At this point, the two of them could be considered the yellow-haired version of A-B Combo. Although they are not yet to the point of sharing a pair of pants, their bond was undeniably deep and united in purpose.
Yugito wasn't one to dwell on sentimentality. Now that things had come to this, she could only press forward with no way out.
"Go through the back door? No way!" She glanced at Naruto with a complicated expression. She just finished taking a shower and sat on the sofa, so she refused directly, "I'm currently a Missing-Nin. What back door is there for me to take?"
"Not gathering allies? You think we can do this alone?" Naruto curled his lips, "Besides, there is strength in numbers. In such a big village, we have to pull in a few allies."
"We sneaked in, so our identities can't be too exposed. The best we can do is try and trick a few people." Yugito leaned back on the couch.
"How about we start with Samui?" She asked suddenly.
"Why Samui?" Naruto glanced at her, and a cool, indifferent ice queen with a stern gaze appeared in his mind. One word summed her up: BIG.
"You actually know Samui?" Yugito turned to look at Naruto with a surprised expression.
"Uh… intel, all intel." Naruto coughed. He is not stupid enough to pretend he didn't recognize her. If something seemed unreasonable, just closing his eyes and ignoring it made it reasonable.
"Hehe." Yugito shot him a glance but didn't press further.
She then continued, "Samui has a cold personality, but she's reliable and deeply trusted by Raikage-sama."
"Getting her to betray him won't be easy, but that's your problem to deal with. As for your... methods, forget it, let's not talk about them anymore."
"What do you mean by 'those methods'? I follow the law, okay?" Naruto couldn't help but retort, but his mind had already started working.
If he could bring Samui over to their side, the mission line of Followers of the Jashin could move forward even more. Besides, who could say no to a cold-faced, big-chested, blonde onee-san?
'Reliable, trusted by the Raikage…'
"By the way, does Yondaime Raikage have a secretary?" Naruto suddenly asked.
"Mabui?" Yugito sat up from the couch and stared at Naruto with complicated look, "Isn't your preferences too obvious?"
"What?" Naruto was confused.
"Don't play dumb. Samui, Mabui… you sure know how to pick them." Yugito sneered, "But I guess I don't have the right to judge. After all, I already..."
Seeing that Yugito was about to bring up her betrayal again, Naruto quickly changed the subject.
"You've got it wrong. What I mean is, anyone highly trusted by the Raikage is worth pulling over to our side. But forget about Darui." Naruto said.
"Hmm?"
"He's pretty much set to be the next Raikage, the leader of the younger generation." Naruto patiently explained, "Kumogakure is not a monolithic entity, and there are cracks in its foundation."
"Darui is the crack?" Yugito asked, "How are you so sure that the next Raikage must be Darui? It could be… never mind, it really is him."
"Haha, told you I was right!" Naruto said smugly.
He could tell Yugito had just recalled something that confirmed his words, "Yondaime Raikage's biggest regret is the death of his father."
"And Darui just so happens to have inherited the Sandaime Raikage's Black Lightning. Even his hair color resembles the late Sandaime Raikage. Do you think Yondaime Raikage wouldn't trust him?"
Yugito had nothing to say, as Naruto was absolutely right.
Yondaime Raikage was strict and impartial, but he wasn't devoid of personal feelings. Darui and C were both his bodyguards, and while it seemed like he wasn't playing favorites, C was ultimately just a runner-up.
There is no way to deny that if Darui bulked up a bit, grew a beard and combs his hair back into a rougher style, he'd look like a young version of Sandaime Raikage.
Even if C wanted to compete with Darui, what could he use to compete?
And just like that, the blueprint for the Raikage Overthrow Plan was laid out during the two people's casual conversation.
They'll first infiltrate from the Raikage's inner circle, turn trusted his subordinates into traitors.
Honestly, this plan was just one step away from NTR. But Naruto, with all his little tricks, was practically born for this. His true bloodline, the Blond Protagonist Heritage, had finally awakened.
As for the plans after poaching these people, he didn't mention it nor did Yugito ask.
It was obvious that poaching was just the preparation work, and what came next was the real challenge.
What would Naruto do? Would he try to assassinate Yondaime Raikage? Or would he attack the village and cause a chaos like last time?
Countless possibilities flooded Yugito's mind as she closed her eyes.
…
With a whoosh, flames crackled to life.
A woman's face appeared in the firelight, wearing thick, outdated red-rimmed glasses, and the lenses were reflecting the flickering glow. She had red hair, ordinary looks, and a capable look in her eyes.
"Sasuke, why don't you bite me again?" Karin turned to look at the person resting against her shoulder. Seeing he had already woken up, she asked with a worried look on her face.
Jugo silently used a branch to stir the fire, making it burn more vigorously. Suigetsu had gone to keep watch, as danger always crept in after nightfall.
After all, this is the Land of Lightning, a place full of fierce warriors, so they still have to be cautious.
Next to the fire, Sasuke, who was resting his head on Karin's shoulder, looked a little pale, with sunken eyes. He looked like he had barely recovered from a grave illness. He lifted his heavy eyelids and cast a glance at Karin, then said in a hoarse voice, "No need, it's just a minor injury."
"But…"
Karin wanted to say something but stopped herself. She knew Sasuke's personality. He's was a man of his word, and once he decided something, there was no changing his mind.
But how could it be just a minor injury?
In order to kill Danzo, Sasuke had pushed himself to the brink of death. Although in that situation, Sasuke probably had no choice but to burn through his own life force to take Danzo down with him.
But even though he successfully killed Danzo in the end, Sasuke had nearly lost half his life.
After such a fight, no matter how strong his healing ability was, he couldn't possibly recover completely. He would almost certainly suffer long-term consequences, even if he bites Karin again.