Naruto: We Agreed on a Simulation, But They Actually Came to Life?

Kitahara Kaede didn't answer immediately. Instead, he cast a glance her way.

"You said Yahiko wants to solve wars with talking," he began. "Do you really think that approach would work in the current state of the shinobi world?"

Pakura hadn't expected the question to be turned back on her. She opened her mouth to speak, then hesitated, closing it again.

Scenes from her time with the Akatsuki flashed through her mind. She remembered Yahiko standing in the center of their base, his eyes alight with passion, every word he spoke carrying a conviction that made people instinctively want to believe in him. Nagato would sit beside him, mostly silent. In the corner, Konan would be organizing intelligence, occasionally glancing up at Yahiko with a gaze full of tenderness. The others, too, had been won over by his words.

"...It would be difficult," Pakura finally admitted. She looked up at Kitahara Kaede. "Yahiko's ideals are beautiful, but they're naive. The intricate web of interests between the Five Great Nations isn't something that can be smoothed over with a few words about 'mutual understanding.' His peace talks would shatter the moment they collided with absolute military force."

Kitahara Kaede nodded, unsurprised by her answer.

"Exactly. Yahiko's ideal is correct, but his method is catastrophically wrong." He stood up and walked toward the mouth of the cave, staring out at the grey curtain of rain. "Even if Yahiko had actually managed to become the leader of the Hidden Rain Village through diplomacy or force, what would it have mattered?"

"This world is still full of the Five Great Nations and countless opportunists ready to tear each other apart for resources and profit. You sign a peace treaty here today, and tomorrow another war breaks out over the ownership of a single mineral vein. Yahiko might be able to manage the Land of Rain, but can he manage the Land of Fire? Or the Land of Earth?"

Pakura remained silent.

"As long as the current shinobi village system and mission structure exist—as long as the great powers still need war to divert internal contradictions—these tragedies will simply repeat themselves." Kitahara Kaede paused and turned his head, his gaze locking onto hers. "Today, it's the civilians of the Land of Rain who die. Tomorrow, the ones betrayed will be the heroes who risked their lives for their villages—people like you."

Those words struck Pakura's deepest wound.

*A betrayed hero.*

She had risked her life for Sunagakure for so many years. And what had it earned her? A "peace talk" mission to the Land of Water that was nothing more than a death sentence.

Pakura stared at Kitahara Kaede's back, her hands slowly tightening on her knees.

"That's why small-scale efforts are meaningless," Kitahara Kaede said, turning back with a calm expression. "What I intend to do is use absolute power and era-defining technology to completely dismantle this old world that incessantly manufactures tragedy. I will redefine the rules of the shinobi world."

For a moment, the only sound in the mine was the rhythmic drumming of the rain.

Pakura stared at him, stunned.

*Dismantle the old world. Redefine the rules.*

'This man is crazy.'

That was the first thought that popped into her head. She had originally assumed that Kitahara Kaede wanted her to infiltrate the Akatsuki simply to secure a safety net in a chaotic era, or perhaps to skim some political advantage for Konoha. Such things were commonplace in the shinobi world; every village planted spies in rival factions.

But she had never imagined that this man's gaze had already extended beyond the borders of the Five Great Nations to target the very foundation of the shinobi world.

Suddenly, the man before her felt both familiar and strange. He was familiar in his usual unfathomable nature—she could never guess his next move. But he was strange because of the sheer madness hidden beneath his calm exterior.

An indescribable emotion surged from the depths of her heart—a mix of bitterness and longing.

If the shinobi world could truly become the place he described—a world without pointless sacrifice or betrayal—would she have been spared the despair of being discarded like a pawn? Would she stop returning to that canyon surrounded by Kirigakure in her dreams, watching the backs of her own comrades as they turned and walked away?

Pakura suppressed the swirling emotions. When she looked up again, the look in her eyes had completely changed.

"I understand. What do you need me to do?"

Kitahara Kaede sat back down on the rock.

"In the near future, a certain force may secretly enter the Land of Rain in an attempt to drive a wedge between Hanzo and the Akatsuki. Your primary mission is to keep a close eye on their movements."

Pakura's brow twitched, but she didn't press for details.

"Secondly, do not expose your true strength. Protect yourself. If the Akatsuki truly falls into chaos, your survival is the priority." Kitahara Kaede paused, his tone growing firmer. "Also, pay close attention to the masked man. Do not provoke him; simply record his movements."

Pakura committed each instruction to memory. She could tell that when Kitahara Kaede assigned missions, he genuinely cared about her safety.

"How should I transmit the intelligence?"

Kitahara Kaede pulled a simple hand-drawn map from his cloak and handed it to her.

"There is a post office in a small town on the border of the Land of Fire. Write the intelligence using the secret code known only to the two of us and mail it to this address. I will collect it regularly every month."

Pakura glanced at the map, folded it, and tucked it into her clothes.

Having finished his instructions, Kitahara Kaede stood up.

"It's about time. I have to return to the village. Be careful out there."

As he took a few steps toward the cave entrance, Pakura's voice drifted from behind him.

"You too."

Kitahara Kaede nodded, his figure flickering before he vanished into the rain.

Pakura was left alone in the mine. She reached up to touch her dark hair, the words still echoing in her mind.

*Dismantle the old world. Redefine the rules.*

She was no longer lost.

She would survive, keep watch over the masked man called Fu, and wait for Kitahara Kaede's word. If the day ever came when the shinobi world was truly rewritten, she wanted to see it with her own eyes.

Pakura stepped out into the rain and began the walk back to the Akatsuki base.

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