"Let's put on a show for them."
"Uncle Dodai, arrange a medical team to examine the active jonin. It'd be best if they found something suspicious, but if they don't..."
"Once the rumors die down, I'll leave the village on a mission and give Root an opening."
The Fourth Raikage furrowed his brow slightly.
If Neji left the village, they wouldn't be able to support him easily.
If anything went wrong, the consequences would be more than the village could bear.
"It's too dangerous for you to go alone. I'll have Yugito back you up."
The Fourth Raikage waved his hand and spoke in an unquestionable tone.
"But..."
Neji rubbed his temples. "What if that alerts Root?"
The assassination attempt had failed, and so had the attempt to frame him.
It was easy to imagine that the next time Root struck, their plan would be even more meticulous.
With Yugito protecting Neji, Root wouldn't dare act recklessly.
The Fourth Raikage smiled. "Neji, don't you have the Amber Purifying Pot? Put Yugito inside it, and no one will be the wiser."
Neji slapped his forehead. "How could I forget?"
The Amber Purifying Pot contained its own space. It could hold Tailed Beasts, and people too.
Neji simply hadn't thought of it.
Mainly because the Amber Purifying Pot barely appeared in the original story, only showing up near the very end.
Neji thought of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal and spoke up. "Lord Raikage, I'd like to learn some Sealing Jutsu."
"Wait here."
The Fourth Raikage raised an eyebrow, then walked to the wall and gently tapped it three times. A hidden room opened, and he went inside.
Dodai asked, "Are you planning to remove the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal and bring the Wandering Miko over to your side?"
Neji nodded.
Dodai advised him earnestly:
"Root's shinobi are machines stripped of emotion. The Wandering Miko was abandoned by Danzo, but whether she's truly given up on him is anyone's guess."
"And that woman is a spy who's been active across the Five Great Nations for years, stealing intelligence."
"She's skilled at disguises and manipulating people's feelings."
"Take my advice. Nonō is more than you can handle. Get rid of her while you can."
Neji: "..."
Dodai was deeply prejudiced against Nonō.
On the other hand, his advice also came from weighing the pros and cons.
To ensure absolute loyalty to Danzo, Root's shinobi had to endure prolonged brainwashing.
Even Yamato, a Wood Release shinobi, hadn't escaped it.
If Neji hadn't known that Nonō had no real affection for Danzo, he wouldn't have dared to bring her over to his side.
Perhaps because she was a spy, forcibly brainwashing her would have damaged her brain, and so Nonō had escaped that fate.
She wasn't an emotionless mission machine, but a living person—and a kind, gentle woman at that.
Neji could keep that knowledge to himself.
There was no need to explain it to Dodai.
"Uncle Dodai, I'll think about it," Neji said solemnly, though he paid Dodai's words no mind.
The Fourth Raikage emerged from the hidden room and handed Neji a scroll.
"Neji, this is the Iron Armor Sealing Scroll. I'd planned to teach it to you later, but take it for now."
Neji took the scroll and tucked it into his Ninja Tool Pouch.
Judging by its name, Iron Armor Sealing seemed like a mediocre Sealing Jutsu.
In reality, that wasn't the case.
Kumogakure had once used Iron Armor Sealing to seal the Eight-Tails inside Blue B.
It couldn't compare to the Reaper Death Seal, but it wasn't much weaker than the Four Symbols Seal.
If Neji could undo Iron Armor Sealing without relying on a formula, he could try removing the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal from Nonō.
After leaving the Raikage Building, Neji didn't head home. Instead, he went straight to the residence where Kana and her mother lived.
It was a three-story house, more elegantly decorated than Samui's home.
Samui herself was wealthy and generous, but her family was still quite poor.
They had a mortgage to pay every month.
Neji figured that, someday, he'd have Samui live with Kana and her mother.
"Sir."
Kana opened the door and greeted Neji excitedly when she saw him.
Ever since Neji had arranged for her and her mother to live here, he hadn't come by again.
In an unfamiliar place, a lone woman with a child had no one to rely on.
Kana had felt a little uneasy.
At last, she got to see someone today.
"Has anyone from outside been bullying you or your mother these past few days?"
She was already in her twenties, yet she looked so delicate and helpless.
Neji couldn't help feeling both protective and mischievous.
Kana shook her head. "Everyone around here treats me with respect."
Kana had spent a lot of time thinking these past few days.
Why had Neji saved her and her mother? What did she have to do to hold on to the peaceful life she had now?
She had already made up her mind to make sacrifices.
As long as they weren't treated like blood bags and chewed on by those beasts from Kusagakure, she could live with anything.
Neji took the Iron Armor Sealing Scroll from his Ninja Tool Pouch and handed it to Uzumaki Kana.
"Make a copy of this later and study it carefully."
Uzumaki Kana took the scroll, surprised. She unrolled it and glanced at the contents, her lovely eyes widening.
"Iron Armor Sealing?"
"That's right, Iron Armor Sealing."
Neji intended for Kana and her mother to learn Sealing Jutsu.
The Uzumaki clan's Sealing Jutsu was unrivaled in the Shinobi World. Their bloodline ability, Adamantine Sealing Chains, could even suppress the Nine-Tails.
It could prove invaluable at a crucial moment.
"Can I really learn this?"
Kana asked in disbelief.
Neji watched Uzumaki Kana part her lips, looking so adorably clueless, and lightly pressed his own lips together.
He'd heard of a theory.
Cute aggression.
It described a psychological phenomenon in which some people felt an aggressive impulse when faced with something especially cute, but didn't actually cause any harm.
For example, squeezing a cat.
Studies had shown that this was the brain's way of regulating emotions, using a small amount of negative expression to temper overwhelming positive feelings.
Neji didn't dare act out around Samui, but the adorably clueless Kana in front of him stirred his aggression.
He lifted Kana's bangs and tucked them behind her ear, twirling her hair around his fingertips.
"What, you don't want to? Besides, Iron Armor Sealing has some connection to the Uzumaki clan."
"Sir, I'll train hard. I won't let you down," Kana said timidly, a blush appearing on her face.
"When you're talking to me, look me in the eyes."
Neji lifted Kana's chin with a finger and said sternly.
Kana raised her head and looked at Neji's youthful face, his expression fierce.
She wasn't afraid. The contrast even made her want to laugh.
"Sir, I'll remember."
"From now on, call me Neji, and I'll call you ma'am. Understand?"
"Mm... Neji."
Neji pinched Kana's smooth, fair cheek, then let his fingers slowly trace her lips.
Warm, moist, narrow.
At that moment, he could understand Cao Boss a little.
The blush on Kana's face spread to her ears.
She couldn't control her physical reaction, but she didn't particularly dislike Neji's actions.
For one thing, he'd saved her life.
For another, Neji was simply too young.
He was only a year older than Karin.
He couldn't do anything. What bad intentions could he have?
Just a child fooling around.
Karin often fooled around like this, too.
Before you continue