Meanwhile, Konoha had already stationed people at its gates to show that it was serious about these peace talks.
They had not planned to arrive so early, but with nothing else to do and this being their only recent assignment, they had come ahead of time.
They chatted with the two Ninja who had been guarding the gates until night fell. Just as they were about to close them, a small group appeared outside Konoha, covered in dust from the road.
The five newcomers were from Kumogakure, led by a weary-looking Samui. At the sight of Konoha's ninja, she forced herself to focus and said sternly, "We're Kumogakure's special envoys, here for the peace talks. We request permission to enter Konoha!"
The people waiting for them stared at Samui in a daze. They had expected a female Ninja among the envoys, but not one so beautiful.
Her striking figure was hard to look away from, but Konoha's Ninja were well disciplined. After only a second, they raised their eyes to Samui's face.
"We've been waiting here for you," one said solemnly. "Please follow us inside. It's late, so we'll take you somewhere to rest first."
Samui nodded. "Thank you for the effort."
She said nothing more as she followed them deeper into Konoha.
Samui was quite pleased with the conduct of these Konoha Ninja. In all the time she had been traveling, very few of the men she'd met had managed to avert their eyes so quickly.
It showed just how well trained Konoha's Ninja were. The more she recognized that, the more worried she grew about this mission.
There were only five of them. The notion that they could abduct someone from inside Konoha sounded like a fantasy.
Even so, Samui had no intention of giving up. She was