Kairen said, "I'm leaving. Remember to miss me tonight!"
Mikoto fell silent.
Kairen turned around, carrying a jug of wine, and staggered out of the house.
"Good wine, good people!"
Mikoto watched Kairen's back.
Although the morality in her heart kept reminding her not to cross that line, whenever she was with Kairen, her heart instead fluttered wildly.
It felt like going back to her youth—sweet and tender.
Mikoto walked out the door and watched Kairen leave the courtyard.
"Hey!"
Kairen heard Mikoto's voice, turned his head, and glanced at her.
Mikoto said, "Be careful tomorrow!"
Kairen nodded. "Don't worry. Remember to cheer for me tomorrow!"
"Okay!"
Kairen smiled, slowly disappeared past the corner of the alley, and walked out of the Uchiha clan's residential area.
...
Night fell. Thousands of lights lit up, and the bustling Konoha carried a hint of tranquility. Everyone was looking forward to tomorrow's grand event.
Kairen took a gulp of wine and smiled at the prosperity before him.
In the end, it was all just a facade. The roots were already rotten—only a spark was needed. Once the fire ignited, this tranquility would collapse in an instant.
"Take this!"
A heavy punch fell from above, slamming squarely into Kairen's head and making his vision spin.
Kairen snapped awake and looked clearly at who had come.
A red single ponytail, wearing a green short outfit—it was Uzumaki Kushina.
Kushina grabbed Kairen by the collar and said fiercely,
"You actually dared to hit Minato and even sent Jiraiya-sensei to the hospital. Do you think you can ignore me?!"
Kairen looked at Kushina. She was really adorable like this.
"What? Are you standing up for them?!"
Kushina stretched out two fingers, pinched Kairen's cheeks, and said aggressively,
"Of course! You have to give me an explanation, or don't even think about leaving today!"
Kairen replied, "I'm not leaving. I'll go to your place instead! We'll talk through the night by candlelight, and I'll give you an explanation!"
"Cut the nonsense. Why did you attack Jiraiya-sensei and Minato?!"
Kairen looked into Kushina's eyes and said, "Didn't they give you an answer?"
"Minato said you caused havoc in the royal capital of the Land of Fire and even killed the daimyo's son."
Kairen smiled. "I didn't just kill the daimyo's son. I killed the daimyo of the Land of Fire as well."
Kushina was shocked. This news was under lockdown, and Minato hadn't told her yet.
"You're that bold? Killing the daimyo—wouldn't that make you a rogue ninja?!"
Kairen brushed away Kushina's hand, took a gulp of wine, and walked toward his base.
"Do they dare label me a rogue ninja?!"
Kushina followed, wanting to know the rest of the story.
"And then? What happened after you killed the daimyo of the Land of Fire?"
"And then! The nobles of the royal capital jumped out again, begging to serve the daimyo of the Land of Fire. Of course, I had to fulfill their wish."
"You're really fearless. Now the entire Land of Fire probably sees you as an enemy, and you still dare to return to the village. Aren't you going to run?!"
Kairen took a big swig of wine, his heroic spirit soaring.
"A real man dares to act and dares to take responsibility. Why run?!"
"As long as I feel like it, this country will have a new ruler tomorrow."
Kushina looked at Kairen.
"What are you going to do tomorrow?!"
Kairen didn't hide his intentions at all.
"Tomorrow I'm going to launch a coup and drive that old man down from the Hokage's seat."
"You—" Kushina stared at Kairen in shock.
"You're serious!"
Kairen smiled faintly. "Go tell Sarutobi to behave himself… let my Tsunade take the position, and have him find a coffin and bury himself."
So what if his intentions were exposed? He could even shout in the middle of the village right now: Tomorrow I'm rebelling.
The plan for a coup was just a whim anyway—if you're going to play, then play it through!
Kushina was a little worried.
"Something this big… which side should Minato and I stand on?"
This silly girl!
Kairen smiled inwardly. At a time like this, shouldn't she report to the Third Hokage and have him send people to arrest Kairen?
Kushina scratched her head, feeling troubled. With a great upheaval about to begin, she was the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, and Minato was the successor of the Flying Thunder God.
Neither of them could escape this storm.
Just like the Uchiha clan, they too had to face the choice of sides.
Unable to figure it out, Kushina could only ask Kairen.
"Which side do you think I should stand on?"
Looking at Kushina's serious expression, Kairen felt amused. That naive, charming look was really lovable.
Sure enough, mature women were the most exciting.
Kairen replied, "Of course you stand on my side. What does Sarutobi have to fight me with?"
Kushina thought carefully.
Kairen's combat power was invincible, and the secret techniques on him were countless. Minato, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were no match for him.
Kairen had humiliated the upper echelon so many times, yet they could only endure it.
From all this, Kairen's advantage was greater than that of the Third Hokage and his group.
Using her excellent brain, Kushina finally concluded that betting on Kairen's side was the right choice, and she immediately wanted to join his camp.
"Kairen, Kairen, I'll stand on your side."
Kairen waved his hand grandly.
"Good. From now on, you're my female military advisor. Tell me—how should we take Konoha?"
Kushina became interested. She had read novels about ancient samurai wars a few years ago and now put on the demeanor of a strategist from those stories.
"To take Konoha, you must first take Ichiraku Ramen. That place is the control hub of the entire village, the most important location. As long as Ichiraku Ramen is under control, the whole of Konoha will be within easy reach."
Kairen couldn't help but laugh. Does this tomato really love Ichiraku Ramen that much?!
He said boldly, "Tomorrow I'll give you 500 troops. You'll be the vanguard—lead them to take Ichiraku Ramen!"
Kushina laughed loudly. "Don't worry! I'll issue a military pledge and guarantee mission success."
"Once Ichiraku Ramen is taken, capture Teuchi and Ayame. From then on, we won't have to pay for ramen ever again."
"Does Military Advisor Uzumaki have anything else to add?!"
Kushina rolled her eyes. "Those few clothing shops on Central Street should be taken too. And that cake shop, the snack street…"
Kairen could only say, good grief—so Kushina was planning to loot everything for free in the chaos.
...
Kairen and Kushina walked down the street. Kushina kept pointing at shops that were still open at night.
"This one too. They sell tricolor dango—tomorrow we loot them!"
Kairen remembered that the old tricolor dango shop had been bought by him and converted into a public toilet. How did a new one open again?
Kairen nodded. "Alright, we'll loot them tomorrow!"
"And this one… loot it too!"
This woman Kushina—if she were in the outlaw world, she'd definitely be a major bandit leader, nicknamed the Blood-Red Hot Pepper, specializing in robbery and looting.