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"Terumi Mei-sama, are you just going to let them go like that?"
Having achieved his goal of drawing everyone away, Ao abandoned Sasuke and returned to the place he had agreed to meet Terumi Mei, as there was no need to fight to the death with the Konoha Ninja.
He just hadn't expected Terumi Mei to fail.
"I couldn't help it. That boy was stronger than I imagined, and my sense of shame as a woman also..."
Although Terumi Mei had already changed into new clothes, she was still clutching the cloak Uchiha Kage had given her.
The idea that he had seen her naked filled her with shame... Just thinking about that scene made Terumi Mei feel incredibly embarrassed.
She should wait until she had calmed down before making any plans.
"A woman's sense of shame?"
What was Terumi Mei-sama talking about?
Ao was completely clueless.
"Anyway, let's return to the village first. We'll let Teacher Genj decide everything."
Kirigakure was currently facing internal and external troubles. Their original mission outside the village wasn't this. They had just happened to pass by and thought they'd try their luck.
Now, it was time to return to the village and report.
In any case, Zabuza had been gone from the village for so long, and he was just a corpse. The information Konoha could get was very limited.
But this humiliation…
The next time they met, she would definitely return the favor!
Terumi Mei wanted to tear the cloak in her hand to shreds, but in the end, she kept it.
Knowing shame leads to future strength.
"Yes."
Since Terumi Mei had spoken, Ao could only do as he was told.
But... was that Konoha Anbu boy really that strong?
Strong enough to defeat even Terumi Mei-sama?
Could it be...
Terumi Mei-sama had really been seduced by a man?
----
"Itachi, it seems you were worrying too much."
After Uchiha Kage left, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Kakashi, Uzuki Yugao, and Gekko Hayate.
But even Gekko Hayate, who was quite dissatisfied with Uchiha Kage, didn't say that he had done anything wrong.
The three of them surprisingly gave Uchiha Kage very high praise.
This also dispelled the last bit of Sarutobi Hiruzen's worries.
"Even Kakashi-senpai says so. It seems I really was overthinking things."
Uchiha Itachi also began to doubt his own judgment.
However, he still felt that something was wrong.
But since Sarutobi Hiruzen had said so, he couldn't voice his objections anymore.
"In that case, you don't need to monitor him anymore. I have another very important mission for you."
The information that the Yamanaka Clan had worked overtime to extract from Zabuza's corpse once again confirmed that the contents of the 'Future Note' were true.
The Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure had indeed undergone a drastic personality change, restarting the Blood Mist Policy that he himself had overturned. Then, as if he had a grudge against Kirigakure, the policies he enacted almost always weakened Kirigakure's power, causing internal strife.
All indications pointed to the Fourth Mizukage being controlled by someone.
Once might be a coincidence, but after two or three times, Sarutobi Hiruzen was increasingly valuing this Future Note that 'Teacher Tobirama' had delivered to him in a dream.
He also knew very well that Danzo had been secretly inquiring about the news of this note for some time.
If Danzo were to find out about its existence, it would likely disrupt many of his plans.
Therefore, to ensure that his plans weren't interfered with by Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen set his sights on Uchiha Itachi.
Sarutobi Hiruzen decided that the best solution was to have Uchiha Itachi warn Danzo.
"Yes."
What did Danzo want to know?
Uchiha Itachi's face was expressionless, but he couldn't help but feel a trace of curiosity in his heart.
However, Danzo really did need to be warned.
Yesterday, he discovered Root ninja monitoring Sasuke, which was not what he agreed to before leaving the village.
----
"This instance seems ominous..."
Of course, no matter how bad this instance was, it wouldn't surpass Kaguya's instance.
But this one in front of him—
Even before entering, Uchiha Kage felt trouble just by looking at the still frame before the instance space.
Kitsuchi, trenches, battlements, and countless ninja armies on both sides engaged in a fierce battle.
"Ninja World War, this instance is...?"
Forget it, he wouldn't die anyway. He should go in and see what's happening.
Uchiha Kage put his hand into the instance space.
[Select companions?]
"This time, there are a few more options on the companion page..."
Besides Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, and Shino were all available for selection.
However, he still couldn't select more than two people.
Uchiha Kage thought for a while and chose Naruto and Sasuke as before.
The Ninja Shards dropped by these two gave the most Chakra, the most cost-effective.
Moreover, with the experience from last time, they would understand without much explanation—
Yeah right.
"Where is this!? Why are there so many Kunai and Shuriken flying around!?"
As soon as he entered the instance, Uchiha Kage heard Naruto's loud voice.
"Idiot, get down!"
Seeing the overwhelming number of Kunai flying over like a locust plague, Sasuke quickly pushed Naruto, who had popped his head out of the trench, back down.
"Ptooey, ptooey! Sasuke, you... wait, Kage too? Why are you guys in my dream?"
Naruto, who crawled out of the mud pit, seemed to have completely forgotten about the previous 'Dream Instance'.
"Isn't it obvious? This is definitely an instance, but this time's mission is..."
After seeing Uchiha Kage and Naruto, Sasuke quickly realized that he had most likely come to the 'instance space' again, where he could improve his strength.
"The first stage of the mission is to survive until the end of the battle."
Uchiha Kage spoke the mission content given in the instance.
Unlike the previous time, the word 'first stage' was added to this mission, indicating that there would most likely be a subsequent mission.
"Battle?"
Naruto quietly raised his head again and glanced outside the trench.
This scene strongly resembled the Ninja World War scenarios the teachers described at the Ninja Academy.
It should be one of the Ninja World Wars.
Uchiha Kage saw that the opposing sides were wearing the headbands of Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
"This isn't good. There don't seem to be any Konoha Ninja nearby?"
After seeing the origins of the ninja on both sides, Uchiha Kage finally understood why the mission was to survive.
Three ninja wearing Konoha headbands suddenly appearing on the Battlefield where Kumogakure and Iwagakure were fighting was definitely not going to end well.
"Naruto, Sasuke, quickly take off your headbands..."
However, before Uchiha Kage could finish speaking, ninja from Kumogakure had already discovered them on another battlement connected to this trench.
"Someone come quick, there are Konoha spies mixed in here!"
Before the three could react, a large number of Kumogakure ninja had already swarmed over.