"I'm not--"
Sakura's face suddenly turned red. She really wanted to admit it, but she was also an honest child and couldn't lie to others about this kind of thing. She looked at the "eldest young master" with the Chinese character, and explained, "I just practiced with Sasuke-kun, and now that the practice is over... I really didn't do anything!"
"You? A commoner who has not graduated from the Ninja Academy, practicing with Sasuke Uchiha?"
Chunin chuckled, as if he was practicing together with Sasuke, and it was much more ridiculous that Sakura was Sasuke's little girlfriend.
"Even if Sasuke Uchiha has become an orphan, his surname is Uchiha, and he is still a child of the Uchiha Clan Head family."
"The man who wiped out their clan, his brother, seems to be Genin or Chunin at your age."
"You said you were practicing with him, but he could have pressed you to the ground and rubbed you with just one hand. It's really funny."
"Master, don't you think so? This little girl doesn't tell the truth, so she should be put in jail and tortured."
Facing the eldest young master of his family, Chunin put on a flattering face again, with a smile that made Sakura want to vomit.
"Do you have any evidence?" the man with a Chinese character asked.
"Yes! Do you have any evidence?" Chunin pointed at Sakura and shouted loudly.
But the man with the Chinese character's face was fixed on his face and said word by word, "Sarutobi Ryo, I'm asking you if you have any evidence."
"Me? Young Master, what I just said is very clear."
Chunin explained hurriedly again, "The last time Hyuga Hinata was kidnapped..."
"I have evidence..."
Sakura's timid words interrupted Chunin's narration, causing the two adults to focus on her again. She had wanted to say this for a long time, but this Chunin never gave her a chance to speak.
"Wouldn't you just ask if I have practiced with Sasuke-kun? Besides, Sasuke and I were not the only ones there, Nara Family's sister Lu Yu was also there."
"Lu Yu Captain?"
"She has become a captain?"
Chunin and the man with the Chinese character face said one after another. Seeing their reactions, Sakura let out a long breath. It seemed that she should have reported the name of sister Lu Yu.
"Uh, yes, she is currently serving as the captain of Sister Huang..." Chunin nodded and replied.
"That would be really difficult for her."
The man with a square face sighed, and his eyes softened when he looked at Sakura. He smiled, and his neat teeth were particularly white under the moonlight. This reminded Sakura of a strange man who often ran upside down on various roads in the village.
"Okay, little girl, go home quickly." He gently pushed Sakura's shoulder and said softly.
"Hey? Young Master, at least go find Captain Lu Yu and ask for clarification." When Chunin heard his eldest young master say this, he immediately stopped working.
If he was really a spy, he would have accomplished a great service. Even if there was only a 1% chance, he would still be willing to give it a try. This little girl was not a ninja from a big family. Even if he was wronged, it would be nothing in the end, and no one would find him.
"She is a little girl and can't run away. It's already so late and her parents have been waiting impatiently for a long time. Let's do it like this." The man with the Chinese character waved his hand and motioned for Sakura to leave. Then he continued, "I will ask Lu Yu about this matter. You can take me to see Huangmei now."
It was already very dark, the last trace of the sun had disappeared, and most people in the village were already enjoying their happy leisure time at home.
Even ninjas who are diligent in training like Might Guy have returned home. Few people choose to practice at night. Ninjas are deep in darkness, but they always hate the darkness. At this time, the area around Uchiha Clan Compound is far darker than the rest of the village.
The only place with lights on in the darkness was the Security Force building, which stood not far away.
"Sister Huang has been very busy lately. She has to deal with countless official duties every day. It is already late at night when work ends every day. She either sleeps directly in the room next to the office or goes to stay at Captain Lu Yu's house."
As he walked, Chunin introduced to his eldest young master what happened when he was away from Konoha for so many years.
Although there have been letters exchanged all the time, and some information can be obtained at Money Exchange, after all, it was not witnessed with one's own eyes, so some of the details are unknown.
But Chunin didn't know much, so he could only direct the topic to what he knew, such as the current situation of the family, some of Lord Hokage's new policies, and Sarutobi Kou's appointment as the captain of the Security Force team, which really embarrassed Clan Head.
As we chatted, we finally got back to the man with the Chinese character and the face, "Young master, are you just coming back for a visit this time, are you going back soon, or are you coming back completely and never leaving?"
he asked.
He asked sincerely, but did not get an answer, because they had already arrived in front of the building of Security Force. More ninjas saw the man with the Chinese character face. They divided into two distinct teams. One team talked in a low voice, and the other team rushed up and surrounded him.
"Okay, okay, let me meet Huangmei first." He quickly waved his hand to calm down the excited people, then entered the building, walked through the stairs, and opened the door belonging to the minister.
"Asuma?"
Sarutobi Kou did not hide her surprise at all. She raised her head and looked at her cousin whom she had not seen for a long time, her eyes widening.
"When did you come back?" she asked.
"Just came back--" Asuma Sarutobi threw the cigarette butt in his mouth into the trash can, then took out another one from his pocket, and skillfully lit it with the chakra flame ignited by his fingertips.
Then he took a big puff and waited until he finished exhaling the smoke before continuing to talk.
"It is not an easy thing to ask Daimyo to resign. I mentioned it three times, and he asked me to stay three times. Only after the fourth time did he let me go."
"He also wanted to organize a grand motorcade to take me back to Konoha, saying that he wanted to show off in front of Hokage and let Konoha see how good the treatment of being Guardian Ninja is."
"But I still refused."
"Why would you refuse?" Sarutobi Kou frowned, his voice full of inquiry.
"You should agree happily, so that you can shine in front of the old man and let him know that you can achieve something even if you don't rely on him. Why did you refuse?"
"Because I found that even if I ran to Daimyo, I couldn't escape his influence-" Asuma took another deep puff of cigarette and whispered.