Mist Ninja's Envoy! (Seeking Votes! Seeking Investment!)

"Samehada!"

Yakumo didn't find Samehada, covered in spikes, off-putting at all. Instead, she felt an unusual closeness and joy. She reached out and grabbed Samehada's hilt. With Brother Sōken watching nearby, Samehada naturally behaved itself and dared not cause trouble, actively extending its hilt like a small snake coiling around Yakumo's right arm.

"So amazing!"

Looking at Samehada wrapped around her arm, Yakumo's eyes sparkled.

Even though this wasn't the first time she'd seen it, the excitement and thrill in her heart had never faded.

This was exactly the kind of thing that belonged to the world of ninjas she yearned for!

"Samehada, you can begin."

Brother Sōken gently patted Samehada's blade. The docile Samehada had long since retracted its sharp spikes. Hearing Brother Sōken's command, it twisted its body slightly, then the hilt coiled around Yakumo's arm tightened again. At the same time, a special type of energy was slowly released and fed bit by bit into Yakumo's body by Samehada.

This was the purest physical energy after Samehada had devoured and refined it.

In other words, the power of Yang Release.

Of course, this could only be considered the rudimentary form of Yang Release's power, still far from the realm of truly giving life to form. But even just this rudiment was an extremely useful elixir for Yakumo. As Samehada continuously sent the refined physical energy into her, Yakumo's pale, bloodless complexion, like someone from a painting, gradually gained a hint of rosiness.

"Yang Release..."

Opening his Sharingan, Brother Sōken watched the entire process of Samehada transmitting physical energy without blinking.

Before, like Yakumo, he had observed all this from the perspective of the receiver. Now, watching it happen from an outsider's point of view, he indeed gained different insights... Although the Yin and Yang natures were listed alongside Water, Fire, Wind, Thunder, and Earth, in essence, Yin and Yang were clearly on a higher level of existence.

Not much time passed.

Samehada stopped transmitting physical energy. This wasn't because Samehada had been drained dry, but because Yakumo's body could only handle so much. Too much of a good thing becomes poison, let alone for someone like Yakumo, who was born weak and deficient. Remedying it naturally required extra caution.

"Yakumo, how do you feel?"

Brother Sōken asked with a concerned expression.

"Master, I feel like I could punch a cow to death right now!" The little girl, thin as a bean sprout, swung her arm as slender as a burdock root and boasted with great vigor.

"It looks like it won't take many more sessions before you can go to the Ninja Academy with Toka and the others!"

Brother Sōken flicked his finger.

Samehada immediately contracted and lay obediently on the table.

"Really, Master?"

Yakumo looked over with anticipation.

"What benefit would I get from lying to a little girl like you?" Brother Sōken smiled. "If my Fuinjutsu weren't a bit lacking, you might have been able to go to the Ninja Academy even sooner."

"That's not true, Master! Being able to go to the Ninja Academy already makes me very happy. A little later doesn't matter."

Yakumo said obediently.

"Happy?"

Brother Sōken didn't say anything more. He simply called for someone to take his disciple to rest. Just as people need time to digest food, Yakumo's body also needed time to integrate this external physical energy. Fortunately, this energy had already been purified and refined by Samehada, so integration only required some time and wouldn't cause other problems.

He also needed to go deal with some troublesome matters!

Outside the window, The crow raised by Shisui stood on the windowsill, staring over.

"Toka! Toka! Don't run too far. We've already left the Police Force's grounds. Brother Sōken won't be able to find us later." Naruto chased after her, shouting nonstop, but unfortunately, as the little brother, he couldn't stop the boss from doing as she pleased.

Sasuke followed closely, not falling behind.

There was really no helping it.

Even though his relationship with Toka wasn't very friendly!

But the problem was, aside from Toka and Naruto, he didn't have any other friends after leaving the Ninja Academy.

In the clan, the only ones attending the Ninja Academy right now were him and Toka. The other kids their age stayed in the clan for home education. To be honest, when they met, they just greeted each other and then went off to do their own thing.

Because he'd used a Great Fireball to blow a hole in the school building and then skipped class, Sasuke didn't want to go home right now either. So he had no choice but to hang out with Toka and Naruto!

They left the Police Force's grounds and advanced along sparsely populated streets and alleys toward a nearby park.

"Naruto, you're so noisy!"

Annoyed by the racket, Toka turned back to scold her little brother, but in doing so, she overlooked a pedestrian suddenly appearing in front of her and crashed right into them. Unlike the first day of the Ninja Academy, when she'd sent Naruto sprawling face-first, this time she ended up flat on her back like a little toad.

"Toka!!"

Naruto and Sasuke quickened their pace and rushed forward like the wind.

They helped Toka up and stared at the ninja standing before them, who wore a headband different from Konoha's, with deep wariness in their eyes.

"Hey hey, Konoha brats, not watching where you're going. What are your eyes for?"

The stranger glared fiercely at Naruto and the others.

He wore a dark gray ninja vest different from Konoha ninjas, and his clothing style was completely different from the Land of Fire's. On top of that, the headband tied around his forehead... This was a Mist Ninja. Sasuke recalled the knowledge he'd learned in class.

"Sorry, running into you was my fault."

Toka pushed past Naruto and Sasuke, who were shielding her, and apologized loudly.

When you make a mistake, you own up to it.

The pride of the Uchiha clan was never about never making mistakes—it was about having the courage to admit them. That was what her brother had taught her. Making mistakes wasn't shameful; a person's whole life was spent stumbling through countless errors. What was shameful was making a mistake and refusing to admit it.

She didn't fully understand those words, but she remembered that when you made a mistake, you had to own up and apologize. That was only natural.

"Heh! Little girl, you think an apology is enough? You nearly broke my ribs when you ran into me." This Mist Ninja had no intention of letting the kids off easy. His hostile attitude seemed deliberately provocative—and in fact, it was. He was picking a fight, even with several Konoha ninja right behind him.

Behind this Mist Ninja, three chunin in green vests stood at a loss, hesitating, unsure of what to do.

They were embassy staff, responsible for hosting envoys from other nations and villages.

Logically speaking, this was Konoha. An outsider had no business throwing his weight around here. But ever since the incident two years ago, when a Kumogakure envoy died and the Hyūga Clan was forced to sacrifice a Branch House member to quell the crisis...

The embassy staff couldn't help but tread carefully in their work.

Even a prestigious clan like the Hyūga had paid such a brutal price. They, common-born ninja, couldn't bear the consequences of angering a Kirigakure envoy. If it came to that, they'd likely be thrown out as scapegoats to pacify the envoy's fury.

"Then what do you want?"

Toka met the Mist Ninja's gaze without flinching.

"Haha! You really are a brat from the Uchiha clan. You know what? My father and my two older brothers—they were all killed by you Uchiha. As a lesson for crashing into me, hand over your eyes!" With those words, the Mist Ninja reached out to grab Toka.