The night was deep, the moonlight sharp as a blade.
In the Bamboo Forest outside Konoha, the insects had fallen silent, and the wind whispered like silk.
Yemu stood alone atop a tree, silently gazing toward the sparse lights in the distance-
There stood the Hokage Building, the vortex where power and conflict brewed.
"The Five Kage Summit... is it really happening this soon?"
Yemu murmured under his breath, his gaze as deep as still water.
In that moment of silence, the air behind him abruptly tightened.
Whoosh!
Two figures appeared almost simultaneously on either side of Yemu. Like a carefully choreographed display of symmetry, they materialized atop the branches. The wind had yet to stir, but killing intent already hung thick.
"Ye-mu-"
A soft, sweet voice sounded beside his ear, like a lover's whisper-or a sinister nightmare.
"We finally found you."
Yemu turned his head.
Qingxue wore a black-and-red combat outfit, her Mangekyō Sharingan quietly blossoming, its light eerie and coldly beautiful in the darkness.
A smile played on her lips as she slowly approached, gently shaking a bell wound with red thread between her fingers.
Jingle-
The sound was faint, yet it seemed to strike straight into his heart.
On his other side, Hinata Hyuga wore casual clothes, her silky long hair tied into a high ponytail. Gone were her usual shyness and hesitation. With her Byakugan activated, her eyes held an unprecedented sharpness and stubborn resolve.
"Yemu... so late at night, and you really are thinking about someone else." Qingxue curled her lips, a dangerously unstable edge lurking in her smile. "Was your fight with Sasuke earlier too exciting? Or... are you remembering someone?"
Qingxue stepped forward and tipped Yemu's chin up with a finger, her touch intimate yet possessive. "But I won't allow you to lose