Chapter 302: The Answer Is Obvious
Mei’s gaze shifted between the two women.
Identical.
The one beside the sand table had a hand resting on her ninja pouch, her entire face guarded.
The one who had just run inside had her brows drawn together and was still breathing hard.
A chill crept down Mei’s back.
She had literally warned Pakura about White Zetsu’s transformation only moments earlier.
And she herself had immediately run into one.
Worse...
If the Pakura who had been standing directly behind her was the fake one, the consequences were terrifying to imagine.
Calm down.
Mei rapidly recalled the intelligence from the meeting.
Kaede had tapped the table and specifically emphasized one point.
"White Zetsu can perfectly copy chakra and surface memories. It can imitate a person’s speech patterns almost flawlessly."
"If you want to expose them, ask about something they cannot understand."
"A person’s most private emotions."
Mei walked to the desk and pulled two blank report sheets from the pile.
She grabbed two pens from the holder.
Then she turned and flicked her wrists.
Paper and pen flew toward both Pakuras.
Each raised a hand and caught them cleanly.
"Write."
Mei lifted her chin.
"Write your most honest feelings about Kitahara Kaede. No restrictions. Write whatever you want."
The Pakura beside the sand table raised a brow.
The Pakura near the door held the pen without speaking.
The two looked at each other.
The one beside the table slapped the paper down and began writing immediately.
Her wrist moved rapidly. She barely seemed to think before filling several lines in one continuous motion.
Then she placed the pen on the paper and looked toward the other side.
"Mei," she said with a hint of mockery, "are you using this situation as an excuse to satisfy your own curiosity?"
The Pakura near the door ignored the conversation.
She stared at the blank paper.
Her true feelings about that man?
A jumble of scenes appeared in her mind.
Accidentally seeing him at the inn.
Getting angry and attacking him on the battlefield.
Later, going to him in confusion when she no longer knew where her own path led...
When she had lost her direction, he had been the one to give her advice.
He normally seemed serious and unsmiling, but once they became close, he would occasionally behave shamelessly too.
Pakura lowered her gaze.
At last, the pen touched paper.
Several more minutes passed.
She stopped and lifted the sheet.
"Done."
Both Pakuras flicked their wrists.
The two papers floated toward Mei.
She caught them.
She read the one from the Pakura beside the sand table first.
The handwriting was neat, the logic clean.
"Kitahara Kaede is the guiding light of my life. He is immensely powerful. I am grateful that he saved me, and I would give everything for him."
Mei immediately turned the page face down on the desk.
Then her gaze moved to the second sheet.
The handwriting was less orderly, with obvious pauses and small areas where the ink had spread.
It read:
"Sometimes I truly don’t understand him."
"When he could have cleanly cut ties with me and avoided all the trouble, he still insisted on reaching out and pulling me back."
"Later..."
"I honestly don’t care who stays beside him. Tsunade or you—that’s his choice."
"I only want him to remain safe. I don’t want anything to happen to him."
Mei stared at the final lines for a long time.
Something inside her was struck hard.
It felt like looking at her own reflection.
During the Bloody Mist Era, when darkness had swallowed every direction and she had no idea where to go, she had also been lost.
Even the first thought that eventually pushed her toward change had come from him.
Mei gently placed the paper down.
They were...
Fundamentally the same kind of person.
She lifted her head and looked at the Pakura by the door.
A cold smile appeared on her lips.
"The answer is obvious."
Before the last word fully landed, Mei kicked off the ground.
Her body shot like an arrow toward the real Pakura near the door.
Her hands rapidly formed seals.
The fake Pakura beside the sand table visibly relaxed.
Wrong answer.
So that woman wasn’t anything special after all.
Once Mei and the other Pakura started fighting, it could attack from behind and eliminate both problems at once.
The fake had barely begun shifting its feet to find an angle when everything changed.
Halfway through her charge, Mei twisted her waist violently in midair.
Her path changed completely.
Rotating with the motion, she turned toward the sand table.
Her cheeks swelled.
A huge mouthful of yellow corrosive Lava Style fluid sprayed directly at the fake Pakura’s face.
At the doorway, the real Pakura—the person who should have been Mei’s target—hadn’t even attempted to dodge.
She had completed her own hand seals before Mei.
Three orange-red Scorch Release spheres appeared and sealed every possible escape route around the fake.
Everything happened too quickly.
Not a single word had been exchanged, yet their coordination was flawless.
The fake Pakura didn’t even have time to abandon its disguise before both deadly attacks struck it simultaneously.
Its body fell backward stiffly.
The human shape rapidly shriveled. The pale outer layer wrinkled like old cloth.
Soon, only the scorched corpse of a white monster remained on the floor, releasing a foul burnt smell.
Mei landed.
She glanced at the shriveled creature and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.
"Could that thing have explained the bond the two of us share?"
The real Pakura said nothing. She only looked at Mei.
The two exchanged a faint glance.
Neither mentioned the sheet containing Pakura’s true feelings.
Mei turned toward the command room door and pushed it open.
The Kirigakure ANBU on either side immediately straightened.
Her gaze swept across the camp outside, once again carrying the authority of the Mizukage.
"Pass the order to everyone in the camp. Begin a full inspection immediately!"
Her words were rapid and absolute.
"Reorganize all personnel into three-man groups. Anyone found alone is immediately moved to a controlled zone!"
"Anyone approaching the command post without passing the verification phrase is to be killed on the spot!"
The ANBU lowered their heads in unison and disappeared into the night.