A Direct Approach! Need a Fiancé?

The moment the door closed, Terumi Mei placed her teacup on the table, and steam rose from the rim, obscuring half of her face.

"Genji."

An old man's steady reply came from outside the door, "I'm here."

"Where did that kid get accommodation?"

"The upscale hotel to the east is right next to our building."

"Move him to the west side. Keep him away from me."

"... knew."

The sound of the Genji's footsteps faded into the distance.

Terumi Mei leaned back in her chair, her emerald green eyes fixed on the ceiling.

Which number wife in the family?

Her lips twitched.

For three years, no man has ever dared to speak to her in that tone.

No one dared to use their full name, not even the commander of the Anbu, and even the most foul-mouthed rebel leaders of the Old Bloody Mist Faction only dared to curse her behind her back.

A brat of twelve years old, talking about "wife" all the time.

Terumi Mei raised the back of her hand and touched her cheek.

It's hot.

"... Neuropathy."

She muttered a curse under her breath, then got up and walked to the French windows.

Outside the window, the Kirigakure was shrouded in night, with thick fog enveloping the low-rise buildings.

The port in the distance was brightly lit, and patrol teams moved back and forth on the streets.

She is the Fifth Mizukage.

He held this position for three years, enduring seven assassination attempts, three rebellions, and two economic collapses.

She doesn't need any man to define her worth.

But the look in that blond kid's eyes when he said that—

This is not a joke.

It wasn't flirting.

It is the hunter's confident and self-evident declaration after he has spotted his prey.

Terumi Mei pressed her forehead against the cold glass and closed her eyes.

"... This is truly unbelievable."

The next morning.

Mizukage's Office.

Terumi Mei changed into a well-tailored dark blue dress, her hair was restyled, and her red lips were tightly pursed.

She barely slept last night, and changed her clothes three times in front of the mirror before dawn.

It's not because of that brat.

However, as Mizukage, one must be proper when meeting foreign guests.

"Mizukage, we've gathered all the intelligence on the rebels. Shall we send it to him now?"

Qing stood to the side of the desk, his single eye filled with vigilance.

"Tell him to come and get it himself."

Terumi Mei sat behind her desk, legs crossed, and said, "On my turf, there's no reason for me to deliver things to him."

Qing nodded.

Ten minutes later.

The office door was pushed open.

There was no knocking.

Naruto was wearing a black, high-necked, sleeveless bodysuit with a loose white robe over it.

Her blonde hair, still damp from being washed, lay lazily on her forehead.

The first thing he did upon entering the room was not to look at documents or intelligence reports.

He judges people.

My gaze traveled down from Terumi Mei's face, lingering for a second on her collarbone, a second on her waistline, and a second on her crossed legs.

From head to toe, without any attempt to conceal it.

Like looking at a trophy about to be added to your possession.

Terumi Mei's back hairs stood on end.

The feeling of being watched was so intense, so oppressive, like someone had set her skin on fire.

"The handsome young man from Hidden Leaf."

Terumi Mei forced a smile, deliberately slowing her voice to a languid tone, "Your gaze isn't very sensible. Keep staring at me like that—"

She raised her right hand, and a wisp of white acidic mist condensed at her fingertips, filling the air with a corrosive smell.

"--Watch out, or I'll use Lava Release to turn you into water!"

Ao and Chojuro tensed up at the same time.

Naruto stopped in his tracks.

He tilted his head, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.

Then, under everyone's gaze, the azure light in his eyes faded.

A pure, unblemished silvery-white light spread outwards from the center of the pupil, filling the entire iris in less than a second.

There were no bulging veins, no Chakra; his eyes simply turned into two silver-white pearls.

Pure Byakugan.

Start.

Terumi Mei felt an inexplicable chill rise from her tailbone.

The way those silvery-white eyes looked at her had changed—it was no longer the way a normal man would look at a woman.

It is a kind of... penetration.

It's as if the meticulously tailored dark blue dress she was wearing simply didn't exist.

Terumi Mei's fingers gripped the armrest tightly.

Naruto withdrew his Byakugan, and his blue eyes returned to normal.

The entire process takes no more than three seconds.

"You've melted me?"

He smiled, a smile carrying the satisfaction of someone who had just inspected the goods. "Lord Mizukage, you're the one who's reluctant to part with them."

Terumi Mei's temple throbbed twice.

He's joking—he must be joking.

But the look in his eyes just now was clearly—

"You just now--"

Before he could finish speaking, Naruto had already stepped forward.

Three steps.

Two steps.

Step.

She placed her hands on Terumi Mei's desk.

The distance between the two was reduced to less than a foot.

His height advantage was maximized at this distance—his over 1.8-meter frame leaned down, Terumi Mei, who was sitting in the chair, entirely in shadow.

The aura of Yang Release poured out from his body like an invisible furnace, carrying a scorching temperature and a suffocating sense of masculine oppression.

Terumi Mei pressed her back against the chair back.

It's not fear.

It's instinct.

"I heard—" Naruto's voice was very low, so low that only the two of them could hear it, his warm breath brushing against her forehead, "—that the Mizukage has been having trouble finding a good man to marry lately, and is quite worried about it?"

The air in the office was frozen.

Qing's one eye widened, his mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Chojuro slammed the hilts of his twin swords onto the floor with a loud clang.

The boy's face flushed bright red, and only one thought occupied his mind—had he heard correctly?

That twelve-year-old brat from Hidden Leaf, wasn't he just talking to the Mizukage...?

Naruto's eyes were fixed on Terumi Mei.

"If only I had a super-strong fiancé--"

His right hand left the table, and his index finger hooked a strand of Terumi Mei's brown curly hair that fell across her chest, twirling it between his fingers.

"--Do you think I, the leader of the Uzumaki Clan, am worthy of you?"

Dead silence.

Absolute, utter silence.

Qing's right hand was already on the hilt of the knife, but his body couldn't move.

It wasn't that he was immobilized by any magic—it was the pure Life Field emanating from Naruto that crushed his fighting spirit.

The blond boy didn't release a trace of killing intent, but Qing's intuition screamed wildly: if he made a move, he would die.

Chojuro squatted on the ground to pick up the knife, his hands trembling violently.

Terumi Mei's face flushed red inch by inch, starting from the base of her neck.

She lived for twenty-four years.

He was a ninja, an Anbu, an acting Mizukage, and a full-fledged Mizukage.

She melted the heads of three assassins with Lava Release and evaporated an entire river with Boil Release.

She is the strongest woman in the Water Country.

No one—never before—had dared to stand before her in this way.

It wasn't a test, a hint, or a roundabout way of expressing affection.

It was a blatant declaration, hammered in like a nail.

I want you.

Be my wife.

He didn't even consult her about whether she was qualified or not—he was informing her.

Terumi Mei opened her lips twice, her Adam's apple bobbing, but all those sharp and sarcastic retorts were stuck in her trachea.

My heart pounded in my chest, "thump, thump, thump," each beat heavier than the last.

The strand of hair wrapped around his finger seemed to be electrified.

She abruptly turned her head and forcefully pulled her hair back.

"You--"

Her voice was hoarse.

Terumi Mei cleared her throat, braced herself on the table to stand up, her high heels adding a few centimeters to her height, and forced herself to look Naruto in the eye.

"Naruto Uzumaki"

She spoke slowly and deliberately, "Have you forgotten that I'm a full twelve years older than you?"

Naruto looked down at her.

The smile at the corner of his mouth didn't disappear.

That's perfect.

He withdrew his hand, turned and walked towards the door, his steps extremely leisurely. "I just like older sisters."

The door closed behind him.

Terumi Mei's legs went weak, and she slumped back into the swivel chair.

The chair slid half a meter away with her, crashing into the filing cabinet behind her.

She covered her face.

Below my palm, my entire face was so hot it could fry an egg.

It took Qing three seconds to find his voice. "Lord Mizukage! I'll go deal with that brat right now--"

"Don't move."

Terumi Mei's voice muffled from between her fingers, "Don't move. Get out of here."

"But--"

"Go out!!"

The door was quickly closed.

The only sounds in the office were the sobbing of the sea breeze through the half-open window and a muffled groan from Terumi Mei's throat.

She buried her face in her arms, her ears turning bright red.

That bastard.

That bastard's eyes.

The tone of that bastard's voice when he said, "I like my older sister."

Terumi Mei bit her lower lip.

My heart is still pounding.

In the corridor.

Naruto put his hands in his pockets and walked briskly.

In my mind, the system notification sounded precisely on time.

[Detected target [Terumi Mei] Affection level change: +25. Current affection level: 40 (Dangerous budding of affection).]

[Hint: A structural crack has appeared in the target's psychological defenses. The host's direct offensive has precisely hit the target's core weakness (anxiety about being unmarried at an older age + a long-term lack of intense attention from the opposite sex). It is recommended that the host continue to widen the crack with a "demonstration of absolute strength" during the next three days of suppression.]

Naruto gave a slight smirk.

I'm forty.

Three days.

"Nailed it."

He uttered two words in a low voice.

Shiro greeted them from the end of the corridor, the sleeves of her moon-white kimono fluttering gently.

She followed half a step behind Naruto, her head bowed and her hands folded over her abdomen.

"Sir, the intelligence has been delivered to our residence."

"Um."

Naruto took a few steps, then suddenly turned his head and glanced at Haku, "Haku."

"Here I am."

"Let's finish reviewing the intelligence tonight. Tomorrow we'll start the killings."

His blue eyes sparkled with a mixture of amusement and anticipation.

"Within three days, I will conquer the entire Water Country— "

"--Remember our surname, Uzumaki."

Bai lowered his eyes, a cold, ruthless smile playing on his lips, befitting an ice assassin.

"Yes, sir."

At that very moment, in the Mizukage's Office, Terumi Mei finally lifted her face from the desk.

She stared at the door, her emerald green eyes churning with something she herself couldn't understand.

"Naruto Uzumaki..."

She murmured.

"You'd better... stop talking big and doing nothing."