"I'll make him regret it completely and let you sever every last tie to your past!"
The certainty in Uchiha Lei's words still lingered.
Karura's expression shifted several times. She bit down hard on her red lips, years of hurt and resentment surging in her eyes, and remained silent for a long time.
Uchiha Lei leaned down slightly, bringing his lips close to her ear and lowering his voice, his tone carrying a hint of temptation and tenderness.
"Besides... no one will disturb us in this desert tonight."
"What you've always longed for deep down-tonight, I can give it to you."
Karura's fair cheeks instantly flushed scarlet. Her ears burned, her whole body grew slightly warm, and she lowered her eyes in a fluster.
"You... what nonsense are you talking about..."
"I never..."
Watching her shy, flustered expression, Uchiha Lei curled his lips into a faint, teasing smile and made to turn away.
"Since you don't want to, let's head back right now."
"Wait!"
In her urgency, Karura immediately reached out and tightly caught his sleeve, her voice soft, shy, and barely louder than a mosquito's hum.
"...I agree."
A glimmer of triumph flashed through Uchiha Lei's eyes.
"That's a good girl."
Side by side, they continued strolling through the desert along Sunagakure's border. Their figures overlapped beneath the moonlight, leaning close together, intimately inseparable-a painfully glaring sight.
Rustle~!
In the shadows of a distant dune, a concealed Sunagakure Anbu ninja's pupils abruptly contracted, his mind reeling!
He stared fixedly at the two intimate figures ahead, not daring to breathe!
Whoosh!
The Anbu ninja dared not linger. His figure became a sandy afterimage as he raced at full speed toward Sunagakure's main camp!
Inside Sunagakure's command tent, the lamps burned brightly.
Fourth Kazekage Rasa sat upright at his desk in