Uzuki Yugao took the initiative to confess

To prove his innocence, Hidan even lifted his shirt. Apart from well-defined abs, there wasn't a single mark on his stomach.

"Look! I wasn't lying, was I? Woman, are you having an irregular period?"

"Period pain isn't... like this."

"Then you ate something that upset your stomach. Anyway, it has nothing to do with me!"

As Konan lay on the ground in agony, groaning nonstop, Hidan kept explaining himself. Kakuzu looked indifferent, while Uchiha Itachi gazed thoughtfully at the crow perched on a branch in the dense forest in the distance.

This was no ordinary crow. It was the one responsible for carrying messages between him and Xia Yu.

Through this crow, Itachi had already sensed that Xia Yu had arrived here, yet he still hadn't shown himself.

Xia Yu, could it be... that you did this?

Uchiha Itachi murmured inwardly.

He couldn't quite understand.

Had Xia Yu come all this way to see Konan just to give her a stomachache?

Before he could finish thinking it through, the crow had vanished, leaving with Xia Yu...

"Konan, you're one of the few powerful female shinobi I acknowledge. It's just a stomachache. Do you really need to make such a sorry sight of yourself?" Kakuzu, utterly clueless about women, sneered contemptuously. "Get up. We're busy. Wasting time here will only get in the way of me making money."

Cold sweat streamed down Konan's forehead, and her flushed cheeks betrayed her weakness. "I, I can't move... It's not just my stomach. My mind and body... are, are starting to go numb too..."

Before she could finish, Konan passed out.

"Hmph..." Kakuzu was very irritated, and killing intent rose in his heart once more. "Women are such troublesome creatures! Itachi, don't stop me. I'm going to take Konan's head off. I'll give you twenty percent of the bounty. How about it?"

Itachi said, "Given Konan's relationship with the leader, I advise you not to do that."

Kakuzu said, "What? Are you scared?"

Itachi ignored him, gently lifting the unconscious Konan onto his back and sighing softly.

"Let's go. We're heading back to base."

Late that night, after traveling all the way back, Xia Yu returned to Konoha.

[Ding! Uchiha clan members +1. This clan member's overall potential rating is B. Reward: the host's chakra is doubled.]

"Doubled?"

Xia Yu froze.

"What's going on? Did I get a critical hit?"

[The system is LV2. The rewards you receive will be more generous than at level one. The higher the system's level, the greater the rewards, so have more children, kid.]

"Yes, yes, yes. You don't need to remind me. When have you ever seen me slacking off?"

[Hehe, that blue-haired woman just now was pretty good. I have a feeling her child will have an exceptionally high rating.]

"Of course. Konan ranks among the top five strongest female shinobi in the Shinobi World. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone to all that trouble to travel so far~"

Xia Yu was full of anticipation. In ten months, the child Konan gave birth to might let him soar to new heights.

But he would also have to pay close attention during that time. It was only a matter of time before Konan discovered she was pregnant, and Xia Yu had to ensure that the child was successfully born.

Xia Yu had already decided to leave the job of keeping watch to Itachi.

"Ow!"

Xia Yu's mind was full of Konan, and with the darkness, he hadn't noticed any obstacles on the road ahead.

He suddenly felt as though he had bumped into something very soft.

"Ah!"

It was a woman!

The woman cried out in alarm and quickly shrank back.

"S-sorry! Miss, I didn't mean to... I was thinking about something and wasn't watching where I was going."

"Hm?"

But the woman before him made Xia Yu's eyes light up.

She really had such an air about her.

She didn't have Kurenai Yuhi's gentle, girl-next-door older-sister style, nor Mitaraishi Anko's playful, adorable little-sister style. Instead, she possessed a unique air somewhere between the two, capable of being sweet or cool, as though she could pull off any style.

Xia Yu remembered this woman's name.

With that signature long purple hair, wasn't she Uzuki Yugao?

Today, however, she wasn't wearing her usual Anbu uniform.

Instead, she wore a thin pink kimono, and her normally flowing long hair had been tied into a high ponytail.

It really was rare to see her dressed like this.

"Uzuki Yugao, it's you...?"

Xia Yu couldn't help asking, "It's so late. Why are you... here?"

Fortunately, she wasn't a defenseless woman. If she had been an ordinary woman, with that alluring figure and those clothes, she would probably have long since been abducted by the criminals roaming the village.

"I... I..." Uzuki Yugao fidgeted shyly where she stood, her pearly teeth biting her red lip as she stammered in a soft murmur. She wanted to say something, yet seemed unable to get the words out no matter what.

The next moment, Uzuki Yugao took a deep breath, her expression firm with resolve, and spoke to Xia Yu with tenderness in her eyes.

"X-Xia Yu... I came to confess to you. I like you. I... I want to marry you..."

"Uh..."

Xia Yu was stunned...