Chapter 216: Sunagakure
[As for Sunagakure, the village flower also has two strong contenders.]
The shinobis of the Hidden Sand Village straightened their backs even more, faces full of pride that said ‘Finally, it’s our turn.’
In the Kazekage’s office, Rasa put down the documents in his hand, clasped his hands together on the table, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he waited for the screen to name names.
Although Sunagakure was poor, it still had quite a few beauties.
[First, of course, is Temari.]
With long blonde hair and a giant fan in hand, the valiant and heroic Temari appeared on the screen once again.
In the image, she stood on a sand dune, the wind blowing sand through her blonde hair, the three-star fan slung diagonally behind her, the three red stars on the fan’s surface especially striking in the sunlight. She wore a dark off-shoulder top, black shorts on her lower body, revealing long, firm legs, and dark long boots on her feet.
In Konoha, Shikamaru was in the middle of regaining his composure, staring blankly at the screen. And when Temari’s image appeared, his eyes narrowed slightly.
[As the daughter of the Fourth Kazekage and the older sister of the Fifth Kazekage, Temari can be described as having a noble background. Coupled with her decisive personality and calm demeanor, she is a proper aloof, older-sister type.]
[And her strength is also quite good. After the Ten-Tails was resurrected, she led the Wind Style users to cooperate with other shinobis to successfully and temporarily block the Ten-Tails’ movements.]
—
[Land of Wind, Sunagakure]
Temari had her arms crossed, chin slightly raised, and a smug smile hanging at the corner of her mouth.
Her blonde hair fluttered in the wind, the three-star fan leaning diagonally beside her, the star emblem on its surface shining in the sunlight.
“Mm… say what you will, but as expected of the screen! It has good judgment, and its intelligence has never been wrong.”
Gaara, with his cold expression, glanced at Temari, feeling somewhat surprised inside. He hadn’t expected that his sister, who seemed so weak, would actually have decent strength in the future.
And recently, for some unknown reason, Shukaku had basically stopped harassing him, and Rasa had not sent people to test him much either. So, Gaara’s whole mental state had improved a lot, and his dark circles had faded considerably.
[Kazekage’s office]
Rasa was likewise extremely pleased.
Temari was probably his favorite child. To think that in the future she would actually be able to participate in the battle against the Ten-Tails; her strength definitely went without saying.
His fingers tapped lightly on the table, and his mind had already begun calculating how to provide Temari with more training resources.
His daughter had never made him worry. Unlike Gaara, who was like a bomb all day, and unlike Kankuro, who did nothing but fiddle with puppets all day long. Temari was sensible and capable. So with proper training, in the future she could probably be the face of Sunagakure.
The more Rasa thought about it, the happier he became.
[Of course, as the princess of Sunagakure, Temari’s life was also very smooth. Later, she married Nara Shikamaru and had a son, Nara Shikadai.]
The screen flashed to a pineapple-headed boy who resembled Shikamaru in his youth, holding a handheld console and playing games.
Suddenly, a woman wearing a purple one-piece outfit and leggings appeared behind him.
Bang!
The woman punched the boy on the head, and the boy clutched his head and let out a scream. The scene then shifted, and it was the adult Temari. Now a wife, she looked even more mature.
“I’m back.” A voice rang out, and the door was pushed open; a bearded man who looked incredibly mature with an even larger pineapple-head, walked into the room. It was, of course, the adult Shikamaru.
—
[Land of Wind, Sunagakure]
Temari had already turned bright red.
She hadn’t expected the screen to directly reveal her entire future life!
And who the hell was this Shikamaru guy?
He had only shown his face before when the Akatsuki member Hidan was introduced, and he had also served as the acting Eighth Hokage of Konoha. His strength had looked pretty good, but she did not know him at all right now, all right?!
And now, the screen was suddenly telling her that he was her future husband, and that they even had a child.
???
‘Is there some mistake? This is way too sudden, right?’
And the Nara family’s genes were way too strong. Shikadai looked like he had been carved from the same mold as Shikamaru.
—
[Konoha, location of Team 10]
Shikamaru, who had just recovered a little, felt like his emotions were on a roller coaster, and he nearly choked.
Was she his future wife?
But women were such a drag!
Still, even though his adult self didn’t look that handsome, he seemed to love his wife quite a bit. So, the future “him” seemed to be doing pretty well.
—
[Kazekage’s office]
The political creature Rasa immediately began thinking.
As the mentioned future Eighth Hokage of Konoha, once the Sky Screen’s broadcast ended that time, intel on Shikamaru had been sent to Rasa’s office.
He naturally knew that this kid was the son of the current head of the Nara clan, and a disciple of Sarutobi Asuma, son of the Third Hokage. His background was likewise not low, and he was actually a decent match for Temari.
More importantly, he was the future Hokage!
The highest leader of Konoha, one of the most powerful people in the Shinobi World. If Temari married him, Sunagakure and Konoha would become in-laws.
There was no need to say how much weight that carried!
‘Hmm… Konoha seems to be preparing to hold Chunin Exams. I must let Temari go and get to know Shikamaru.’
‘As for Temari herself, I imagine she would be willing too.’
[Sunagakure’s other contender for village flower is, naturally, Pakura.]
A woman with green hair in a high bun, a Sunagakure forehead protector, usually wearing a sleeveless backless outfit with tight shorts and purple arm guards, appeared on the screen.
Her hair was pinned up high, revealing her slender neck. Her back was almost completely bare, with only a few thin straps crossing over it, outlining the graceful curve of her back. Her skin was a healthy wheat color, firm and smooth, emitting a faint luster under the sunlight.
She stood in the desert, back to the camera, head slightly turned, revealing a delicate side profile. The wind blew sand through her green hair, making that face look especially cool and beautiful.
[Pakura was a Sunagakure Elite Jonin and a holder of the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai. She was both strong and beautiful.]
[Unfortunately, during the Third Great Ninja War, in order to reach a ceasefire and reconciliation with Kirigakure, the higher-ups of Sunagakure used her as a political sacrifice. They falsely claimed they were sending her on a secret mission, but in reality tacitly allowed Kirigakure to set an ambush and kill her. Afterward, they even lied that she had died at Iwagakure’s hands.]
—
[Sunagakure, Kazekage’s office]
Rasa and the others looked at one another, extremely embarrassed.
Although every village had done such things, being publicly executed for it by the screen was different.
—
[Meanwhile, in a certain past timeline, Akatsuki Hideout]
Pakura, wearing the Akatsuki’s black robe with red clouds and a Sunagakure rogue-nin forehead protector, wore a cold sneer.
Her green hair hung over her shoulders. Her backless outfit had been replaced by the black-and-red Akatsuki robe, but it still couldn’t hide her graceful figure. And a horizontal scratch was carved across her forehead protector, representing her status as a rogue shinobi.
Hearing the screen say that her future self would be betrayed by the village’s higher-ups and die, the corners of her mouth pulled into a mocking arc.
Fortunately, when the screen had told Kakuzu’s story last time, it had leaked some intelligence, from which she had deduced many things. That’s why, Pakura had made a decisive move, directly defecting from Sunagakure and joining the Akatsuki.
With a Super Kage-level powerhouse as leader, Sunagakure didn’t even dare to say anything after learning she had defected, and just acted as if nothing had happened.
Fortunately, she had defected in time. Otherwise, she really would have been betrayed by the village.
Heh!
A hero of the village actually being betrayed by the village, a place like Sunagakure might as well be destroyed.
[Next, we’re moving onto Iwagakure.]
Huh?
Chiyo was stunned.
Wait, what about her?
She had been beautiful when she was young too!
There was no reason Pakura, a dead woman, could get on the list while her younger self could not, right?
Fake list!!