"You little bastard, what nonsense are you spouting?!"
Ao could no longer hold himself back. He stepped in front of Mei Terumi in a flash, his Kunai instantly drawn, its sharp tip aimed straight at Naruto's clone's throat.
Chakra surged through his entire body, the veins around his Byakugan bulging. He was clearly furious beyond measure.
Naruto's Shadow Clone did not even raise an eyelid. He did not so much as glance at the Kunai inches from his throat, merely watching Mei Terumi behind Ao as her expression shifted uncertainly.
"Ao, stand down."
Mei Terumi's voice was somewhat hoarse.
She slowly raised a hand and pressed it onto Ao's tense shoulder.
Ao turned around, his eyes full of anxiety and confusion. "My lady! He—"
"I said, stand down!"
Mei Terumi's tone suddenly hardened, carrying unquestionable authority.
Ao gritted his teeth and finally withdrew his Kunai unwillingly, stepping aside. Yet his entire body remained poised to strike at any moment.
Mei Terumi's clenched fist slowly loosened within her sleeve, her nails having left deep marks in her palm.
She reevaluated this "Naruto Uzumaki" before her.
He was arrogant, but what he said was not entirely without reason.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
"Since you know everything, what do you want?"
Mei Terumi dropped all pretense, her emerald eyes sharpening like blades. "How do you want to cooperate?"
Naruto's Shadow Clone smiled.
"Simple. Tell me where Genji is."
"I'll help you kill him."
Mei Terumi's pupils abruptly contracted, and her breathing stopped for an instant.
The offer was like the whisper of a devil, carrying a fatal temptation.
Once Genji died, the traditional hardliners under his command would inevitably fall apart, and that madman Yagura would be left unable to support himself.
Then, she could step