Chapter 199. Offline Meetup

Chapter 199. Offline Meetup

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Move forward a little in time.

Around noon.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting warm rays into the living room.

However—

Yuto felt none of that warmth. In fact, he had the distinct urge to light a stove.

Cold!

Chillingly cold!

He looked ahead.

Suzune was wearing an apron, smiling sweetly as she bent forward to pour tea. Kana held a teacup with an awkward smile. And beside her… was Konan, completely calm but with a faintly menacing glint in her eyes as she discreetly kept pulling out explosive tags.

What is this little girl doing?

Why does she keep slipping explosive tags to Kana ever since she got here?

This is my house—what danger could there possibly be?

And where did the usually frugal, explosion-tag-hoarding Konan go?

Meanwhile, Honoka sat quietly, clutching her chubby Nine-Tails plush tightly—evidence that she, too, sensed the tension in the air.

A small living room, yet for some reason, the atmosphere had become unbearably oppressive.

This is terrifying!

Yuto hesitated as he watched Suzune and Kana exchange polite yet wordless smiles. He coughed awkwardly and spoke up, "Uh, I'll just…"

Before he could finish—

"Hmm." x2

Two soft voices echoed in unison.

Both women turned their heads at the same time, their delicate faces adorned with gentle smiles, their eyes squinting slightly as they beamed at Yuto.

"…"

Yuto fell silent and forced out a chuckle. "Uh… did I interrupt something?"

Wait a minute—

Why did it suddenly feel like he had stepped into a Shura field?

A chill ran down his spine as he quickly tried to defuse the situation. Looking at Suzune, he said, "This is Uzumaki Kana. She has the same relationship with me as you do."

Then, he turned to Kana. "This is Hyuga Suzune. She has the same relationship with me as you do."

Silence.

"???"

Both women froze.

[So… what exactly is my relationship with you?] x2

Their faces went blank with confusion.

Instinctively, both of them narrowed their eyes and stared at Yuto.

However—

The suffocating awkwardness from earlier seemed to dissolve at his words.

After all, their relationships were completely innocent—so why make things weird?

Yuto nodded in satisfaction, about to change the topic and lighten the mood when—

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang.

Yuto, relieved for an excuse to escape, quickly stood up. "I'll go open the door first!"

He practically dashed to the door, only to find an Anbu standing outside.

"Boss Yuto, Hokage-sama asked you to come over."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

"Alright." Yuto sighed, then called back inside, "I'm heading to see Minato!"

"Hmm~ Yuto (Yuto-sama), take your time." x2

…Seems like everything's fine now.

Yuto smiled slightly, shook his head helplessly, and made his way toward the Hokage Building.

"What does Minato want with me at this time?

Could it be…

It's about Kusagakure?"

…

Meanwhile, back inside the house.

Suzune and Kana glanced at each other.

And then—

They both burst into laughter.

Suzune, in particular, felt her face heat up as she recalled her earlier actions. Her cheeks flushed bright red.

She—

She wasn't even Yuto's girlfriend yet!

[How bold of me!]

Her pale cheeks instantly turned the shade of a tomato.

Kana, too, let out a helpless chuckle. She had been acting a bit strange just now as well.

With a warm smile, she introduced herself. "Uzumaki Kana."

"…Hyuga Suzune." Suzune hesitated for a moment, her voice soft and delicate. But then, taking a deep breath, she lifted her head with determination.

"I won't give up."

Despite her gentle tone, her words carried the unmistakable resolve of the Hyuga clan.

Kana blinked in surprise, then, like an older sister, smiled gently and nodded. "Hmm~"

Honestly—

She wasn't sure herself.

Turning to Konan, Kana sighed and shook her head. "Put the explosive tags away. Do you really want to blow up this house?"

"Hehehe, I was just trying to scare Brother Yuto!" Konan stuck out her tongue mischievously. "Let's see if he dares to be unfaithful again! Besides, I'd be heartbroken wasting so many explosive tags."

Seriously…

Yuto was keeping a beautiful girl in his mansion.

If Nagato found out, he'd probably use Almighty Push on the whole place!

Kana turned back to Suzune with a gentle smile. "I'll be relying on you these next few days."

"No… I should be the one saying that." Suzune, seeing that Kana had dropped the tension, finally felt at ease. She nodded, her ample chest rising slightly as she exhaled. Then, as if recalling something, she hesitated before speaking again.

"Should we… add each other on [Nin-Nin]?"

As soon as she said it, her eyes sparkled playfully, blinking with excitement as she thought of something…

Kana's eyes also shimmered with the same thought.

Their lips curved into identical smirks.

…

Meanwhile—

After chatting briefly with Minato about the Mahjong Tournament, Yuto left.

That's right—

Minato didn't really have any pressing matters for him. It was just about the so-called Demi-God of the Ninja World and the Mahjong Tournament.

As for Kusagakure?

What Kusagakure?

It wasn't a big deal. Neither Minato nor Yuto was too concerned. After all, the Uchiha Police Force wouldn't outright kill them.

And if they really wanted to… well, they could always slap on some made-up charge like plotting to seize Konoha's 1.25 Billion.

Honestly—

There's no one who doesn't covet Danzo's body.

It's just a matter of whether or not to take action!

Just say, "After interrogation, we confirmed that these guys were here to kidnap people," and no one would question it.

As for Kusagakure… they actually did come for the Mahjong Tournament. Apparently, during the Third Ninja World War, they suffered heavy losses—Kana was even taken away. They were already a small village with very few medical ninjas, and after such a brutal war…

Even after the war ended, the village hadn't recovered. Plus, they were dirt poor. That's why they came up with the idea of bringing Honoka, who had sensory abilities, in hopes of winning the 10 million ryo prize.

And don't underestimate that amount—

One ryo isn't even the smallest unit. Below that, there's sen, and ten sen make one ryo. For a tiny village like Kusagakure, 10 million ryo was a huge fortune.

[T/N: The currency unit "Sen" doesn't exist in Naruto. It's made up by the author.]

But—

Now? It was over for them.

They probably wouldn't even get to participate in the tournament.

And upon investigation, it turned out Kusagakure was planning to awaken the Box of Ultimate Bliss to gain the power to protect their village.

That was also why Honoka's mother had been kept there—

Her chakra had been completely drained.

As Kushina's husband, Minato was absolutely furious when he heard this. But since Kusagakure was technically an ally of Konoha, and the Uzumaki Clan wasn't officially part of Konoha, he couldn't just take action as Hokage.

Still, he was definitely going to make them suffer.

Finding an Uzumaki and not even informing Konoha—what were they trying to pull?

So, after agreeing to bring Honoka to see Kushina in a few days, Minato let the matter rest for now.

As for Kusagakure—

They might not die, but they were definitely in for a world of pain!

Walking down the street, Yuto felt the sunset's warm glow ease his mind.

Suddenly—

He felt relieved.

Thinking back to what had just happened at home…

"What nonsense was I babbling about?" Yuto clutched his head in frustration.

Was he really about to say, "You're all my wings"?

Ugh—he really didn't feel like going home early now. By this point, Konan had probably plastered the entire house with explosive tags, just waiting for him to return!

As he sighed in distress—

"Hey, brat, why do you look so troubled?"

A familiar voice called out—Hanzo of the Salamander.

"What's wrong? Did that little Uzumaki girl find out that you were hiding a beautiful secretary at home?"

"F*ck, how did you know?"

"Hah! A scandalous tale of a boss secretly living with his lovely secretary? An old man like me just has to ask around a bit to get the whole story."

"…."

Yuto rolled his eyes.

What scandal?

Why is this village so ridiculously nosy?

Doesn't anyone here have jobs?!

He sighed and looked at Hanzo. "What about you? Do you want to come back with me?"

"And do what? Watch the fun?"

"Then what are you planning to do?"

"Originally, I wanted to visit my little brother I haven't seen in ages, but I got turned down. Apparently, if I want to meet him, I need to schedule an appointment first. And guess what? The earliest available slot is six months from now."

Hanzo let out a long sigh.

"Guess that's just how it is when you move up in the world. And honestly, maybe it's for the best. If we did meet, it might get… emotional."

"…"

"Oh, right. I've got a question for you."

"Hm?"

"Do you know…"

Hanzo narrowed his eyes slightly, pausing for dramatic effect, then flashed a sinister grin.

"Who [The Most Handsome Ninja of Konoha] is?"

"???"

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