"I accept!"

Rei momentarily halted, his hand on the handle of the door in the motion of opening them. ​​

'Well, that was quick. And here I thought we would at least exchange greetings first...'

It was already a day since he gave her the book and Rei was sure she looked through every nook and cranny of the room, tried to get outside at least fifty-three times only to be stopped by a nurse or a doctor with Tsunade-certified training under their belt... needless to say, Pakura stayed put. She then tried to look for monitoring devices, checked and re-checked her kunais which were left on the table near her bed in order to give her a bit of safety, and spent hours near the window, trying to find out as much as she could about Uzushio through it. On top of all that, she also made damn sure the food nor water she received is drugged or poisoned. Rei was only glad one had to be Seal Grandmaster to even detect his monitoring seals.

'Then again, her vigilance is really fitting for a kunoichi.' He mentally mused.

Fortunately, Pakura didn't try to get out of the room nor did she become violent. The place was, after all, still a hospital.

"Why so sudden?" Rei asked while finishing opening the door and walked in. "I thought you would want to negotiate the terms or something."

"I don't really have a choice here anyway." Pakura sighed. "It's exactly as you said. I might be the Hero of Suna and people there might love me for putting my life on the line during the war for them but... Rasa is the Kazekage. Coming back and announcing what happened would only lead to a civil war and Sunagakure is in no state for that. It would ruin it. That means..." Pakura balled her hands into fists, "The higher-ups would just give up on me and declare me a missing ninja. They would choose to abandon me and weather through some public unrest because of that rather than having a full-blown civil war on their hands." Her expression turned bitter.

Of course, Rei knew all that but he let her talk to vent her feelings a bit. The woman seemed to need just that at the moment.

"As for going rogue..." Pakura continued in a bitter tone, "The second Suna declares me a rogue ninja, Konoha will follow because of their alliance. Kirigakure will also put the kill on sight order on me if only because it is a mark of shame that I survived the ambush from ten of their hunter ninjas and destroyed their plot to implicate Iwagakure. As for Iwagakure, I killed quite a lot of them during the war. No way I would find peace in that country." She shrugged amusedly, "The only real possibility is Kumogakure and while the new Raikage is rumored to be putting some old policies down, they would still sooner breed me against my will to reproduce my bloodline rather than have me on their roster."

Well, they are basically more barbaric and showy Konoha." Rei quipped, making Pakura smile at the jab on Konoha's hypocrisy. It was no secret Konoha liked their bloodlines a bit too much.

Frankly, Rei knew it would end this way. It might, at first glance, be easy to hide in the wide world. After all, there are only so many ninjas that would hunt for her, no? She could always hide in some remote island in the far south or something, right? Or in the continent on the opposite side of the Land of Water. There are not many ninja villages and it is quite big too...

But in reality, ninjas, for better or worse, roamed through every nook and cranny of Elemental Nations. All it would take was one who would recognize her without Pakura knowing about it and stopping him for good, and there would be a hunt for her. ANBU from all villages, mercenaries, and worst of all, the fellow rogue ninjas would all scramble to get their hands on the bounty for S-rank ninja's head or body. Especially since she was the sole user of Scorch Release.

"Anyway, being in the organization with three SS-rank ninjas would give me far more protection and opportunities than going by myself." Pakura honestly said.

She was very grateful for being saved and it might or might not have played a role in her final decision. When she was on the brink of death, knowing that Sunagakure betrayed her... all she wanted was a place where she would be safe and for somebody to save her. It was the very first time in her life she ever wanted to be saved. Pakura believed in training, in giving the effort if she wanted something. She never depended on others more than necessary. But for the first time, she prayed to be saved and something she thought to be a miracle happened. The man in front of her saved her and then offered her a safe haven. While she was still a bit wary, Pakura decided to stay.

Not to mention, if the man in front of her was able to conceal the existence of the whole Uzushio village during its formation, hiding one more rogue ninja would be no problem for him.

"Just tell me what exactly you are expecting of me." She asked, hoping Rei would not say anything outrageous.

"Well, I am in the process of making a new hidden village, you see. I need somebody capable to be my Jonin Commander." Rei shrugged. Konan already called dibs on the secretary role, Tsunade wanted to be the head of the medics, Ringo quickly decided she would pull the reins of Hunter Squads and ANBU, and Mei decided she would be a housewife.

And as it usually happens between men and women, Rei was informed about their decisions only after they were set in stone and there was no way to change their minds.

'Not like I can offer you any other position... Sorry, Pakura.' He thought, feeling a bit exasperated.

"I can do that." Pakura smiled in relief. Position of Jonin Commander for a soon-to-be-established hidden village? Rei wanted to give her protection and on top of that offering her a relaxing but prestigious job?

Pakura ashamedly averted her eyes. If Rei asked a lot out of her, the next request would be so much easier...

"But... Er, in the information you provided, you wrote I would be allowed to leave the village, within reason of course." Pakura started a bit unsurely, "You also described the Secrecy Seal. I am fine with that but would it be possible for me to covertly go to Suna and have a talk with my apprentice? I practically raised the girl and she would surely follow me..." She looked at her hands.

Naturally, Pakura understood that Uzushio was still hidden from the world and Rei didn't want people to know of its existence just yet. Making this request was a bit awkward for her but she loved Maki as if she was her own.

Rei momentarily halted. 'So... She is basically giving herself to me as if gift-wrapped and even offering to pull her apprentice with her? Two for the price of one? The one being for free at that? Sure... why the hell not?' A Cheshire grin spread on his lips.

"I see no problem with that. In fact, let me give you a lift to Sunagakure."