Ye Yi's excitement gradually faded as his eldest brother spoke. His straight-backed posture slumped. How could he not understand all this? How could he possibly fail to understand his eldest brother's decision?
Ye Yi could hear the helplessness and resolve in his brother's words. That was exactly why he felt so dejected. What was done could not be undone.
Then Ye Yi fell silent.
While the three of them discussed things, the dozen or so other black-robed men stood quietly where they were, saying nothing.
The leader of the black-robed men sighed again, then turned to Yewu. "Yewu, how are things on the family's end?"
"Big brother, everything's ready. Liu Zi has taken the rest of the family to protect the elders and children. Once we make our move here, they'll withdraw according to the plan. After we succeed, we'll leave Konoha as planned and meet up with them."
The leader nodded. Their family wasn't a major ninja clan, but there were still twenty or thirty adult ninja in it. He had brought most of their strength here to carry out the plan.
Only a cousin's son, a Chunin-level elite, remained at home with a few Genin-level clan members to protect the elders and children.
"Then, everyone, I wish you success in battle!"
"Yes!" the dozen or so black-robed men answered in unison.
A moment later, with several swift whooshes, the black-robed men vanished from where they stood.
The night had grown late.
As the black-clad men dispersed and began carrying out the so-called plan they had discussed,
Ueno Kei, on the other side, had no idea he'd just narrowly escaped death. Instead, he headed happily toward the village. Three years of hard training had finally paid off, and he now had a clearer goal and more confidence in his future.
"Naruto's coming over for dinner tonight. I should show off a little and make something delicious to reward him. He's been working hard at training lately, too." Ueno Kei muttered to himself.
Over the past three years, the two had grown closer. After Ueno Kei became a good cook, he often prepared meals to improve Naruto's diet and took great care of him in general.
It had been several days since he'd last seen Naruto, and now he was wondering what to make to reward his sworn younger brother. Two and a half years ago, Naruto had officially started studying at the Ninja Academy. With Ueno Kei keeping him on track, he trained diligently, too.
Of course, he still joked around, skipped class, got into trouble, and acted like a goofball from time to time. That was all par for the course. But he never slacked off on the training schedule Ueno Kei set for him each day.
Ueno Kei wasn't the only one using that training ground anymore. Naruto didn't go every day, but every so often, Ueno Kei would see a sunny, golden-haired boy training there with him.
Naruto wasn't stupid. That was Ueno Kei's first impression when he began teaching him. Though the kid seemed a little slow, he was surprisingly the exact opposite of Ueno Kei.
Naruto didn't understand a thing in books. Of course, Ueno Kei would rather believe the kid was just being lazy and didn't bother reading. But when Ueno Kei taught him hands-on how to control his chakra, Naruto could always master it in a short time, to Ueno Kei's surprise. Of course—
Aside from the Clone Technique. Ueno Kei had found that Naruto really did have a screw loose when it came to the technique. No matter how he taught him or demonstrated it, Naruto always produced two weird, misshapen things.
Ueno Kei could still remember the way his face had twitched when Naruto performed the Clone Technique in front of him and produced those two lumps.
Because Ueno Kei was so strict about training and so attentive to Naruto's needs in daily life, Naruto had grown even more dependent on him. After living four or five years without family,
Ueno Kei had become family to Naruto in every real sense. To Naruto, that was probably what it felt like to have a father and an older brother. So, before long, Uzumaki Naruto had changed the way he addressed Ueno Kei—
from "Kei" to "Big Brother Kei."
How could Ueno Kei not feel the affection Naruto showed him? He couldn't help growing closer to Naruto, too.
Thinking of Naruto's ridiculous appearance while training and his lazy ways in everyday life, Ueno Kei's lips curled into a smile. It had only been a few days since he'd seen Naruto, but he realized he really missed the kid.
Though Naruto always had that dazed, adorable look on his face, he was the most important person to Ueno Kei right now—even more important than the Third Hokage, who had saved his life. One bond was born of affection, the other of gratitude. Ueno Kei knew the difference perfectly well.
As Ueno Kei leaped along, his expression suddenly changed. He flicked the fingers of his right hand, and a kunai appeared in his palm.
Ueno Kei stopped and warily watched a figure appear ahead.
Taking a closer look, Ueno Kei saw two people wearing black robes and beast-faced masks. His heart skipped a beat. They were clearly dressed like Konoha's Anbu.
After living in Konoha for several years and picking up things here and there, Ueno Kei had long since learned that the two masked figures who had once accompanied the Third Hokage belonged to Konoha's elite force, the Anbu, who served directly under the Hokage.
The Anbu answered directly to the Hokage and the Anbu commander. Only a few of Konoha's top officials knew the identities of its members, whose strength was at least that of an elite Chunin.
They could be considered one of the core forces of the entire Konoha Ninja Village.
The two people before him clearly seemed to be at least Chunin-level, so they were probably Anbu. Ueno Kei wouldn't even consider pretending to be Anbu in Konoha. What kind of place was Konoha? Who would dare impersonate Anbu there? It was like pretending to be a member of the special forces in the capital of the ancient country from Ueno Kei's previous life.
It was practically asking to die! Of course, Konoha was no longer the same village it had been during the Third Shinobi World War. It wasn't impossible that someone could impersonate Konoha's Anbu, but Ueno Kei didn't know much about such things.
But the Anbu before him was unquestionably a member of the Hokage's own Anbu, sent here directly by the Third Hokage to carry out a mission.
There were six Anbu members stationed here in all. Their sole mission was to protect and keep watch on someone. Since a few Anbu members on another mission had suddenly noticed something unusual, two had stayed behind to continue their assignment, just in case.
The other four had gone out to investigate.
One of the Anbu had spotted Ueno Kei, leading to the scene now unfolding.
Ueno Kei watched the Anbu before him warily, his body tensed. He felt the man probably wouldn't do anything to harm him, but it was always best to be careful.
"Who are you? What are you doing out here at this hour?" the Anbu asked. His voice was slightly hoarse, as if he were disguising it on purpose.
Ueno Kei remained on guard and bowed slightly. "Sir, I'm Ueno Kei, a student in this year's Ninja Academy class. I was training here, and it's getting late, so I was heading back to the village."
After answering calmly and respectfully, Ueno Kei fell silent.
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