"Mr. Ye Liang!" Butsuma Jiro took a sip of water and continued, "If you help me bring Princess Shaw into my household in marriage, I guarantee you a life of luxury and wealth beyond imagination!"
"Just for that?" Ye Liang asked indifferently.
"Hn."
"Then I'll take my leave now!"
Ye Liang immediately walked out of Butsuma Jiro's mansion and left.
Such a trivial matter—why even bother troubling himself?
His sole purpose for coming here was to track down and destroy the hidden Akatsuki organization. Staying in Kasumi Country hadn't been part of his plan in the first place, and as for internal conflicts within Kasumi Country itself, he couldn't care less about them.
What did he care about Kasumi Country's internal conflicts?
As he had just exited through the gate, dozens of ninjas surrounded him from all sides.
These people should be guards—or perhaps they'd already been lying in ambush outside, ready to strike if Ye Liang refused!
Ye Liang sensed a flicker of killing intent. Just as he prepared to unleash some serious carnage, Butsuma Jiro hurriedly chased after him from inside the estate.
"Mr. Ye Liang, won't you reconsider at all!" He looked at the surrounding ninjas, then quickly waved his hand again.
"Scram, all of you!"
The ninjas around didn't understand what was going on but still cleared a path for Ye Liang.
"No need. You'd better find some helpful bystanders instead. I suggest you keep approaching Heiluyi—he seems perfect for this!"
Seeing those people make way, Ye Liang simply left.
"Sigh..."
Butsuma Jiro plopped heavily onto the floor.
The guards around him approached, confused, asking, "My Lord, why didn't you attack? If this guy disobeys, we should kill him directly."
"Kill him? With your abilities? Hmph!"
...
The next day,
Ye Liang patrolled around town as usual.
Last night he had confirmed the Akatsuki wasn't located within the power-hungry minister's mansion, leaving only one possibility—the Daimyo's Mansion in Kasumi Country.
Today he planned to head straight toward the city lord's residence to investigate.
The streets were bustling with people.
A martial arts contest for suitors naturally drew large crowds, yet it also significantly weakened security at the Daimyo's mansion.
Using [Shadow Camouflage] to conceal himself, he slipped quietly inside.
"There may be many guards here, but none seem to have any chakra. Could the Akatsuki have already left Kasumi Country?" Still pondering, suddenly he spotted someone wearing the signature red cloak heading into the main entrance of the Daimyo's mansion.
Ye Liang stood roadside.
Thanks to [Shadow Camouflage], the person couldn't detect him at all.
"Isn't that Red-Cloak? A member of the Akatsuki?" Ye Liang quickly started following.
However, the man wore a Red-Cloak—and to make things harder, his face was hidden behind a veil. This caused considerable difficulty for Ye Liang.
"I'll follow him first and decide later depending on the situation!"
Having made up his mind, Ye Liang hurried forward.
The person wearing the red cloak seemed extremely respected—on his way in, nobody obstructed him. In fact, quite a few maids trailed closely behind like he was the master of the house.
"Could it be that the Akatsuki have taken control of Kasumi Country?" His heart jolted with alarm. Then, he saw an extraordinary beauty emerging from a small pavilion ahead.
"Angel Sister, you're finally here!" she said cheerfully.
Angel Sister?
Aren't I male?
Ye Liang glanced at himself and realized the Red-Cloak's veil had been lifted. A small red mouth graced her oval face, with faintly painted eyebrows like a soft blush.
"It's Konan!" He finally recognized the identity of the Red-Cloak, but confusion lingered—why did Konan have absolutely no chakra? In fact, there was no sense of presence at all!
She felt just like an ordinary person!
"Could this also be [Genjutsu]?" He quickly activated his Sharingan, but she seemed genuinely human despite her shadowy aura.
"That doesn't make sense. If she is truly alive, how come I can't sense anything?" As he pondered, Ye Liang saw Konan link arms with the beautiful guest and walk toward one side. He quickly followed them.
They reached a small stream.
Konan and the woman surprisingly started removing their clothes together!
"Oh my God, they're going to take a bath!" Ye Liang ducked behind a rock in an instant. Although his Shadow Clone Technique could conceal him, too much movement might give away his position.
At that moment, Konan slowly began speaking to the young woman.
"Naizi, I've already arranged a groom for you. If you follow my plan, we'll surely bring powerful support to your Daimyo's mansion!"
"Really? Thank you so much, Angel Sister!" The girl said happily, laughing as she helped Konan remove her clothes—they were quite intimate with each other.
"Konan Sister, your pecs are even bigger now!" After saying that, the girl teased further, measuring Konan's chest with her hands. From behind, Ye Liang watched with burning eyes, unintentionally exposing part of his form.
"Good thing I'm hiding behind this rock, or I'd definitely get caught!" Ye Liang whispered under his breath. Then, he continued eavesdropping on their conversation.
After some time, he gained insight.
"So this beauty is Shaw Naizi from yesterday's Martial Arts Contest for Suitors! Never thought she'd turn out to be this stunning." He recognized her—yes, he had indeed seen her the previous day, but back then she was veiled.
He took another glance at Konan, curious about her figure, when suddenly something behind her back caught his attention!
Behind Konan, on her shoulder area, was a mysterious seal marked with a hexagram. It looked like a certain kind of curse technique, or maybe a barrier.
Ye Liang found it strange—this wasn't present in the original story involving Konan.
Just then, preparing to enter the water, Konan suddenly tore off the purple talisman clinging tightly to her skin. Instantly, a blue stream of energy shot into the sky.
Faint and barely visible to the naked eye, but Ye Liang saw it clearly.
His Sharingan revealed the vast scale of that energy flow.
"This is [sealed chakra]!"
At last, Ye Liang uncovered Akatsuki's hidden secret.
"No wonder I couldn't sense her chakra—it was blocked by a sealing barrier placed directly on her body!" Ye Liang continued observing as Konan and Naizi stepped into the water together.
What followed wasn't particularly worth mentioning—the two women deeply discussed their plans for restoring their homeland while Ye Liang silently turned around and left.
He didn't bother looking—he had no reason to.
What's there to see on a woman's body anyway?
Listening to their conversation, it seemed like Konan was trying to help Naizi restore the Daimyo's power, but the real situation appeared far more complicated.
The person Konan was looking for turned out to be called Heiluyi!
To hell with Heiluyi! Isn't that exactly who Butsuma Jiro was after?!
Ye Liang couldn't make sense of it!
Was Konan really helping Naizi, or was she screwing her over? That remained unclear.
But none of that mattered to him now—Ye Liang had to find Black Zetsu first!
It's damn annoying when a schemer keeps plotting against you!
"Maybe sticking with her'll lead me to something."
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