I Want to Marry the Most Beautiful Woman in Your Village!

Thunder roared, waking the insects buried in the winter soil.

"Uncle, on one side, a living powerhouse is breaking through to the east. On the other, a shadow clone carrying a corpse is fleeing west. If you were in charge, which side would you stop?"

Dodai wanted to say, "Both." But Uchiha Ryuu was so powerful that he couldn't bring himself to say something so childish.

Qing Xuan continued to press him, still enjoying himself. "A few Genin managed to escape unharmed from tens of thousands of Iwa shinobi with my dad covering them. So tell me: against several thousand Iwa shinobi who've already been beaten into terror, can he cover his shadow clone and make another run for it?"

Dodai fell silent.

He remained quiet for a moment, then finally made up his mind. Looking at a Cloud shinobi, he ordered, "Go get Number Nine."

The Cloud shinobi hesitated, but Dodai barked at him again. He then ran resolutely into the rain.

The air fell quiet for the moment, with only the patter of raindrops remaining.

No one paid any more attention to the Cloud shinobi who had run off, and no one knew where he had gone.

But the Anbu hidden among the surrounding trees would follow him all the way, then report the final answer to the Third Hokage.

The silence didn't last long. Before long, the Cloud shinobi returned, bringing with him a middle-aged ninja who was panting hard.

He wore a Konoha forehead protector and a Konoha Chunin vest. He had lived in Konoha for decades.

You could even say he had once been a Konoha shinobi.

Under everyone's gaze, he looked frightened, unease in his eyes, yet still approached Qing Xuan at the Cloud shinobi's command. With Sharingan after Sharingan fixed on him, he shakily pulled out a box about the size of a person's head.

He extended the antenna. The front, painted with the character for "lightning," crackled, then blared a roar like rolling thunder.

"Uchiha... kzzzt! Krrk! Qing Xuan!"

Qing Xuan leaned close to the box.

"Hello? This is Uchiha Ryuu!"

"Pfft, kzzzt... kzzzt! Enough!"

The person on the other end sounded furious. He growled, as if forcing himself to keep his temper, and ordered, "Give me the address... kzzzt—! Now! Immediately! Kzzzt!"

Qing Xuan frowned, pulled over a small stool, sat down, and said nothing.

The air was filled with a burst of crackling static.

After a long while, a buzzing sound came from the other end, as if someone were trying to persuade him. Then the growling voice grew subdued. "All right, Uchiha Ryuu. Kzzzt—what do you want to discuss?"

There seemed to be less static now.

Qing Xuan, on the other hand, wasn't in a hurry. Resting his chin in his hands, he asked with interest, "What do you want?"

"You know, kzzzt! damn well!"

"This thing's signal isn't very good!"

Qing Xuan poked the box with a finger and asked, "Is this the latest model?"

The other side seemed stumped. After a while, he replied, "It's the only one in all of Konoha. This machine has limited power, so state your terms!"

Qing Xuan asked, "Can I ask for anything?"

"As long as, pfft! Krrk... it's not too outrageous."

Under everyone's gaze, Qing Xuan thought seriously for a moment, then said with a straight face, "I want to marry the prettiest woman in your village!"

"Boom!"

The person on the other end seemed to have thrown something, and then a flurry of commotion came through.

"Pfft! Are you messing with me?"

"Calm down! Kzzzt—calm down! Fourth Raik—"

"We can't let him..."

Another long while passed.

"Pick a different, pfft—demand!"

The words came through as if forced between clenched teeth.

Qing Xuan scratched his head and turned to look at the Uchiha. Behind them, a golden ponytail swayed into view.

"Then pay off all my mom's debts!"

"Tsunade? Kzzzt, kzzzt..."

A discussion came from the other end, as if they were holding a meeting.

"No, kzzzt—we can't agree!"

"This involves, pfft, krrk... numerous countries, including the Land of Fire..."

"Kzzzt—kzzzt! What about the intelligence department? Calculate, kzzzt... the total budget of Kumogakure for three years!"

Something momentous seemed to have happened. The other end fell into a long silence of shock.

"As for that female ninja, what are your requirements? Kzzzt, kzzzt, kzzzt—"

At that moment, Qing Xuan could almost see the Fourth Raikage's gloomy face.

Why bother?

He should've agreed from the start! Then he wouldn't have ended up so humiliated. The mighty Kumogakure couldn't even pay off a frail woman's debts? What a joke!

Seeing the other side give in first, Qing Xuan raised an eyebrow. "I told you, I want the prettiest one!"

The other side seemed to be trying very hard to hold back. "Kumogakure, pfft, kzzzt... kzzzt, kzzzt. We have only the strongest! Not the prettiest! Kzzzt, kzzzt, kzzzt!"

Qing Xuan didn't cut him any slack. "Then I want the fairest one!"

"Boom!"

The other side threw something again!

Then—

"No need! Kzzzt... there's no need for that! Fourth Raikage!"

"For the Third..."

"Calm down, kzzzt—down!"

This time, the Fourth Raikage seemed to be in a terrible rage. His roar carried so far that even the dog outside the street heard it.

"Uchiha Qing Xuan! Kzzzt... kzzzt, kzzzt! I agree! Just you wait! Krrk!"

"Fine! I'll be waiting."

Qing Xuan replied casually, then loudly gave an address.

"Boom!"

This time, the other side didn't throw anything. The box simply seemed unable to take any more and exploded at that final moment.

Amid the flames, Qing Xuan turned to face the many strange and complicated looks, including that of the Third Hokage. Still utterly composed, he held out a hand to Dodai. "Is there any alliance more reliable than a marriage alliance? Come on, uncle, let's shake hands. From now on, Konoha and Kumogakure are one family."

With Uchiha Qing Xuan right before him, Dodai's heart trembled violently. Under the gaze of all the Uchiha, he reached out his hand, wondering whether he should seize the chance to choke the little bastard to death.

But in the end, he didn't do it.

Even if he could pull off such a feat under the Uchiha's watchful eyes, the Third Hokage standing beside him and the Konoha shinobi gradually closing in wouldn't let him.

And then there were the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, every eye veined with bulging blood vessels...

"Of course, I'd be delighted."

At that moment, Dodai's smile wasn't stiff at all.

Especially with the Third Hokage's pipe glowing beside him, it seemed all the more warm and amiable.

Behind the Uchiha, Tsunade wiped her eyes, looking deeply moved.

"Are you crying, Tsunade?"

Jiraiya's low, deep voice sounded from beside her.

Tsunade nodded, her voice full of emotion.

"Qing Xuan is such a thoughtful child. I didn't expect him to still be thinking of me at a time like this..."

Jiraiya felt his teeth ache.

"Did you seriously not realize he was humiliating you in front of everyone?"

"Boom!"

"Tsu... Tsunade! Calm down! Please, calm down!"