Slowly making their way with the captive, it took an hour to return to their original encampment. Uchiha Fugaku, who had been on edge, relaxed when he saw the army return with the captive.
For the past few hours, he had kept his Sharingan active, patrolling with several branch members of the Hyuga Clan, fearing an attack.
The encampment only housed the valuable Edo Tensei Corps and medical teams. If anything went wrong, he would have had to commit seppuku to atone. Fortunately, everything turned out for the best.
Second Body took Pakura back to her tent to catch up on sleep. It was late at night, and staying up was bad for one's health, especially for an almost eight-year-old child.
Watching Uchiha Ling drowsily climb into bed, Pakura was stunned. She had only had her Chakra sealed; that didn't mean she couldn't kill or commit suicide.
How could you be so careless, acting as if I don't exist? Doesn't that make me, Pakura, seem utterly insignificant, with no threat in your eyes?
"Uchiha Ling, you're just going to sleep like that? Aren't you afraid I'll slit your throat in the middle of the night?" Pakura bluntly asked what was on her mind.
"Ah? Oh, right, right!" Second Body was almost asleep. Hearing someone call her, even though she didn't quite catch what they were calling her for, she instinctively agreed.
"You!" A chill emanated from Pakura's eyes, and she wanted to grab Uchiha Ling by the collar and lift her up.
However, she eventually sighed. There was someone monitoring her outside the door, and she didn't truly want to make a move. She and Uchiha Ling each served their own side; there was no deep-seated hatred between them.
Outside the tent, Uchiha Shisui, who was on night watch, closed his blood-red Three-Tomoe Sharingan. After confirming that Pakura wouldn't act, he deactivated his Sharingan.
His strength couldn't help Second Body much, but he could stand guard for her. He willingly protected Uchiha Ling in this way.
Kamikawa Shuji closed the tent flap. His and Shisui's tent was next to Second Body's. Seeing Shisui staying up to guard Second Body, he also sighed helplessly.
He naturally knew that Uchiha Shisui liked Second Body, but he also saw that Uchiha Ling herself had no such thoughts; she was just a powerful, exceptionally talented girl who loved to play.
Although he felt a little sorry for Shisui for liking a girl who hadn't yet matured, his sigh was also, in a way, pitying himself.
When one is young, one should not meet someone too stunning, otherwise, it will be difficult to escape their shadow for the rest of one's life.
That night, besides Second Body who slept soundly, four others couldn't sleep because of Uchiha Ling. Pakura was anxious about her capture and Uchiha Ling's talent and strength.
Uchiha Shisui was on night watch, and at the same time, he was deducing the Ninjutsu he wanted to create himself. He needed to prove himself through his self-created Ninjutsu, wanting to narrow the gap with Second Body.
Kamikawa Shuji felt sad because of his poor talent, and for the love that died before it could blossom.
And there was one more person, Kakashi, who, amidst Obito's snoring, repeatedly recalled Second Body effortlessly perfecting the Chidori, sometimes with Second Body's every glance and smile flashing through his mind.
The next morning, Second Body's biological clock automatically woke her. Second Body threw off the covers and got up, stretching lazily with full energy.
She formed a few hand signs with her left hand, then snapped her fingers. A stream of water appeared on Second Body's body, flowing and washing her. This was a Water Release Ninjutsu Second Body had developed for washing.
After ensuring her body was clean, soft Fire Release Chakra surged from all of Second Body's acupoints, drying her body's surface. With a simple high ponytail, Second Body finished her morning routine in a few seconds.
Only Pakura, with her panda eyes, watched Uchiha Ling's movements in astonishment. Only she knew how terrifying the Chakra control required for Uchiha Ling's routine was.
What's it like to wake up and find someone staring intently at you? Second Body almost pressed a Rasengan onto Pakura's face.
Pakura, with her panda eyes and bloodshot gaze, stared at Uchiha Ling. The more she observed, the more she felt Uchiha Ling was a freak.
"Let's go, prepare to depart. If you want to return safely to the Hidden Sand Village, cooperate obediently. I've placed a Flying Thunder God Mark on you, so don't even think about running."
Second Body thought Pakura had spent the whole night thinking of ways to escape. Unfortunately, this wasn't a prison, and she wasn't Shawshank. With Uchiha Ling here, she couldn't possibly escape.
Stepping out of the tent, Minato, Kakashi, and Shisui had already packed and were waiting for Second Body to depart together. Even Orochimaru and Uchiha Fugaku were nearby.
"Yo, Orochimaru, good morning! Did you catch Ebizo?"
Second Body looked at the unharmed Orochimaru, who only had some Chakra depletion, and immediately greeted him with a smile.
"Heh heh, he got away. Ebizo encountered the Puppet Master corps. I wasn't a match alone."
Orochimaru was also a bit frustrated. He was so close, just a little bit more, and he could have captured Ebizo, but unfortunately, he still failed.
"Oh, no way? No way? The famous Sannin, the Cold Lord Orochimaru, also misses? It seems Ebizo is really cunning!"
Second Body's sarcastic tone didn't cause any emotional fluctuations in Orochimaru. Instead, he smiled at her, as if looking at a mischievous child.
"Are you planning to take Pakura to Rouran? It's not easy to capture a Kage-level prisoner. Maybe Rasa will surrender because of this?"
Orochimaru heard Minato say that Second Body wanted Pakura to lead the way, allowing them to bypass the Sunagakure defenses and reach Rouran, which is why he spoke now.
"Don't be ridiculous, Orochimaru. If we had captured Ebizo and had two Kage-level prisoners, maybe there would be a chance. But now that Ebizo has escaped, and only Pakura, a political rival, has been captured, Rasa will not only not surrender but will launch a major attack, forcing Konoha to cripple Pakura as much as possible."
Second Body understood Rasa well. He was a sophisticated egoist. Having his brother-in-law assassinate his own son—you wouldn't think of such a method even with two years of brain thrombosis.
"Heh heh, I agree, but I must place a curse mark on Pakura. Otherwise, once she returns to the Hidden Sand Village, she will be a threat to us again."
Orochimaru's eyes held greed and killing intent. Scorch Release was also a very good vessel, so the semi-finished curse mark he had researched earlier had to be applied.
"Tch, Orochimaru, I know you. If you put a curse mark on her, my spoils of war will become yours. Besides, it's not like I don't know how to use curse marks."
Second Body had once combined the Orochi Tongue Seal with Orochimaru's curse mark research and the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Curse Mark principles to devise a curse mark that combined the advantages of all three.
The sealing runes of this curse mark were created with Sage Art Chakra. Not only could it make the cursed person constantly gravitate towards the caster, but it could also directly sense the cursed person's simple emotional fluctuations and location information. Furthermore, it had the advantages of the three curse marks.
The curse mark incorporated Second Body's mutated cells. If Second Body allowed it, the cursed person could use Sage Art Chakra, enhancing their strength.
Secondly, the cursed person could not reveal any information about the caster; otherwise, there would first be a warning of severe pain, and after three times, it would result in death.
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