"How about we go out for a walk together and help digest the food?"
Seeing that Kurotsuchi, who used to be full of energy, now looked so downcast, Aoba opened his mouth to invite her out for a stroll.
"Okay."
For once, Kurotsuchi didn't snap back at Aoba. She simply stood up.
Her mood was just a little complicated.
But after she changed into her coat and followed him out the door, this guy really acted as if he had only brought her out for a walk.
He didn't say a single word the whole way.
They were practically out of the Senju clan's territory, and he still hadn't said anything.
Even Kurotsuchi couldn't hold it in anymore.
She had originally thought he called her out because he had something he wanted to say to her before she left. After all, Aoba was the first friend she made after coming to Konoha.
Spending time alone with him at a moment like this, her feelings were extremely complicated.
And after coming out… it really was just a walk to digest food, huh?
Thud!
Kurotsuchi stomped hard on the ground, producing a dull sound that was clearly audible in the night, then stopped in her tracks.
Hearing the movement, Aoba also stopped and turned around, looking curiously at Kurotsuchi's displeased face, "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?"
Kurotsuchi sneered and repeated his words, gritting her teeth as she said, "You drag me out into the freezing night, was it really just for a walk?"
"Wasn't it because you can't bear to leave Konoha? I just wanted to let you take in Konoha's atmosphere one last time."
"..."
Kurotsuchi tilted her head up slightly, staring at him with a deep gaze, saying nothing.
With the dim surroundings, she almost looked like some kind of hell maiden.
"Cough! Cough! Alright! Alright! I'll stop teasing you."
Being stared at like that, Aoba naturally felt too embarrassed to keep messing with her.
To be honest, now that she was leaving, he was a little reluctant too.
After all, they had lived together day and night for so long. If she suddenly wasn't around at home anymore, he'd inevitably feel a bit unaccustomed.
"If I were you, since you can't bear to leave, why not just not go back?"
"Impossible!"
Kurotsuchi answered without hesitation. Although she had wavered a little while soaking in the hot springs earlier, she quickly reaffirmed her resolve.
"Becoming Tsuchikage, rebuilding Iwagakure, and making Iwagakure great again, that's been my dream since I was little."
"If your dream is to build up Iwagakure, I can help with that too."
As he spoke, Aoba started walking again.
Kurotsuchi hurried to keep up, walking side by side with him as she asked curiously, "How would you help?"
"Simple. Just like Sunagakure, have Iwagakure completely open up to Konoha, and then let Konoha take charge of developing it."
Black lines instantly filled Kurotsuchi's forehead, "Then wouldn't Iwagakure become Konoha's subordinate ninja village, just like Sunagakure?"
"What's wrong with that?"
Aoba smiled, "Just look at how well Sunagakure is developing now."
"You should know, Sunagakure used to be such a desolate place that even ninja hounds wouldn't go there. Now, just the monthly income from tourists alone equals what they used to earn in a whole year of mission fees. Add in the annual tax revenue from Konoha's commercial district, social order is stable, the people live and work in peace and contentment. Sunagakure is flourishing in every way."
"But they don't even have sovereignty over their own village!"
After listening to Aoba, Kurotsuchi did feel tempted for a split second, but she quickly snapped back to her senses.
"If Iwagakure became like Sunagakure, could it still be called Iwagakure? We might as well just rename it Konoha Branch of the Land of Earth."
"That's not a bad idea. After all, your environment in Iwagakure isn't much better than Sunagakure's."
Aoba nodded seriously, "Just change the name, and your villagers can all live prosperous lives from now on."
"Heh!"
Kurotsuchi couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
Right now, she really wanted to press her chubby little foot against this guy's face.
But according to Karin and the others, that might even count as a reward to him.
So she could only say expressionlessly, "Iwagakure isn't a defeated village. Even without Konoha's help, I can develop it."
"Is that so?"
Aoba wasn't surprised. He knew her competitive personality wouldn't allow her to agree. After a brief pause, he continued, "Do you know why your grandfather suddenly told you to go back and inherit the position of Tsuchikage?"
Kurotsuchi froze. She had long suspected this had something to do with him.
What he just said only confirmed it further. She just didn't know what exactly he had done.
So she probed, "Don't tell me you threatened that old man?"
But she quickly shook her head herself, denying the possibility, "That shouldn't be possible. That old man is stubborn. Even if it meant mutual destruction, he wouldn't yield to a simple threat of force."
"What if it was a threat to wipe out the village?", Aoba suddenly said.
"W-What?"
Kurotsuchi was clearly startled. Even in ninja wars, villages were merely defeated. She had never heard of wiping one out entirely.
"You could say it was a misunderstanding."
Aoba explained briefly, "A couple of days ago, I fought Uchiha Madara in Kumogakure. As a result, the entire village was flattened."
"Your grandfather thought I was killing the chicken to warn the monkey, worrying that Iwagakure would be next. So he had you, my rumored girlfriend, go back to inherit the Tsuchikage position."
"Kumogakure… was flattened?", Kurotsuchi muttered blankly.
She felt like she couldn't even understand what she was hearing.
What scale of ninjutsu would it take to flatten an entire ninja village?
"In any case, you'll know once you get back," Aoba didn't elaborate further.
"..."
Kurotsuchi bit her lip slightly. Although this guy often teased her, she knew he wouldn't joke about something like this, "Then… is your next target Iwagakure?"
"If Iwagakure doesn't choose to submit voluntarily, Konoha will use force."
Aoba didn't hide his intentions. This was something that had to be faced sooner or later.
Better to make it clear before she left.
"..."
Kurotsuchi said nothing more and fell silent.
After walking a bit further, she stopped again and spoke.
"Does it have to be this way..."
Her voice was filled with loneliness.
Because she suddenly realized that if Konoha really went to war with Iwagakure, whether they won or lost aside, the friends she had been shopping with, eating with, and soaking in the hot springs with today would be facing her on the battlefield tomorrow.
Just thinking about that made her chest ache.
"Konoha now controls Sunagakure and Kirigakure, and Kumogakure has completely lost the ability to resist. Do you really think I would let Iwagakure go?"
"...", For a moment, Kurotsuchi didn't know what to say.
There was no way Iwagakure could be a match for Konoha.
Looking at it this way, whether they submitted voluntarily or were forced to submit, Iwagakure would end up being absorbed by Konoha either way.
'Wait! Something feels off!'
In an instant, Kurotsuchi seemed to understand the true intention behind her grandfather making her return to inherit the Tsuchikage position.
'Could it be that he simply doesn't want to be the Tsuchikage who surrenders, so he hurriedly passed the title on to me?'
Kurotsuchi gradually pieced everything together.
'Damn it!'
'Even at a time like this, that old man is still scheming against his own granddaughter!'
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