Shinji had just stepped out of Karatachi Yagura's office.
He saw two people, one older and one younger, arguing as they came down the hall.
"I don't agree! The village only needs ANBU! We don't need some so-called Root, and we certainly don't need roots buried underground!"
"This is Reed Hideout, not Konoha!"
The little girl, her white hair wrapped in a headscarf, glared furiously at the cold-faced ninja before her.
Nara Rokuyuki frowned slightly. "You're still young. You don't understand. Root's duties can't be replaced. The Land of Grass sits between three major nations. We need our own underground intelligence network. It's only an intelligence division. You're the one taking it to extremes!"
"I'll never agree to it! I'm reporting this to Lord Gongfu right now!"
With that, Ryūsetsu turned and headed toward Shinji.
Nara Rokuyuki looked helpless.
This girl...
Honestly.
Then his eyes sharpened, and he said respectfully, "Lord Shinji!"
"Mm."
Shinji glanced at Ryūsetsu, who was staring at him in surprise, then turned to Nara Rokuyuki. "You want to establish Root in Reed Hideout?"
Nara Rokuyuki nodded.
"Yes! I cleared out all three Bounty Stations around the village and took control of them!"
"On the surface, they're Bounty Stations. Secretly, they can serve as our intelligence outposts, gathering information from across the Shinobi World..."
"After all," Nara Rokuyuki said earnestly, "the Bounty Stations are the largest hub for buying and selling intelligence in the entire Shinobi World!"
"That's fine."
Shinji nodded, then looked at Ryūsetsu. "And this is..."
Ryūsetsu stared at Shinji in confusion, then turned to Nara Rokuyuki.
She...
She didn't know who he was yet.
Nara Rokuyuki's expression turned solemn. "Ryūsetsu! This is the village's one and only leader, Lord Shinji!"
Leader?
Not village chief... huh?
Ryūsetsu started in surprise.
Her large, bright eyes turned