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Chapter 220: Unremitting Efforts to Prevent a Yuri Ending
"It's real."
"Fine, then... wait, what?"
Yugito snapped out of her daze, only then realizing that Shiromo had answered her directly. There wasn't a hint of beating around the bush.
As Yugito's brain whirred at high speed, she quickly reached a conclusion: "Could it be that some of the information in there was leaked on purpose?"
"Smart."
"...So, your coming to Hozuki Castle was actually for related purposes?"
"Good guess. Keep going."
"..."
Facing Shiromo's praise, Yugito didn't feel the slightest bit of joy.
Did she even need to guess?
If it were her, and she knew of a psychopath intent on destroying the Shinobi World, she certainly wouldn't have the heart to carry out any other random missions. She would surely devote herself entirely to cultivation, and everything she did would be for the sake of stopping that opponent.
"Did you know in advance that we from Kumogakure would be coming here?"
"Not at all. That was pure coincidence."
"..."
After a session of the classic "talk-no-jutsu" exchange, Yugito discovered that Shiromo and his group indeed had no idea about the movements of the Kumogakure party, but they truly did want the Shinobi World to unite.
As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Kumogakure was naturally part of that plan. However, this led to a recursive loop.
Without evidence regarding the Infinite Tsukuyomi, even she was half-doubting it, let alone the Raikage, who harbored a deep-seated hatred for a certain book.
Then the problem arose again.
If they could find ironclad proof that such an evil existence wanted to destroy the world, it would mean this "evil villain" wasn't all that impressive and didn't require such a massive fuss. Conversely, if it were truly a conspirator capable of destroying the world, how could they allow anyone to obtain such evidence so easily?
It was a total deadlock.
After Yugito left, her entire face was a mask of worry.
"How was it? Did they not say anything?"
Samui and Karui saw Yugito's troubled expression and assumed she hadn't gotten any answers.
"No, I'm just wondering how we should mention this to Raikage-sama." Yugito replied, shaking her head.
She then relayed the key points of the conversation to the two of them, hoping they could offer some advice.
"There isn't a single piece of actual substance," Karui muttered, frowning after listening.
"That's normal. Even if they had something, would they tell us easily?" Samui remarked with a sideways glance.
"So what do we do now?" Karui scratched her hair; she hated thinking more than anything.
"Actually, before I left, that man gave me a suggestion." Seeing that the group had discussed for a long time without a result, Yugito finally spoke up.
"Then say it sooner! If he told you what to do, just follow it," Karui complained, feeling her head throb. Wasn't this a waste of her brain cells?
"Because his suggestion was to tell Raikage-sama everything directly and let him judge for himself."
"..."
Wasn't that suggestion the same as saying nothing at all?
The three of them sat there in a daze for a while longer. They still couldn't come up with a better way.
---
In the afternoon, Mujo, sent by Kusagakure to take over the position of Lord of the Castle, had arrived. Mui was taken back to Kusagakure to be imprisoned.
If he were imprisoned nearby at Hozuki Castle and happened to have loyalists or confidants he had cultivated, wouldn't he stage a jailbreak in minutes?
With the handover complete, everyone prepared to evacuate Hozuki Castle.
On the return voyage, under the urging of the other two, Karui ultimately chose the suggestion Shiromo had given: the simplest method of speaking the truth and letting the Raikage judge for himself.
Either he believed it, or he didn't.
The three of them had no other choice. If they didn't speak and kept it bottled up, failure was 100% guaranteed. If they told the Raikage, there was at least a small chance of success.
However, these three weren't lacking in emotional intelligence. They selectively tore out the relevant pages from 'Buff Man Strategy Guide' rather than giving the entire book to the Raikage to read.
Those few pages didn't describe much regarding Kumogakure. As long as the Raikage didn't know it was a "sequel," he could judge the contents with a calm mind.
"There's such a thing going on?"
Upon learning that someone intended to collect the Tailed Beasts, the Raikage's expression instantly turned tense. He turned back to look at Killer Bee, who was currently using the Eight-Tails' tentacles to fish in the sea: "Bee! From now on, no matter where you go, you must report to me. Do you hear me?!"
Originally, the Raikage wanted to tell Killer Bee to go back to The Valley of Clouds and Lightning. However, he swallowed his words.
No matter what, as the person who filled the void in Killer Bee's heart, he could no longer say such things. Care was fine, but he couldn't ignore Killer Bee's own strength.
"Yugito, you too..."
After worrying about his brother, the Raikage thought of Yugito, their village's other Jinchuriki.
"Raikage-sama, I understand. I will be careful." Yugito nodded.
"Mm. You are more composed than Bee; I trust you can protect yourself."
The Raikage didn't say much more. Regarding the things Karui told him, he only believed half of it, approaching it with the mindset that "one must always be on guard against others." This led to the current conversation.
But the Raikage could also see that Yugito and the other two seemed to believe it quite strongly. He didn't understand the specific reason, but if they believed it, it meant they would be more cautious.
---
After finishing her report, Yugito looked down at a mark on her hand.
Naturally, this hadn't been on her body originally. She had discovered it after waking up, following her near-death experience being pierced by Satori, her rescue by Uchiha Hikari, and her recovery by Tsunade.
Before finally leaving the island, Yugito couldn't help but ask about it. She wanted to be sure whether this thing was left by Shiromo's group or by Satori. If it were the latter, wouldn't that be dangerous? A "dying centipede that wiggles but doesn't fall"?
Fortunately, the answer Uchiha Hikari gave put her at ease. It wasn't Satori.
Hikari's exact words were: "It was left by Shiromo. If you encounter any danger, this mark can be used to save you."
Yugito didn't know how a mark could save someone. Was it a Flying Thunder God marker? But then, how would he know she was in danger?
Of course, it wasn't a Flying Thunder God marker; it was the Yachihoko mark.
It was just that Uchiha Hikari didn't dare say she had left it herself. She had to constantly guard against Yugito developing "excessive feelings" for her.
Finally, through Uchiha Hikari's unremitting efforts, Yugito's focus shifted.
Yugito was now thinking: 'Shiromo cares about me this much? Could it be that he's heard of my great fame and my secret admirer? But why didn't I feel that during our conversation earlier? Could it be that he's just too shy? Was he too afraid to talk to me?'
While Yugito was lost in her wild fantasies, the Raikage had already reached a decision.
According to various intelligence reports, the other four great villages had already begun trade exchanges centered around Amegakure. Only Kumogakure remained isolated.
The Raikage didn't believe the story 100%, but that didn't stop him from agreeing to join the alliance. Regardless, joining the alliance now didn't require any sacrifice; it was essentially an alliance for economic development.
(End of this chapter)