"Yukina?"
Hearing the call, Chiba turned around in surprise, only to see Yukina leaning against the doorway, her hollow eyes fixed on him.
Why had Yukina come back? Confusion rose in his heart.
Earlier today, Yukina had gone to the early warning system building with the main group. Her command room was there, and at this hour, she should have been handling work.
Could it be...
A spy?
The instant that suspicion surfaced, his heart tightened. Yukina could not possibly be here right now. The person before him was most likely a spy in disguise, whether through disguise techniques or the Transformation Jutsu.
No! This was Yukina!
The real Yukina!
The next instant, he dismissed that thought. Vaguely, he could sense the aura of the seal on Yukina's forehead. It was a cursed seal he had placed himself—one he could even call his own original creation. No spy would put one on themselves.
There was no doubt about it. The person before him was Yukina herself.
Not a spy.
"Is this really all right?"
At that moment, Yukina's voice, filled with worry, reached him.
"This? What do you mean?"
Chiba paused slightly, clearly not understanding what she meant.
"Trading this seal for the Letter of Appointment... they shouldn't have known about this seal in the first place, right? Is this really not a problem?"
Upon hearing Chiba's words, Yukina could not help touching her forehead. A trace of worry appeared on her face as she spoke.
So it was about the seal...
As expected, nothing could be hidden from Yukina.
Hearing that, Chiba understood. He could not help sighing inwardly. Yukina was worried about him.
To the Hyuga Clan, this seal was undoubtedly a Sealing Jutsu with enormous, even subversive, implications.
As a relatively independent shinobi group, the system that