Mikoto's actions caught Qingshui by surprise.
In fact, even Mikoto herself was shocked by what she'd done.
She'd kissed him on impulse.
Now that she'd calmed down and thought about it, she realized she'd been far too impulsive.
Would Qingshui think I'm an easy woman?
Thinking this, Mikoto looked at Qingshui with a bashful expression, only to see the surprise on his face.
"That was just a little something to repay you. Don't get the wrong idea!"
Qingshui's reaction only made Mikoto more embarrassed. Blushing, she hurriedly explained herself, then turned to close the door and hide inside.
But just as she tried to escape, Qingshui grabbed her hand and stopped her.
"That little repayment isn't enough."
As he spoke, Qingshui pulled Mikoto into his arms. Feeling her soft, fragrant body against his, he lowered his head and kissed her sweet lips.
"Mmm!"
Mikoto's eyes widened at the sudden turn of events.
Her first kiss was gone just like that.
Though the thought filled her mind, she didn't feel any aversion. She'd actually developed feelings for Qingshui long ago.
And this felt pretty nice—very comfortable, in fact.
Mikoto soon lost herself in Qingshui's somewhat domineering kiss.
News that Konoha was preparing to hold the Joint Chunin Exam had reached the upper ranks of Ninja Villages across the Ninja World.
Most of the Small Ninja Villages chose to participate, sending their young people to take the Chunin Ninja Exams in Konoha and broaden their horizons.
But the other Four Great Ninja Villages had different ideas.
Iwagakure.
Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, was working in his office.
The village was short on capable successors, so even retiring had become a pipe dream for him.
After all, he was the oldest among the Third Kage.
"Lord Tsuchikage, we've received an invitation from Konoha. It's for the Joint Chunin Exam."
The visitor was Ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi. Though he was only seventeen, he was already a capable Jonin.
Ōnoki looked up at Kitsuchi, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.
He approved of Kitsuchi's talent and strength. Although Kitsuchi hadn't inherited his Dust Release, that was because Dust Release was simply too difficult to master.
After all, Dust Release was a Kekkei Tōta, which surpassed a Kekkei Genkai.
A Kekkei Genkai was a new type of Ninjutsu created by combining two Chakra Nature Transformations, while a Kekkei Tōta was created by combining three.
A Kekkei Tōta was many times harder to master than a Kekkei Genkai.
The difficulty was clear from the fact that the entire Ninja World had only one known Kekkei Tōta: Dust Release, which combined wind, earth, and fire.
Unfortunately, Kitsuchi was rather simple and straightforward. In Ōnoki's eyes, that made him unfit to become Tsuchikage.
"Lord Tsuchikage, should we send people to participate?"
Kitsuchi addressed Ōnoki by his title because they were discussing official business.
At the question, Ōnoki replied impatiently.
"What Joint Chunin Exam? Konoha just wants to show off its strength to the rest of the world. Why should we participate? So we can make Konoha look good?"
Sunagakure.
Looking over the intelligence that Konoha was about to hold the Joint Chunin Exam, the Third Kazekage turned to Rasa.
"Do you think we should participate?"
After thinking it over briefly, Rasa gave his answer.
"The village's most urgent task is to recover as quickly as possible, so I don't think we should participate."
After hearing Rasa's answer, the Third Kazekage shook his head.
"Rasa, it's true that the village needs to recover as quickly as possible, but we still have to take part in this Joint Chunin Exam."
"I hate to say it, but we have to admit that Sunagakure is the weakest of the Five Great Ninja Villages. We need a strong ally."
"Konoha is undoubtedly the best choice."
Rasa began to say something, but the Third Kazekage stopped him.
"Enough. I've made up my mind. You and Pakura will each lead a team to take part in Konoha's Joint Chunin Exam."
As the strongest Kazekage of the Third Generation, he had the authority to make this decision without consulting the elders.
"Yes, I understand."
Watching Rasa leave, the Third Kazekage sighed to himself.
Rasa was exceptionally talented. At a young age, he had inherited the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai and could even suppress Pakura, who was also a Kekkei Genkai user.
That was exactly why he had become so arrogant.
The Third Kazekage was grooming Rasa to take his place, so he had advised him many times.
He hoped Rasa would mature quickly and learn to think from the perspective of the Kazekage.
Kirigakure.
As the Third Mizukage who had introduced the "Blood Mist Policy," he had a terrible reputation in Kirigakure.
After all, no normal person would approve of being forced to kill their former companions just to survive.
But the Mizukage's authority was absolute. Even Elder Genshi, the village's most senior elder, couldn't change his decision.
Of course, the Third Mizukage still had some restraint.
The current "Blood Mist Policy" was nowhere near as extreme as it would be in the future, when Uchiha Obito secretly controlled Kirigakure.
A Mist Ninja from the Anbu suddenly appeared in the Mizukage's Office and handed over a scroll from Konoha. It contained information about the Joint Chunin Exam.
After reading it, the Third Mizukage refused without hesitation.
"This has nothing to do with us. Ignore it."
Kumogakure.
Unlike the other Ninja Villages, the Third Raikage wasn't sitting at his desk doing paperwork. He was working out nearby.
His trusted aide, Dodai, was handling the administrative work.
Only when something extremely important came up did the Raikage take care of it himself.
After receiving Konoha's invitation to the Joint Chunin Exam, Dodai immediately told the Third Raikage about it.
When Dodai finished explaining, the Third Raikage stopped what he was doing.
"Do you think we should participate?"
"Lord Raikage, I think we should. This is a great opportunity for us."
The opportunity Dodai meant was to kidnap Uzumaki Kushina, a member of the Uzumaki Clan who lived in Konoha.
The Uzumaki Clan excelled at Sealing Techniques and had greater vitality and Chakra than ordinary people, making them the ideal choice for Jinchuriki.
That was why Konoha had gone out of its way to bring Uzumaki Kushina back to the village.
After all, Konoha had the strongest Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails. Nobody outside the Uzumaki Clan could suppress it.
Kumogakure had the Eight-Tails, second only to the Nine-Tails. Its current Jinchuriki, Blue B, had been unable to fill the void in his heart and was constantly unstable.
The proposal to kidnap Uzumaki Kushina had been made in the hope of changing that.
But Konoha's strength and status gave them pause, so Kumogakure had yet to act. They were still hesitating.
This Joint Chunin Exam, however, was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity. They could send people into Konoha openly.
"Good. Then we'll participate."
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