Pakura's teeth jerkily touched her tongue in full force about to bit it off while she tightly closed her eyes. Ninja or not, death is death and humans fear it like the plague. Pakura was simply no different. While she might not exactly fear it in the height of combat, suicide was still a big mental pressure for her.

As her teeth went through the first layer of flesh on her tongue though... her entire body froze, completely paralyzed. No matter how she tried, she was unable to twitch even a singular muscle. ​​

"Holy shit, I was almost late! Damn, Tsunade really knows how to hold onto somebody!" Suddenly a disgruntled loud voice resounded right in front of her, causing Pakura to widen her eyes as a young man in the process of hastily pulling on his shirt just popped into existence there, kicking the two approaching Kiri ninjas away. Unfortunately for them, their pants were half-down so there was not really much resistance they could offer.

For better or worse, Rei didn't really pay attention to where his foot flew. One received a nice kicker into the crotch, sending him flying a few meters back while the other got himself a nice one right into the noggin.

"Oh!" Rei realized he kicked somebody only after feeling the impact, "Sorr-" He was about to apologize when he saw Pakura and he finally understood why his 'alarms' went off. Honestly, he actually forgot he had her marked... "On the other hand, I am not sorry at all." Rei scowled, bending down to pick up Pakura's cut-off leg.

Paralyzed or not, Pakura was inwardly gaping in complete disbelief. At least, the three remaining attackers of hers were also as surprised as her. One was rolling on the ground, holding his crotch while the other was wailing, holding his face. Lying on the ground, Pakura idly wondered how strong that kick had to be to disable two highly trained Hunter Ninjas.

Rei didn't like the state he found Pakura in. She was the only user of Scorch Release, meaning valuable. Even if Rei didn't take her bloodline into consideration, the woman could still fight one of the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri with only kunais. She had the potential to become someone really incredible and Rei wanted to see her work for his future village.

'So I was a bit too late, huh?' Rei sighed as he crouched down next to Pakura's paralyzed form... only to find out the woman fainted a few seconds ago. He frowned as he realized the woman would most certainly die if he didn't get her to a medic asap, 'I better take her to Tsunade. A chance to get S-rank ninja for free is not something I am gonna pass up on.'

Rei heaved her up on his right shoulder while holding her unattached leg in his left hand. He was about to teleport away when he stopped and slowly turned towards the two groaning men on the ground... his lips twisted into a feral grin as two shadow clones popped up next to him, both eager to try out reactions of the human body to new mixtures of chakra with nature energy.

Needless to say, when the third man who left when he saw his companions wanted to have their fun with Pakura finally came back, the only thing waiting for him was a bloodied tree bark and underneath, a puddle of Pakura's blood.

A chill went up the man's spine when he realized both Pakura and his two companions just disappeared... At first, he quickly put his guard up, waiting for some kind of ambush but even after a few minutes, nothing happened. He then thought about what could be the reason for neither of the three to be present. Heck, the woman was literally nailed to the tree so her disappearing was really disgruntling.

And after he went through various scenarios, the man finally came to the crux of the situation.

"Shit! I will have to report this to Mizukage! I am so dead!"

Needless to say, the Suicide Squad almost gained a new member that day.

...

Rei sat next to Pakura's bed, leisurely reading Icha Icha Paradise. Naturally, he read it because of the plot, not the smut. He had enough smut going on at home, after all... Right?

'God, if only it was not so boring, sitting here and waiting for her to wake up!' He mentally whined.

Honestly, Pakura was a bit too close to death by the time Rei managed to get her to Tsunade. The woman already lost an almost lethal amount of blood, and if she wasn't a ninja, she would be six feet under half an hour before Rei got to her. For example, it took even Tsunade hours to reattach the leg properly.

Today was the third day Pakura lied in the newly established hospital in Uzushio. Sure, it might have been Rei's fault that he forgot about her but in his defense, Pakura should have been sent to Kirigakure only after Yagura became the Mizukage, and yet... here she was.

'Looks like the butterfly effect is really a thing,' Rei inwardly sighed, 'How... troublesome.' He thought, turning the page in his book. Only with the corner of his eye did he notice Pakura subtly stirring.

She slowly fluttered her eyes open and Rei praisingly noted she had her guard up even before she did so. With her eyes finally open, Pakura quickly took in the room in which she found herself...

"I will commend you for being careful. I am Rei and I saved you... well, you should be able to remember that part." Rei drawled before the woman could come to some misguided kind of her own conclusion.

Pakura shifted, finding her upper body bare, only covered in bandages, and quickly pulled the sheet up, causing Rei to smile at how shy the supposedly toughest woman of the Sunagakure's younger generation was.

"Where am I?" Pakura asked, her tone low and measured, guarded even.

'Oho~, she is definitely mentally probing her body and muscles while looking for escape routes.' Rei smiled at how her eyes almost unnoticeably flickered from side to side at times.

"Uzushio... that's not important." Rei dismissively waved the Icha Icha book at her in a silly manner, making her relax while distracting her, "What is important is that I have an offer for you since Suna betrayed you which gives you only two choices. You can either die as Sunagakure and the Kazekage wish or you can go rogue. In case you decide to go rogue, we, Yozora, could possibly find a spot for you. If you choose the first option, please, at least kill yourself somewhere far away from the bedsheets."

Pakura could only dumbly nod at him. She... was really speechless for a moment.

"Uh..." She coherently summed her feelings up before shaking her head to get out of the daze, "So... er, I... you are offering me," She pointed at herself in bewilderment, "a chance to join Yozora? The same Yozora that completely enraged four out of five major ninja villages? The same Yozora that could infiltrate any village they wished? Yozora... the rogue ninja organization which has three SS-ranks?" The more she talked, the more weirded out Rei's gaze became.

"Hm... didn't know we are so famous. In a nutshell? Yeah, you can join." Rei had an urge to pat her head due to how cute her disbelieving expression looked but he held himself back. Kunoichi and all that funk... who knows if he would not lose his hand if he tried to touch her head without warning her first. "Honestly, I had my eyes on you for some time now," Rei said, causing Pakura to narrow her eyes slightly and shuffle back a bit. Especially since she saw the Icha Icha Book in his hands. "and no, I did not orchestrate this nor am I some kind of closet pervert." He uncaringly shrugged, "Anyway, I had you marked with a Locator Seal. The only reason why I was late to save you was how unexpected the situation was."

'I can't really tell her I was late because Tsunade wouldn't let me leave the bed, right? Meh... it was unexpected for her to get sent to Kirigakure so early. Half-truths for the win!' Rei inwardly cheered. 'Now… let's hope she never asks for the entire description of the Locator Seal functions. She did get completely paralyzed before fainting so maybe? Nah… I am not going to open that can of worms.'

"I have so many questions I have no idea where to even start." Pakura started, completely lost. She had no idea what to do in this situation.

'Uh, oh...' Rei, as if instinctively, threw the book he was holding at her, making her catch it on reflex.

"Read it. The plot is fine, the smut is second-rate and I think I am being generous, and at the complete end of the book, I wrote basic info about Yozora and what I would want from you if you join and what I am offering you in return." Rei explained, not even giving her the chance to ask her questions, before standing up from his chair. "Tomorrow we will talk about it. Make sure to think it through."

And with that, Rei walked out of the room, leaving the flabbergasted woman to her own devices. He called this move an ultimate tactical retreat.

The door closed after Rei left the room and Pakura's shoulders instantly sagged, the bedsheet edge slipped out of Pakura's hands, exposing her bandaged body while tears started to stream down her cheeks as her hand subconsciously rubbed the place where her leg was severed as if to confirm this was really happening. Pakura let her body fall back onto the soft bed, sobs escaping her lips while her free hand worked hard on wiping the rivers of happy tears when her brain finally registered how close she was to…

"I am still alive." Pakura's face bloomed into a beautiful smile, her eyes turning towards the closed door with sincere gratitude in them, "Thank you so much!"