Unlike Lin Qing and his group, who were making their way leisurely toward the royal capital, Warsaw City, Sasuke and Xiaotao traveled day and night, hoping to return to the Research Institute as soon as possible.
Whether it was Shinnō's memories, the Ninjutsu Disc, or the Uchiha bloodline, all were temptations worth risking one's life for in the eyes of many.
Along the way, they encountered three squads that attempted to assassinate them. Fortunately, Sasuke, Xiaotao, and the knights of the Extermination Army had long since developed seamless coordination through the trials of Chaotic April in the Land of Water. They made it back to the Research Institute without any real danger.
"Here."
Sasuke handed Shinnō's memories and the Ninjutsu Disc to Samui.
Ever since taking on the job of liaising with Kumogakure and Kirigakure, this female ninja from Kumogakure had remained steeped in controversy. At first, many people called her a "village-selling traitor" and a "shameless woman."
Samui never argued back. She simply kept her head down and worked.
As time passed, adjustments to military spending, increased productivity, and tangible benefits delivered to ninjas and villagers gradually silenced many of them.
Samui did not mock them either, nor did she say things like, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river." She simply kept her head down and worked.
After all, her choice had never been about earning others' respect, nor had it ever been about proving herself to anyone...
No, that was not entirely true. There was one person Samui wanted to prove herself to—to show him that she was walking the path he had taken.
"Didn't Lin Qing come?"
Samui stared at Shinnō's Memory Disc without looking up, as though she had asked casually.
"Brother Qing went to the royal capital of the