Chapter 21: Understanding and Lies

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"Will you go back to Konoha?" Amai suddenly asked, her voice echoing through the empty underground base.

Rinjin squinted at her, meeting her pale green eyes without answering.

He knew his lie had worked.

The story he had told about his experiences—everything that had happened after Amai left Amegakure—was entirely true. Except for one thing: he had deliberately omitted any mention of Mizuguma's death.

This omission served a purpose. It would lead Amai to two completely different interpretations.

If she remained unaware of Mizuguma's death, she would assume Rinjin was still loyal to Amegakure and that working for Konoha was merely a forced obligation.

However, if Rinjin had mentioned Mizuguma's death, Amai would undoubtedly conclude that he had fully allied himself with Konoha, working for them with unwavering loyalty.

In simple terms, one interpretation painted him as a drifter, while the other portrayed him as a schemer with grand ambitions.

This was Rinjin's brilliance: he didn't need to tell a single lie for everything to be a lie.

Thinking of this, Rinjin shook his head with a bitter smile.

Even in death, Mizuguma was still helping him.

After a long silence, Rinjin slowly opened his eyes and looked at Amai. Instead of answering her question, he asked, "Do you think I'll go back to Konoha?"

Amai nodded without hesitation.

"You will. You left Amegakure for Mizuguma, even taking on the dangerous mission of infiltrating Konoha. You'll definitely return to Konoha for him."

Hearing this, Rinjin felt a spark of joy in his heart.

Had he really answered whether he would return to Konoha? No.

This was a test—a test of how Amai viewed him.

His goal all along had been to establish himself as someone who valued bonds deeply, even though that was genuinely a part of who he was.

After all, people often stubbornly label others based on their own assumptions, ignoring their true nature.

Now, Amai's words confirmed that she had already accepted the idea that Rinjin was someone who cherished bonds.

This meant Rinjin's goal had been achieved.

Seeing Rinjin remain silent, Amai, thinking she had guessed correctly, smiled softly. She slowly adjusted her disheveled robe, covering her bare shoulders.

"And that blonde girl of yours? What about her? Are you just going to let Konoha keep you tied down forever?"

Tied down?

I like that phrase.

It suits you perfectly.

But, oh, you're still too young.

Rinjin decided not to hide his thoughts and replied directly.

"Konoha—it thrives on bonds, but it's also bound by them. Once Rie and Tsunade have lived together long enough, Rie will naturally become one of Konoha's people."

Hearing this, Amai gave Rinjin a peculiar look, her mind racing.

This monster! He must have spent his entire life, starting from the womb, studying human nature instead of doing anything else!

Whatever crossed her mind next made Amai's expression turn mocking. She sneered and said, "I thought you were someone who valued loyalty and bonds. Turns out, you've already planned to ditch your little sister and make a run for it yourself!"

Though her words were sharp, the occasional sidelong glances she stole at Rinjin betrayed her. It was clear she was eagerly awaiting his explanation.

Or rather, she was trying to provoke him, hoping to gain the upper hand in their conversation.

Unfortunately for her, Rinjin, who had been observing her closely, had already seen through her little game.

Instead of explaining, he adopted an equally mocking expression.

"Aren't you the same, Miss Amai? You claim to act for the sake of your village, but if that were true, you should have reported your suspicions about me to the Third Raikage immediately, instead of secretly bringing a few ANBU to test me."

"That's nonsense!" Amai exclaimed, jumping up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"I... I wasn't sure about your identity yet! And... and you're considered a hero in the village!"

"Heh." Rinjin chuckled, his dark eyes locking onto Amai's slightly evasive gaze.

"You were afraid that the hot-tempered Third Raikage would kill me outright, which might upset the ninjas I saved and create resentment, ultimately affecting your uncle's position.

The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is the Raikage's cousin.

And you? You're the Raikage's niece.

If I'm not mistaken, the current Eight-Tails Jinchuriki won't last much longer, will he? So who's next in line to inherit the Eight-Tails? That kid named Fukai? Or your uncle, the Raikage's younger brother?"

Amai's beautiful face turned bright red at first, then she gritted her teeth and glared at Rinjin stubbornly.

"So what? My aunt is in charge of the logistics department! What about it?"

Wow.

You're as stubborn as a mule.

Even Madara Uchiha wasn't this headstrong.

Rinjin was utterly speechless. This woman was simply...

"Heh, nothing. I've got nothing to say."

Not letting the matter drop, Amai slammed her hands on the table, leaning forward provocatively. She didn't even care about the impressive cleavage she revealed as she challenged him.

"Say it! What's wrong with my family?"

Seeing her arrogance resurface, Rinjin's face darkened as he silently began removing his shoes.

Amai's face instantly turned crimson.

"You... You can't win an argument, so you resort to bullying me...

Ah!

Hahaha! Rinjin... big brother... I... I was wrong... Stop tickling my feet!"

Watching her roll on the ground, clutching her feet and laughing until tears streamed down her face, Rinjin finally let go.

"Have you learned your lesson?"

Panting heavily, Amai got up, hastily covering her exposed chest. Her teary eyes were filled with fear as she nodded repeatedly.

She was genuinely terrified of this man.

He played completely outside the rules!

"Alright, let's get back to our earlier topic. I don't actually have any issues with your family. On the contrary, I can understand you quite well."

"Thank you," Amai replied, her cheeks flushed as she nodded perfunctorily. Internally, though, she scoffed.

This guy is so full of himself. Forget outsiders—there are barely any people within my own family who truly understand me.

Even my uncle, the Third Raikage, merely tolerates me; he doesn't truly understand.

After all, my uncle once wanted to seal the Eight-Tails into this guy's body, turning him into the next "Bee."

Just look at how happy my uncle was when he met this guy—it was written all over his face.

Rinjin chuckled softly, ignoring Amai's dismissive attitude, and continued.

"I've encountered three kinds of people.

The first kind: those who place their family within the village, treating the village as their bloodline.

The second kind: those who place their family within the village, using the village to protect their bloodline.

The third kind: those who only love themselves, viewing everything else as tools to be borrowed or exploited. Personally, I find this third type the least interesting as friends.

As for you, you belong to the second kind. You love deeply, but your heart isn't broad enough."

Hearing Rinjin say she loved deeply, Amai couldn't help but feel a flicker of joy.

She hadn't expected him to see through her so clearly. He really did have some insight.

But when she heard his final remark, she rolled her eyes involuntarily.

Puffing out her chest, Amai glared at Rinjin defiantly.

"Little brat, I have a very broad heart, thank you very much!"

Rinjin casually picked his nose, his thoughts dismissive.

Sure, but compared to Tsunade in the future, you still have some catching up to do.

As Rinjin absentmindedly picked his nose, a bold idea suddenly crossed Amai's mind.

What if... What if I could keep this guy tied to Kumogakure? Wouldn't that be amazing?

At worst, I'll have Uncle Raikage go beat up Amegakure, drag that pretentious pervert Mizuguma back here, and call it even.

(Note: Amai doesn't know about Mizuguma's death—not because Amegakure hid it well, but because Kumogakure simply doesn't care about the life or death of a minor elite jōnin from a small village.)

With this thought, Amai's eyes sparkled with excitement. She shifted closer to Rinjin on her knees.

"Little brother, what exactly is Konoha hoping to gather from our village?"

"The full details of how the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, went from the peace talks to being ambushed; whether there's a conspiracy behind it; intel on the Gold and Silver Brothers..."

Rinjin was still speaking when Amai, her tense nerves finally relaxing, unconsciously patted her chest, causing a rather dramatic ripple.

Thank goodness. While it's important information, it won't affect Uncle's position.

As the Raikage's secretary, Amai had access to some classified information, including details about the Gold and Silver Brothers.

However, hearing about the ambush of Tobirama Senju made her feel a pang of grievance.

Konoha is so unfair! Our Second Raikage was ambushed and killed too, and we're still trying to figure out if there was a conspiracy behind it!

Unaware of Amai's internal monologue, Rinjin continued.

"And one more thing: the reason why Konoha's Princess Tsunade was kidnapped."

Tsunade? Princess?

Amai pouted, feeling inexplicably sour for reasons she couldn't quite pinpoint.