"That outfit... Are you a member of the Akatsuki from the Land of Rain?"
The Fourth Raikage's right-hand men, Darui and C, were also in the room. Before his capture, C had been the head of the Cloud Village's intelligence division. The Cloud Village naturally had conducted investigations into the Akatsuki, which participated in the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The black robe with red clouds was the Akatsuki's most famous attire. However, the Cloud Village hadn't managed to uncover detailed information about the Akatsuki's members and didn't know much about Obito Uchiha either.
Upon hearing this, Raikage A coldly asked Obito Uchiha, "A member of Akatsuki? What is your purpose?"
"To rescue you, to gather everyone's strength to oppose the Sand Federation. Although you lost to the Hokage of Konoha, the influence of the Five Kage remains. If you can leave this place, you can summon a group of ninja to resist the Sand Federation."
Obito Uchiha directly stated his purpose. He believed that among the ninja imprisoned here, there wasn't a single one who didn't want to leave. As long as he had a way to rescue the people here, these ninja wouldn't let this opportunity slip away.
Darui frowned and asked, "Don't you know we have sealing techniques placed on us? Leaving here means death, and we can't even use chakra now."
"Since I've said it, it means I have a solution."
Obito Uchiha took out a remote control and showed it to Raikage A, continuing,
"This is the remote controlling the mechanisms on your bodies. Furthermore, the devices controlling your mechanisms elsewhere are also being monitored by people I sent. As long as I don't control this, they are harmless."
A stared intently at the remote in Obito Uchiha's hand and spoke, "If we are to cooperate, then hand over the remote control to us first."
*Crack.*
The remote control was directly crushed into pieces by Obito Uchiha and thrown on the ground.
"Raikage, I never intended to use such a thing to control you. If we are not sincerely united, the outcome is only destruction. By the way, the Land of Water has been destroyed. Now, among the five great nations, only the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning remain holding out."
"The Sand Federation people come every seven days. I will return in three days. This is your last chance."
After saying this, Obito Uchiha directly entered the Kamui dimension and left this place.
After Obito Uchiha left, Mabui and the others all looked at the Raikage. After a while, they finally asked, "Lord Raikage, should we trust him?"
While the Raikage was deep in thought, his breathing became slightly heavier. After a moment, he made a decision, saying, "Aside from trusting him, we have no other choice. For the Cloud Village, I am willing to trust this guy once."
"Tomorrow, Mabui, you cover for me. I will go discuss this with the Hokage, Tsuchikage, and Mizukage."
The Hokage A referred to was Hiruzen Sarutobi. In his heart, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade was the traitor to the ninja world and the person the Raikage hated the most.
"Rin, I never thought you were still alive..."
Seeing Nohara Rin in the Sand Federation, Kakashi stood frozen in place for a good while.
Although her appearance had changed a bit, matured a lot, Kakashi still recognized her at a glance.
"I didn't die, Kakashi. The one who actively threw themselves at your jutsu back then wasn't me." Nohara Rin smiled at Kakashi and said, "I was saved by Senior Ayaka Uzumaki afterward. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you."
"It's alright, I can understand."
Kakashi thought about the hostile situation between Hyuga Mirai and Konoha back then, and the fact that Nohara Rin also had the Three-Tails inside her. It would have been abnormal if they could have been in contact.
Soon, the two chatted for a while at Kushina's house. During this, Kushina also chimed in a few times, but she felt somewhat distant from Kakashi. To be precise, Kushina didn't have much goodwill towards those people from Konoha.
When Naruto was captured by the Root, Kakashi was also serving in the Root. Although it had nothing to do with Kakashi, Kushina still found it somewhat hard to accept. Even if she didn't blame Kakashi, the relationship between the two couldn't possibly be the same as before.
And frankly speaking, Kakashi had no real connection to her. Namikaze Minato was dead, so the link between them was broken.
Kakashi came to the Sand Federation this time also carrying a task to learn. Because Kabuto Yakushi absolutely refused to become Hokage, Tsunade, after much deliberation within Konoha, selected Hatake Kakashi.
He had good strength, was of suitable age, had a sense of responsibility, and being single wouldn't provoke opposition from other ninja clans. Most importantly, Kakashi wasn't as difficult to deal with as Kabuto Yakushi. With proper persuasion, Kakashi had a high probability of accepting the position of Hokage.
This time, Kakashi came to learn about the Sand Federation's operational system, so that when reforming Konoha in the future, it would be easier.
What surprised Kakashi was that he would actually meet Nohara Rin here.
After learning about Rin's situation during this period, Kakashi sighed and said, "If Obito were still here..."
"Obito is alive, Kakashi."
Speaking of Obito, Nohara Rin's expression darkened. Kushina's face also looked somewhat unpleasant. Then, finding an excuse, she left the room.
Regarding Obito's matter, Kushina didn't want to get involved anymore. Moreover, after learning that Rin could remove the mask and lift the seal in the future, she knew Hyuga Mirai was going to deal with Obito Uchiha.
Someone of Kakashi's character, at a glance, was someone who couldn't forget old friends. To avoid him later begging her, Kushina thought it better to go take a look at the Sealing Barrier Team instead.
After learning about Obito Uchiha's situation, Kakashi indeed felt a desire to find Obito and persuade him to turn back early. However, this thought was anticipated by Rin. She quickly spoke up to dissuade him,
"Kakashi, you really shouldn't go. Mirai-san has already decided to deal with Obito. And now, neither Konoha nor the Sand Federation will allow you to leave your post without authorization. If you insist on leaving, you will definitely be branded a missing-nin!"
The reason Obito could live so freely as a missing-nin was because he had the Kamui dimension. Unless the entire ninja world was filled with surveillance, it was very difficult to find Obito Uchiha's traces. And even if found, it was hard to capture him. Aside from a few individuals like Hyuga Mirai, others simply had no way to deal with Obito Uchiha.
But Kakashi was different. He had essentially no means of escape. Once he left, he would be identified as a deserter and would be captured and interrogated within two days.
"But..."
"There are no buts. You have no personal connection with Mirai-san. Even Lady Tsunade wouldn't plead for you to Mirai-san. If you defect, you simply cannot leave the Sand Federation. And even if you pleaded, it would be useless..."
Nohara Rin sighed. Last time, even she and Kushina-sensei together were scolded. After that, Kushina-sensei never mentioned the matter again and spent several days reflecting before considering the matter closed.
"Kakashi, from now on, you absolutely must not act on your own. If you really want to save Obito, go beg Lady Tsunade, or Kurenai Yuhi and Hyuga Kiyo..."
Nohara Rin suggested. If Kakashi really acted on his own, probably even Tsunade wouldn't protect him, despite how much she valued Kakashi.
"I understand, Rin. Don't worry, I won't act on my own."
Kakashi said solemnly. He also understood that the more he acted recklessly, the less chance there would be to secure a way out for Obito. Even though Obito had taken his Sharingan not long ago, Kakashi still believed Obito had unspeakable hardships. If he was willing to turn back and properly atone, there was still a way out.
However, what Rin said was also right. If he wanted to save Obito now, begging Lady Tsunade was the best choice.
Now he had to undergo three months of observation of the government in the Sand Federation. Kakashi, Yamanaka Inoichi, and others were the first batch. Many more would follow later. Moreover, Hyuga Mirai's wedding would be soon. During this period, they couldn't leave the Sand Federation. Even if they could leave the federal capital, it would only be to visit other places under the accompaniment of others.
For the Sand Federation and Konoha now, the two most important matters were the merger of the two nations and the marriage alliance between them.
In Konoha, since Hyuga Kiyo returned, she had already handed over the affairs of the Police Force. She also planned to relinquish the position of clan head. However, there was no suitable candidate within the clan, and Hyuga Kiyo had someone in mind, so she postponed the matter.
Apart from Hyuga clan members on missions outside, more were busy preparing for the clan head's wedding.
Although some were dissatisfied with the clan head marrying alongside two other women, since the clan head herself agreed, they couldn't say much. They could only do their best to prepare the wedding well, so as not to embarrass the clan head.
The wedding preparation plan submitted by the federal high officials contained over twenty pages of references from the Hyuga clan. When it came to the inheritance of etiquette, no one could compare to a millennia-old ninja clan like them. Even the daimyo of the great nations were inferior in this aspect.
Aspects like rituals and ceremonial attire, which many Hyuga clan members had gradually stopped using, didn't stop them from bringing them out for their clan head's wedding. Moreover, Hyuga Mirai was also from the Hyuga clan and possessed a bloodline limit that had evolved beyond the Byakugan. After their union, they would surely give birth to the most powerful genius in the history of the Hyuga clan.
Therefore, for the future glory of the Hyuga clan, they were now almost mobilizing the entire clan's strength to support this wedding.
"Yū, isn't this too strange? Is it necessary to dress so formally..."
Looking at herself in the mirror, Hyuga Kiyo saw that except for her face, everything else was covered by various garments and ornaments. Even her hair was full of accessories.
It was only because Hyuga Kiyo was a taijutsu-type ninja that she could handle it; anyone else with so many things on their head would have already strained their neck.
"Not at all, Kiyo-sama. You look very noble now. You will definitely be the most eye-catching on the day." Hyuga Yū came to Hyuga Kiyo's side and explained with a smile, "These are the Hyuga clan's crest ornaments, representing the blessing of the Moon God, representing..."
"Alright, Yū, that's not important."
Hyuga Kiyo interrupted Yū's explanation. If she let her finish, it would probably take an hour.
"What I care about now is that method of yours; it still doesn't seem to be working. Yū, there isn't much time left. Do you have any other methods?"
"This..."
Upon hearing this, Hyuga Yū also felt a headache. She had tried every method she could think of and even pretended to have her own troubles to seek help at the Konoha Hospital. However, after Kiyo-sama tried all the methods, there was still no effect.
Now Hyuga Yū also didn't know what to do. In such a situation, probably only consulting Lady Tsunade could solve it.
"Kiyo-sama, how about... using some padding?"
"Padding?" Hyuga Kiyo was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. Soon, she realized what Hyuga Yū meant. A blush appeared on her cheeks, and then she shook her head firmly, saying, "How is that possible? Yū, this is a wedding... And really, there's no other way at all? Just a little bigger would be fine..."
Hyuga Yū said somewhat awkwardly, "Kiyo-sama, all methods have been tried. Aside from padding... Alright, I'll go inquire about other methods."
"There's no need to inquire further. Let it be, Miss Kiyo."
A familiar voice reached Hyuga Kiyo's ears. Hearing someone advise her to give up, Hyuga Kiyo instinctively retorted, "How can I give up? This kind of thing, I... You... When did you get here?"
Mid-sentence, Hyuga Kiyo suddenly felt the voice was somewhat familiar. She turned to look and saw Hyuga Mirai sitting at the table in the distance.
"I've been here for a while. Probably around the time you thought this outfit was too strange... Hmm, I think so too."
Hyuga Mirai seriously examined the ornaments and attire on Hyuga Kiyo's body and said.
The Yomotsu Hirasaka, if not seen with the eyes, was difficult to detect even for Sasuke Uchiha who had obtained Six Paths power. Since Hyuga Kiyo hadn't activated her Byakugan, she naturally didn't know when Hyuga Mirai had arrived.
"Well then, Kiyo-sama, I'll take my leave first."
Hyuga Yū, with great tact, left the room. After leaving, she even thoughtfully locked the door.
The sound of the lock clicking made the blush on Hyuga Kiyo's face almost spread to her fair neck.
(End of Chapter)
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