Inside the Hokage Office, Iruka and a group of jonin had gathered. Iruka's face was filled with worry.
"Iruka, I understand your concern for Naruto's safety, but it's undeniable that Naruto took the Scroll of Seals," The Third said calmly as he puffed on his pipe. "The most important thing now is to find him as soon as possible!"
"I understand, Lord Third. I'll go look for him right away."
Iruka lightly slapped his forehead, muttered an apology to the Third, then hurried out the door in a rush.
"I suddenly feel like I was seriously bored out of my mind!" Sakura and her companions stepped out from the shadows. "Mizuki isn't exactly sharp, yet I still went through so much trouble setting up this whole trap just for him?"
"He's only a chunin, after all," Kakashi replied without looking up from his book, leaning casually against the wall. "It's obvious he wouldn't notice those flaws! If he could see through them, he wouldn't have done something this foolish!"
"Konoha may be the top of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, but does he really think we're that weak?" Sakura glanced outside at the dozen or so chunin pretending to be alert, feeling an uncontrollable urge to criticize inwardly. "Does he really think Konoha has barely a dozen chunin and a few jonin?"
"Hmm… hah…" The Third let out a helpless chuckle as well. Such an obvious trap, yet Mizuki kept diving straight in—there wasn't much even he could do about that.
"Anyway," he continued, "I've already called over your instructors. You can meet them first!"
Standing beside Kakashi were jonin instructors who previously led other teams—the original Team 8 instructor Kurenai Yuhi, and previously Team 10's instructor Asuma Sarutobi.
Chapter 92: When Conspiracy Meets the Operation Team [Continued]
"Asuma... your fate really was kind of tragic!"
Sakura looked at the bearded Asuma Sarutobi and sighed inwardly. This guy really had it rough—just when his wife finally got pregnant, he ended up dying. Worse still, his daughter, once she grew up, looked extremely similar to Shisui Uchiha. People might even believe she was Shisui's secret child.
"My name is Asuma Sarutobi," he stated plainly. "I'm responsible for Nara Shikamaru, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka." He subtly shifted sideways by a step or two. The way Sakura was staring at him gave him goosebumps—he couldn't help but feel like she was secretly judging him for things he hadn't done.
"My name is Kurenai Yuhi," the red-eyed woman spoke next, curiosity gleaming in her wine-colored eyes. "I'll be leading Hyuga Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame." All the female jonin gathered here were among the most trusted individuals under the Third Hokage, and both of them had heard quite a bit about Sakura and her team's reputation before—mostly things like constantly skipping class. As for anything else, they didn't know much else.
"Hello, Red-sensei! I'm Sakura Haruno!" Sakura's eyes sparkled mischievously as she stepped forward with a bright smile. "By the way, the baby between you and Sensei Asuma seems absolutely adorable!"
"Eh? Wh-what baby?"
Kurenai Yuhi was first taken aback, then her entire face turned red. It was true that she and Asuma Sarutobi had feelings for each other, but they were still at a stage where their relationship was more than friends yet not quite lovers. Neither had confessed their feelings openly.
"What?" The Third Hokage was also stunned. He immediately stood up, rushed to Asuma's side, grabbed his collar, and roared at him. "Asuma, you disobedient brat! You've gotten someone pregnant before marriage? And dared hide this from me!"
"I didn't!" Asuma looked equally bewildered. He hadn't even kissed Kurenai Yuhi on the lips yet—how could he possibly have gotten her pregnant?
"You still dare to argue?" Knowing that Sakura could look into the past, the Third instinctively assumed that Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi had secretly had a child behind his back whom they hadn't told him about. Seeing Asuma stubbornly deny it only made him angrier.
"Grandpa Third, don't get so angry! What I meant was their daughter in the future is really beautiful!" Sakura secretly smiled. "They haven't even gotten started yet—please don't frame them wrongly!"
"Oh? So it's their child from the future?" The Third was momentarily stunned, then awkwardly loosened his grip. But by now, his gaze toward Kurenai Yuhi was no longer a superior looking at a subordinate—it had become a look reserved for a future daughter-in-law.
"Yeah, I can see the future," Sakura continued. "In just a few years, their child will be born—a lovely little girl! She was named Mirai Sarutobi back then!" Seeing the Third Hokage's eyes sparkle with excitement, Sakura suddenly curled her lips into a mischievous smile. "But when that kid grows up, she looks quite similar to Brother Shisui!"
"Shisui…" The Third's smile instantly froze. It wasn't that he doubted the paternity of his own son—Sakura already said it was his granddaughter, so there was no question about the bloodline—but the fact that this child resembled Shisui troubled him inside.
Shisui Uchiha was the grandson of Kagami Uchiha. If his own granddaughter looked so much like Kagami's grandson, could it mean Kagami's soul in heaven was expressing dissatisfaction over how he had dealt with the Uchiha clan? Though he had been happy about the changes the Uchiha clan had made previously, after Danzo presented evidence of the Uchiha's rebellion, he did not object to Danzo eliminating the Uchiha clan. Looking back now, Kagami's soul in heaven probably felt deeply dissatisfied with him. After all, Shisui looked extremely similar to Kagami himself.
"Kagami… I've failed you…"
The Third instantly imagined countless stories in his mind, his eyes filled with guilt.
"Grandpa Third, don't think too much—it's just a coincidence regarding appearance!" Sakura gave the Third a quick reassurance before adding, "However, Teacher Asuma, you'd better watch yourself, or else in the future, Red might end up crying alone while touching her belly during pregnancy, just like what I saw."
"Pregnant and crying alone..." The Third seized upon this key point immediately, then gave Asuma a strange look. If a woman could be alone and quietly wiping away tears while pregnant, what did that imply?
The woman explained that her husband was away and something had happened to upset her. The Third, who had long been fond of peeping into the women's bathhouse, immediately leapt to a wrong conclusion.
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