Returning to the Village

"Mm, don't pinch my cheeks."

Kurenai Yuhi puffed out her cheeks and shook her head, pulling free of Lu Yan's hand.

"Obito, how did you get so strong?"

"Also, didn't you go missing? Rin even came to me and cried about it in secret."

Kurenai Yuhi blinked her beautiful red eyes and looked at Lu Yan curiously.

Lu Yan thought Kurenai Yuhi's round little face and big red eyes were just too adorable. Unable to resist, he reached out and pinched her cheek again, grinning as he said, "I've always been this strong. You just didn't know it."

"Stop pinching me!"

Kurenai Yuhi angrily slapped Lu Yan's hand away and grumbled, "You were always at the bottom of the class at school. Kakashi beat you up all the time."

Lu Yan's smile froze. He shot Kurenai Yuhi a helpless glare. Why'd she have to say something so true? Besides, that wasn't even me.

With the strength of a formal wizard, Lu Yan was a solid elite jonin. And with his unique fighting style, even an elite jonin who let his guard down would end up like Arakawa, taken out by a few shots.

On top of that, with his Mangekyō Sharingan and Kamui Dimension, Lu Yan could even be considered a Kage Level powerhouse.

But unlike the other members of the Uchiha Clan, Lu Yan didn't use his Mangekyō by sacrificing its potential. He powered it with his own mental strength. And since many of his other techniques also required mental strength, he was always running low on it, which meant he couldn't keep fighting for long.

The relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the Konoha High Command was extremely complicated. Without the strength to settle everything in one decisive move, Lu Yan didn't dare reveal his abilities lightly. He could only wait patiently for the right moment.

After his trip to the Republic of China World, Lu Yan had already advanced to the level of a second-rank wizard. His mental strength had increased greatly, and with Uchiha Madara out of the picture, there was no one he needed to fear.

Besides, Uchiha Madara was about to die of old age around this time. He could only stay alive with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's help, so there was no way he could come out. That meant Lu Yan could show his strength openly now—and even plan his next move.

Seeing Arakawa glaring furiously at him, Lu Yan took the chance to change the subject. "Kurenai, your comrades were probably killed by this guy. Why don't you avenge them yourself?"

Kurenai Yuhi glared at Arakawa, her eyes reddening, and nodded firmly. "All right. Thank you, Obito."

She took a Kunai from her waist, attached an Explosive Tag to it, and shouted at Arakawa, "Senior Shiraishi, Senior Kuribayashi, I've avenged you!"

The Kunai flew from Kurenai Yuhi's hand and pierced Arakawa's forehead before he could dodge.

Boom!

The Explosive Tag detonated with a deafening blast, leaving not a trace of Arakawa behind.

"That's why you should never offend a woman."

Looking at what had happened to Arakawa, Lu Yan murmured to himself with a shudder.

"Obito, what did you say?"

Kurenai Yuhi wiped away her tears and looked at Lu Yan with red-rimmed eyes.

Lu Yan's mouth twitched. Then he suddenly had an idea and looked at Kurenai Yuhi sadly. "Senior Shiraishi and Senior Kuribayashi must have been great ninja, right?"

"Mm."

"They held Arakawa off with their lives so I could escape."

"They were true Konoha Ninja."

"They were my comrades."

Kurenai Yuhi pressed her lips together and murmured dejectedly.

Seeing how close Kurenai Yuhi was to bursting into tears, Lu Yan felt a headache coming on. He suggested, "Why don't we gather the two seniors' remains?"

Kurenai Yuhi shook her head and looked at the crater left by the Explosive Tag. "They used Explosive Tags too. There's nothing left."

"I see."

Lu Yan looked deeply at Kurenai Yuhi, then couldn't help reaching out to pat her head. He gently comforted her, "It's all right now. Everything's okay."

"Obito, you're so annoying now."

Kurenai Yuhi shook her head, then suddenly broke into a big smile. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"As long as you're okay. Come on, let's go back to the village."

"Mm. Let's go back."

Not long after Lu Yan and Kurenai Yuhi left, a Kikaichū emerged from a leaf and flew northwest, beating its wings.

Four or five miles northwest of there, a ninja cloaked in black and wearing a fox mask opened his eyes and murmured, "Obito Uchiha."

Beside him, another ninja, also cloaked in black and wearing a Dog Mask, asked quietly, "How did it go?"

"Something's changed."

"Arakawa was killed by Obito Uchiha."

The ninja in the fox mask shook his head, finding it hard to believe.

"Obito Uchiha?"

The Dog Mask ninja's voice was unmistakably surprised. He said gravely, "Obito Uchiha disappeared without a trace before. I never imagined he was this strong. He actually killed Arakawa, an elite Sand Ninja."

"This matter is serious. The Uchiha Clan may be plotting something. We need to return and report to Lord Danzo immediately."

The fox-masked ninja asked in confusion, "What about the mission?"

"Arakawa is dead, so the mission is complete. Obito Uchiha's information is more important."

"Let's go."

"All right."

Three days later, Lu Yan and Kurenai Yuhi arrived at the village gates, travel-worn, and saw that they looked just as they had before. Kurenai Yuhi let out a long breath. "We're finally back in the village."

"Yeah."

Lu Yan replied with a smile and casually pinched Kurenai Yuhi's cheek.

Kurenai Yuhi rolled her eyes at Obito and couldn't even be bothered to resist anymore. On the way, Obito had kept pinching her cheeks whenever he felt like it. She was used to it by now.

"Come on, I'll treat you to barbecue."

Lu Yan let go and led Kurenai Yuhi into the village.

"You're still in the mood to eat barbecue? Rin's been so worried about you. You're dead."

"You and Rin are that close?"

"Of course. We're best friends. You'd better stay on my good side from now on."

"What would I need you for?"

"Hmph, everyone at school knows you like Rin. If you stay on my good side, maybe I'll help you out."

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

"Y-you-you're not allowed to pinch my cheeks anymore!"

"But what am I supposed to do when your cheeks feel so nice?"

"Go die!"

While Lu Yan and Kurenai Yuhi were fooling around, deep inside the Hidden Leaf Village Anbu, Danzo sat in a dim room, his face dark as he looked at the Root ninja kneeling before him. He said in a low voice, "Obito Uchiha is back. Send someone to bring him here."

"He's a member of the Uchiha Clan and Namikaze Minato's student. What excuse should we use?"

The Root ninja remained kneeling, his head lowered as he looked at Danzo's toes.

"He disappeared without a trace. We're only bringing him in for questioning."

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

"Yes."