Chapter 475: Time for Romance
After leaving Akino Atsumi, Ishiro once again headed for the River Village.
This time, however, he wasn't going alone. He brought with him fifty students from the Ninja Academy. These students were the first batch of exchange students from Iwagakure to the River Village.
Some time had passed since the joint Chunin Exams in the Land of Rivers, and most of the tourists had left. The River Village had returned to its former tranquility.
However, you could see the faces of every civilian and ninja in the village beaming with excited smiles.
Because tomorrow, their leader would no longer be called "leader," but would be granted the title of "Kage." This had been recognized by the Five—no, the Six Great Shinobi Villages. Their River Village was now the sixth.
Ishiro was received by Konan. Yahiko and Nagato had used the excuse of being busy to give the task of welcoming Ishiro to her.
Looking at the civilians of the River Village, Ishiro said to Konan, "Konan, your efforts were worth it. I can see the recognition for you all on the villagers' faces."
Konan nodded, just as happy as everyone else. But her happiness was because the Akatsuki's ideals had finally been recognized; so many years of hard work had not been in vain.
Konan led Ishiro to the Ninja Academy and personally arranged the enrollment and accommodation for the fifty students he had brought. Since these students had no family in the River Village, a dormitory was prepared for them near the academy, and dedicated staff were assigned to look after them.
After settling the children, Ishiro said to Konan, "Konan, show me around. I didn't get to see everything last time before the war interrupted."
Konan's face turned slightly red. She looked away, pretending to be nonchalant. "Alright."
Accompanied by Konan, Ishiro strolled leisurely through the River Village, occasionally telling her about the foolish things his disciples had done over the years.
For example, the untold stories of Riori Uzumaki and her shadow clones.
For example, Shinya Matsutani's ninken, Kohana.
For example, his own sister Natsuki, who was always trying to be lazy.
Throughout the walk, Konan's laughter never stopped.
Not far behind them, Yahiko and Nagato were stealthily following.
Konan was so engrossed in Ishiro's stories, and her guard was down in her own village, so she didn't notice the two of them.
Ishiro, on the other hand, had noticed them long ago. But out of respect for his two teammates who were constantly providing him with assists, he hadn't exposed them.
Yahiko whispered to Nagato, "Nagato, can you hear what they're saying? Why is Konan laughing so happily?"
Nagato said, "Yahiko, isn't it wrong for us to eavesdrop like this? Konan will be angry if she finds out."
Yahiko replied, "Then we just won't let her find out. She hasn't noticed us, right?"
Nagato said, "But Ishiro noticed us long ago. What if he tells her?"
Yahiko thought for a moment. "Like you said, Ishiro noticed us long ago, but he hasn't said anything. If he didn't say anything before, he won't say anything later."
So, the two agreed to continue following.
"Hey, where did they go?" Yahiko whispered.
In the few moments they had been discussing, Ishiro and Konan had vanished.
Nagato shook his head. "I wasn't paying attention."
In a deserted corner just ahead, Ishiro had pulled Konan into a small alley. He faced her, pinning her against the wall.
Konan, blushing, tried to push him away, but Ishiro pressed a finger to his own lips in a "shush" gesture, then pointed toward the main street.
Curious, Konan forced herself to ignore their strange position and focused on the street.
Soon, Yahiko and Nagato appeared, sneaking past the intersection.
Ishiro released Konan, and the two of them quickly stepped out behind their friends.
Konan roared, "Yahiko! Nagato! Didn't you two say you had official business?"
Hearing Konan's voice behind them, the two men froze. They turned around awkwardly to see Konan glaring at them, red-faced, and Ishiro wearing an expression of utter disbelief.
Yahiko and Nagato immediately understood: they had been sold out by Ishiro. He had known they were there all along but was now feigning surprise.
Just as Yahiko was about to drag Ishiro down with him, Ishiro spoke. "Yahiko, Nagato, are you on patrol?"
Yahiko paused, then immediately latched on. "Yes! The ceremony is tomorrow. I was worried there might be problems, so Nagato and I came out to patrol."
Konan snorted, clearly not buying the excuse. But with the image of Ishiro's kabe-don still fresh in her mind, she felt a bit guilty herself and decided to let them off the hook.
Seeing Konan had calmed down, Nagato quickly changed the subject. "Ishiro, let's go get something to eat."
Ishiro nodded eagerly. "Great idea! I haven't had a chance to properly try the River Village's specialty cuisine."
Yahiko immediately jumped in. "I know the best place! I'm good friends with the owner. Let's go now."
Of course he was friends with the owner; he had planned the entire layout of the River Village. He had personally arranged almost every shop on the food street.
The three men quickly settled the itinerary, successfully changing the subject without giving Konan a chance to interject.
The four of them arrived at a private room in a restaurant. Yahiko and Nagato quickly sat down on the same side, and Ishiro, feigning helplessness, pulled Konan to sit with him.
At the table, Yahiko couldn't resist asking, "Ishiro, what were you saying to Konan earlier? She was laughing so happily!"
Nagato immediately lowered his head to his food. This idiot teammate.
Sure enough, Konan's face instantly turned bright red, and her clothes began to transform into paper, as if she were about to blow up everyone in the room.
Ishiro quickly said, "We were talking about you, Yahiko! About how you're always foolishly making Konan angry."
Hearing this, Konan snorted and lowered her head to eat.
Yahiko, however, broke out in a cold sweat.
The meal finally ended without incident.
After eating, Yahiko and Nagato shamelessly ran off again, leaving Ishiro to face the nearly-erupting Konan alone.
Seeing the two flee, Ishiro reached out and took Konan's hand. "Konan, thank you for showing me around today."
"I'd like to invite you to visit Iwagakure. Would you? Just you, without Yahiko and Nagato."
"Huh?" Konan was caught off guard. The paper-like transformation of her clothes halted, and they returned to normal.
Ishiro pressed, "Konan, you don't want to?"
"Ah? I... I do. No, I mean..." Konan tried to explain in a fluster, but thinking about his words, they weren't that ambiguous, so she didn't know where to start. She was getting anxious.
"Konan!" Ishiro called her name softly.
"Hm?" Konan paused and looked at him.
Then, Ishiro suddenly leaned in.
Mwah.
While she was still stunned, Ishiro kissed her.
After the kiss, seeing she was still in a daze, he cupped her face and kissed her again.
Konan's heart was in complete chaos. Her hands flailed in the air a couple of times. Not knowing what to do, she simply closed her eyes.
Just as Ishiro was getting into it, two heads suddenly peeked into the private room.
This time, Konan sensed them. She blushed furiously and shoved Ishiro away.
Exploding tags continuously manifested from her body, shooting toward the three of them.
Ishiro, Yahiko, and Nagato fled in disgrace.
The next day, amidst a sea of cheers, Yahiko ascended to the roof of the tallest building in the River Village. He put on a white kasa with the character for "Dawn" (暁) and donned a cloak bearing the words "First Akatsukikage."
Ishiro, Nagato, and Konan stood in the crowd, cheering for him, shouting along with everyone else: "Akatsukikage! Akatsukikage! Akatsukikage!"
Originally, Ishiro had thought Yahiko would be called the "Kage of the River," and Yahiko had the same idea. But the Daimyo of the Land of Rain had disagreed, so in the end, they settled on "Akatsukikage"—neither "River" nor "Rain," offending no one.
The coronation was brief, and Yahiko's speech wasn't long, but the spontaneous celebration lasted the entire day.
Ishiro pulled Konan along and played all day. Whenever he found a chance, he would steal a kiss, and he almost never let go of her hand.
Just like that, Konan muddle-headedly established her relationship with Ishiro.
The next day, Ishiro took Konan and fifty students from the River Village's Ninja Academy and headed for Iwagakure.
Before leaving, Nagato gave Ishiro a gift.
"The Executioner's Blade?" Ishiro was surprised.
Yahiko explained, "Ishiro, to get Kirigakure to participate in the Chunin Exams, you deliberately offered the Blast Sword Shibuki as a prize. Now that a Kiri candidate has won it, it must be difficult for you to explain back in your village. Nagato remembered Jūzō Biwa's old Executioner's Blade, so we thought you could take it back to appease your high command."
Ishiro nodded and didn't refuse, accepting the unexpected gift.
After bidding farewell to Yahiko and Nagato, Ishiro and Konan left for Iwagakure.
Konan hadn't wanted to leave them, but the three men had already conspired. With their combined persuasion, they quickly made the decision for her. Thus, Konan became the official in charge of escorting the River Village's students.
On the way there, Ishiro had used his Porcelain and Light/Heavy Boulder Techniques to fly the group of children directly, arriving in less than a day.
But on the way back, he walked with everyone.
Konan was still worried about Yahiko and Nagato. If they flew, their time together would be short. He had just gotten her to muddle-headedly confirm their relationship; he couldn't start a long-distance relationship immediately.
As a transmigrator, Ishiro applied the thick-skinned, shamelessly persistent tactics of his previous life to Konan.
Before long, all the children on the trip could see their relationship. At their age, they loved to tease and play matchmaker. Their methods were clumsy, but their intentions were pure, so Konan couldn't bring herself to scold them. As a result, they were even more effective than Yahiko and Nagato.
Ishiro deliberately slowed their pace, and the journey took over ten days. During this time, their feelings for each other warmed up quickly. Konan no longer resisted their private kisses and hugs and was even willing to publicly acknowledge her relationship with Ishiro in front of the children.
But all good things must come to an end. No matter how much Ishiro dragged his feet, they eventually arrived at Iwagakure.
After arranging for the fifty children, Konan was anxious to return to the River Village.
Ishiro used Kanako as an excuse, but only managed to make her stay one more day.
However, Ishiro refused to let her go back alone. He shamelessly flew back to the Land of Rivers with her. Ishiro used his Light/Heavy Boulder Technique, and Konan flew with her Paper Release.
Ishiro felt this was too awkward, so he created a porcelain platform and had Konan sit beside him.
The two of them sat nestled together, quietly enjoying the rare moment of peace.
Suddenly, Konan sat up straight and asked, "Ishiro, can your Porcelain Release carry fifty people?"
A thin layer of sweat broke out on Ishiro's forehead. He stammered, "I-It probably can."
Konan eyed him sideways for a moment. "Hmph. 'Probably can.' You probably used your Porcelain Release to fly your village's fifty students to the River Village, didn't you?"
Ishiro's sweating intensified.
Konan was about to say more, but Ishiro suddenly looked behind her. Startled, she quickly turned around, but there was nothing there.
She turned back. "What was... mmmph..."
He had kissed her again.
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