Yuhi Shinku's Ambition

"We finally finished killing them all, huh?" After using his puppet to smash Yuhi Shinku's last clone, Sasori of the Red Sand walked to the edge of Dahu City, his face dark.

Just as he'd expected, footprints covered every direction. The people in that squad hadn't bothered to hide their tracks. They hadn't needed to.

Not willing to leave anything to chance, Sasori of the Red Sand went straight back the way he'd come. If he remembered correctly, one of their Konoha Ninja companions was still lying over there.

Didn't they say Konoha Ninja valued their comrades? It seemed they were no different from anyone else after all.

When he reached the helpless Konoha spy, Sasori of the Red Sands ended his life with a single blow. He gathered the materials, taking the chance to vent his anger. He could probe the man's mind for information, but had no interest in doing so.

Starting wars for revenge or some other reason was simply too boring.

After collecting the two bodies, Sasori of the Red Sand headed back to the underground hideout where he'd been staying, intending to gather his things and leave.

After all, with so much commotion, there was no way he could stay here any longer.

But on the way, Sasori of the Red Sand was drawn to a clump of Iron Sand and stopped.

It was a Neodymium Magnet, wrapped in so much Iron Sand that it had become a metal ball.

So this was the magnet that countered the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release? Its magnetic force really was unusual.

After a moment's thought, Sasori of the Red Sand decided to pack up the Neodymium Magnets Kawaki Aoba had scattered everywhere and take them with him.

Meanwhile, under the night sky, two figures, one large and one small, raced through the desert, each carrying someone.

Even though Sasori of the Red Sand was unlikely to come after them and find the right direction in those circumstances, they weren't about to gamble with their lives.

They didn't dare stop to rest until daybreak, when they'd safely reached the Land of Rivers.

"This mission was pretty thrilling, Teacher Shinku. But we got to see Sasori of the Red Sand and uncovered such important information, so it was worth the trip." Kawaki Aoba sounded full of emotion.

Across from him, Yuhi Shinku's face darkened. "How much longer are you planning to hold Kurenai?"

"Oh, sorry, sorry. I was just so nervous earlier." After a perfunctory apology, he reluctantly set the rosy-cheeked Yuhi Kurenai down.

Kawaki Aoba's Observation Haki had a range of more than twenty kilometers. He'd known the night before when Sasori of the Red Sands gave up chasing them, but he'd wanted to hold her a little longer... Ahem.

But to get out of danger as quickly as possible, he'd chosen not to say anything.

Besides that, he'd watched the spy's death unfold in perfect detail.

The man had actually had a chance to survive. After all, with Teacher Shinku and him making so many Shadow Clones the previous night, bringing one more person along would have been no trouble. But the man had revealed too much the night before. Having already been betrayed once by a temporary teammate, Kawaki Aoba didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

What was interesting, though, was that Teacher Shinku hadn't saved him either. The meaning behind that was worth pondering.

Little did Aoba know that Yuhi Shinku had already come to think of him as his son-in-law. How could he let his daughter be put in danger again?

Besides, given the character of Konoha's elders, Shinku truly wasn't sure whether they might do something disgusting after Kawaki Aoba revealed that mysterious medicine.

Yuhi Shinku clearly remembered a classmate of his from a small clan. That clan had possessed a secret technique that could make ink drawings become real.

During the Second Shinobi World War, the entire clan had apparently gone over to Elder Shimura Danzō. Then the clan was wiped out, and the secret technique they'd possessed naturally became one of the Root's collections.

He didn't know the full details of what had happened back then. But having witnessed the result with his own eyes, how could he not be wary when dealing with those higher-ups?

Besides, Yuhi Shinku had ambitions of his own.

Aoba was all alone, and he had such exceptional talent. Once he grew up, there was no reason he and Shinku's daughter couldn't start a small clan together. By then, wouldn't everything the boy possessed become a foundation for their family?

He just didn't know how much of that medicine the boy had.

If it was easy to get more, Yuhi Shinku had a bold idea.

The Tailed Beast Cloak was a powerful ability only a Jinchuriki could use, and he'd seen it on the battlefield with his own eyes. The state Aoba had been in after drinking the medicine, when he couldn't control his Chakra and it kept pouring out of him, had looked so much like a Tailed Beast Cloak that it was hard not to make the connection.

Perhaps, once they got back to the village, he should find time to talk things over with Aoba. If there really was enough of that medicine, then with his talent, he might be able to develop a secret technique similar to the Tailed Beast Cloak and make it a foundation for their future clan.

Yuhi Shinku had a lot of confidence in his own talent. After all, as a civilian Ninja with no backing, he'd worked hard to modify and create many powerful genjutsu. His accomplishments far surpassed those of his old companions.

Ahem. He might have performed rather poorly in the fight against Sasori of the Red Sand, but that was because his opponent was simply too good at countering him.

Besides, hadn't Sasori of the Red Sand been afraid to let him get close enough to cast his powerful genjutsu?

As for why he hadn't used genjutsu from a distance, Yuhi Shinku had tried. But genjutsu of that level was easily dispelled by Sasori of the Red Sand. And with those puppets, each as strong as a Jonin, Shinku hadn't had a chance to make another move.

While the squad rested, Yuhi Kurenai had no idea her father was already planning to build up a foundation for the clan she and Kawaki Aoba might one day start.

What Yuhi Kurenai was thinking about now was something else entirely.

She looked at her father, then at Kawaki Aoba, and finally worked up the courage to ask, "Father, did we leave one of our comrades behind? And wasn't he our mission target? Does that mean we failed the mission?"

This was the first time their squad had failed a mission, and she couldn't help but worry about it.

Nearby, Asuma, who had been silent ever since they escaped, lifted his head.

Yuhi Kurenai's reminder finally made him think of the spy they'd abandoned.

At the same time, he remembered the father of a genius classmate from the Ninja Academy.