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Nighttime.
Jin jumped out of the room's window.
"Shiro."
He called out, and a small, beady-eyed snake poked out from his collar.
He had left a tracking mark on Sakumo.
Just telling on him wouldn't be enough; he needed concrete evidence.
For this, he had even devised a special ninjutsu to gather evidence.
"Shiro, where did he go?"
Jin asked.
Shiro's tail extended, sniffing the air with its nearly invisible nose, and then began to guide Jin.
Jin followed Shiro's direction.
"Once I have the evidence, let's see how you'll keep provoking me."
Jin gritted his teeth, feeling provoked by Sakumo's behavior.
Normally, this kind of behavior was his specialty.
But it required strength to back it up. If you didn't have the strength, you'd end up in a situation like his now.
However, with the evidence in hand, the situation might change.
Following Shiro's guidance, Jin wandered through the city streets.
But as he looked at the tightly shut doors of the shops and the deserted roads,
Jin's brow furrowed slightly.
Does this city even have a place to drink and have fun?
After circling around for a while,
Jin stood silently in front of a place, lost in thought.
"Shiro."
Shiro looked up at him with its beady eyes, tilting its head in confusion.
"Why did you bring me back here?"
Shiro looked up at the inn in front of them, scratching its head with the tip of its tail.
This place didn't seem familiar to it.
To Shiro, places all looked the same.
Jin sighed, realizing he couldn't rely on this little dumb snake.
Shiro's intelligence was somewhat lacking; it only found people by following scents.
A clattering sound broke the silence as a window above him opened.
If Jin remembered correctly, that was Sakumo's room!
Sure enough,
Sakumo stuck his head out, looking at Jin in confusion as if he didn't know what was going on.
"What are you doing out here so late?"
"Heh." Jin chuckled twice as he looked up at Sakumo. "Weren't you supposed to be out having a good time?"
"This small place doesn't have anywhere like that. If you want to go, you should've said so earlier. Next time we're in a bigger city, I'll take you."
Sakumo smiled at Jin, but to Jin, that smile seemed incredibly devious.
It was the smile of a true trickster.
At that moment, Sakumo waved a piece of clothing from above.
It was the one Jin had marked.
So, he had been found out.
Jin gritted his teeth but said nothing.
"Come on, head back to bed."
Sakumo withdrew his head and closed the window.
Jin looked up at the sky, where the bright moon hung in the heavens, the stars dotting the sky.
He felt like giving up.
The difference in strength was too great.
Sakumo, you're really despicable!
...
Konoha.
The two had already spotted the shadow of Konoha's gate in the distance.
They soon reached the gate.
Two figures in green vests stood at the entrance, bored, gazing out into the distance.
Although Konoha had a barrier, shinobi were still needed to guard the gate.
And at minimum, they were special jōnin, serving as the face of Konoha.
When Sakumo appeared in their sight, the two gatekeepers couldn't believe their eyes and rubbed them in disbelief.
Once they confirmed who was approaching them,
Both of them screamed simultaneously.
"Sakumo-sama has returned!"
Jin, following behind, watched the two men impassively, wondering how such rough male voices could produce such sharp sounds.
As the sound echoed outward,
A rumbling noise suddenly erupted.
Sakumo watched as a crowd began to gather, with shinobi even appearing from the rooftops, all in silence.
Finally, he spoke.
"Maybe you should head back."
"Goodbye."
Jin's figure was already behind the two gatekeepers.
He had been wanting to get away from Sakumo for a long time.
The gatekeepers didn't even notice Jin's presence.
Jin just watched as Sakumo was quickly swallowed up by the crowd, with the gatekeepers among them.
Soon, Sakumo was hoisted up by the crowd, who began to carry him into the village.
Jin quietly stepped aside.
"Sakumo-sama!"
"Sakumo-sama!"
"Konoha's White Fang!"
The crowd's chants grew louder and louder.
Deafening.
It was Konoha's welcome for Sakumo's return, a show of their warm admiration for him.
But,
Jin looked up at the distant Hokage's office, the tallest building visible from here.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen is still alive."
The more beloved Sakumo was in Konoha, the more harm it would do to the Hokage.
Jin's gaze seemed to pierce through all obstacles.
In his mind, he saw a figure standing at the window of the Hokage's office.
Watching the crowd gather, and Sakumo being surrounded by admirers, with an expressionless face.
It was, The Third Hokage. Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Jin had no interest in getting involved in the village's political struggles.
After all, opposing the Uchiha was the current political correctness among the higher-ups.
As an Uchiha himself, getting involved would be courting death.
As for the title of genius, Konoha had never been short of geniuses.
Jin headed straight home. When he stepped through the door, he was met with a scene that made him sigh in exasperation.
"Meowth!!!"
Jin suddenly yelled.
His shout startled all the cats in the house.
Yes, his home had been turned into a cat haven, with cats everywhere in sight.
Then, the sound of meowing filled the air.
"The human is back. Is he going to kick us out?"
"Stupid human, the Cat Boss will kick him out. Don't worry."
"But he called the Cat Boss by name."
The cats continued to chat as if they didn't care.
"All of you, shut up!"
Jin glared at the cats, and the killing intent he had developed on the battlefield silenced them all.
Soon, a small white cat walked out of the room, taking careful steps. Upon seeing Jin, it immediately turned to run.
But Jin was faster, quickly grabbing Meowth by the scruff of its neck.
"Fix this now, or I'm having cat for dinner tonight!"
Meowth quickly nodded.
"Cat meat is sour and tastes terrible. I'll fix this right away."
It then turned to the other cats and started meowing.
"The boss is back. You better run; he likes to eat cats."
Jin's eyebrow twitched at that.
The other cats had already been frightened by his killing intent. In an instant, they each turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.
In a flash, all the cats were gone.
They were all ninja cats.
"And this room—I want to see it back to how it was before I left by tomorrow."
"That's too much for a cat!" Meowth protested. Cleaning such a big room would be exhausting for a cat.
"Hmph."
Jin snorted.
"Then it's cat for dinner tonight."
"Cat meat is sour!"
"Not for me."
From Jin's collar, Shiro poked its head out, its beady eyes fixed on Meowth as it tilted its head.
"It'll eat."
Meowth struggled desperately.
"I'll do it right away!"
It didn't want to end up as dinner for a snake, especially such a dumb-looking one!
(End of Chapter)