Naruto: We Agreed on a Simulation, But They Actually Came to Life?

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Don’t Lie to Me

Deep within the dense forest, Kitahara Kaede made sure the trail he left behind was obvious enough. Turning west, he didn’t break his stride, leaping swiftly toward the village where Pakura lived in seclusion.

He still had one more thing to do.

***

In a remote village, a courtyard gate stood half-open. A tightly packed travel bag sat on the ground beside a rolled-up nautical chart.

Pakura stood in the center of the yard, arms crossed over her chest, pacing back and forth for the seventeenth time. A small dog lay nearby, its ears pricked, eyes following her every movement.

Pakura stopped and glanced at the sky.

A full day had passed.

She had sent the signal for their meeting yesterday evening. According to their agreed response time, Kitahara Kaede should have appeared by dawn at the latest.

It was already past noon.

Pakura began pacing again, mentally reviewing every detail of their arrangement. She had personally destroyed all records of Kaede’s identity; no one else could possibly know. They waited at least two months between meetings, and he always cleaned up his tracks perfectly.

She couldn’t wrap her head around it. How could rumors of a mole in Kirigakure suddenly surface? Who was investigating? How far had they gotten?

Pakura clenched her fists, forcing herself to remain calm, but her pace quickened. The worst-case scenario was like a thorn embedded in her mind, impossible to pull out.

’He’s been exposed. He’s been captured... or worse.’

The puppy seemed to sense her agitation. It scrambled up and trotted to her side, rubbing its head against her calf. Pakura paused and knelt, reaching out to pat the dog’s head.

As her fingers sank into the fur, she froze.

Her hand was shaking.

Pakura stared at her hand for a moment, her expression a mix of confusion and self-mockery. She hadn’t shaken even when executing S-rank missions. Now, simply because a man was half a day late, she was trembling like this.

She withdrew her hand and gripped it tight.

She should never have let him stay in Kirigakure. Back then, in the hollows, he told her he was "almost there," and she believed him. She had believed him for one year, then another. Every time they met, he said it was nearly finished, and every time, she waited.

Until now.

Pakura stood up, her orange eyes clouded with an emotion that felt foreign even to her. She made a decision.

If he showed up today, regardless of whether he wanted to go or not, she was taking him with her. She would drag him onto the boat if she had to.

Footsteps sounded outside the gate.

Pakura stiffened, spinning around faster than she had expected herself to. Her hand was already on the hilt of the kunai at her lower back.

A figure stepped into the yard. The stride was familiar; the rhythm was unmistakable.

Kitahara Kaede.

Pakura’s grip on the kunai loosened. She hurried toward him, her eyes scanning him rapidly. There were no signs of injury.

The breath she had been holding finally escaped her. She stepped back slightly, her orange eyes locking onto his, her words coming out faster than usual.

"There are rumors of a mole in Kirigakure. The fact that you could get out means you haven’t been pinpointed yet. Is your business finished?"

Kitahara Kaede looked at her. From her words, he confirmed one thing: the seed of information he had planted had spread outside the village exactly as intended. If even Pakura had heard the whispers, the reach was wider than he had estimated.

Perfect.

He was about to speak when Pakura interrupted him.

"Even if it’s not finished, stop." She turned and pointed to the nautical chart spread across the table, her tone as hard as a command. "Since you can get out now, leave immediately. I’ve already planned the retreat route. We’ll take the northern undercurrent channel; we can clear the waters of the Land of Water before dark."

Her finger traced an arc on the map. "Once we reach the outer seas of the Land of Waves, we’ll be safe. There are no hidden village spheres of influence there."

Kaede didn’t respond immediately. He looked at the map on the table and the packed bag by the wall. These things hadn’t been prepared today. At some point, she had simply started preparing to take him away.

"Pakura," Kaede finally spoke. "I can’t leave yet."

Silence fell over the yard.

Pakura turned back to him. Her expression was one Kaede had never seen before. It wasn’t anger; it was more as if she had been doused with a bucket of ice water. She stood frozen, her eyes filled with utter disbelief.

"You can’t leave?" Her voice was dangerously low. "Why? Give me one reason."

The puppy, terrified by her tone, cowered in place, afraid to move.

Kaede remained silent for three seconds, choosing his words carefully. He needed to give Pakura a lie that was both believable and impossible to refuse.

"The situation in Kirigakure has reached the final step," Kaede said, his voice flat and unchanged. "I have to see this through. Otherwise, everything I’ve done over the last few years will have been for nothing."

Pakura stared at him. "What could possibly be more important than your life?"

Kaede looked into her eyes. "Everything."

Pakura’s chest heaved. She took a step forward, closing the distance to less than an arm’s length. "And once this is done, how certain are you that you’ll make it out alive?"

"Very certain," Kaede replied without a hint of hesitation.

Pakura studied him for a long time. She was searching for a crack—a flicker in his eyes, a hitch in his breath, a twitch of a finger. Anything.

There was nothing. He was too steady, so steady that she couldn’t find a single reason to say, ’You’re lying to me.’

Slowly, Pakura unclenched her fists. She didn’t fully believe him, but she chose to give him this one chance. It wasn’t because she had been fooled; it was because she cared for him so much that she couldn’t bear to drag him away by force. She feared that if she did, he would hate her.

"When?" Pakura’s voice finally softened.

Kaede took the initiative. "Tomorrow, February 11th. Before dawn, I’ll meet you at the northern fishing port outside the village." He paused. "We’ll leave together."

Pakura looked at him. A breeze swept through the yard, fluttering the orange bangs across her forehead. She remained silent for a long time.

"Don’t lie to me." The words were soft, barely squeezed through her teeth.

Kaede nodded. "I won’t."

Pakura turned away and walked back to the table to pack the map. With her back to him, her shoulder blades were tense beneath her backless outfit, never once relaxing.

Kaede stood in the middle of the yard, watching her silhouette. She was waiting for him to say something more.

He said nothing. He turned and walked toward the gate. As he reached the exit, Pakura’s voice drifted from behind him.

"Kaede."

He stopped.

"Tomorrow, before dawn, at the northern fishing port." Pakura’s voice had regained its usual steadiness, though the end of the sentence tilted slightly upward. "I’ll be waiting. You must come."

Kaede didn’t look back. "I will."

He stepped out of the gate, his figure vanishing at the end of the path.

***

In the forest, Kitahara Kaede moved rapidly through the branches, circling back to the point where he had left his trail.

Tomorrow, February 11th.

Terumi Mei had said she wanted to cook him a feast.

Pakura said she would be waiting for him at the fishing port.

Kaede landed on a thick branch and paused for a moment. The wind rushed through the canopy, making the leaves rustle.

’Luckily, this is just a simulation.’

When the thought occurred to him, he found it almost laughable.

Luckily, it was fake. If it were real, he would owe Tsunade a future, Terumi Mei a birthday, and Pakura a dawn.

Every emotion had been genuine, yet he had treated every single one as nothing more than a chip to clear the stage.

If this were real life, he truly wouldn’t have known how to wrap this up.

Kitahara Kaede looked up, suppressing those thoughts.

’It’s not real.’

Once the simulation ended, everything would be reset.

He had only one goal.

To die beautifully enough to max out his evaluation.

...