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Oh it smells so good...
This was Izuna's first thought after hugging Uzumaki Mito.
Immediately afterward, the more he noticed the fragrance, the tighter he held her. Eventually, his chin pressed against Mito's shoulder, and his breath, warm against her neck and shoulders, sent a shiver through her. Mito's body became more numb and soft with every breath that touched her skin.
If Izuna hadn't been holding her waist, she would have collapsed to the ground.
Uzumaki Mito was utterly confused at this point, her thoughts scattered, and for a moment, she didn't know where to place her hands, which Izuna had just released.
Feeling the warmth of his breath and the brush of his chin against her neck, Mito's legs weakened, and she practically melted into his arms. Instinctively, her hands found their way to Izuna's waist.
After what felt like an eternity, Izuna loosened his grip slightly, tilting his head so their foreheads touched, the distance between them shrinking by the second.
Mito's face turned as red as an apple, her breath caught in her throat, and her intoxicated gaze locked on Izuna's eyes, which were coming closer and closer.
Just as their lips were mere millimeters apart, Mito suddenly snapped out of her daze. With all her strength, she pushed Izuna away, shouting, "No! No! No, no!"
Caught off guard, Izuna stumbled back a few steps, releasing her in the process.
"...I'm sorry."
Those were the only words Izuna could manage to say.
Uzumaki Mito didn't respond. She turned around immediately, adjusting her kimono, which had become disheveled.
Her neck still tingled from where Izuna's breath had touched it, a sensation that lingered even after she pulled her collar up. The atmosphere between them had grown unbearably awkward.
That night, Izuna managed to sleep for half the night, but Mito remained awake the entire time, her heart racing.
I can't fall for him... No, it's impossible! He's an Uchiha!
I'm an Uzumaki, an ally of the Senju! There's no way I could be with him!
All night long, Mito wrestled with these thoughts in her mind.
When the first rays of sunlight finally broke through the trees, Mito, exhausted from her inner turmoil, felt a wave of sleepiness wash over her.
But now, it was already time to set out.
Seeing Mito's face, worn from lack of rest, Izuna's eyes flickered with something unreadable as he said, "You can sleep a little longer."
Mito glanced at him sideways for a long moment before her lips parted slightly. "Aren't you in a hurry?"
Of course, Izuna was in a hurry. The war between Uchiha and Senju had already begun, and his Mangekyō Sharingan was nearing a critical point in its usage.
His current eyesight was deteriorating, equivalent to severe nearsightedness in modern terms.
The tailed beasts needed to be captured quickly to make up for the loss in combat power.
But after what happened the previous night, Izuna's attitude toward Mito had subtly shifted.
Seeing how tired she looked, he felt a strange pang of discomfort in his chest and subconsciously said, "The information from my scouts says the Two-Tails was spotted nearby, so there's no need to rush. You can sleep a bit longer."
Mito wasn't sure if Izuna was telling the truth or not, but after spending the night fighting with her own thoughts, she didn't want to argue with him. She leaned against a dead tree, turned to her side, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Izuna raised the index and middle fingers of both hands, forming the cross seal. "Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
In one breath, five shadow clones appeared and headed off in different directions.
Izuna's current target was the Two-Tailed Matatabi, one of the tailed beasts that would later become part of Kumogakure. Like the Eight-Tails, Matatabi was a formidable creature.
While the Three-Tails had been confirmed to be in the southeastern coastal area of the Land of Fire, capturing it had become unrealistic after their last encounter. The Senju and Uzumaki clans had been alerted, so Izuna shifted his focus to the Two-Tails instead.
After sending his clones to search, Izuna sat cross-legged and began practicing senjutsu chakra.
He hadn't made much progress with the technique since he started, and he had been tempted more than once to give it up altogether.
But this was his only method of counteracting the negative effects of his Mangekyō Sharingan, and he had no other option.
As Izuna refined his chakra, Mito, who had been lightly sleeping, slowly opened her eyes. She caught a glimpse of Izuna, sitting with his back to her, channeling chakra.
She tried to close her eyes and go back to sleep, but she couldn't stop herself from glancing over again.
Really! I don't care what he's doing! Just sleep! Go to sleep!
With this in mind, Mito repeatedly opened and closed her eyes several times before finally blurting out, "You're refining chakra wrong! Doing it this way will get you nowhere, or worse, you'll stagnate!"
"Huh?" Izuna, who was in the middle of refining his senjutsu chakra, turned his head toward Mito, surprised by her sudden outburst. Although he wanted to ask, "Aren't you going to sleep?", he thought better of it and, instead, asked, "So what should I do?"
Mito stood up, walked over to him, and pursed her lips before asking, "Where did you learn this method of chakra cultivation?"
"On an island north of the Land of Waves," Izuna answered without hesitation. He explained how he had gone to Sage Island and stolen the secret scrolls used by the Jūgo clan to practice senjutsu.
"You, the deputy leader of the Uchiha clan, actually went and stole another clan's secret techniques? That's a first."
Mito raised an eyebrow, a teasing tone in her voice.
Izuna half-closed his eyes, "No need for sarcasm. Can you help or not?"
Mito crossed her arms, a reluctant look on her face. "I'd need to see the method you're using first… but never mind. I don't care."
Despite her words, Izuna handed her the stolen scrolls without hesitation.
Mito was surprised at how easily he handed over something so valuable. Her thoughts momentarily conflicted, she unrolled the scroll and began to read every word carefully.
Two hours later, she looked up from the scroll, an inexplicable frustration on her face. "You're insane for practicing such a dangerous technique. Even people from the Jūgo clan can barely control sage chakra. One mistake and you'll suffer a mental breakdown, or worse—death."
Izuna smiled faintly. He could hear the underlying concern in her voice, though it was buried beneath her complaint.
Seeing his smile, Mito felt a jolt in her chest. She threw the scroll back at him and, after a brief silence, muttered, "Our Uzumaki sealing techniques can suppress chakra. If you want, I could help you control the chakra if things go wrong."
(End of the Chapter).
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