I Wouldn't Mind Either

Shaziyi froze.

"Your performance just now was certainly quite moving."

"But..."

Timon held up a finger, wearing the confident expression of someone who'd seen right through everything.

"I've figured out what you're up to!"

Shaziyi's heart gave a sudden jolt.

This fatso...

Had he actually seen through her plan to use her charms to escape?

For a moment, an absurd thought crossed Shaziyi's mind.

Could it be that the one who looked the most simple-minded and slow-witted...

Was actually the one hiding the deepest secrets on the Ino-Shika-Cho squad?

As her thoughts raced, Akimichi Timon solemnly gave his answer. "You heard me say we should treat our prisoners a little better, so you're trying to trick me into sharing my limited-edition potato chips with you, right?!"

"..."

The air suddenly fell silent.

Shaziyi froze completely, her gaze going blank.

She even wondered if she'd heard him wrong.

Seriously...

She'd gone to all that trouble—flirting with him, using her charms, and enduring the embarrassment of putting on that whole act.

And his conclusion was that she wanted to trick him out of his potato chips?!

Limited-edition potato chips, no less?!

For the first time, Shaziyi looked at Akimichi Timon with neither anger, humiliation, nor murderous intent.

She was simply speechless.

She finally understood.

The most terrifying thing about Konoha.

It wasn't ninjutsu, genjutsu, or Kekkei Genkai.

It was... that these people's minds simply didn't work normally!

Timon hugged his bag of chips tightly and warily shuffled backward.

"Forget it. They've discontinued this flavor, and even I can't bring myself to eat too many." He thought for a moment, then added, "Besides, you made it way too obvious. I could tell at a glance you weren't after me—you were after my chips."

Shaziyi: "..."

She slowly closed her eyes.

Konoha, hurry up and fall already.

"Let's go, Timon."

Yamanaka Santian poked his head in through the doorway, his expression strange as he looked from Shaziyi to Timon, who was clutching his chips.

"The captain wants us to take these two outside the village and wait for him. He'll report to the prince, then head back to the village."

"Oh, right..."

Akimichi Timon hurriedly stuffed the last few chips into his mouth, opened the cage, grabbed one prisoner in each hand, and carried them out of the room.

The two had just taken their prisoners out of the inn and reached the outskirts of the village when they saw Hyuga Qinglan already waiting there.

"Captain, weren't you...?"

Yamanaka Santian blinked, looking back at the inn before turning to Hyuga Qinglan.

That had been quick—almost too quick.

"I sent a Shadow Clone."

Hyuga Qinglan rubbed his shoulder and looked at the two prisoners hanging from Timon's hands. "Timon, can you still manage?"

"Heh, no problem."

Akimichi Timon grinned good-naturedly, one prisoner in each hand.

"Then let's head back to the village at full speed."

Hyuga Qinglan nodded and took off toward the Land of Fire.

Two days later, the group finally reached Konoha.

"The side effects of Divine Extermination... are lasting this long?"

"Are the side effects of using Divine Extermination really this severe...?"

Hyuga Qinglan carried Shaziyi in his right hand, feeling aches and fatigue creeping through his body.

He'd thought two days would be enough for his body to recover, but every time he exerted himself, his muscles and meridians still silently protested.

"Your name is Hyuga Qinglan... right?"

Shaziyi spoke weakly. She hadn't eaten a single grain of rice in the past two days. She'd tried to protest by starving herself, only to have her mouth forced open and water poured down her throat.

After entering Konoha, the tape over her mouth had been removed.

"You only just learned my name?"

Unfazed by the astonished looks of the villagers at the entrance, Hyuga Qinglan walked into the village. He sent Yamanaka Santian and Akimichi Timon off to rest, then carried both prisoners straight toward the Hokage Building.

"Your Lightning Release Armor... why is it purple?"

Shaziyi struggled to raise her eyelids and asked the question she'd been holding back.

It was one thing for a member of the Hyuga Branch Family to know Rotation.

After all, their intelligence said that the Hyuga clan leader's younger brother was also from the Branch Family and knew Rotation.

But this man could even use Cloud Village's Lightning Release Armor—and it was a strange shade of purple...

It was even more powerful and faster than the orthodox Lightning Release Armor.

If she hadn't been keeping a close eye on the fight between Dekai and the other man, she wouldn't have been captured so easily by the Ino-Shika-Cho squad.

"Heh..."

Hyuga Qinglan chuckled, but didn't answer.

"As a prisoner, you should know your place."

"From now on, you'd better tell us everything honestly."

"Otherwise... things won't go so well for you."

With that, he picked up his pace and strode toward the Hokage Building.

The sun shone brightly, slipping through the clouds and gliding over the imposing Kage Rock before casting its slanting light through the windows of the Hokage Building.

A pleasant atmosphere filled the Hokage's office.

Because the person seated behind the desk, wearing the Hokage hat, wasn't Sarutobi Hiruzen, but...

Shimura Danzō.

"Heh... Hiruzen, looks like I really had to step in after all..."

Shimura Danzō muttered under his breath, unable to hide his smugness.

He stroked the alliance agreement in his hand, bearing the seal of Hanzo of the Salamander, from the Land of Rain.

He'd expected his trip to the Land of Rain to persuade Hanzo to send troops and help resist Iwagakure and the coalition of its other allied nations to be a difficult, drawn-out struggle.

To his surprise, things had gone far more smoothly than expected.

"If things keep going like this, maybe I won't even need to support that Orochimaru fellow..."

"I could give the Fourth Hokage position a try, too..."

Danzō thought happily.

For now, he and the other two advisors were only temporarily acting as Hokage and guarding the village.

But that alone was enough to delight Danzō, who'd long coveted the position.

He believed that if he got the chance to act as Hokage once, he'd get it a second and third time...

Until the position rightfully belonged to him.

Then his goal would be complete...

No...

Danzō's gaze gradually turned calm.

He still needed to wait for the right moment. He had to find the perfect chance to strike a fatal blow.

And the side effects of Hashirama Cells were still severe.

Danzō looked down at his right arm, brimming with vitality.

It seemed he'd have to rely on Orochimaru for a while longer.

"Terai, have the Uchiha or any other clans been making trouble in the village lately?"

The ninja named Terai knelt on one knee and respectfully reported with his head bowed. "Lord Danzō, the village's major clans are concerned about the fighting at the front, but they've all continued sending personnel and supplies as planned before Lord Hokage left."

He paused, then added, "Even the Uchiha Clan has shown no unusual activity so far. In fact, they've been very cooperative."

"Good. That's good."

Danzō nodded slightly, leaned back, and shifted his posture to ease the stiffness from sitting for so long.

"Though the village is in a difficult position right now, with me directing things here, victory in the Third Shinobi World War will ultimately tilt in Konoha's favor..."

"Hm?"

After finishing his report, Terai remained kneeling, as though he still had something to say. Danzō frowned slightly.

"What else is it?"

Terai fell silent for a moment, seemingly choosing his words, then finally reported in a low voice.

"Lord Danzō, there's one more thing..."

"The Hyuga Clan recently sent several of its own ninja to the front along the border with Iwagakure."

"Moreover, this deployment... was never formally reported to the Hokage Building."