"Of course she's alive."
Evan's lips curved faintly.
"I keep her in the lowest level of the prison. Interrogation, discipline, the usual routines…"
Kakashi nodded slightly, then lowered his voice.
"There's something else.
Someone from Sunagakure has arrived…"
He leaned closer.
"They seem to want to buy back their 'hero.'
The Third and the elders appear willing.
Sensei wants your opinion."
Evan cast Kakashi a subtle, unreadable look, then nodded, signaling he understood.
After a few more exchanges, Kakashi flickered out of sight.
Evan watched his old classmate disappear, then turned toward the depths of the prison with a strange smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Clack.
He shut the heavy prison door behind him.
The wails echoing through the underground hallways meant nothing to him as he descended, step by calm step, to the deepest level.
Creaaak—
He pushed open the black door.
Inside, Pakura was already fully dressed, her expression unreadable.
Evan rolled his eyes.
"What's this? Abandoning me the moment you get what you want?"
"Humph."
Pakura turned her head away sharply, refusing to meet his gaze.
To be left suspended in frustration like a roller coaster that never reaches the top — it was infuriating.
She wanted nothing more than to ignore this infuriating man entirely.
But her eyes… those beautiful eyes still glared at him with a resentment that could drown mountains.
"Again with that look," Evan sighed. "What? Thinking of killing me?
You know you can't. Last time you tried, you ended up under investigation, remember?"
He walked closer and flicked his hand.
The door behind him shut and locked automatically.
Pakura didn't speak.
She only stared — hatred, exhaustion, bitterness swirling together.
Ever since she was brought to Konoha, this man had controlled everything about her circumstances.
He had subjected her to harsh "discipline" day and night — a mix of interrogation, pressure, spiritual exhaustion, and emotional strain that pushed her to her limits.
Yet every time she thought she would break…
Something strange happened — a moment of clarity, of weightlessness, as if she were drifting far above the world.
"Pakura," Evan said quietly, lowering his gaze, "for two people who hardly know each other, we've shared an awful lot."
He paused.
"And honestly… if not for your company, I probably would've lost my mind by now."
Pakura — the Sunagakure prodigy.
A Scorch Release kunoichi who had once been a strong candidate for the position of Fourth Kazekage.
Moments ago, Evan had told Kakashi she was imprisoned and subject to interrogation.
But in truth—
He had hidden her in his private quarters.
Sharing the same room.
Sharing the same bed.
Night after night.
Using their strange, difficult bond as a way to stabilize the killing intent that churned inside him.
"You… when will you finally kill me?"
Pakura asked suddenly.
Her voice was cold, sultry, yet soaked in deep hatred.
"Kill you? Why would I do that?"
Evan chuckled. "I have a meeting at the Hokage Tower soon.
I heard Sunagakure sent people…"
"So it seems the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, really wants you back."
"Sunagakure… Rasa…"
Pakura's eyes sharpened instantly.
Her teeth clenched.
A wave of hatred radiated from her.
"What? Thinking of killing Rasa?" Evan asked lightly.
"Let's be realistic.
Even if you tried, he's surrounded by ANBU.
You wouldn't get close."
"Please," Pakura said through gritted teeth. "Help me kill him."
"And why," Evan asked calmly, "should I help you?"
"Rasa is the Fourth Kazekage.
He controls Gold Dust.
I'm not his match."
Pakura trembled.
"As long as you kill him…
I'll do anything you want."
Her voice cracked with humiliation and despair.
No one knew better than she did…
How terrifying Evan truly was.
His eerie combat skills.
His blood-stained flying blades.
His unpredictable killing intent.
In front of him, even Rasa's Magnet Release and Gold Dust…
Were meaningless.
Evan raised an eyebrow, his expression oddly amused — though no explicit thought crossed his mind.
"A hero of Sunagakure, yet all you want is your Kazekage dead," Evan said with a cold laugh.
"Hero?"
Pakura let out a bleak smile.
"When did Sunagakure ever treat me like a hero?
When Rasa traded me to Kirigakure as a bargaining chip — did he see me as a comrade?
When the elders knew his intentions and let me walk toward death — did any of them hesitate?"
"'Hero' is just a joke."
"That is true," Evan murmured, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face.
"But tell me — why should I help you?"
Pakura leaned back slightly, trying to avoid his touch, but failed.
Evan chuckled softly.
"With everything between us…
If I wanted to exert pressure, I could do it at any moment.
Isn't that right?"
Pakura's face drained of color.
Her chest rose and fell sharply.
"You… you monster…"
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