In Iwagakure
In Tsuchikage's office
News of Iwa and Waterfall's defeat by Konoha in the border skirmish had reached the Third Tsuchikage.
Onoki slammed his fist into the table, eyes burning. "Damn those tree‑huggers," he snarled. "They're going to pay."
The Tsuchikage's office door suddenly swung open, and when Onoki saw that it was his son-in-law, Kitsuchi, he calmed down.
Kitsuchi spoke urgently to Onoki, "Father, I have important news. You will not like what I am about to say."
Onoki's eyebrows twitched at Kitsuchi's words. He fixed him with a sharp look and said, "Don't test my patience, Kitsuchi. Tell me what you have to report."
Kitsuchi drew a deep breath and said to Onoki, "Konoha's ANBU have attacked and destroyed our supply base."
Onoki rose to his feet, his face twisted with fury, and bellowed at Kitsuchi, "What did you just say?"
Kitsuchi dared not meet Onoki's gaze; he remained silently in his spot.
"Damn that monkey — he'll pay for this," Onoki snarled, eyes blazing. "I'll never forgive him."
Onoki sank into his chair, lost in deep thought. After a moment, he locked eyes with Kitsuchi and commanded, 'Go summon Han and Roshi to my office at once, Kitsuchi.'"
Startled by Onoki's command, Kitsuchi asked in a hesitant voice, "Father… are you sure about this?"
Onoki smirked darkly when Kitsuchi spoke. "Yes — our supply base has been destroyed, so we have no choice but to withdraw our forces. That damn monkey outsmarted me again, but he will pay dearly for his insolence. We will send Roshi and Han to crush Konoha's border forces."
Kitsuchi's eyes widened when he heard Onoki's decision. He was momentarily speechless, but after a moment, he asked.
"Father, why must we withdraw? Couldn't we ask the Hidden Waterfall Village to share their supplies with us?"
Onoki let out a helpless sigh before answering Kitsuchi's question.
"You still have much to learn, Kitsuchi. Those fools won't share their supplies with us, and even if they did, their reserves would be depleted quickly. After all, the Hidden Waterfall Village is a minor village."
Kitsuchi's eyes widened in sudden realization, and he gave a slow, thoughtful nod.
Onoki's lips curled into another dark smirk as he continued.
"But we are going to use them for the good of our village—by kidnapping their Jinchuriki."
Kitsuchi froze in place at Onoki's words, his voice trembling as he asked.
"Father, you can't be serious! If we do that, the other villages will move against us — we'll upset the balance of power. Our forces aren't nearly as strong as they were before the Third Ninja War."
Onoki looked at Kitsuchi in annoyance and started scolding him.
"Do you even have a brain in that skull of yours, Kitsuchi? Use it for once! Kirigakure is in civil war, Konoha has lost the blasted Yellow Flash and the cursed Uchiha clan, and they suffered devastating losses when the Kyubi rampaged ten years ago. Their current Jinchuriki is only a ten-year-old child."
"Konoha won't dare to move against us, even if they learn that we've kidnapped the Hidden Waterfall Village's Jinchuriki, because they are still recovering from their losses."
"Kumo is currently busy with their skirmishes against Konoha; this is our greatest opportunity to strengthen our village."
Kitsuchi fell silent at this, and Onoki continued, "After we eliminate the Konoha shinobi at the border, that monkey won't dare make a move against us, given his overly cautious nature."
Kitsuchi's lips curved into a cruel smirk and said to Onoki. "Father, this is truly a brilliant plan," he said, admiration lacing his voice.
Onoki nodded, then picked up a pen, wrote a letter, and handed it to Kitsuchi.
Onoki then said to Kitsuchi, "Send this letter to the Waterfall Village, and make sure Han and Roshi come to my office immediately."
With a dutiful nod, Kitsuchi seized the letter and strode out of the office, leaving silence in his wake.
____
With Yuma
While on watch duty, Yuma used the time to practice the second exercise of earth-nature transformation.
To complete this exercise, Yuma must coat both of her hands with earth-nature chakra and grab a fist-sized clump of earth without dropping any dirt.
Yuma had attempted this exercise many times over the past few days, but she still couldn't master it.
Yuma took a deep breath, gathering as much earth chakra as she could in her hands, then slammed them into the ground.
Both of her hands sank effortlessly into the ground. She maintained her earth-style chakra, and when she pulled them out, a fist-sized chunk of soil clung stubbornly to her palms.
A smile spread across Yuma's face when she noticed the fist-sized soil stubbornly sticking to her palms. 'At last', she whispered to herself, 'I've done it'.
"PA, PA, PA."
A sudden clap echoed behind Yuma. She turned to see Kaito Inuzuka, a Jonin of the Inuzuka clan, applauding her with an impressed smile.
"Impressive, Yuma-chan! Completing this Earth Nature Transformation exercise in just a few days… you're really talented," Kaito said.
With an elegant smile, Yuma turned to Kaito and said, "Thank you, Kaito-san."
Kaito felt his cheeks warm at Yuma's smile, captivated by her beauty.
Ding, the system detected that a Jounin rank shinobi admires host's beauty %100.
Yuma thought to herself, 'Great. If I have sex with him, I can finish the system quest faster.'
Yuma then took a storage scroll from her kunai pouch and unsealed its contents.
"PUFF."
With a white puff of smoke, a bottle of sake and two saucers materialized before them.
Yuma gave Kaito an alluring smile and said, "Kaito-san, would you care to share a drink with me?"
Kaito laughed lightly. Plopping down beside her, he said, "Why not? Sounds good to me."
Then Yuma and Kaito started drinking together.