Arrival at Yugakure

The next morning, faint light spread across the eastern horizon, while birds in the trees chirped and twittered without pause.

Mingyou slowly opened his eyes, only to find that Samui had apparently awakened long ago.

Her face was less than five centimeters from his.

Her cheeks were flushed as she stared wide-eyed into Mingyou's eyes.

Mingyou glanced downward from the corner of his eye and realized that they were embracing in an intimate position.

Neither of them spoke. They simply looked at each other from such close range.

Mingyou's heartbeat raced to its limit, and even breathing became difficult.

He cautiously leaned closer and lightly pecked Samui's alluring red lips.

Samui's eyes widened further, and the blush on her cheeks became even more obvious.

Then, she kissed Mingyou on the lips in the same manner.

A trace of provocation entered her gaze as she continued staring blankly into Mingyou's eyes.

Mingyou could no longer restrain the desire in his heart. He rolled over and pinned her beneath him, their bodies tightly entwining.

A long while later, everything finally calmed down.

They held each other, savoring this brief tenderness.

Only when the sun hung high in the sky and the mountain forest had grown unusually hot did Samui break free from Mingyou's embrace and rise to straighten her clothes.

"Mingyou, my body is still weak, but you have to take me with you to the Land of Hot Springs."

"The time for the meeting between the Kage is drawing near. If we do not return soon, we will delay something important."

Mingyou nodded slightly and gave her shapely rear a light pat. "Fine. With the kind of relationship we have now, of course I have to take you along."

Samui slapped his hand away and shot him an annoyed glare. "You little brat, can you be more serious? I am talking business with you."

Mingyou climbed up from the ground and grinned wickedly. "I am talking business too. Did I not already agree?"

"Come on, I will carry you." As he spoke, Mingyou bent down and motioned for her to climb onto his back.

Samui gave a soft "Mm," placed her hands on Mingyou's shoulders, and climbed onto his back.

Traveling from the Land of Waves to the Land of Hot Springs required a long journey by sea.

Compared to the distance from the Land of Fire, it was more than twice as far.

The boat ride alone took three days.

After three days of rest aboard the ship, Samui had recovered considerably. Moving and traveling on her own was no longer a problem.

No obstacles or ambushes appeared along the way.

Ever since they had crossed that line that morning, Samui's attitude toward Mingyou had changed greatly.

At least, from Mingyou's perspective, she had become much gentler with him than before.

"We should be nearing the shore."

Mingyou sat at the front edge of the deck. Within his field of view, he could already see a coastal harbor ahead.

"Mm." Samui slowly rose to her feet and gazed into the distance.

Suddenly, she turned to Mingyou, her expression becoming extremely serious. "Mingyou, once we go ashore, I hope we can keep an appropriate distance from each other."

Mingyou looked utterly baffled, unable to understand. "Why? You had your fun and now you want to deny it?"

"I am an innocent virgin. I gave you my most precious first time."

"Stop fooling around and speak properly." Samui shot Mingyou an annoyed glare.

After spending these days together, she had already figured out Mingyou's personality. He was nothing more than a shameless little rogue who loved to act like a pervert.

"I say this because I do not want Lord Raikage to notice the kind of relationship between us."

Mingyou still could not understand. Rising to his feet, he asked, "Why? Could it be that you and the Fourth Raikage—"

"You—" Samui's face darkened in anger as she raised her hand and threw a hard punch at Mingyou's chest.

Bang!

The blow carried tremendous force. Mingyou felt a huge impact strike his chest, and then his body flew backward out of control.

Fortunately, Mingyou reacted in time. After coating the soles of his feet with Chakra, he landed steadily on the surface of the sea.

"Damn, you were serious?"

Mingyou rubbed his faintly aching chest and returned to the ship.

Samui gave a soft snort and rolled her eyes at him. "Who told you to spout nonsense? I had not even finished speaking before you rushed to interrupt."

"Alright, alright, go on. I will not interrupt again." Mingyou smiled awkwardly, no longer daring to casually provoke this woman.

Samui leaned against the ship's railing, her beautiful eyes turning solemn. "The ninja world war is about to begin. During this period, relations between the major nations will be at their most sensitive."

"I told you before that although the four major nations will attend this meeting to attack Konoha, there are many barriers between them. They cannot possibly cooperate with one heart."

"Although your Uchiha Clan is a clan that rebelled against Konoha, I believe you understand the Uchiha's current situation very well."

"Though you successfully escaped from Konoha, with only the few people in your Uchiha Clan, your final fate will likely still be to flee everywhere while Konoha chases you down."

At this point, a trace of apology appeared in Samui's eyes. "Mingyou, to be honest, Lord Raikage has also set his sights on the Sharingan of your Uchiha Clan."

"But I ended up having this kind of relationship with you."

"To be honest, I have thought about it a lot these past few days. Being caught between you and the Land of Lightning has made things very difficult for me."

"But if Lord Raikage learns about what happened between us, I am afraid my life will be in danger as well."

"Is that so?" Mingyou did not appear overly surprised. "Samui, do not worry. I know what to do. I will not make things difficult for you."

Mingyou had considered this long ago. That was why he had sent all the Uchiha into the Kamui Dimension and gone alone to attend this dangerous meeting.

Soon, the ship reached the shore.

Mingyou and Samui stepped onto land, passing through dense forests as they headed toward the town where Yugakure was located.

Although the Land of Hot Springs was only a small country, it still covered a vast area.

It also had its own city guards and ninja forces.

According to Samui, it had not been easy for the Land of Lightning to seize control of this country so quietly.

It seemed they had captured the family of the Lord of Hot Springs, as well as the family of the Hot Springs Shadow, and used their lives as leverage to gain complete control over the country.

But no matter what despicable means had been used, achieving the goal proved that the Fourth Raikage was highly capable.

After setting foot on this land, Mingyou no longer made those harmless jokes with Samui as he had before.

Keeping some distance between them, they traveled silently, one ahead and one behind.

At noon on the third day, they finally arrived at Hot Springs Village.