Chapter 86: No Trace Where the Wind Passes

Carried by the cold wind from the western Land of Fire, Hyuga Soushu and his squad finally arrived at Konoha—the village he did not truly belong to—after traveling day and night for over a day.

Though it was a snowy winter day, Konoha's entrance remained crowded. Countless merchant caravans from across the Ninja World waited quietly in the heavy snowfall, undergoing registration checks before entering the village. The Uchiha ninja from the Policing Department were fully armed, scanning the crowd with their cold tomoe eyes, searching for any suspicious outsiders.

Furthermore, atop Konoha's high walls stood several Hyuga clan members in open positions, carefully observing everything happening near and far, not missing even the slightest movement.

Hyuga Soushu and Mahiru Uchiha exchanged puzzled looks at this unusual sight.

It wasn't just that security measures for entering and exiting the village had been significantly heightened; more importantly, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans—who had always been at odds—had their ninja appearing together!

Although Konoha previously had mixed squads like the one led by Soushu and Mahiru from these two powerful families, it was the first time ever that members of both clans appeared simultaneously during official public duties.

"What the hell is going on?" murmured Soushu as he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"This could change everything," replied Mahiru, imagining how clan politics might finally allow them a future together.

If the two clans really made such an unexpected peace, all the obstacles keeping them apart would just vanish!

Even better—they could claim their marriage helped bring peace between the clans! They'd have the full blessing of the Uchiha and could officially start their own family!

At that thought, Mahiru almost blurted out the words she'd dreamed of saying for so long.

Still, Mahiru maintained her composure like any good ninja should. Her mind was already playing out dramatic scenes, but on the outside, her icy mask remained—though Soushu, who knew her best, could sense the storm beneath.

He didn't say anything though, simply reaching out and taking Mahiru's hand in his own.

With many Uchiha officers from the Policing Department maintaining order, Soushu's team quickly bypassed the lines and completed their re-entry registration, smoothly returning to the beloved Konoha they hadn't seen in a while.

Though it was the height of winter, Konoha was bustling with activity and alive with voices. Despite past war-related economic downturns, ever since the recent victory led by Sakumo Hatake against Sunagakure spread across the Land of Fire, excitement throughout the village—and nation—had surged dramatically.

Previously restrained consumer demand, held back deliberately due to fears of prolonged war draining the economy, now burst forth powerfully.

Upon hearing Konoha's formal announcement of their border war victory against Sunagakure, nobles from various Daimyo courts also strengthened their desires to hire what seemed to be unstoppable Konoha ninja for missions—even if Konoha's payment requirements for equivalent missions were much higher than those of the other Four Great Hidden Villages!

The sudden surge of consumer enthusiasm from the villagers of Konoha Village, along with nobles generously pouring in mission rewards, further stimulated the village's commercial prosperity. The strong consumer demand enticed more wealthy merchants to ship their wide variety of goods from all over the Ninja World to satisfy the cravings of Konoha's big spenders. This was why Hyuga Soushu saw a large group of merchant caravans waiting to enter the village when he returned to the Hidden Leaf's gates.

After completing the registration and returning to the village, Soushu first took his team members to Yakiniku Q, an Akimichi-owned restaurant, for a hearty meal. Though little was said during the dinner, Soushu saw it as a quiet farewell to Kosuke Maruboshi within the team.

After successive major battles, Soushu had reaped rich rewards and no longer needed to maintain a low profile as he once did. With Uchiha Mahiru's certain promotion to jonin, the team's disbandment or reorganization became inevitable.

Moreover, both the recommendation letter and the promotion application form that Uchiha Mahiru received had been personally signed by Hatake Sakumo—an undisguised act of taking sides. The Hokage faction had no reason to allow Kosuke Maruboshi, a powerful but intentionally low-profile ninja, to remain under Soushu's command. If Soushu failed to guide Maruboshi and instead was influenced by him, the Hokage's side would suffer a major loss.

Kosuke Maruboshi naturally understood the meaning behind this gathering, but he didn't say much, only occasionally serving food to Might Dai, who was happily devouring his meal without sensing anything unusual.

The four of them feasted for nearly an hour before finishing up. They took their time paying and stepping outside, and it was already well past four o'clock.

Soushu gave a few brief words of parting before allowing Kosuke Maruboshi and Might Dai to go their separate ways. He then strolled leisurely toward the Hokage Tower with Uchiha Mahiru.

Although Sakumo Hatake had already arranged all the necessary procedures for Mahiru's jonin promotion through his Jonin Unit subordinates, according to protocol, it was still required to obtain the Hokage's signature on the form as a formal conclusion to the entire process.

As the team's jonin leader, Soushu also needed to report back to the Hokage Tower upon returning to the village and receive new mission assignments from the Hokage himself.

Of course, there were certain privileges that came with being a jonin. Especially since he had been officially pulled back to the village under the pretext of a compassionate rest rotation, he even had the right to refuse any mission assignments issued by the Hokage if he found them unsatisfactory.

As for Uchiha Mahiru—

"If there's something wrong with what the Old Monkey plans," she cautiously asked while they walked, "what should I do? There's never been a case where two jonin stayed on the same team before. What if we're separated?"

"The whole point of rules like that is for people like us to break 'em," Soushu replied calmly. "Those rules were made to control the weak—what use are they for us, jonin?"

"And don't forget one key point—you're an Uchiha!"

Hyuga Soushu gently rubbed the bridge of the girl's nose, his expression filled with affection yet his words sharp with truth. "Do you really think the village would entrust the future of the Will of Fire to an Uchiha jonin?"

"Not at the moment," she replied.

Mahiru Uchiha blinked in surprise at first, but after recalling the current situation—particularly how Uchiha clan members who held jonin ranks, especially those from the conservative faction, were being treated—she felt a quiet disappointment and shook her head.

"You see?" Soushu said mildly.

"Then again, that isn't a bad idea either." Mahiru hesitated briefly, then gave a firm nod.

Actually, during the wartime in the Land of Rain, they had been paired up for extended missions as chunin. Although this arrangement had originally been a temporary measure due to Konoha's shortage of forces stationed there, it had become a favorable option ever since they became lovers.

While giving up their roles as team leaders meant losing the opportunity to train the next generation of Konoha ninjas, it also offered them a world where only the two of them existed, free from outside interference.

"It'll be okay. Everything will work out," Soushu said with a slight smile, glancing up at the empty sky as if absentmindedly.

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