Early morning.
The sky was clear and bright, with brilliant sunshine.
Akira and Karin had already been waiting in the restaurant for quite some time.
When Tsunade walked over with a calm, composed expression, and Shizune followed with her eyes deliberately avoiding him while pretending nothing was wrong, Akira secretly laughed to himself.
As expected of their teacher—her acting was on another level.
He wondered what kind of wonderful dream she had last night, constantly calling out "Akira Ren… Akira Ren…" and nearly reversing their roles.
Yet now she was acting as if nothing had happened.
In comparison, Shizune, who clearly looked guilty, was far less skilled at hiding it.
"Senior Sister Shizune, what's wrong with you?"
Karin pushed up her glasses.
She felt that Shizune was acting a bit strange.
In reality, after the eye membrane correction surgery developed jointly by Tsunade and Akira Ren, she no longer needed to wear glasses.
However, out of habit, she still wore a pair of plain lenses.
"TonTon…"
TonTon, lounging lazily in Karin's arms, also chimed in.
"N-no, nothing's wrong…"
Shizune, who had obvious dark circles from not sleeping well, panicked for a moment and quickly replied.
She subconsciously glanced at Akira Ren.
Seeing his calm expression and that he wasn't looking at her, she breathed a sigh of relief, though she also felt a faint sense of disappointment.
She had been so shameless yesterday…
Would her junior brother look down on her now?
"Really?"
Karin tilted her head.
But being a little girl at heart, she didn't press further and went back to playing with TonTon.
"You little brat…"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes slightly.
She didn't say anything and simply sat down beside Akira Ren.
Her two fingers discreetly reached for his waist.
Although she didn't know exactly what had happened, she could tell with her eyes closed that Shizune's unusual behavior was almost certainly related to Akira Ren.
"Come on, let's eat!"
Tsunade sighed inwardly and helped her disciple out of the awkward situation.
What a troublesome fate!
She herself was almost completely eaten up by this little rascal.
It looked like her eldest disciple wasn't going to escape either.
That rebellious disciple who kept shouting about becoming a harem king was truly putting his "great" dream into practice.
"Senior Sister, come sit down!"
Akira acted as if nothing had happened.
He smiled at Shizune and said, "After breakfast, we still have training to do!"
Currently, Tsunade and the other two had just gained new powers through the artificial Devil Fruits, so they were in no hurry to leave the Land of Hot Springs.
They all wanted to stay a few more days to better familiarize themselves with their abilities.
Moreover, they heard that in half a month, the Land of Hot Springs would hold its annual Summer Festival, complete with a grand fireworks show.
Both Shizune and Karin wanted to join in the excitement.
"Mm…"
That same gentle gaze as always made Shizune's face flush slightly.
Her anxious heart relaxed a little, and she gradually calmed down.
In his eyes, she saw no trace of mockery or disdain.
Thank goodness… her junior brother really was understanding and didn't look down on her.
"Speaking of which, what is the Summer Festival in the Land of Hot Springs like?"
Karin rested her chin on her hands, full of anticipation.
"I'm really looking forward to it!"
She couldn't wait to wear the beautiful kimonos Akira had given them and watch the lively fireworks with Lady Tsunade and Senior Sister Shizune.
"It's still a while away!"
Akira lightly knocked on the little girl's head.
Still, he was looking forward to it too—especially seeing Tsunade and Shizune wearing kimonos and walking through the streets.
"Damn Akira Ren… mmm!"
The angry Karin was about to jump up and throw a tantrum, but Akira Ren, with a mischievous smile, stuffed a steamed bun into her mouth.
"Here, your Senior Brother is treating you to buns today. Don't be polite!"
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
"Shadow Binding Technique!"
"Damn it——"
...
One week later.
In the Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
Hokage Tower, top floor, Hokage's office.
"Hokage-sama, last night a village on the border of the Land of Fire was massacred. When our people arrived, they also found several bodies of Konoha shinobi…"
Masked Yamato reported in a deep voice.
"Among them was one Special Jonin and three Chunin. Without exception, all of them died with expressions of extreme terror!"
"Have you found out what happened?"
The Third Hokage's expression turned serious.
He had to take this matter seriously.
During peacetime, the death of one Special Jonin and three Chunin was no small issue.
"Preliminary examination shows the wounds were caused by Lightning Release. The enemy is very strong and highly skilled in Lightning Release."
Yamato continued,
"The Intelligence Division has begun further examination of the bodies!"
"Was there nothing useful at the scene?"
"We must investigate thoroughly…"
"Yes!"
Not long after, Kakashi, the captain of the Anbu, appeared.
He knelt on one knee in front of the Third Hokage and reported directly,
"Hokage-sama, according to the information Yamanaka Inoichi obtained from the victims' brains, combined with analysis of the wounds…"
"These Konoha shinobi were killed by the Mist Village rogue ninja, Black Hoe Thunder Fang, the wielder of the Lightning Blades and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"
"Black Hoe Thunder Fang of the Mist Village?"
The Third Hokage's pupils shrank slightly, visibly surprised.
He naturally had no idea why Black Hoe Thunder Fang had suddenly gone on such a rampage.
After all, Danzo's Root had nearly taken the man's life and had killed his red-eyed partner, Ranmaru, even taking the body away.
"Regardless of his purpose in coming to the Land of Fire, since he dares to rampage so brazenly on our territory, slaughtering civilians and Konoha shinobi, we cannot let this slide!"
The Third Hokage exhaled a puff of smoke and was about to make a decision.
"Kakashi, you will lead the team…"
"Wait, never mind…"
Suddenly, before Kakashi could respond, the Third Hokage seemed to think of something.
His eyes flickered.
"Go and call Yuhi Kurenai."
"Yuhi Kurenai?"
Kakashi's pupils shrank.
He subconsciously reminded him,
"Hokage-sama, Kurenai has only recently been promoted to Jonin. She lacks experience, and the opponent is Black Hoe Thunder Fang, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Sending her alone on such a mission may be too much for her!"
The fact that Yuhi Kurenai was the adopted older sister of Senju Akira was no secret in Konoha.
This arrangement made Kakashi wonder whether the Third Hokage was targeting Akira Ren.
"No, Kakashi. I'm not targeting her, nor do I plan to send her alone. I just want her to lead the team…"
The Third tapped his pipe and smiled.
"I simply want to see her true strength."
"I'm very curious just how much Senju Akira has managed to strengthen his adopted older sister!"
Hearing this, Kakashi's pupils shrank sharply.
He recalled the continuous commotion in the Forest of Death these past few days, and the reports from Anbu members that Yuhi Kurenai had also learned Akira Ren's technique that could activate chakra and allow flight.
"So that's how it is…"
Kakashi lowered his head and apologized.
"I'm very sorry, Hokage-sama. I overstepped!"
"No. The fact that you care about your comrades only makes this old Hokage feel gratified…"
The Third waved his hand, showing no intention of pursuing the matter.
"Go."
"Yes——"
...
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