wind countries, which they could perhaps take while Konoha was under siege.

With Iwagakure currently fighting on three fronts, if Sunagakure were to launch a full-scale counter-attack, it wouldn't be difficult to drive them out of the Land of Wind.

Sabotaging the peace talks and alliance… that's a bit difficult.

Genichi frowned to himself. This wasn't something that could be achieved just by saving Pakura. Even if he disguised himself as a Sand ninja and rescued her, it wouldn't be enough to completely destroy the alliance between the Mist and the Sand. The two villages' interests were now aligned. Saving Pakura would only delay things for a while.

Unless…

An idea sprouted in Genichi's mind and immediately began to grow like a weed. A plan quickly took shape.

The night passed without incident. Early in the morning, Pakura set off again, with Genichi trailing far behind.

At the same time, the disappearance of the Sand elder, Mato, was finally discovered. The Fourth Kazekage ordered a search. Although he maintained restraint and limited the search to within the village, it still caused quite a stir.

"Fourth Kazekage, you must strengthen your guard!" Chiyo entered the Kazekage's office and got straight to the point. "Especially you, as the Kage!"

Rasa frowned. "Granny Chiyo, do you suspect the culprit will try to assassinate me?"

"Whether they will or not, we must be on guard," Chiyo said. "What happened to the Third cannot be repeated. Also, Fourth, don't forget that the Third Mizukage was assassinated in his own office. Otherwise, the Mist Village wouldn't have agreed to an alliance with us so easily."

Rasa nodded. "I understand. I will strengthen my own guard, and that of the elders. But, Granny, who do you think the culprit is?"

"It could be Iwagakure," Chiyo said flatly, "or it could be someone else." No body, no trace of the living person. There were too many possibilities.

Land of Water.

Amidst the swirling mist, the slowly walking Pakura suddenly stopped.

"You must be the esteemed Pakura of the Scorch Release." A handsome Mist ninja with a warm, sunny smile emerged from the fog.

Pakura breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward. "Yes, I am Pakura, here on behalf of the Sand."

The Mist ninja came to her side and made an inviting gesture. "You've had a long journey. Because of the fog, I was sent to welcome you."

"Thank you," Pakura said frankly, "but I don't think I would have gotten lost."

The Mist ninja followed behind her, his once-warm smile gradually turning sinister. One hand had already pulled a kunai from his ninja pouch, but his words were still polite. "It is a sign of respect for you, my lady."

Just as Pakura was about to respond in kind, her expression changed drastically. "You…"

The Mist ninja plunged the kunai into her back, a ferocious smile on his face. "This is revenge for my fallen comrades!"

As he let go, Pakura staggered a few steps and then fell to the ground.

Damn it… it's poisoned!

She struggled to get up, but the strength was rapidly draining from her body. She turned her head with difficulty, her blurring vision catching sight of a large number of Mist-nin appearing on the side of the gorge.

At that moment, she finally understood. She had been abandoned by her village.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

From the mountains on both sides of the gorge, one Mist-nin after another threw their shuriken and kunai with all their might, venting all their hatred.

But just then, Genichi suddenly appeared beside Pakura, and before the volley of weapons could land, he vanished with her.

"Look out, there's an enemy!" a Mist-nin shouted. Immediately after, a roar was heard. The ninja on both sides of the mountain turned and saw a waterfall descending from the sky.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Many of the Mist-nin immediately leaped away, but half of them were still struck by the water. They were smashed from the air to the ground, suffering a double impact and dying instantly.

On the mountain, after the water jutsu, Genichi's shadow clone immediately followed up with a Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere. A large number of air bullets shot out, turning several Mist-nin into sieves.

"Two enemies, on the mountain!" Mist-nin charged toward Genichi from both sides.

Instead of retreating, Genichi charged down the mountain to meet them.

Meanwhile, the real Genichi had already brought Pakura to a cave. He first pulled the kunai from her back, then used the Delicate Healing Extraction Technique to draw out the poison.

Such a beautiful back. It would be a pity to leave a scar.

After removing the poison, he carefully healed her wound. He felt that when she woke up, she should be extremely grateful to him. If it weren't for his medical ninjutsu, she would have had a scar on her back.

After treating the wound, he took out a special antidote pill made by Tsunade and gave it to her to clear out any remaining poison. At that moment, the memories from his shadow clone returned. All the Mist-nin had been dealt with.

Pakura was still unconscious. Genichi didn't linger in the Land of Water. He used the Flying Thunder God Technique again, bringing her to the Land of Rivers.

Mizukage's Tower.

An Anbu ninja rushed into the office. "Lord Mizukage, the ninja sent to welcome the Sand Village's envoy have all been killed!"

Yagura Karatachi looked up sharply. "What happened? Did Pakura of the Scorch Release discover something?"

"Although the scene was disturbed, there were no traces of Scorch Release," the Anbu quickly replied.

Yagura frowned in silence. Did the Sand Village go back on their word? Or was it someone from another village? Or even someone from within our own? There were too many possibilities.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his doubts. Now was not the time to investigate who the culprit was, but how to proceed with the Sand Village. Terminate the peace talks? Or continue?

After a moment of deliberation, Yagura decided to continue. He couldn't let one Pakura and a sudden accident interrupt a policy that had been so hard to push forward. And so, he issued two consecutive orders. First, the Anbu were to investigate the culprit. Second, the jonin Ao was to lead a squad secretly to the Sand Village, to hold them accountable and continue to push for the alliance.

The Land of Rivers, inside a cave.

The campfire flickered. Pakura slowly woke up. "Have I… reached the Pure Land? So you can feel warmth even after death…"

She turned her neck. Her blurry vision saw the flickering flames, and a figure.

"You're awake."

A gentle voice sounded in her ear. Pakura jolted, and her vision gradually cleared.

"Who are you?" She shot up, looking at Genichi with vigilance. "A Konoha ninja? Did you save me? Where is this?"

Genichi, his Sharingan now deactivated, smiled gently. "One question at a time. I am from Konoha. And yes, I did save you. This is the Land of Rivers."

"Why did you save me?" Pakura asked, still wary.

Genichi held up three fingers. "For three reasons. First, to sabotage the peace talks between your village and the Mist."

Pakura's face changed, but then anger, disappointment, and sorrow filled her heart.

"Second," Genichi continued, "I admire your strength. And third, I am a person who appreciates and cherishes beautiful things."

He tossed her the water canteen that was beside him. "Is your heart filled with rage? After all, you had just become a hero of your village, only to be betrayed in the blink of an eye, to become a sacrifice for the so-called 'bigger picture'."

Pakura gritted her teeth and said nothing.

"Want revenge?" Genichi didn't mind her silence.

Pakura took a deep breath and stared at him. "You want to use my hatred against the Sand Village?"

Genichi wagged a finger. "No, you've misunderstood. I don't need to use your hatred. I saved you, so from now on, you belong to me. Even if it's just to repay my kindness, you should obey my every command. As for dealing with the Sand Village? With your level of strength, how many people can you kill?"

"Don't underestimate me!" Pakura said indignantly. "I am Pakura of the Scorch Release!"

"No," Genichi chuckled, "it is you who has overestimated yourself. If you were important enough, strong enough, why would the Sand Village treat you as a disposable sacrifice?"

Pakura's fire was instantly extinguished. Genichi's words had pierced her heart.

Looking at the dejected Pakura, Genichi's expression was indifferent. Just because you have a beautiful back doesn't mean I have to be a simp. He also knew that saving her life wouldn't be enough to make her submit. A strong woman like her was powerful and smart. She knew he had a motive for saving her. In that case, the life-saving grace was practically worthless.

So, he had to be forceful. He had to take this opportunity to shatter her will, her self-confidence, to first control her, and then, step by step, enslave her, body and soul.

"So, if you want revenge, what do you plan to do?" he asked.

Pakura looked up. "Of course, I'll kill everyone who betrayed me. I gave so much for them, but now I'm almost dead. They have failed me. So, I will destroy the Sand Village!" Having been stabbed by Genichi's words, she had become even more extreme.

"Foolish," Genichi reprimanded. "No wonder you were treated as a sacrificial pawn. You have some strength, but no brain."

Damn it! Pakura gritted her teeth, her fists clenched, glaring at him. This bastard is so humiliating! But at the same time, this humiliation tormented her even more.

"As far as I know," Genichi said coolly, "it was the Sand Village's leadership who, in order to form an alliance with the Mist, agreed to their conditions and used you as a sacrifice. This was their decision. Your enemies should be the leaders of the Sand, not the entire village. Those villagers, and your students, still see you as a hero!"

Maki! Pakura's heart trembled.

However, Genichi wasn't saying these things to console her, much less to dispel her hatred. He was guiding it. As he had said before, with just her strength alone, how much damage could she really do to the Sand? Even if she joined Konoha, her usefulness would be limited. Her strength was far less useful than her status as a hero.

"Pakura, your enemies are the corrupt leaders of the Sand Village. Do you want the people you protected to be fooled by them? Do you want your students to perhaps be sacrificed just like you, for the sake of profit? Or do you want the village you protected to be led and ruled by such a corrupt existence? Your heart, your vision, your capacity… is it so small that it can only hold this insignificant hatred?"

His words were like heavy hammers, pounding on her heart, on her soul. At that moment, her defenses, her strength, her hatred, her past beliefs—all were smashed to pieces by him. And then, they began to reform, to be reshaped.

Genichi stood up and walked over to her. He reached out and pinched her chin, lifting her head to look down into her tear-filled eyes, his gaze piercing into her very soul. "I do not wish to save a mere empty shell. Otherwise, I would not mind destroying you."

With that, he turned and walked to the cave entrance.

Pakura turned her head and looked at the figure standing at the entrance, feeling that he was incomparably tall and imposing.

After a moment, she wiped away her tears and stood up, facing his back. "I understand. Thank you. I will become the Kazekage. Only then can I change the Sand Village."

Genichi slowly turned, a smile playing on his lips. "Oh? A fine idea. Then what do you plan to do?"

"I will return to the village," Pakura said, clenching her fists, "and expose the ugliness of the Fourth Kazekage, and drive him from his position."

Genichi's smile froze, and he shook his head in disappointment. "So foolish. How will you expose him? Are you going to go and tell every single villager and ninja? You might even be branded as someone who is disrupting the peace for your own personal gain and be taken down by the leadership. If you dealt with the Fourth Kazekage first, you might have a chance. But are you his opponent?"

Pakura was silent. She had no confidence she could win against Rasa, especially in the Land of Wind.

"So, what should I do?" she asked.

Genichi didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Replenish your stamina first. As for a solution, you can think about it slowly. Do not become easily dependent on others. And, until you have absolute trust in me, do not ask for my opinion. Remember, I am a ninja of the Hidden Leaf."

(End of Chapter)

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