Uchiha Yū offered her a few words of praise. He could see the delight in her eyes. Shan Juhua had handled things so perfectly and improved tremendously; his painstaking efforts to help her build up her abilities had not been in vain.
There was only one thing he did not say to her directly. Akatsuki had now grown large enough that even its lowest ranks could influence many aspects of Amegakure. With Dawn's financial support behind them as well, their greatest problem had been resolved. They would certainly continue expanding. Though they claimed to protect the weak and build a peaceful world, truly putting those ideals into practice would make many people wary. And there was one person they could not avoid—Ibuse Hanzō!
That demigod of the shinobi world was no longer the high-spirited man he had once been. His ambition and lofty aspirations had been crushed by Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War! That was why Ibuse Hanzō now acted with such hesitation and caution.
As the saying went, the times made heroes. Ibuse Hanzō had abandoned the Third Shinobi World War and did not even dare leave the bounds of Amegakure.
He only wanted to guard his own little patch of land. Yet now, an organization under his rule was gathering the people's support and talking about raising the banner of peace.
He would never allow Akatsuki to continue developing unchecked.
"You can arrange a meeting next. Don't forget your identity. Publicly, you are the true owner of Dawn. Who knew how many shinobi had fallen at your feet? Everyone understood that marrying you meant never having to worry about food or clothing for the rest of their lives."
Uchiha Yū deliberately stressed his words, speaking with a hint of amusement. Shan Juhua, who had been deep