Future Leg Shadow! Did You Drop These Black Stockings or These White Stockings?

The Iwagakure Ninja had escaped.

Only then did Natsume come over to Kitsuchi.

He checked and confirmed that the tough, thick-skinned man wouldn't die anytime soon.

In fact,

Natsume hadn't beaten Kitsuchi up just because he had nothing better to do.

The main reasons were:

First, he wanted to loosen up, get a rough sense of his current strength, and test the power of the Kunwu Blade.

Second, if he didn't take down the younger one, how could he lure the old man Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, out?

And if he didn't lure the old man out, how could he conveniently drop by the Vault in their village?

Put simply, it was a classic case of drawing the tiger away from the mountain.

It was both a scheme and an open challenge.

Even if Ōnoki saw through it, he would have no choice but to come.

Kitsuchi was a formidable fighter, strong enough to suppress a Tailed Beast. He was crucial to Iwagakure.

On top of that, he was Ōnoki's own son. There was no way Ōnoki wouldn't take the bait.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Puff—"

A cloud of white smoke burst open, and Natsume created a Shadow Clone, leaving it behind.

Then the original glanced back over his shoulder.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

He immediately set off, sneaking in the direction of Iwagakure.

As for the place Natsume had just glanced at—

A small white snake was hiding in a crack in the rocks, trembling as it secretly watched him.

Clearly, Orochimaru, that old schemer, wouldn't miss a battle this exciting—or a chance to gauge Natsume's true strength.

That was why he had left a white snake clone hidden there ahead of time.

Natsume didn't care.

At this stage, the stronger he was, the more wary Orochimaru would be of him.

That would only help his Flame Hidden Village work with Otogakure.

In the end, you had to be strong yourself!

Meanwhile,

the Iwagakure Ninja who had fled for his life made it back to the village in less than ten minutes.

He informed the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, of the explosive news: "An enemy has invaded, Kitsuchi has been defeated, and his life is in danger."

When Ōnoki heard that his son had been defeated and was now in the enemy's hands, he panicked.

He knew his son Kitsuchi's strength.

Throughout Iwagakure, there was hardly anyone who could beat him besides Ōnoki himself.

How could he have been so easily defeated by a rogue ninja from Akatsuki?

And why had someone from Akatsuki happened to show up there and rescue that spy?

Countless questions sprang up in Ōnoki's mind.

But this wasn't the time to think about them.

Kitsuchi's life was hanging by a thread.

Kurotsuchi was still young. He couldn't let that girl lose her father now.

With that thought, Ōnoki didn't dare delay.

He hurriedly led his guard squad out of the village and toward the scene.

Only a few minutes after Ōnoki and the others left,

another short figure quietly slipped into the village under cover of darkness.

Dodging the guards along the way, he made for the village Vault behind the Tsuchikage Building.

The Vault wasn't heavily guarded. Only two Chunin stood watch, more for show than anything else.

After all, this was the heart of Iwagakure, right next to the Tsuchikage Building.

If someone could defeat Lord Tsuchikage and launch a surprise attack here,

then Iwagakure would probably be on the brink of destruction anyway...

At that moment,

the figure lurking there seemed quite familiar with the surrounding buildings and terrain.

He was hiding behind a shadowy corner, carefully observing the guards at the Vault Attic.

A few seconds later, he had a plan and was ready to act.

But just then,

a small, delicate hand suddenly appeared behind him and slapped his shoulder.

It nearly scared him to death.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Deidara whipped around. When he saw his junior, Kurotsuchi, behind him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"K-Kurotsuchi! You scared me to death!"

"Why did you sneak into the village again? If Grandpa finds out, he'll probably get angry again."

Though Kurotsuchi was only eight, she already had quite a forceful personality.

Arms folded, she sternly scolded her troublemaking senior.

In fact, it was because he kept causing trouble in the village and testing all kinds of Clay Bombs, doing no small amount of damage,

that nine-year-old Deidara had been forced to move outside the village last year.

Without Ōnoki's permission, he wasn't allowed to enter the village whenever he pleased.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came into the village for a walk..."

Deidara gave an awkward smile.

Of course, he wouldn't admit that he'd noticed the old man Ōnoki suddenly leaving the village, and had seized the opportunity to sneak in and grab himself a haul.

After all, he was in the middle of researching a new ninjutsu, and money was tight...

"Bah! Couldn't you come up with a more convincing lie?"

"It's obvious you're up to something again!"

Kurotsuchi scolded him irritably, wishing she could strangle her troublemaking senior.

Unfortunately, as unserious as he was,

he really did have a remarkable talent for ninjutsu.

Even Grandpa often praised him.

He was always comparing Deidara to her, which made Kurotsuchi want to hit someone!

"Shh! Keep your voice down..."

"But what are you doing here?"

Deidara quickly clapped a hand over Kurotsuchi's mouth and asked in a low voice.

"In the evening, Grandpa called Dad out. He still hasn't come back. Mom told me to come to the Tsuchikage Building and ask Grandpa about it, so Dad could get home sooner."

Kurotsuchi explained.

Where had Dad gone, anyway?

He still wasn't home this late.

When he finally got back tonight, Mom would probably be angry and make him kneel on the washboard again...

"Hey! Be honest. Are you planning to rob the Vault?"

"Shh! You can't just go saying that!"

Deidara panicked and hurriedly tried to defend himself.

"Give me half!"

"What?"

"If you don't give me half, I'll shout right now and make sure you don't get a single thing!"

Young Kurotsuchi gave him an 'innocent' little smile and threatened him without mercy.

She might not have her senior's talent for ninjutsu, but she'd picked up a few tricks from Grandpa Ōnoki when it came to negotiation and intimidation.

"Kurotsuchi, you..."

"Are you in or not? If not, I'm calling for help!"

"I'm in!"

Deidara gritted his teeth and agreed to work with her.

Then,

the two of them cautiously peered out again and watched the Vault's defenses.

"Kurotsuchi, I'll break through first and knock those two guards out."

"Climb up along the edge of the loft behind the Vault and keep watch for me!"

"If anyone comes, tell me right away!"

Deidara started laying out their plan.

"Okay!"

"Get ready. Three, two, one—go!"

Deidara darted out first, using the blind spots in the moonlit darkness to quickly close in on the two guards.

At the same time, he flipped his hands.

Several little clay spiders laced with paralyzing poison shot out and pounced on the guards.

Thanks to the unexpected attack,

Deidara, who was skilled for his age, easily knocked both guards out.

He quickly pushed open the door and slipped into the Vault, excitement written all over his face.

Behind him,

petite Kurotsuchi hurried after him on her nimble little legs, pattering along.

She leapt up,

grabbed the railing on the Vault's second floor, and prepared to climb over.

If she didn't hurry, that idiot senior of hers would probably pocket most of her share!

But just as she climbed onto the second-floor loft, the little shoe on her right foot came off.

With no choice, Kurotsuchi had to jump back down to the first floor, puffing her cheeks in frustration.

She felt around on the dim floor for her shoe.

After finally finding it, she looked up.

And suddenly realized

that an unfamiliar figure had appeared in front of her at some point.

The person wore a mask and was short, with a reserved presence. It was impossible to tell whether they were good or bad.

But they held several silky pairs of stockings in their hands.

In a teasing voice, they smiled at her and asked:

"O future Leg Shadow, did you drop these black stockings? Or these white stockings? Or these fishnet stockings?"

Kurotsuchi: o(ﾟДﾟ)っ???