Hualu Town, at the hot spring inn.
Kurenai Yuhi lay in the outdoor hot spring, wrapped in a towel, sipping sake with a look of contentment.
Since she had confessed her feelings to Shishou a few days ago, she no longer had to endure inner torment, and life suddenly felt wonderful.
Of course, she was still troubled about how to face Lady Tsunade in the future.
Lady Tsunade had saved her father's life, and now she was about to steal her man. This caused Kurenai a significant amount of psychological pressure.
Behind Kurenai, Sakura Haruno, also wrapped in a bathrobe, was massaging her teacher's shoulders.
Although Kurenai was very strict in her teaching, she never held back in what she taught, which made Sakura both afraid and grateful to her.
After all, she had heard about some civilian students who, under the guidance of certain jonin, only learned tree climbing and water walking techniques and nothing else.
Compared to them, Sakura felt incredibly lucky.
After enjoying Sakura's massage for a while and drinking some sake, Kurenai noticed Sakura's flushed face from the hot spring and felt a playful urge.
Pulling Sakura into her arms, Kurenai gently caressed her face and teased:
"Sakura, you're so pretty. You must be very popular with the boys."
"Do you have someone you like?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Kurenai realized she had asked a redundant question.
Given Sakura's behavior around the young Aburame boy, it was clear to Kurenai, as their teacher, where her affections lay.
Kurenai's sudden gentleness made Sakura a little uncomfortable. She curled up in Kurenai's arms and, recalling the image of Shishou unmasking and the scene of him treating her earlier today, her face turned even redder.
Under Kurenai's pressure, Sakura covered her flushed face and murmured:
"Yes, I do, Kurenai-sensei."
Seeing Sakura's adorable reaction, Kurenai traced circles on her body and advised:
"The Aburame boy is quite a flirt. Even though you're on the same team, I've heard he's close with the Hyuga and Yamanaka heiresses. You should be prepared..."
"If possible, you might want to consider someone else. With your status, you can't compete with those two unless you're willing to accept sharing him."
As Shishou's teacher, Kurenai was well aware of his relationships with Hinata Hyuga and Ino Yamanaka.
Within just a month, these two girls had actively sought out Shishou multiple times.
Given Sakura's civilian status, she stood no chance against the heiresses of the Hyuga and Yamanaka clans.
Hearing her teacher's advice, Sakura bit her lip.
In the ninja academy, few girls pursued Shishou mainly because Hinata and Ino were always by his side, preventing other girls from getting close to him.
With their beauty and status, these two girls suppressed any competition from other classmates.
Because of their vigilance, other girls had no choice but to turn their attention to Sasuke.
Otherwise, with Shishou's handsome appearance and strong abilities, he would have attracted even more girls than Sasuke.
Thinking of this, Sakura's heart sank.
Seeing Sakura's dejected expression, Kurenai suddenly felt she shouldn't have said those things.
So, she quickly changed the subject:
"Sakura, let sensei check your injuries and development."
As she spoke, Kurenai began to pull at Sakura's towel.
Seeing Kurenai's actions, Sakura's attention was immediately diverted. She clutched her towel tightly and said in surprise:
"Sensei, I'm already healed."
Kurenai held Sakura in her arms and teased, "We're both women, what's the harm in looking?"
Sakura's face turned crimson as she continued to hold her ground, "But..."
"What, you're not going to listen to your teacher?"
"No... no."
"I've heard that men prefer bigger sizes. The one you like probably isn't an exception. Sensei can help you with that."
"...Alright."
...
Nighttime.
Inside the bandit camp that had been wiped out.
Swish!
A figure appeared, and Shishou once again arrived at the camp.
"No point in wasting these."
Looking at the corpses scattered around, Shishou muttered to himself.
Then, with a wave of his hand, a large swarm of parasitic insects flew out from his insect breeding space and swarmed over the dead bandits, beginning to devour and reproduce.
While the insects feasted on the corpses, Shishou walked into the main hall of the bandit camp, heading to a corner of the room.
He felt around the corner and pressed on a specific brick.
Rumble~
The sound of mechanisms turning echoed, and a hidden underground passage appeared before Shishou.
"There really is a secret passage."
Seeing the entrance, Shishou smirked.
He had suspected something was off here during the day, but with Kurenai watching, he hadn't mentioned it, intending to investigate further at night.
Sending a clone down the passage to check, Shishou followed after ensuring it was safe.
Passing through the tunnel, he entered a spacious underground room.
Shishou looked around and saw several empty chests scattered on the floor, and beside them, a highly decomposed bandit corpse with its head separated from its body.
The sight and the stench made Shishou frown.
"The swordsmanship is sharp; the deceased had no chance to resist."
A glance at the marks around the corpse told Shishou that the person had been killed by a ninja or a samurai.
Only a highly skilled ninja or samurai could execute such a swift kill on a fierce bandit, preventing any resistance.
Shishou could easily guess the reason behind this situation.
In the ninja world, it was not uncommon for powerful samurai or ninjas to secretly control a band of bandits, using them to rob civilians and merchants for profit.
When their bandits were exposed to one of the five great ninja villages,
These ninjas or samurai would preemptively kill those who knew too much, erasing any trace of their involvement before returning to their village or seeking new opportunities in other countries.
This way, even the five great ninja villages couldn't track them down, and the matter would eventually be dropped.
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This fanfiction is complete on my P@treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at p@treon.com/Betek. change @ to a