"What Did You Just Say?"
"What? Didn't you hear me clearly?"
Kurenai tilted her head slightly, eyes bright.
"I said—I want to live with you, Shiki-nii!"
For a moment, Shiki thought he might've misheard.
Seeing his reaction, Kurenai leaned in and repeated it, her tone even more intimate than before.
But...
"What about your own tent?" Shiki asked flatly.
It wasn't like the Konoha camp was so poor that they couldn't spare a tent for a jōnin.
"I don't want to go!" Kurenai replied instantly.
"..."
"Your answer is really straightforward," Shiki muttered.
Looking at Kurenai Yūhi standing there without the slightest bit of hesitation, Shiki couldn't help rolling his eyes.
"Oops! It's fine~"
She waved her hand casually. Unlike Shiki's speechless reaction, Kurenai looked completely natural about it.
"Anyway, Tsunade-sama won't be here for a while, right? I'll take care of you instead, Shiki-nii!"
As she spoke, her eyes sparkled as she looked at him expectantly.
"I think you should focus on taking care of yourself more, Kurenai," Shiki replied dryly.
Damn… there's definitely something wrong with this girl, he thought.
Of course, Shiki understood what she was implying. This was a battlefield camp, not some peaceful village street and he had absolutely no intention of crossing that line. At least, not now.
"Some things…" Shiki paused briefly.
"…can wait until after the war. After we return to Konoha."
He decided to brush it off for now. Whatever problems came later—that would be future Shiki's headache.
"Really?"
The moment his words fell, Kurenai's face lit up with joy.
Shiki hadn't even processed why she was so happy when she suddenly spoke again, smiling brightly.
"Promise me, Shiki-nii! When we return to Konoha… you'll be with me!"
Before he could answer, she turned and trotted out of the tent.
She didn't give him any chance to refuse.
"This girl…"
"…How did she even turn out like this?"
Inside the tent, silence lingered for a while.
Then Shiki let out a small chuckle.
He wasn't stupid—how could he not understand what Kurenai meant?
Shaking his head with a faint smile, his thoughts drifted to Tsunade.
He missed her.
They'd been together almost every day back in Konoha.
And this wasn't an anime—this was a real battlefield.
Without any so-called plot armor, even someone as strong as Tsunade could be injured by a sneak attack.
Still… Shiki trusted her strength.
At the same time—
Far away in Konoha, things were far more lively.
"Damn it! That Shiki is getting way too presumptuous!"
Shiki's reply had already been transmitted back to the village.
Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat expressionless behind his desk, staring at the ANBU kneeling before him.
"Did Shiki really say that?" the Third Hokage asked calmly.
"Y-Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The ANBU's heart nearly stopped from nervousness.
Why does it always feel like an S-rank mission whenever I relay his messages…
"He also said…" the ANBU hesitated, then forced himself to continue,
"…that if Hokage-sama is dissatisfied with him not following orders, then Hokage-sama should personally go to the battlefield and fight Kumogakure."
"..."
The office fell silent.
Koharu and Mito Homura, who were already furious, grew even angrier.
"This is a threat!" Koharu snapped.
"Hiruzen! You must severely punish Shiki this time!"
Their anger wasn't just about Shiki's words—it was about authority.
They felt their power, their long-held status, being openly challenged.
Hiruzen didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he waved a hand at the ANBU.
"You may withdraw."
"Yes!"
The ANBU didn't hesitate for even a second and vanished instantly, finally able to breathe.
Only the Third Hokage, Koharu, and Homura remained.
"Hiruzen! You—"
"Enough," Sarutobi Hiruzen interrupted sharply.
Then he looked at them coldly.
"After punishing Shiki… can either of you replace him on the battlefield against Kumogakure?"
Silence.
Their expressions stiffened.
Hiruzen's temples throbbed.
Do they even think?
If it were that simple, Shiki would've been dealt with years ago.
Shiki wasn't the White Fang.
The same methods wouldn't work.
And the fact that Shiki had dared to act against Sarutobi Shinnosuke proved one thing clearly—
If pushed far enough, Shiki wouldn't hesitate to point his blade at Konoha itself.
"That's unacceptable," Koharu insisted.
"The authority of Konoha's elders must not be challenged!"
"Disobedient subordinates like Shiki must be punished!" Homura echoed.
Their voices overlapped, one after another.
Hiruzen pressed his fingers to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
Please… just stop talking.
"Fine," he said at last.
"We'll discuss punishment after the war."
Konoha needed Shiki's power too much right now.
Still—Shiki daring to openly defy orders wasn't something Hiruzen had forgotten.
"When this war ends… I'll deal with Shiki."
Such an unstable factor couldn't be left alone forever.
"Hm."
Satisfied, Koharu and Homura nodded.
What they didn't know was—
By the time the Third Great Ninja War ended, Shiki would be ready too.
And when that time came, he wouldn't be the one being dealt with.
"By the way," Hiruzen added suddenly,
"Any movement from Kirigakure?"
Shiki had claimed that the Hidden Mist would declare war.
"No," Homura replied dismissively.
"The Mist Village is behaving as usual."
"Hmph. What does Shiki know?" Koharu scoffed.
"There's no way Kirigakure will declare war now."
"That's good," Hiruzen said quietly.
As long as the Hidden Mist stayed out of it, everything else was manageable.
On the battlefield between Kumogakure and Konoha—
It had been three or four days since the Third Raikage led his forces in an all-out assault on the Konoha camp.
Since then, things had rarely settled down.
After all...
The Third Raikage had lost an arm.
And Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, had been captured by Shiki.
Even someone as reckless as the Third Raikage couldn't act without planning now.
"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!"
Inside Kumogakure's command tent, the Third Raikage slammed his single fist down onto the table.
The sheer fury radiating from him made even his son, A, stay silent.
"Is there still no news?!"
"Any way to rescue Yugito?!"
If it were anyone else, he might've let it go.
But Yugito was Kumogakure's Two-Tails jinchūriki.
He would not abandon her.
"I'm sorry, Lord Third Raikage," a shinobi replied shakily.
"Other than confirming she was captured… we know nothing else."
Shiki had placed Yugito under heavy guard—people he personally trusted.
Even with spies in Konoha, Kumogakure needed time to locate her.
"Bang—!"
The table shattered under the Raikage's strike.
The room fell dead silent.
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