A New Era

"We've come on behalf of the village to speak with you."

The moment Yue entered the tent and saw two people wearing animal-shaped masks seated inside, he realized things were probably more complicated than he had imagined.

One was a man wearing a carved wooden monkey mask, while the other wore a sheep mask.

"The village received the message you sent back. However... the elders find it rather suspicious that you managed to escape Akatsuki." The man in the monkey mask spoke coldly. "Tell me everything that happened to you again, from beginning to end."

"Don't worry, we're only here to verify the details." Compared to the stern man in the monkey mask, the woman in the sheep mask spoke gently.

"So even the people they sent are one from Grass Flower and one from Grass Seed..."

Yue noticed something and thought to himself.

Then, he recounted the story he had prepared.

"That Akatsuki member had intended to attack you, but because he was seriously injured, you found an opportunity to escape?"

"That's right."

"That does match the information Amegakure provided." The woman in the sheep mask, clearly someone from Grass Flower, seemed inclined to take Yue's side.

"You never came into contact with any other Akatsuki members?"

The man in the monkey mask demanded sharply.

"No." Yue remained calm.

"Then why did you only return now? Hiding from Akatsuki alone isn't a convincing enough reason, is it?"

Yue looked directly into the eyes beneath the monkey mask and suddenly said, "I'm from Kusagakure. Logically speaking, the village should have protected me. Why does it sound... as if you're blaming me? Could it be that surviving and coming back was a mistake? That I should have died in the Land of Rain instead?"

"What kind of attitude is that?!"

The man in the monkey mask immediately flew into a rage at Yue's words.

"Yue... the village only wants to understand what happened. Akatsuki's position in the Land of Rain is extremely complicated, and getting entangled with those people is no good thing." The woman in the sheep mask stopped her companion and explained softly, "Don't blame the village for making a fuss. It's only to avoid unnecessary trouble."

The man in the monkey mask took a deep breath and said nothing more.

Yue nodded.

But his mind was already turning.

Could it be that after he ruined Masada and the others' scheme, the people of Grass Seed still bore a grudge against him?

And were using this opportunity to make trouble for him?

If not, then Kusagakure simply feared being held accountable by Amegakure and wanted to distance itself from the matter... That would be far too weak.

To be honest, Yue was deeply disappointed.

The interrogation continued afterward, lasting a full hour.

As before, the man in the monkey mask spoke in a deliberately hostile manner, seemingly trying to pin some blame on Yue. Fortunately, though Yue was young, his answers were flawless, and the man failed to get what he wanted. In the end, the three of them left the tent. The man in the monkey mask snorted coldly and departed first.

"Be careful."

Before leaving, the woman in the sheep mask gave Yue a meaningful warning.

Be careful?

The woman was clearly warning him about something.

"Are you all right... Yue?"

Fuma Ryoma approached, his face full of concern.

"I'm fine."

Yue smiled.

"Yue... return to the Land of Rice." Fuma Ryoma suddenly said.

Although he was only a Chunin, he had spent so long in the village that his seniority was far from insignificant. There were some things he could still see clearly.

Even though Yue acted as if nothing had happened, Fuma Ryoma had still guessed part of the truth.

"Your mother and I can no longer leave the village, but you're different... The Land of Rice has our clan's..."

"I'm not leaving."

Yue cut off his father directly.

"Ryuga's Father is from Grass Flower. Ryuga owes me a favor. Even if Grass Seed wants to make an issue of this, it shouldn't be that easy." Yue spoke bluntly.

"Yue..."

In truth, when he met his son this time, Fuma Ryoma had discovered that Yue was completely different from before.

He did not know whether it had something to do with Yue's experiences over the past few months, but in any case, he seemed like an entirely different person.

Fuma Ryoma did not dwell on it. Yue was so composed at such a young age, with a maturity that did not match his years... and that brought Fuma Ryoma great comfort.

"You've grown up."

He raised a hand and rubbed his son's hair, then said seriously, "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you."

"Even if it means defying the village."

Fuma Ryoma's gaze turned cold.

This incident was only a minor interlude, but the atmosphere within the outpost had clearly changed.

The others seemed to have caught wind of something and began keeping their distance from father and son, subtly but unmistakably.

"Power."

Yue began to consider it.

What happened with Masada had already exposed the village's chaotic and filthy side.

To be honest, it made him sick.

And now they were resorting to such disgusting tactics and conduct again.

Even if one used the excuse that "small countries have no rights," this cowardly behavior had already crossed Yue's bottom line. Kusagakure had, at the very least, a territory of its own in the shinobi world, neither large nor small, and even possessed a shinobi village. If Kusagakure's higher-ups retreated and submitted before the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Yue could somewhat understand it. But Amegakure? And Hanzo of the Salamander, whose former glory had already begun to fade? Yet the old fools in the village were this terrified.

The Land of Rain was already in complete chaos. Calling it overwhelmed with its own problems would be putting it mildly. Where would it find the energy to concern itself with Kusagakure?

Especially over an insignificant little kid?

Moreover, since Yue knew the full story, he understood clearly that the matter involved, at most, one of Hanzo of the Salamander's confidants, not Hanzo himself.

Even taking a step back, if Amegakure really came looking for trouble with Kusagakure, the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth would never simply stand by. The Land of Grass was a strategic buffer zone both nations needed, and they would not allow Amegakure to act freely there.

So no matter how one looked at it... Kusagakure had no reason to be this afraid.

Of course, the people from Grass Seed were certainly stirring up trouble behind this as well!

Previously, Yue had only thought about strength, about individual power. Now, he realized that in an environment like Kusagakure, power was equally important.

Otherwise, if they came to disgust you every few days, it would truly be unbearable.

More importantly, those old relics entrenched in the village's upper ranks of power were utterly contemptible in the way they acted.

"They're too spineless... They've knelt for so long that they no longer know... and have long since forgotten, how to stand back up."

That night, Yue lay in the tent, a cold gleam flashing through his eyes as he thought to himself.

This was the tragedy of the Grass Flower faction.

Whether Grass Seed or Grass Flower, neither amounted to anything respectable.

Since both Grass Flower and Grass Seed had sent people to question him this time,

it meant that, to a certain extent, both factions shared the same view on how to deal with him...

Although Ryuga's Father held no low status within Grass Flower, he still could not make every decision alone.

That woman in the sheep mask had likely been sent by Ryuga's Father to warn him.

Early the next morning, Yue and his father prepared to take shifts and resume their patrol.

But the outpost captain suddenly said there was another important task for them.

"You are to go here, meet with someone from Takigakure, and deliver this secret letter to him."

"Takigakure?"

Yue frowned. "This is a temporary mission, right? Was it assigned by the village?"

"Yes." The captain hesitated briefly before nodding.

Kusagakure really involved itself in everything, even delivering secret correspondence for Takigakure.

Without asking further questions, Yue and his father immediately headed toward their destination.

The moment they left the camp, Yue said bluntly, "Father, be careful... There's probably something suspicious about this."

"One of those two Anbu members was from Grass Flower. Before she left, she warned me to be careful."

"It's a temporary mission assigned by the village, and the crucial part is that they specifically named you and me for it. Their intentions are far too obvious."

"You mean... this is aimed at you?"

Fuma Ryoma said gravely.

"It may be Grass Seed's plan."

"Not aimed at me... Given their nature, they're probably trying to kill me."

Yue was very calm.

With no background and no connections... father and son did not even have the right to refuse. Fortunately, he had established ties with Ryuga's Father earlier.

"I've suddenly changed my mind."

Yue suddenly spoke, saying something Fuma Ryoma could not quite understand.

"It's a new era... A little place like Kusagakure should change as well."

Yue's tone was icy, steeped in chilling intent.