The first light of dawn spilled across the room in scattered flecks.
Anko stirred sleepily, her lashes fluttering. Her flushed face was filled with a sense of peace unlike anything she had ever known.
The fresh scent of grass and trees and the soft, comfortable bed made her unconsciously forget her troubles and relive the blissful sleep she'd enjoyed during those Ninja Academy theory classes she couldn't understand.
Wait, she felt like she'd forgotten something. This didn't seem to be her home...
In an instant, Anko jolted awake. She looked around in a panic, then turned toward the familiar figure beside her. Her lips twitched, and she asked in a trembling voice,
"Y-you... what are you looking at?"
"Hmm... a view that's still ripening, green and tender. It might become one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Heh heh heh."
Anko instinctively pulled the blanket over herself, eyeing him suspiciously. Her head ached a little. She burrowed beneath the covers, took a peek, then asked without showing her face,
"What... happened between us?"
"What happened? So many unforgettable memories were made in the few short hours last night. I also got to savor the brilliance of youthful innocence and all its unripe charms..."
Before Hua Yue could continue, Anko froze beneath the covers. She was mortified.
"You jerk! Who told you to go into such detail? You're going to pay for that—Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Four brown-black snakes shot out. Before they could bind Hua Yue from head to toe, his next words made them droop weakly.
"Eh? Didn't you say you'd rather take responsibility than let someone else have me? I never expected Anko, who's always loved sweets, to be completely powerless against liqueur chocolate. Heh heh heh."
At his words, Anko's aching head finally brought back the memory of eating something incredible last night, after which she'd completely lost consciousness.
In a daze, her face had burned as she grabbed Uchiha Hanazuki by the collar and said something embarrassing. And then... they'd ended up in bed together.
"Wait! Liqueur chocolate? Why would you have something like that at home, you jerk?"
Anko stuck her head out and glared at him, baring her teeth as though she wanted to bite him to death.
"You mean the liqueur chocolate? It was a gift from Kurenai, to celebrate my promotion to Jonin. Didn't you bring me Three-Color Dango that day?"
Hearing that, Anko remembered that this guy had become one of only two ninja from their class to make Jonin.
The other was Hatake Kakashi, the senior who was two years ahead of them—the hero of Konoha and the son of the White Fang.
"So that's what happened. Then I definitely can't let you off. Damn Kurenai, why'd she have to give you liqueur chocolate? It's an outlier among desserts, and it made me..."
Gritting her teeth, Anko stared at his handsome face, which wore a lazy, almost amused expression.
Sunlight fell across her flushed little face. Anko's chest rose and fell. At last, she made up her mind.
"Hmph, I guess I've lost to you. Fine, then. I, Anko, will take responsibility with my head held high. Starting today, you belong to me."
"If you flirt with anyone else, I'll... I'll cry!"
Realizing that she probably couldn't beat him and had no way of stopping him, Anko could only bare her teeth and make a threat that didn't sound threatening at all.
"Really? Then you'll be crying for the rest of your life. Want me to lend you a shoulder?"
"You! Pervert, creep, womanizer..."
Leaning against his not particularly broad chest, Anko breathed in the comforting scent. She wanted to sleep a little longer, looking languid and utterly enchanting.
Hua Yue couldn't help thinking that the most effective weapon for tempting a man into sin was a woman's unintentional expression. Too bad he could only look and not touch. Hua Yue didn't want to earn the title of Dragon King and have it spread throughout the ninja world...
The days passed. After Sarutobi Hiruzen warned Orochimaru, he outwardly chose to back off, but no one knew what he was planning in secret—not even Danzo.
With the Land of Earth's supplies cut off near Kannabi Bridge, Mist Hidden suffering repeated setbacks, and Orochimaru showing restraint in public, the Third Shinobi World War gradually drew to a close.
But small-scale clashes continued. Konoha wasn't the only village fighting other ninja villages; the villages were also undermining one another, keeping the Five Great Shinobi Countries in a state of relative stability.
Anbu, "Root."
Reports gathered by Root's Anbu were placed one by one on Danzo's desk. As he read through them, his years of experience as a ninja drew his attention to an insignificant development in the Land of Rain.
"Akatsuki? An organization founded by a few young people? They want to bring peace to Amegakure?"
His eyes flickered. To the Five Great Shinobi Countries, a mercenary group of this scale was little more than a childish game. But as Konoha's "Root," they had to investigate anything that might threaten the interests of a great nation.
After a moment's thought, Danzo marked the file as noteworthy, then looked around. His eyelids lowered, and his expression shifted.
Root had plenty of capable people, but training a ninja took a great deal of time. Root's secrecy and the specialized nature of its missions meant it couldn't be made "semi-transparent" like Sarutobi Hiruzen's Anbu.
"We're short on talent. If only that stubborn old Sarutobi Hiruzen would let me bring Uchiha Hanazuki into Root. This ridiculous Third Shinobi World War wouldn't have dragged on this long."
Above Root's headquarters, dry leaves drifted down as an autumn breeze dispelled some of the summer heat.
Inside the Mission Briefing Hall in the Hokage's office building.
Nohara Rin had only recently withdrawn from the battlefield and was helping out at Konoha Hospital when she was summoned to the hall and given a mission.
"A medical mission at the front... I'm going back to the front lines. Will I see someone I know this time? Maybe it's better if I don't, after all..."
As a Konoha ninja and a rare female Chunin medic, Rin didn't resent being sent to the battlefield. She had learned to live on, carrying her friends' hopes with her. But she still didn't want to endure that same pain again.
Without realizing it, Rin wandered aimlessly down a path.
The sky gradually darkened. A light rain fell on the grass, whose blades refused to bend. Large droplets gathered, then slid down the stems and soaked into the earth.
Near a seldom-visited training ground on the outskirts of Konoha, Rin stopped without realizing it. She looked at the familiar figure, hesitation giving way to a radiant smile.
"Hua Yue? Is that you? What are you doing here? Training?"
The figure sitting on Zhouzhu turned at the sound of her voice. Beneath the familiar Three-Eyed Demon Fox mask, a bright smile appeared.
"If flowers represented people, what kind of flower would you be?"