Return to the Village

"Ugh, stop pinching my cheeks."

Kurenai Yuhi shook her head indignantly, breaking free from Lu Yan's hand.

"Obito, how did you become so strong?"

"And you went missing, didn't you? Rin even cried to me in secret about it."

Kurenai blinked her beautiful, large red eyes, looking at Lu Yan with curiosity.

Lu Yan found Kurenai's round, petite face paired with those large red eyes to be truly adorable. Unable to resist, he reached out to pinch her again, smiling as he said, "I've always been this strong; you just didn't know it."

"Stop pinching!"

Kurenai slapped Lu Yan's hand away, somewhat annoyed, and muttered, "You were clearly a dead last at the academy, always getting beaten up by Kakashi."

Lu Yan's smile stiffened. He glared at Kurenai in frustration—why did she have to speak such brutal truths? Besides, that wasn't even him.

With the strength of an official wizard, Lu Yan was firmly an elite jonin. In fact, thanks to his unique combat style, he could finish off other elite jonin with a few shots before they even realized what was happening, just like he did with Arakawa.

Coupled with the Mangekyo Sharingan and the Kamui Dimension, Lu Yan's strength could even be considered that of a Kage-level powerhouse.

However, unlike other members of the Uchiha clan who sacrificed the potential of their Mangekyo to fuel its power, Lu Yan used his own spiritual energy. Since his various other methods also required spiritual energy, he was constantly running low, which meant his combat prowess couldn't be sustained for long.

The relationship between the Uchiha clan and the Hidden Leaf Village's upper echelons was incredibly complex. Without the strength to deliver a decisive blow, Lu Yan dared not expose himself easily and could only patiently wait for the right opportunity.

After his journey through the Republic of China world, Lu Yan had broken through to the level of a second-tier wizard. His spiritual energy had increased significantly, and as long as Uchiha Madara didn't appear, he feared no one.

Besides, Uchiha Madara was nearing the end of his life during this period and had to rely on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to sustain his existence; he couldn't possibly emerge. Therefore, Lu Yan could now openly display his strength and even plan further ahead.

Watching Arakawa glare at him with hatred, Lu Yan took the opportunity to change the subject: "Kurenai, your companions likely died at the hands of this guy. Take revenge for them yourself."

Kurenai's eyes turned red as she glared at Arakawa, and she nodded heavily. "Okay, thank you, Obito."

Taking a kunai from her waist and attaching an explosive tag to it, Kurenai shouted at Arakawa, "Senior Shiraishi, Senior Kuribayashi, I have avenged you!"

The kunai shot rapidly from Kurenai's hand, piercing Arakawa's forehead before he could dodge.

"BOOM!"

The explosive tag ignited with a deafening roar, leaving nothing of Arakawa behind—not even a scrap.

"That's why you should never offend a woman," Lu Yan muttered, feeling a lingering sense of fear as he looked at Arakawa's fate.

"Obito, what did you say?"

Kurenai wiped away her tears, looking at Lu Yan with reddened eyes.

Lu Yan twitched his lips, then suddenly had an inspiration. He looked at Kurenai with a sorrowful expression and asked, "Senior Shiraishi and Senior Kuribayashi must have been great ninjas, right?"

"Yeah."

"They sacrificed their lives to hold Arakawa back so I could escape."

"They were true Hidden Leaf ninjas."

"They were my comrades."

Kurenai bit her lip, her expression dejected as she murmured.

Seeing Kurenai on the verge of tears again, Lu Yan felt a headache coming on and suggested, "Why don't we go collect the remains of the two seniors?"

Kurenai shook her head, looking at the crater left by the explosive tag. "They both used explosive tags; there's nothing left."

"I see."

Lu Yan took a long look at Kurenai and couldn't help but pat her head, soothing her softly, "It's okay now. Everything is fine."

"Obito, why are you so annoying now?"

Kurenai shook her head, then suddenly flashed a wide smile at Lu Yan. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"As long as you're fine. Let's go, back to the village."

"Yeah, back to the village."

Not long after Lu Yan and Kurenai left, a parasitic insect crawled out from a leaf, flapped its wings, and flew toward the northwest.

Four or five miles to the northwest, a ninja shrouded in a black robe and wearing only a fox mask opened his eyes and muttered, "Uchiha Obito."

Beside him, another ninja, also shrouded in a black robe and wearing a dog mask, asked in a low voice, "What's the situation?"

"The situation has changed."

"Arakawa was killed by Uchiha Obito."

The fox-masked ninja shook his head, sounding somewhat incredulous.

"Uchiha Obito?"

The dog-masked ninja's voice carried undisguised surprise as he said gravely, "Uchiha Obito had gone missing without a trace. I never expected him to have such strength, to actually be able to kill an elite Sand Ninja like Arakawa."

"This matter is of great importance. The Uchiha clan may have a conspiracy afoot. We must return immediately to report this to Lord Danzo."

The fox-masked ninja asked suspiciously, "What about this mission?"

"Arakawa is dead, so the mission is considered complete. The intelligence on Obito Uchiha is more important."

"Let's go."

"Right."

Three days later, Lu Yan and Kurenai Yuhi, covered in the dust of travel, gazed at the village gate that remained exactly as they had left it. Kurenai Yuhi let out a long sigh and said, "Finally back in the village."

"Indeed."

Lu Yan responded with a smile, reaching out to pinch Kurenai Yuhi's cheek.

Kurenai Yuhi rolled her eyes at him, too lazy to resist. Throughout the journey, Lu Yan had made a habit of pinching her cheeks whenever he felt like it, and she had grown accustomed to it.

"Let's go, I'll treat you to barbecue."

Lu Yan let go of her hand and pulled Kurenai Yuhi toward the village.

"You're still in the mood for barbecue? You have no idea how worried Rin is about you. You're dead meat."

"You and Rin are that close?"

"Of course, we're best friends. You'll be begging me for help later."

"Why would I beg you?"

"Hmph, the whole school knows you like Rin. If you beg me, I might just put in a good word for you."

"Haha, I only see Rin as a little sister. Actually, I think you're quite cute."

"You, you—you are not allowed to pinch my cheeks anymore!"

"But your cheeks feel so good, what am I supposed to do?"

"Go to hell!"

While Lu Yan and Kurenai Yuhi were bickering, deep within the depths of the Hidden Leaf Anbu, inside a dim room, Danzo stared with a dark expression at the Root ninja kneeling on the floor. He said in a low voice, "Obito Uchiha has returned. Send men to bring him here."

"He is a member of the Uchiha Clan and a student of Namikaze Minato. What reason should we use?"

The Root ninja knelt on the ground, head bowed, staring at Danzo's feet as he asked.

"Unexplained disappearance. Just bring him in for questioning."

Danzo tapped his fingers lightly against the table and said indifferently.

"Understood."