After Uchiha Hikaru left, Ōnoki immediately convened a meeting of all the jōnin of Iwagakure.
Several messenger eagles appeared above the village, crying out four times in succession, each call separated by five seconds and lasting three seconds. Every shinobi in Iwagakure looked up at the same time, their gazes turning toward the center of the village—the direction of the Tsuchikage Building.
Kitsuchi, who had already returned to the Iwagakure branch of the Ninja Association, glanced at the eagles through the window and silently counted the calls. Before he could even take a sip of the hot tea that had just been poured, he vaulted straight out the window.
"It hasn't even been an hour… What exactly did Uchiha Hikaru say to Father to make him summon all the jōnin so quickly?"
"Is there going to be another war?"
Within Iwagakure, eagle calls were used in only two circumstances.
Three cries, spaced three seconds apart and lasting four seconds each, signaled the summoning of elite jōnin and high-ranking cadres—usually reserved for sudden crises.
But what Kitsuchi had just heard was different.
Four cries, five seconds apart, lasting three seconds each.
That meant every jōnin in the village was to be summoned—active, retired, even those disabled and no longer fit for combat.
They could technically ignore the call, but in practice, this signal was only ever used when the village stood on the brink of war.
Since the founding of Iwagakure, such a meeting had been convened only three times—each at the outbreak of a Shinobi World War.
Kitsuchi didn't know what had happened, but there was no time to hesitate. He immediately set off.
Thanks to the current relative stability of the shinobi world, most of Iwagakure's jōnin were still in the village. Some were on leave, spending time with their children. Others were training on the practice grounds, or restocking supplies at weapon shops.
No matter what they were doing, all of them stopped at once.
Using Body Flicker, Substitution, shadow clones, and other techniques, they vanished into the crowds, slipping through hidden passages that led to the underground conference hall beneath the Tsuchikage Building.
On the street, Yugito Nii, who was shopping with Kurotsuchi, immediately sensed that something was off.
She wasn't a shinobi specialized in sensory techniques, but as a Jinchūriki—one of the most powerful beings in the shinobi world—even her passive perception far surpassed that of ordinary ninja. This heightened awareness was one of the subtle blessings granted by a tailed beast.
Her eyes flicked across the surroundings.
Chakra fluctuations surged briefly from the ramen shop forty meters ahead. Another spike came from a clothing store seventy meters to the rear-right. Even the general store nearly a hundred meters behind them—one they had just passed—showed faint distortions.
Yet strangely, Kurotsuchi, who was tugging at her hand and pulling her along, seemed completely oblivious. She just kept chattering excitedly as she dragged Yugito toward a cinema up ahead.
"Yugito! A new movie starring the famous Snow Country actress Yukie Fujikaze just came out! I heard she's playing a real princess this time!"
"I wonder what a princess's life is like. We finally have some free time—let's go watch it together!"
Kurotsuchi walked briskly, eyes fixed on the posters lining the cinema walls, heading straight for the entrance without waiting for Yugito's reply.
If Uchiha Hikaru were here, he would recognize it instantly. The "Yukie Fujikaze" Kurotsuchi mentioned wasn't just an actress.
She was portraying Princess Koyuki of the Land of Snow—and she herself was the surviving daughter of the former Snow Country daimyō. A real princess, in every sense of the word.
Yugito watched Kurotsuchi's back, unease flickering briefly in her chest. She sighed softly, then turned her gaze toward the poster.
The woman's skin was smooth as jade, delicate as a child's. Long, dark-blue hair flowed behind her, and her gemstone-like blue eyes were deep and clear. Orange-red eyeshadow framed her gaze perfectly, lending her an air of noble luxury. Her cinnabar-red lips glistened faintly.
She truly looked like royalty.
Yugito couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy.
So this… is a princess.
She had always believed herself elegant, her looks far above average—but even she couldn't confidently claim she was more beautiful than the woman on the poster.
Even through the image, Yugito sensed something else: a softness concealing inner strength. Yet there was also hesitation in those eyes, as if the princess were avoiding something, her gaze tinged with quiet gloom.
Lost in thought, Yugito was suddenly dragged forward as Kurotsuchi pulled her into the cinema.
By the time she snapped back to reality, her hands were already filled—one holding an oversized bucket of popcorn, the other a cup of bubble milk tea engraved with the Uchiha clan fan crest.
"Senpai, this bubble milk tea is super popular," Kurotsuchi said cheerfully. "It's a new drink the Uchiha clan just developed. Lots of sugar—great for energy."
"Try it ♪"
Her voice pulled Yugito back to the present. She took a sip instinctively.
Cold milk tea flooded her mouth, followed by the sensation of soft, elastic pearls. As she chewed, some burst with a jelly-like filling, while others remained satisfyingly chewy. The rich aroma of milk blended perfectly with the tea's fragrance, the sweetness balanced just right.
Yugito's brows relaxed before she even realized it.
If it were hot, it might've been cloying after a few sips—but Kurotsuchi had noticed long ago that Yugito disliked hot drinks and had deliberately asked for extra ice.
The icy sweetness melted Yugito's usual calm exterior.
The corners of her lips lifted faintly. She took several more sips, draining the cup until only ice remained before stopping herself.
Only then did she realize how unguarded she'd been.
A faint blush crept onto her cheeks as she turned her head away.
"It… tastes pretty good."
Kurotsuchi stared at this version of Yugito she'd never seen before, eyes shining as if she'd just discovered a new world.
Overjoyed, she immediately bought two more cups.
So Yugito-senpai can be this cute too?! (≧▽≦)
Before long, it was time for the movie to start. The two entered the screening hall and took their seats—prime spots around the fifth and sixth rows.
At the same time, deep underground beneath the Tsuchikage Building, nearly two hundred jōnin gathered in the hidden conference chamber within just twenty minutes.
Ōnoki sat at the center.
Beside him were Kitsuchi, Captain #1, Captain #2, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki Han, and even Rōshi, who had long clashed ideologically with Ōnoki and had opposed him for years.
All of them took seats in the front row, facing the dense ranks of Iwagakure jōnin below.
After counting the attendees and confirming the numbers, Captain #1 nodded toward Ōnoki.
The Third Tsuchikage slowly rose to his feet.
The jōnin meeting of Iwagakure had officially begun.