One Night (2)

Ye Yi's initially agitated expression gradually faded at his elder brother's words, and his upright posture slowly slumped. He understood these things well enough; how could he not comprehend his brother's resolve?

Ye Yi could hear the helplessness and determination in his brother's tone. It was precisely because of this that he felt so dejected—the die was cast, and there was no turning back.

Immediately, Ye Yi fell silent.

While the three of them were discussing, the dozen or so other figures in black robes stood silently in place, none of them speaking.

The leader in the black robe sighed again, turned his head, and spoke to Yewu, "Yewu, how are the arrangements for the family side?"

"Big brother, everything is ready. Liu Zi is leading the rest of the family to protect the elderly and the young. Once we make our move here, they will retreat according to the predetermined plan. After we succeed, we will leave Konoha as planned and rendezvous with them."

The leader in the black robe nodded. Their family was not a major ninja clan, but they still had twenty or thirty adult ninjas. He had brought the majority of that strength here to carry out the plan.

Only a cousin with the strength of an elite Chunin remained at home, leading a few Genin-level clansmen to protect the elderly and the young.

"Then, gentlemen, I wish you success in your mission!"

"Yes!" the dozen or so black-robed figures replied in unison!

In an instant, with a few "swish" sounds, the figures of the dozen or so black-robed men vanished from the spot.

The night was growing deep.

Just as the men in black scattered to execute the so-called plan they had spoken of, Ueno Kei, on the other side, was completely unaware that he had just skirted the gates of death. Instead, he was heading back to the village, full of joy. His three years of bitter training had finally paid off, and Ueno Kei had a clearer goal and more confidence in his future.

Naruto is coming over for dinner tonight. Hmm, I should show off my skills and cook something delicious to reward him. He's been training quite hard lately, Ueno Kei muttered to himself.

Over these three years, their relationship had grown closer. After Ueno Kei developed a knack for cooking, he would often prepare meals to improve Naruto's diet, and he took great care of Naruto's daily life.

It had been a few days since he last saw Naruto. As he pondered what to make to reward his sworn younger brother, he recalled that Naruto had officially entered the Ninja Academy two and a half years ago and, under Ueno Kei's urging, had been training very diligently.

Although Naruto was occasionally goofy, skipping class, and causing trouble—which was a daily occurrence—he never slacked off on the training plan Ueno Kei arranged for him every day.

That training ground was no longer occupied by Ueno Kei alone. Although Naruto didn't go every day, one could often see a sunny, golden-haired boy training there.

Naruto wasn't stupid; that was Ueno Kei's first impression when he started teaching him. Although the guy seemed dim-witted, he was unexpectedly the exact opposite of Ueno Kei.

Naruto didn't understand a word of what the books said. Of course, Ueno Kei preferred to think the guy was just being lazy and not reading, but when Ueno Kei taught him hand-in-hand in practice, Naruto could always master the techniques in an unexpectedly short time. Of course, that was with one exception.

Except for the Clone Technique. Ueno Kei discovered that the guy really had a screw loose when it came to that. No matter how he taught him or demonstrated it, Naruto always produced two bizarre, nonsensical objects.

Ueno Kei still remembered the way his facial muscles twitched violently whenever Naruto performed the Clone Technique in front of him and produced those two lumps.

It was precisely because of Ueno Kei's strict demands in training and his meticulous care in daily life that Naruto became even more dependent on him. For Naruto, who had lived without family for four or five years, Ueno Kei was his family in every practical sense. To Naruto, this was what it felt like to have a father and a brother. Consequently, when addressing Ueno Kei, Uzumaki Naruto naturally changed his title from "Kei" to "Big Brother Kei."

Ueno Kei could certainly feel the deep affection Naruto showed, and he couldn't help but feel even closer to him.

Thinking of Naruto's clumsy appearance during training and his lazy habits in daily life, Ueno Kei couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile. Having not seen Naruto for a few days, he realized he actually missed the guy.

Although he looked dim-witted, Uzumaki Naruto was the most important person in Ueno Kei's heart right now, surpassing even the Third Hokage, who had saved his life. The former was out of affection, the latter out of gratitude; Ueno Kei distinguished the two very clearly.

As he leaped forward, Ueno Kei's expression suddenly changed. He flicked his right fingers, and a kunai appeared in his palm.

Ueno Kei halted his momentum and stopped, watching the figure that had appeared in front of him with vigilance.

Ueno Kei squinted and saw two figures wearing black robes and animal-faced masks. His heart skipped a beat; this was clearly the attire of the Konoha Anbu.

After living in Konoha for several years, Ueno Kei had learned through osmosis that the two masked figures who followed the Third Hokage were the elite force of Konoha: the Anbu directly under the Hokage.

The Anbu reported directly to the Hokage and the Anbu Commander. Their personnel files were known only to a few high-ranking officials in Konoha, and their strength was at least that of an elite Chunin.

They could be considered one of the core strengths of the entire Konoha Ninja Village.

The two people before him clearly possessed strength at or above the Chunin level, so they were likely Konoha Anbu. As for someone pretending to be Anbu in Konoha? Ueno Kei wouldn't even consider it. What kind of place was Konoha? Who would dare impersonate the Anbu? It would be like someone in his past life trying to impersonate special forces in the capital of that ancient country.

That would be a death wish! Of course, Konoha was no longer the Konoha of the Third Great Ninja War era; it wasn't impossible for someone to actually impersonate the Anbu, but Ueno Kei didn't know much about such things.

However, the Anbu before him were indeed Konoha's Hokage-direct Anbu, ordered here by the Third Hokage to carry out a mission.

Including others, there were a total of six Anbu waiting here. Their mission was simply to protect and monitor one person. Because the Anbu members on duty had suddenly noticed something unusual, they left two behind to continue the mission as a precaution.

The other four went out to patrol.

One of the Anbu had spotted Ueno Kei, leading to the current scene.

Ueno Kei stood on guard, watching the Anbu before him. He felt that the other party shouldn't do anything harmful to him, but it was never wrong to be cautious.

"Who are you? What are you doing here at this hour?" the Anbu asked, his voice sounding slightly hoarse, as if he were deliberately disguising it.

Ueno Kei remained vigilant, bowed slightly, and said, "Sir, I am a student at the Ninja Academy, Ueno Kei. I was training here, and since it is getting late, I was preparing to return to the village."

Ueno Kei finished these words neither servile nor overbearing, then fell silent.