Plans in the Darkness

"Stop standing around. It's almost time, hurry up!"

Seeing Karin standing there in a daze, Mirai hurriedly urged her, saying it was getting late.

Karin felt warmth fill her heart. She bowed to Mirai and said gratefully, "Thank you!"

Then she turned and walked toward the simple memorial altar that had just been set up nearby.

Seeing how Karin had reacted, Mirai's face was full of smiles, looking like his scheme had succeeded.

Clearly, all of this had been premeditated.

It turned out Mirai had deliberately dirtied and torn his clothes. The tulips had been freshly picked too, but that had taken no effort at all.

Don't forget that Mirai knew the Flying Thunder God. Picking a flower was easier than drinking water for him, so how could he possibly have ended up in such a disheveled state?

So, it had all been a carefully laid trap.

As the saying went, sincere affection never lasted; only schemes won people's hearts.

Mirai's move had brought him a hundred and twenty percent return. The gains had been abundant indeed.

After Karin finished paying her respects, she sat beside Mirai, and the two began chatting.

Gradually, Karin began telling Mirai about her miserable life.

In the end, as she spoke, she actually fell asleep in Mirai's arms, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes.

Mirai sighed and gently wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

And so, the two spent a quiet night in the woods until the next day.

The moment Karin opened her eyes, she saw Mirai's haggard face.

Thinking that she had actually spent the whole night sleeping in the arms of a man she had only just met, Karin's face turned redder than red.

She had wanted to get up immediately, but for some reason, she was reluctant to leave that feeling behind and couldn't help continuing to lie there.

"Ah-ha~"

At that moment, Mirai yawned and woke up.

For a moment, their eyes met.

"Ah, sorry!"

Karin's face was as red as an apple. She hurriedly got up from Mirai's arms, her face full of embarrassment and panic.

"Oh no, it's getting late!"

Only after getting up did Karin realize how late it was, and she hurriedly ran off.

But after taking only two steps, she ran back again.

"Thank you for yesterday. I'm Karin, a ninja from the Grass Hidden Village!"

Karin hurriedly introduced herself to Mirai.

"I'm Uchiha Mirai, a ninja from Konoha!"

Mirai introduced himself with a smile as well.

Then, gathering her courage, Karin suddenly kissed Mirai on the cheek before running away.

As she ran, she called out, "This is my thank-you gift for yesterday!"

Mirai stared blankly after Karin's sudden kiss, then smiled faintly.

It seemed the prey had taken the bait.

After tidying himself up and changing clothes, Mirai returned to Konoha's streets looking refreshed.

The moment he arrived on Konoha's streets, Mirai saw a crowd gathered ahead, with noisy voices coming from within.

As Mirai approached, he saw some familiar faces, as well as some people he had been looking forward to seeing.

"You bumped into someone and want to leave without apologizing?"

Tenten, dressed in a pink cheongsam with her hair tied into two buns, stretched out her hand to stop the three from the Sand Hidden Village.

Those three were the Sand Hidden Village's rookie trio: Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara.

"Let's go!"

Gaara, with dark circles under his eyes and a massive gourd on his back, ignored Tenten and directly moved to leave with Kankuro and Temari behind him.

"Didn't you hear what I said?!"

Tenten was furious, her heart blazing with anger.

They had bumped into someone, refused to apologize, and were still acting so arrogant. Were they trying to fly to the heavens?

"Leave while we haven't gotten angry yet!"

Kankuro, with markings painted on his face and a puppet on his back, said disdainfully.

The Sand Hidden Village and Konoha had always been rivals, so Kankuro naturally had no pleasant expression for Konoha's ninja.

"You're going too far!"

Tenten flushed red, her right hand reaching for the ninja scroll strapped to her waist, clearly ready to fight.

Temari, with her blond hair and a giant Seven-Star Fan on her back, frowned as she watched Tenten.

She was not as unconcerned as Kankuro and Gaara.

This was Konoha, not the Sand Hidden Village. They had to be cautious about everything.

"Well, well, why have the little crow and little panda from the Sand Hidden Village come to Konoha to bully people?"

"And bullying my girlfriend, no less. Isn't that a bit too much?"

A teasing voice with a hint of roguishness rang out as Mirai stepped out from the crowd.

He stood beside Tenten and caught her small hand as it reached for the scroll.

"Qin... Mirai!"

Tenten froze when he grabbed her hand in public and called her his girlfriend.

Then, face burning red, she stared wide-eyed at Mirai.

Clearly, she found what Mirai had just said somewhat hard to accept.

But when she thought about how he had only said it to help her, she quietly chose not to expose him.

"Bastard, what did you say?"

"Who did you call a little crow? Who did you call a little panda?"

Kankuro pointed at Mirai, his face filled with fury.

Clearly, he had immediately assumed Mirai's words were aimed at him.

His anger was therefore obvious.

"You want to die."

Unlike Kankuro, Gaara did not curse loudly. He merely spoke in a flat tone.

As his words fell, an icy killing intent abruptly erupted.

Tenten shuddered all over when she felt that sudden killing intent.

Mirai smiled at Gaara and gently pulled Tenten behind him.

Once Mirai pulled her behind him, Tenten could no longer feel the chill. Instead, she felt strangely warm.

"Gaara!"

Seeing Gaara release his killing intent, Temari immediately realized something was wrong and reached out to grab his shoulder.

Feeling Temari's hand on his shoulder, Gaara's killing intent gradually subsided.

"Move aside. Once Gaara makes a move, even we won't be able to stop him!"

Temari stepped forward and warned Mirai.

Clearly, she understood Gaara's condition. Once he truly started fighting, there would be no turning back.

She was also thinking of Mirai and Tenten. She did not want the two of them to die for no reason.

"It's fine, it's fine! It's just a little tanuki. I can handle it!"

The moment he said "tanuki," Temari and Kankuro were both startled.

What did he mean by that?

Could he know Gaara's identity?

Impossible. Gaara's identity was top secret. How could he possibly know?

To be safe, they should retreat first.

With a single exchange of looks, Temari and Kankuro understood each other's thoughts.

Temari turned back, grabbed Gaara, and left with Kankuro.

Clearly, Mirai's mention of a tanuki had frightened them.

She did not want Gaara's identity and condition exposed.

After all, Gaara was far too special.

It was not just Temari who thought so. Even the hot-tempered Kankuro shared the same view.

Seeing the three Sand ninja leave, the surrounding crowd gradually dispersed as well.

"Th... thank you, Mirai!"

With everything settled, Tenten finally remembered that Mirai was still holding her hand. Blushing, she thanked him.

Mirai looked at Tenten and grinned. "No need to thank me. Just let me treat you to a meal!"

"Ah!"

Tenten froze. What was going on?

Shouldn't she be treating him? Why was he treating her instead?

Before she could figure it out, Mirai had already pulled her away.