The roars from the Raikage Building rang throughout Kumogakure, but thousands of miles away in Konoha, the atmosphere was lively.
Morning sunlight spilled over the streets, where villagers came and went in an endless stream.
Uzuki Yugao followed beside Uchiha Genya, her face full of surprise.
After he had thrashed the Kumogakure delegation at the village entrance yesterday, the civilians and merchants on the streets showed no fear or avoidance when they saw Xuanye. Instead, they approached him one after another, all smiles, to greet him.
Yugao had lived in the village for so many years, but she had never seen the Konoha Military Police Force this popular.
"I never would have guessed. You're quite a respected captain in the villagers' eyes."
Yugao lowered her voice and spoke with an air of cool aloofness.
She did not have to report for Anbu duty today.
Even Anbu ninja directly under the Hokage had rotating days off each month.
Of course, her scheduled day off had not originally been today.
She had deliberately traded shifts with a teammate, purely because she had learned in advance that Xuanye had today off.
"What's so strange about that?"
Xuanye kept both hands in his pockets.
The reason the villagers treated him so warmly was actually quite simple.
In the Shinobi World, strength commanded respect, and ordinary people admired tough men even more.
His trampling of the Kumogakure delegation at the village entrance yesterday certainly seemed overbearing to outsiders, but in the eyes of ordinary villagers, Kumogakure was their mortal enemy to begin with.
The other great nations had all quieted down now. Only Kumogakure kept stirring up conflicts at the border every day.
Pick any family off the street, and they might well have relatives or friends who had died at the hands of Kumogakure ninja.
Everyone had long been seething with pent-up anger and hatred. What Xuanye had done yesterday had truly vented the entire village's resentment.
"Speaking of which, that busty blonde you carried home yesterday must have taken very good care of you, right?"
Yugao's tone dripped with jealousy.
"Don't make things up. I was handling a legitimate case."
Xuanye answered with a perfectly righteous expression.
"Tch. Save that nonsense for Kurenai Yuhi."
Yugao rolled her pretty eyes and said with a huff:
"If you could rein yourself in a little and stop visiting the red-light district so often, I might reluctantly consider being your girlfriend."
As an Anbu elite, she had far more intelligence channels than Kurenai Yuhi, so naturally, she knew all about the man beside her and his womanizing ways.
To put it nicely, he was carefree and uninhibited. To put it bluntly, he was a complete and utter lecher.
Yet she had already fallen for him. Even knowing it was a fire pit, she was willing to jump in.
"One correction: one of my girlfriends."
Xuanye was completely frank, openly laying out his plans for a large harem right in front of her.
The strong always acted openly and aboveboard. Even when it came to finding women, he made his intentions clear beforehand.
"You bastard... mmph..."
Yugao's slender brows shot up in anger. Before she could lash out, Xuanye lowered his head and sealed her mouth with his.
After struggling for just two seconds, her body melted, and she collapsed completely into Xuanye's arms.
A full five minutes passed before Xuanye finally released her lips.
Her face burning, Yugao nestled against Xuanye's chest and docilely let him hold her as they walked toward the village outskirts.
Xuanye wore a satisfied smile.
As they passed a street corner, he deliberately turned his head and raised an eyebrow at a young man with dark circles under his eyes hiding in the shadows.
Gekko Hayate, who had been watching secretly from the corner, looked as though lightning had struck him. Clutching his chest, he began coughing violently, his eyes bulging so wide that he nearly spat blood onto the ground.
"You're so mean. I already told you I never pay him any attention."
Hearing the coughing behind them, Yugao raised her flushed face and gave Xuanye's chest a reproachful little thump.
Xuanye had made no attempt to hide his provocation of Gekko Hayate from her, but this overbearing declaration of ownership actually filled her heart with sweetness.
"It's fine. I just don't like the look of that sickly guy."
Xuanye spoke casually.
Gekko Hayate must have been tired of living. Despite knowing that Yugao and Xuanye had something going on, he had actually dared to stop her in the street with a bouquet and confess his feelings a couple of days ago.
Sending Gekko Hayate to an early grave before Shippuden even began seemed perfectly reasonable.
The two walked out through the Konoha Gate and continued along a quiet forest path.
The midday sun was pleasantly warm, casting dappled light and shadows on the ground through the canopy.
"Where exactly are we going?"
Yugao surveyed the unfamiliar woods around them and asked curiously.
"The Konoha Military Police Force needs a medical ninja stationed with the unit."
Xuanye stretched lazily and said offhandedly:
"The old Hokage approved the paperwork for expanding the Police Force and recruiting ninja from outside the clan this morning."
Yugao nodded in understanding.
No wonder Xuanye had specifically taken her to Might Guy's house before they left the village, inviting him in person to join the Konoha Military Police Force as an instructor.
At that thought, she could not help feeling a little envious.
She had not yet completed her required years of service in the Anbu, so she could not transfer straight to the Konoha Military Police Force like Might Guy and spend every day with Xuanye anytime soon.
But she soon realized something was off.
"If you're recruiting a medical ninja, why leave the village instead of picking someone at Konoha Hospital?"
Yugao asked, looking thoroughly puzzled.
"Just follow me. You'll know when we get there."
Xuanye gave a mysterious smile without explaining further.
He could hardly tell Yugao now that he had already sent his subordinates to investigate every casino in the Land of Fire and pinpointed the whereabouts of Tsunade, the Shinobi World's best healer, could he?
The two walked side by side along the mountain path, leisurely enjoying their rare time alone together.
Meanwhile, in the border region of the Land of Fire.
An elite ten-person squad deliberately bypassed the overland checkpoints and stealthily followed a rushing river, silently slipping past Konoha's border security line and plunging into the heart of the Land of Fire.
Leading them was a young woman with a stunning figure, dressed in a practical, formfitting combat outfit, her long beige-brown hair falling to her waist.
She exuded a queenly presence. She was none other than Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Yugito Nii.
She was normally gentle within the village, but once she stepped onto a battlefield, she became an asura who reaped lives.
"You all read the mission briefing before we left. Does everyone remember their responsibilities clearly?"
Yugito stopped and coldly sought confirmation from the squad members behind her.
"We remember everything!"
The nine Kumogakure jonin answered in unison, their voices low.
"This operation concerns the village's reputation. Not a single mistake will be tolerated. We must cow Konoha with swift, overwhelming force and put enough pressure on them!"
Yugito took a deep breath and rotated her wrists.
As the Jinchūriki who controlled Matatabi, the Two-Tails, she was one of Kumogakure's most essential strategic weapons.
The fact that the Fourth Raikage had actually dispatched her this time showed just how much anger he had bottled up!
Outsiders always assumed that Jinchūriki were kept under tight protection in their villages, but that was not the case at all.
Yugito alone had led teams to complete more than thirty-five top-secret S-rank missions over the past few years.
Even Konoha's former Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, had a record of twenty-five S-rank mission deployments.
"What happened at Konoha's entrance and in the Hokage's office sent Lord Raikage into a fury."
Yugito paused for two seconds, her gaze turning incredibly sharp:
"According to the absolute orders Lord Raikage personally gave us before our departure, we have only one objective on this trip."
She swept her gaze over the subordinates before her and commanded in a low voice:
"Recite Lord Raikage's exact words aloud!"
The nine Kumogakure elites tensed, greed and ferocity flashing in their eyes as they lowered their voices and growled in unison:
"The Hyuga's Byakugan and the Uchiha's Sharingan-Kumogakure wants them all!"
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