Before the voice behind him had even faded, a woman had already rushed up behind Uchiha Yuzuru.
Her fist clenched tight, she swung it fiercely toward him.
Yuzuru merely turned gracefully, effortlessly evading the strike. At the same time, he raised his hand and seized her wrist.
Then, with a light sweep of his leg, her body was sent flying.
Bang!
In a blur before their eyes, Yuzuru had already pinned the woman to the ground—her arms twisted behind her back, one knee pressing her down.
Only after the situation was fully under control did Samui, Yugito, and Yugao Uzuki realize what had just happened.
Samui and Yugito drew their weapons, glaring coldly at the woman on the ground.
Yugao, on the other hand, dropped to her knees in panic, completely at a loss.
Though restrained, the woman continued to shout, "You perverted freak, let go of me!"
"You go around bullying women all day long—don't think I'll let this slide!"
"Yugao, don't just stand there! Hurry up and help me!"
Her voice snapped Yugao back to her senses. She cried out anxiously, "Anko, shut up! How could you dare attack Lord Yuzuru?!"
"Lord Yuzuru?" Mitarashi Anko froze for a moment, a trace of fear rising in her heart.
Slowly, stiffly, she turned her head—and saw the face that had appeared countless times in her dreams.
"L-Lord Yuzuru?!"
Only then did Anko realize just how catastrophic her mistake was.
Uchiha Yuzuru stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world, a legendary powerhouse revered by countless people.
Attacking him…
Even execution would be considered lenient.
"I've read your file. Your name is Mitarashi Anko, correct?"
"Missing the assembly time is one thing—but daring to sneak attack me from behind? Now that's interesting…"
With that, Yuzuru released her and stood up.
Anko immediately dropped to her knees, flustered as she explained, "Lord Yuzuru, it's not like that! Earlier today, some pervert dressed exactly like you—with the same build—snatched my dango!"
At this point, she no longer cared about embarrassment and recounted everything that had happened on the commercial street in detail.
After hearing it, Yuzuru let out a cold laugh. "So what you're saying is… I, Uchiha Yuzuru, stole food covered in your saliva just to eat it?"
"No, no! That's not what I meant!" Anko waved her hands frantically. "I just mistook you for someone else!"
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Yuzuru felt a great deal more satisfied.
A sharp-tongued brat like this needed a lesson now and then.
Samui and Yugito had respected Yuzuru since childhood, so Samui asked coldly, "Lord Yuzuru, should we kill her?"
Uzuki turned pale with fear. "Lord Yuzuru, Anko didn't mean it! Please forgive her this once!"
As she spoke, she pulled Anko down with her, both bowing until their foreheads touched the ground.
Yuzuru waved his hand lightly. "That's enough. Just be more careful in the future. I'm not some bloodthirsty maniac."
At that, both Uzuki and Anko froze.
You're not a bloodthirsty maniac?
Is there anyone in the ninja world who's killed more people than you?
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and thank Lord Yuzuru!"
Snapped out of it by Samui's rebuke, Anko and Uzuki hurriedly thanked him again and again.
For a moment, they were overwhelmed by a sense of surviving a disaster.
But before they could truly relax, Yuzuru spoke again. "Anko, as one of the Four-Person Guard, your performance today leaves me very dissatisfied."
"I'll ask you just one thing. What do you think your duty is?"
Anko answered without hesitation, "Reporting to Lord Yuzuru—doing whatever you tell me to do!"
A smile finally appeared on Yuzuru's face. "Anko, you really are a genius. I've never heard an answer this satisfying. Your IQ has to be over 160! You can stay."
Anko beamed with joy. "Thank you, Lord Yuzuru! I'll work hard!"
"But no matter what, you were late—and you also attacked me. So how about this…"
"Tonight, we're going out for fried chicken. Your treat."
Hearing that, Anko nodded miserably.
Today, she'd not only run into a pervert who stole her dango, nearly lost her life, but now her wallet was doomed too…
It was all that damn pervert's fault. If she hadn't run into him, she wouldn't have chased him all over the place. If she hadn't done that, an Anbu wouldn't have lost track of her. If an Anbu hadn't lost track of her, she wouldn't have missed the assembly…
In short!
Anko ground her teeth in fury. 'Damn pervert—don't let me ever run into you again!'
————
————
Winter passed, spring arrived, and time came to Konoha Year Sixty-One.
Thanks to the efforts of Uchiha Fugaku and the others, all planning within the Land of Fire had been completed.
The era of grand infrastructure officially began!
Konoha had long since been rebuilt into a bustling metropolis. Benefiting from its exceptional geographic position, it was now on par with the Hidden Cloud Village.
Yuzuru sat fishing by the lake, an empty fish basket at his feet.
Just as he was considering whether he should jump into the river and grab one by hand, Uzuki—with her flowing purple hair—appeared before him.
"Lord Yuzuru, it's getting late. Give the fish some time to digest, won't you?"
After three months by his side, Uzuki, Anko, Samui, and Yugito had all grown familiar with how Yuzuru behaved in everyday interactions.
So now, joking around felt completely natural.
Hearing Uzuki's teasing, Yuzuru raised an eyebrow. "Don't talk nonsense. I'm just not in the zone today. And it's a bit cold. Plus I didn't sleep well last night…"
At his words, Uzuki's eyes curved into crescents as she covered her mouth and laughed without replying.
Seeing this, Yuzuru snorted. "Don't think fishing is easy. If you don't believe me, try it yourself."
"I will, then." Uzuki bent her knees and sat beside him, grabbed a hook and some line, and casually tied them to a dry tree branch.
"Lord Yuzuru, um…"
"Don't look at me. I'm out of bait."
"Oh." Uzuki responded softly, then bent down and plucked a small blade of grass, tying it to the hook.
Less than ten seconds after tossing it into the water, a half-meter-long fish came thrashing out.
"Ahhh!!! Lord Yuzuru, look!!!"
A look of sudden enlightenment appeared on Yuzuru's face. He shook his finger at Uzuki and the fish still flopping on the ground.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!!!"