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[NTU] [ARC-13] Chapter : 162
🕑 Added 2024-08-26 19:40:02 +0000 UTCTime passed, and nearly two hours later, Toshiro, disheveled and battered, approached the entrance of Konoha's northern camp. Two wary anbu trailed behind him.
The camp commander, who had been informed of their arrival, lazily approached the group and addressed Toshiro.
"Uchiha Toshiro... What happened to you?"
Nara Shikaku, slightly surprised, took in the sight of Toshiro's bloodied, bare torso. His gaze then shifted to the two Anbu behind Toshiro, particularly the one carrying a limp figure on his back. From his angle, Shikaku couldn't see the person's face, but judging by the shape, it seemed to be a female ninja—though her identity remained a mystery.
"Oh! I didn't expect the clan leader of the Nara clan to be in charge here. What a surprise!" Toshiro remarked with a wry smile.
Toshiro casually greeted Shikaku, his tone as indifferent as ever, noting the familiar "pineapple" hairstyle and the few scars that marked Shikaku's face. Despite their shared allegiance to Konoha, Toshiro felt no particular camaraderie with the Sarutobi clan's allies; the Uchiha had always stood on the opposite side.
"This ninja..." Shikaku began, his attention shifting to the female ninja slung over the anbu's back.
"Oh, it's nothing," Toshiro replied nonchalantly. "Just someone I found lost on the way, so I decided to bring her back."
He spoke as if he were describing a mundane errand, like picking up a stray cat during a routine trip to the market.
Shikaku's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's... the Two-Tails' jinchūriki?"
At this moment, Shikaku struggled to maintain his usual lazy demeanor, his words coming out a bit hesitant. As he glanced at the two masked Anbu and received their confirmation, his expression changed drastically. The realization hit him hard as he stared at the figure being carried by the Anbu.
It was as if they weren't carrying the Two-Tails' jinchūriki but someone as precious as his own wife; the shock left him visibly unsettled.
"Uchiha Toshiro... do you realize the consequences of this?" Shikaku asked, his voice tinged with frustration.
He knew Toshiro had been sent to intercept the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, but the mission was only to repel the intruder, not to bring them back. It would have been sufficient to drive the enemy out of the Land of Fire—taking them prisoner was an entirely different matter.
"The consequences... What consequences?" Toshiro feigned ignorance, his tone casual as he shrugged off Shikaku’s concern. His real aim was clear: he wanted to provoke a confrontation with the Raikage brothers. If he didn’t bring Yugito back to the Konoha camp, how else could he bait the Raikage into showing up?
"This..." Shikaku sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he turned sharply toward the camp and shouted, "Communications team, contact the Hokage immediately! I have urgent information to report!"
"Top priority!"
The usual laziness in Shikaku’s demeanor vanished, replaced by an air of urgency that made it clear the situation was far more serious than it initially seemed.
He knew that things were not going to unfold as he had anticipated. Konoha had paid a certain price to sign a tenuous peace agreement with the Cloud Shinobi. If mishandled, this situation could easily reignite the flames of a ninja war.
"Well! Since Shikaku-san is here, I don’t foresee any issues. The matter of the Two-Tails is settled, so I’ll leave the rest to you."
With a gesture, Toshiro indicated that the two Anbu should hand over Yugito to Shikaku. He then added, "Compared to staying in this camp, I feel much more at ease back in Konoha!"
Brushing the dust off his clothes, Toshiro prepared to leave. His tone made it clear that he intended to hand over Yugito and then head straight back to Konoha, leaving Shikaku to deal with the aftermath.
As soon as Nara Shikaku heard that Toshiro intended to hand over the Two-Tails Jinchūriki to him, he felt his head double in size, and a sharp pain began to throb in his brain.
"Wait a minute, Toshiro..."
Future retaliation from the Cloud Shinobi was already a concern, but more immediately, he knew he couldn’t be responsible for the Jinchūriki alone.
The number of Shinobi in this camp was limited. If Toshiro just went up and left, who would guard the Two-Tails Jinchūriki? The sealing ninjas in the camp were barely competent—assuming there were any at all.
"You can’t leave now! If the Two-Tails Jinchūriki breaks free, we won't be able to handle it!"
"Well... The mission I received was just to take care of the Two-Tails Jinchūriki. The rest isn’t my concern, as an ordinary shinobi," Toshiro replied, noticing the distress on Nara Shikaku’s face.
"But!" Toshiro continued, "I’m not entirely opposed to keeping an eye on her... However, the rest depends on when the Third Hokage provides what I need."
"Please inform the Third Hokage when you communicate with him that guarding the Two-Tails Jinchūriki is beyond my mission parameters. But it’s somewhat connected... to something else! If I don’t get the necessary material from the Third Hokage, I won’t commit to it!"
In simple terms, Toshiro wanted to negotiate additional compensation from the Third Hokage. Otherwise, when the Fourth Raikage arrived, he could simply take the Jinchūriki and leave.
Such a valuable prize must be carefully guarded, without any chance of mishap.
"Don’t worry, I’ll relay your message exactly as you’ve said," Nara Shikaku responded, without commenting on Toshiro’s attitude. As long as the Uchiha kept a close watch on the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, the rest wasn’t Shikaku's concern as a strategist.
This situation... The camp is severely under-resourced. With fewer than 2,000 troops, it’s clearly insufficient to face a potential counterattack from the Cloud Shinobi.
This Uchiha Toshiro... did he intentionally capture the Two-Tails Jinchūriki? Just thinking about it gives him a headache.
That night, deep within the Konoha camp, Shikaku, wary of a possible rampage, placed Toshiro and the Two-Tails Jinchūriki in a secluded corner of the camp.
"Bastard... Get your filthy hands off me!"
A cold female voice, still somewhat youthful but full of venom, echoed from the tent.
The two Konoha ninjas standing guard outside the door exchanged glances, their eyes conveying the same unspoken question: Should we be ignoring this? It seems the rumors about this guy are true...
"Hey! You troblesome woman!"
"Don’t move, or I won’t be responsible for what happens next!"
"And don’t make such a fuss—It makes it seem like I am doing something else to youl!"
The male voice belonged to Toshiro, who was keeping watch over Yugito.
"Who put you in charge for you to order me around?"
As soon as Toshiro finished speaking, Yugito’s voice rang out, laced with both irritation and a touch of barely perceptible shyness.
Hearing this, Toshiro almost blurted out, "Perfect, that's just how I like it!" But he restrained himself, knowing he needed to focus on the task at hand.
With that in mind, he intensified his actions.
"What are you doing? Help me! Someone, help!"
Startled by Toshiro's actions, Yugito instinctively cried out for assistance, forgetting momentarily that she was in Konoha's camp.
Outside the tent, the two Konoha ninjas heard her pleas and the commotion within. They exchanged uneasy glances before discreetly stepping away to a quieter spot. However, they didn't stray far, as their duty was to assist Toshiro in guarding the Two-Tails' jinchūriki. Besides, the noises from the tent didn't interfere with their watch.
"Uchiha Toshiro... Don't you dare!"
Yugito's defiant voice barely had time to echo before it was overtaken by a pained, anguished cry.
The two Konoha ninjas standing guard outside couldn’t help but lean in slightly, their ears perked toward the tent.
It seemed this way they could hear more clearly.
As they did, their minds began to wander, imagining all sorts of suggestive scenarios. It wasn’t that their thoughts were inherently impure—it was just that the sounds and snippets of conversation coming from the tent left too much to the imagination.
