Head of the Cabinet

The voice was quiet, yet filled with authority.

The simple sentence sounded somewhat familiar to Ling Feng.

Looking back at Kiryū Sanki, he saw the face that had twisted with fury instantly compose itself. Even the slash he had been about to unleash came to an abrupt halt.

Seeing Kiryū Sanki's rather unnatural expression, Ling Feng knew those words had worked.

Who could make the Land of Fire's so-called First Swordsman stop with a single sentence?

Ling Feng looked up.

The crowd parted, and a large contingent of armored soldiers marched forward in perfect formation.

At the center of their escort was a tall, lavish palanquin.

The soldiers stopped, and the palanquin was slowly lowered. A man in luxurious robes and a tall hat stepped out.

Ling Feng narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. Things had just become much more interesting.

This was the high-ranking member of the Land of Fire Cabinet whom Ling Feng had saved before.

Kiryū Sanki had already dropped to one knee before the man and bowed deeply.

"Lord Yuguang."

"Sanki, put away your sword. This Konoha ninja once saved my life."

The man named Yuguang gave a slight nod, then looked at Ling Feng and spoke with a gentle gaze.

"What?" Shock crossed Kiryū Sanki's face. He could hardly believe it.

"That's impossible. The enemies that day were..."

Just as Kiryū Sanki was about to reveal it, Ling Feng spoke in time to stop him.

"That is classified. Hold your tongue."

His voice was slightly cold, carrying an authority that brooked no argument.

It was hard to believe those words had come from a five-year-old child.

Kiryū Sanki stood frozen, his mouth slightly open.

Yuguang, however, nodded and raised a hand to signal Kiryū Sanki to be silent.

Ding! Gained 80 points!

Ling Feng was delighted. He had never expected that shocking Kiryū Sanki once would earn him so much. In a word-sweet!

The surrounding crowd also brought Ling Feng a considerable haul of points.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Gained another 360 points in one go.

That comfortably pushed his points past the thousand-point mark, bringing his total to 1,070.

Although so many villagers were present, none of them had ever seen Yuguang. Unless Ling Feng told them, they had no way of knowing when he had saved him.

So the earlier covert operation had, just barely, remained secret.

In truth, Ling Feng did not care whether it became public. Even if people from Kirigakure came seeking revenge, he was not afraid.

But Konoha could not withstand that kind of retaliation, especially with tensions already running high inside the village.

"Your name is Ling Feng, correct?"

Yuguang took two steps forward and addressed Ling Feng.

Ling Feng nodded. "Yes, Lord Yuguang. You must be one of the participants in this meeting."

"That's right. What a coincidence, meeting you again." Yuguang smiled happily.

"I'm responsible for security at this meeting," Ling Feng replied.

Although Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had arranged this operation, strictly speaking, the high-ranking Land of Fire officials attending the talks were the clients.

In other words, once the operation was successfully completed, those officials would pay the reward.

In that case, I might as well exchange a few words with him. I should show the client some courtesy.

Yuguang's smile grew even brighter. "Wonderful. With you here, I can rest easy."

Little did he know that Kiryū Sanki, standing behind him, looked utterly miserable at those words.

I'm your personal guard for this trip!

How can you trust a five-year-old brat?

He had yet to vent the anger simmering inside him, only to find that his lord now favored someone else. He had nowhere to voice his misery.

"Lord Yuguang, you mustn't blindly believe what this brat says. If he hadn't stopped me, I would already have reached the meeting venue and eliminated every danger before your arrival!"

Kiryū Sanki argued desperately in his own defense.

But Yuguang frowned deeply. "I've already heard what happened. With so many witnesses watching, you were clearly in the wrong for galloping through a busy street. Apologize to this young fellow."

Kiryū Sanki's face filled with disbelief.

"My lord..."

"Hurry up! The meeting starts in half an hour. Will you take responsibility if we're delayed?" Yuguang barked.

With no other choice, Kiryū Sanki apologized.

Ling Feng gave a slight nod, accepting it.

Then Ling Feng turned to say goodbye to Kakashi and the others, cupped his hands toward Yuguang and said he would leave first, then walked away.

The system notifications kept coming.

Kiryū Sanki's capitulation left the onlookers feeling thoroughly vindicated.

They had seen with their own eyes how Kiryū Sanki had nearly ridden someone down. Only Ling Feng's intervention had kept everyone safe.

Besides, Ling Feng was a Konoha ninja, a fellow villager. They could hardly stand by and watch an outsider bully him.

They found the outcome deeply satisfying and marveled at Ling Feng's strength.

"That boy named Ling Feng is incredible. He fought Kiryū Sanki to a draw."

"What draw? Kiryū Sanki looked far worse off. Ling Feng clearly won!"

"Haha, I think Ling Feng is still only a genin. So much for the Land of Fire's First Swordsman!"

The passersby chatted animatedly, laughing and trading comments.

The stronger Konoha's ninjas were, the prouder they naturally felt.

But those words sounded very different to Kiryū Sanki.

After all, he was the loser everyone was discussing.

"My lord, I cannot accept this!"

"He's just a brat. Why are you protecting him like this?"

Walking beside the carriage, Kiryū Sanki simply could not swallow his resentment.

"I told you. He saved my life."

Yuguang's calm voice drifted out.

"That's impossible! There were twenty-four jonin from Kirigakure that day, including six elite jonin. Against such a powerful force, what could a brat like him possibly do?"

Kiryū Sanki still refused to believe it.

"Heh. Your swordsmanship is indeed formidable, but this world ultimately belongs to the ninjas. I believe you understand that better than I do."

"The Land of Fire's First Swordsman? You're only first if we leave ninjas out of the equation!"

"If you had accompanied me that day, what chance would you have had of saving me? Even ten percent? Hmph!"

Yuguang's voice carried a chill.

Kiryū Sanki trembled as he listened, lowering his head and not daring to say another word.

Then Yuguang's voice drifted out again as he spoke to himself.

"The world is in an extremely unstable state right now. This Ling Feng may well become the Land of Fire's greatest trump card in the near future!"

Kiryū Sanki's pupils contracted at those words. He realized that, in Yuguang's eyes, he did not matter remotely as much as Ling Feng!

Ding! Gained 60 points!

As Ling Feng hurried toward the meeting venue, another points notification sounded in his mind.

Strange. Where did those points come from?

Ling Feng shook his head, thinking that perhaps the system had lagged a little and delivered them late.

Once he was in position, the meeting participants began arriving one after another.

The head usher announced each participant's name in a loud voice.

"Welcome Lord Yuguang, Head of the Cabinet..."