Box of Paradise

Yugito looked at Neji in confusion.

A person's values had basically taken shape after a few years in society. They couldn't be changed by a few words.

Neji didn't know how to explain it to Yugito either. He rubbed his temples and said, "I'm not in the right state of mind. Let's do this another day!"

Anyone could hear the dismissiveness in his nonchalant tone.

Yugito grew annoyed. She pinned him down and asked him bluntly:

"Neji, what are you worried about? Don't you like me?"

Neji's body tensed.

He fell silent for a moment, then answered just as bluntly, "I do like you. It's not like there's anything to lose."

For the sake of the Byakugan bloodline, Yozuki A didn't have to sacrifice Yugito.

Going to such lengths—how was that any different from Konoha?

Yugito was a hero of Kumogakure. She was so young and beautiful; she shouldn't have to be treated this way.

Besides, if Yugito completed the mission, she might not resent Neji, but she'd inevitably harbor a grudge deep down.

That wasn't something Neji wanted to see.

Neji's last remark made Yugito burst out laughing. Then she looked at him in confusion again.

"Then why? Could it be..."

She made a gesture, then glanced down at herself twice. Her mouth opened as if to say something, but she didn't know how to put it.

Neji gritted his teeth as he explained, "My dear Captain Yugito, what you're talking about and what I want are completely different things, all right?"

"Well... I don't see much of a difference. Aren't they both the same thing?"

Neji turned away and closed his eyes in anguish.

"If you only look at the result, there's no difference. But if you consider the whole process, then there's a huge difference.

"If all you're after is having children, or making a deal, both sides can skip the foreplay and go straight to the last step. (Especially men.)"

Yugito stared at Neji, dumbfounded.

It was the first time she'd heard anyone say something like that. Rather than finding it vulgar, she actually thought it made a fair bit of sense.

Of course, Yugito didn't really care about what made sense.

The mission came first. She only wanted to complete it.

But if Neji wouldn't cooperate, forcing it through probably wouldn't work.

"Fine. We'll let it go this time." Yugito took a deep breath, doing her best to stay calm.

Neji felt as if a great weight had been lifted. "Then get off me."

"Neji, let's both compromise. We'll share a room, but not a bed."

"Sure."

Neji thought that was for the best. Refusing again would be impolite.

Early the next morning, Neji was roused from a drowsy sleep by someone tugging at him.

Yugito wore a fitted black short-sleeved combat outfit. Her mouth was stuffed with grilled meat, which somehow didn't make her look ridiculous. Instead, she had a peculiar kind of cuteness.

Neji glanced at the clock on the wall.

Six ten.

He'd slept in.

"Your portion's on the table. Hurry up and eat. We've got a mission afterward."

"A mission?"

Neji paused while getting dressed and looked at Yugito in confusion.

"Didn't the mission already end?"

Yugito smiled mysteriously, her lips pursed. "Neji, you're a precious Byakugan user, and I'm a Two-Tails Jinchuriki. Would a mere C-Rank mission be worth traveling thousands of miles for?"

Neji froze.

Thinking it over, he realized Yugito had a point.

But they hadn't taken on any other missions. That meant this one had been assigned privately by Lord Raikage.

Remembering Kumogakure's usual ways, Neji began to suspect what was going on.

After breakfast, Yugito took out a scroll and handed it to Neji.

Neji unrolled it.

It was a map of Kusagakure.

A red line ran down the middle, dividing Kusagakure into northern and southern regions. In each region, a cluster of buildings was circled in red.

Yugito folded her arms across her chest and said seriously, "Do you know Kusagakure's history?"

Neji shook his head, pretending to be clueless. "Not really."

"All right. Then remember every word I say."

The corners of Yugito's mouth lifted slightly. Taking on the air of a Jonin in charge, she began to fill Neji in.

"Thousands of years ago, a legendary artifact called the Box of Paradise appeared in the Shinobi World. It was supposedly left behind by the Sage of Six Paths. They say it can grant people's wishes once opened. Kusagakure once opened it and nearly conquered the Shinobi World."

"Does the Box of Paradise really exist? The Sage of Six Paths only appears in myths and legends, after all," Neji interjected.

Was Yozuki A really going to have them steal the Box of Paradise?

But at this point in time, the Box of Paradise was probably in Hozuki Castle.

"Myths and legends are based on real history, with embellishments added. Kumogakure inherited several artifacts left behind by the Sage of Six Paths, so our village has concluded that the Box of Paradise exists, and that Kusagakure most likely has it.

"Our mission is to steal the Box of Paradise. An artifact like that must be in Kumogakure's hands."

The brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku, famed as the Light of the Clouds, had inherited five Six Paths Ninja Tools: the Amber-Purifying Rope, the Banana Palm Fan, the Red Gourd, the Seven Stars Sword, and the Amber Purifying Pot.

Decades ago, Kumogakure launched an attack on Konoha, sparking the First Shinobi World War. In the end, the Second Hokage taught them a harsh lesson.

Under pressure, the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage signed a peace treaty.

When the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers, who were fighting Konoha's forces on the front lines, learned that the Raikage had surrendered before them, they flew into a rage. They launched a coup and used the Six Paths Ninja Tools and the power of the Nine-Tails Chakra to assassinate the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage.

But the two brothers were also brutally eliminated by Kumogakure's Anbu, and the Six Paths Ninja Tools became Kumogakure's property.

"I'll search the southern region. Your mission is to infiltrate the northern region and investigate this place."

Yugito pointed a slender finger at the cluster of buildings circled in red in the northern region.

"Oh?" Neji raised an eyebrow. "What's special about these two places?"

"Many years ago, Kusagakure split into two completely opposing factions. One, the 'Kusagakure branch,' wants to revive Kusagakure. The other, the 'Kusagakure branch,' believes in peace.

"These two circled clusters of buildings are their headquarters. If the Box of Paradise is in Kusagakure's hands, it must be hidden in one of these two places."

Neji took a deep breath. He didn't ask what they would do if the Box of Paradise wasn't in Kusagakure. Instead, he asked when they would make their move.

Yugito glanced at the clock. "We have the whole day to scout the place. At midnight tonight, we'll move at the same time. We'll have only half an hour to act. Remember, whether or not we find the Box of Paradise, we must leave Kusagakure immediately."

Neji thought for a moment, then suggested, "I think we should return to this inn and leave Kusagakure openly tomorrow morning."

Yugito's eyes lit up, and she nodded. "The most dangerous place is the safest. Good, we'll retreat here."