Facing the surprised Shion, Kurotsuchi smiled and replied, "Yeah! I came to the Land of Iron for the economic meeting. What about you?"
"Sightseeing."
"Did you hire the Kumogakure Shinobis for escort?"
Shion nodded.
Kurotsuchi's eyes narrowed, and her gaze flickered.
She was a very perceptive person.
Back then, at the Yodo Inn, she was the first to notice the Lightning Blade Kiba on Seiya's back.
Now, after a few simple exchanges with Shion, she realized that the involvement behind the scenes was extraordinary.
The Land of Demons was an extremely isolated small country, with virtually no contact with the Shinobi world.
It was only when the Ghost Army attacked recently that Shion, the shrine maiden, had no choice but to hire Iwagakure for help.
After going through countless hardships and sharing life and death, they finally sealed Moryo. Shion and Iwagakure thus forged a deep friendship.
Against this backdrop, if Shion had a new request, she should first consider the trustworthy Iwagakure, which was nearby, rather than the distant and unconnected Kumogakure.
However, Shion inexplicably overlooked Iwagakure and hired Kumogakure.
Furthermore, she subconsciously leaned slightly toward the male Shinobi from Kumogakure, indicating a strong closeness and trust.
This meant that, for Shion, Kumogakure was more trustworthy than Iwagakure, to the extent that she chose to forsake the near for the distant!
But why?
Iwagakure had just shared tribulations with her; what made Kumogakure more favored by her?
What could it be!
It was too strange!
An unusual situation must be the result of a scheme.
Kurotsuchi's mind raced, and she instantly thought of a possibility-the masked man who saved Shion's life at the last moment of sealing Moryo was that Kumogakure male Shinobi!
When she reached this conjecture, Kurotsuchi's heart involuntarily tightened, as if someone had fiercely squeezed it, causing her breathing to become somewhat stifled.
A Kumogakure Shinobi, whose defection was not officially registered, had joined a rogue Shinobi organization.
Was he a mole for the rogue Shinobi organization, a mole for Kumogakure, or a double agent?
Regardless of the possibility, it meant that his identity could not be revealed.
The moment he knows I have guessed all this, my life will certainly be forfeit!
Kurotsuchi's mind was churning, but outwardly, she remained composed.
She exchanged a few more pleasantries with Shion, then quickly completed the procedures at the counter and went straight upstairs to her room, locking the door tight.
After gulping down a few cups of water, Kurotsuchi gradually emerged from her fright, her breathing steadying.
She noticed the damp chill on her back; cold sweat had soaked her inner clothes.
Then, she calmed herself and began to seriously rethink, inferring from the details whether her conjecture was correct.
In the Kumogakure team just now, Uchiha Megumi was prominently present.
The Kumogakure male Shinobi bore a similar appearance to her and behaved intimately.
It was likely that he was the son of Uchiha Megumi mentioned in the former Konoha bounty-Seiya.
And the masked man's Lightning Blade Kiba just happened to have a close connection with Uchiha Megumi.
Not only that, the masked man and Seiya were similar in build and age...
Everything aligned.
The masked man, Seiya, was the same person!
Kurotsuchi's eyes flashed; she was certain.
In this way, everything could be explained.
Seiya had a life-saving grace toward Shion, which is why Shion felt close to and trusted him.
Seiya, who turned the tide at the crucial moment, was certainly more worthy of trust than I, who was powerless during the sealing of Moryo.
It was perfectly normal for the scale in Shion's heart to tip from Iwagakure to Kumogakure.
...
The fact was astonishing, yet the logic was rigorous and hard to dispute.
Kurotsuchi carefully went over it several times, finally having to accept with shock that Seiya was the masked man.
At this moment, the boy's warning resurfaced in her mind.
'I advise you not to do anything foolish. Once you see my face, you will all die today, or be as good as dead!'
Such intense killing intent showed Seiya's determination to keep his identity secret.
Kurotsuchi's body trembled, and she felt uneasy, reflecting on whether her behavior just now had revealed any flaw.
She absolutely could not let Seiya sense that she had guessed his identity!
After a while, Kurotsuchi calmed down.
No matter what, she was safe in the Land of Iron capital.
Now, during peacetime, anyone who blatantly caused trouble would be attempting to provoke a major war.
No one would do that; everyone wanted development, otherwise they wouldn't participate in the multilateral economic cooperation meeting hosted by the Land of Iron.
However, things might be different outside Rinto City.
Kurotsuchi's eyes flickered, and her mind was made up.
After the meeting, she absolutely must not return to the village alone. She must have her father lead several squads to escort her!
...
While Kurotsuchi's heart was pounding, Seiya and the others were oblivious.
Mabui and Shion completed their procedures at the counter and checked into the Guesthouse.
Megumai and Seiya were not in a hurry to check in.
The mother and son were here for a mission and needed to go to the Daimyo's Manor first to meet with the client, Matsudaira Tachibana.
After accompanying Mabui and Shion to settle in, Megumai took her son's arm and left the building.
Just outside the Guesthouse entrance, a beautiful woman with a full figure walked toward them.
She had fair skin, emerald, green eyes, and pink, thin lips. Her fingernails were painted a deep blue.
She was around thirty, with reddish-brown, crisscrossing curls that reached past her knees, swaying gently as she walked.
She was tall, wearing a Kage hat, and a deep blue dress tied with a white sash at the waist, revealing no exposed skin.
She was graceful and dignified.
In short, she was a very striking beauty.
In the current Shinobi world, besides Konoha, only one Shinobi village had a female Kage.
The identity of the newcomer was clearly revealed-Mizukage Terumi Mei!
Kirigakure had been deeply involved in the Battle of Takamagahara and the attack on the Land of Iron.
The mother and son's impression of Kirigakure was quite poor.
However, during peacetime, the necessary respect for the Kage of other Shinobi villages had to be shown, or it would be detrimental to inter-village diplomacy.
The mother and son therefore stopped, nodded in acknowledgement, and said plainly, "We have long heard of your name, Mizukage-sama."
Terumi Mei smiled, tilted her head slightly, then scrutinized the mother and son for a moment before slowly saying, "Are you two Uchiha Megumi and Tojo Seiya?"
Megumai said plainly, "Uchiha Megumi is in the past. My name is now Megumai."
She preferred 'Tojo' to 'Uchiha' because it was the same surname as her son.
Seiya, meanwhile, was puzzled. "Mizukage-sama condescended to attend the conference personally?"
"Yes," Terumi Mei nodded. "The village lacks economically knowledgeable talent, so I had no choice but to take on the task myself."
This was clearly a polite excuse.
After all, Shizune of Konoha, Temari of Suna, Kurotsuchi of Iwa, and Mabui of Kumo were only deeply trusted by their Kage, not necessarily proficient in economic construction.
Terumi Mei's reason was too perfunctory.
The actual situation might be that she had just taken charge and lacked trusted subordinates.
Seiya understood this in his heart.
He passed Terumi Mei, and he and his mother headed toward the Daimyo's Manor.
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