"Don't drink that water!"
The group barely glanced at Yako before continuing toward the crescent-shaped lake.
He quickened his pace and intercepted them.
The girl leading the group had a strange head of hair—green at the top, fading to golden tips.
Despite the scorching desert heat, she was dressed lightly. Her bare shoulders, arms, and waist showed not a trace of sunburn—she was pale as moonlight.
Yako noticed immediately—her physique was unique.
"This water's poisonous. Just one look and you can tell. If you want to survive, leave this place and look for another oasis."
The girl glanced at his parched, cracked lips and replied, "Thanks for the warning, but don't worry. I have a way—I can make drinkable water."
Yako blinked, eyes shifting between the purple-tinged lake and the girl.
'If you can really get drinkable water... then all the poison I dumped in there was for nothing.'
Now curious, he followed to see what she'd do.
The girl knelt at the lakeside, hands hovering over the surface of the water.
Soon, the lake began to steam. Bubbles surfaced and rolled outward.
Yako narrowed his eyes. She could heat water—but this wasn't Fire Release. It looked more like... vapor manipulation.
One of the children placed a basin over her hands, capturing the steam.
Before long, tiny droplets condensed along the inside of the basin. The child gathered the droplets and poured them into another bowl.
Together, the girl and the three children repeated the painstaking process, coaxing vapor into water.
Yako stepped closer. "What's your name?"
"Pakura."
Pakura? The Pakura of Scorch Release?
Yako took in her distinctive hair color and realized—this girl would one day become a Tokubetsu jōnin of Sunagakure, renowned for her Scorch Release.
But she wasn't in the village yet. Right now, she was just a civilian from the Land of Wind.
Apparently, Sunagakure didn't have a bloodline tradition for Scorch Release—perhaps they only gained access to it later by sheer luck.
After half an hour of work, the group had collected a shallow bowl of water.
Still unsure if it was drinkable, Pakura performed a second round of evaporation and condensation.
After this second distillation, there was even less water—barely a film along the bottom.
Pakura declared, "I'll try it. If it's safe to drink, we won't die of thirst!"
Yako stepped in, raising a hand. "Let me try it. I have a strong constitution."
He possessed the Senju bloodline. Even if there were traces of poison left, his body could recover on its own.
Pakura and the children looked like they were on the verge of collapse—any more toxins and they'd drop dead on the spot.
Seventeen years old, Yako already stood at adult height.
Just as Pakura tried to stop him, he snatched the bowl and took a sip.
Pakura's peach-colored eyes widened as she stared at him.
Yako licked his lips—then his expression changed.
Pakura jumped in alarm. "Are you okay?! Is the water still poisoned? I–I'm sorry, I—"
"No!" Yako raised a hand. "The water's clean. But..."
Pakura exhaled in relief. Then she noticed his expression—something was still off.
"...this bowl. You didn't find it under someone's bed, did you?"
One of the children nodded rapidly, pointing to a tent. "We found it under that bed."
Yako winced. "Never drink from a bowl that's been under a bed. Get another. A clean one!"
'What a horrible aftertaste…'
Thank goodness it wasn't from the latrine. That would've been a whole different kind of disaster.
Pakura jumped to her feet, eyes sparkling. "I really can purify toxic water! Thank goodness—we won't die of thirst! Quick, find clean bowls, let's keep going!"
Yako couldn't bear to watch anymore.
They were too slow. At this rate, even two rounds of evaporation wouldn't get them enough to last the morning.
He scavenged a waterproof tarp—something like flexible plastic—and used long poles to construct a downward-pointing cone over the water.
He signaled Pakura to direct her steam directly under the cone's center.
As vapor rose, droplets formed on the inside surface of the tarp. The sloped material funneled them down to the tip.
Beneath the tip, Yako placed a bowl. Water dripped steadily into it and filled the container.
He had the children fetch a large barrel and rigged another cone over it the same way.
Once the barrel was full, Pakura could do a second distillation there.
With Yako helping, the water collection sped up dramatically.
The youngest child kept staring at the bowl, glancing at Pakura with big, hopeful eyes.
She smiled gently. "Drink up. We'll have water from now on."
Once the kids had drunk their fill, Yako filled two canteens.
He was parched too.
One was for himself. The other, he would deliver that night—to Leaf Monkey, the scout hidden on the perimeter.
Leaf Monkey was his backup, observing from the shadows.
That night, Yako found an empty tent and rested.
In the middle of the night, he slipped out with Earth Release: Hidden Fish in Earth Technique, heading toward the oasis outskirts.
Leaf Monkey was lying low in the sand, scanning the horizon with binoculars.
"Water."
Leaf Monkey didn't hesitate. He grabbed the canteen and chugged half of it immediately.
Water Release couldn't produce drinkable water.
The elemental transformation only created temporary water via chakra. Once the chakra dispersed, so did the water.
That's why water jutsu receded so quickly.
Even if you drank it, it didn't hydrate you. It only became unusable chakra in your gut—and too much of it could actually harm you.
Yako handed him the second canteen. "I'll bring two more tomorrow night."
Hearing that, Leaf Monkey tilted his head back and drained the rest.
"Captain, where'd you get this water?"
"That group inside the oasis. Turns out one of them can purify water using vapor release. I borrowed it from them."
"What? Then… doesn't that mean we failed our mission? Should we eliminate them?"
Yako shook his head. "No. That steam-based technique is rare. It's good enough for a handful of people—but it's nowhere near enough to support the entire Suna force."
He returned to the oasis and slept in his tent.
Later that night, a sudden howl of wind woke him.
A massive sandstorm had hit the desert!
Yako burst from the tent and looked up.
The swirling wall of sand blotted out the moonlight like a moving fortress.
He scanned it carefully—no trace of chakra. It was a natural phenomenon.
Then—he heard a scream from the lakeside.
He turned and saw a tent ripped open, exposing—
Pakura. Bathing.
Naked. Sitting in the open.
The curve of her back was so radiant, it seemed to light up the desert night.
The most beautiful back in the shinobi world—shimmering like moonlight.
In a flash, Yako used Body Flicker Technique, snatched a sheet midair, and wrapped the soaked girl.
Pakura looked up—only to see the Wind Country wanderer who'd helped collect water earlier: Miqū.
"Don't look! Turn away!"
Yako scooped her up and made for his tent.
But just then, the children's tent nearly collapsed.
Pakura wriggled in his arms. "No! Put me down! I have to save them!"
She completely forgot her embarrassment, her bare upper body straining out of his grasp.
"Hold still. Let me help."
With one arm still around her waist, Yako raised his other hand and formed seals.
"Earth Release: Longspear Egret!"
Several earthen spears shot up, pinning down the corners of the children's tent.
Then, he carried Pakura into his own tent and reinforced it with more Longspear Egret jutsu.
When he turned back—
Pakura was sitting on the floor, her back to him.
That flawless back... in full view.