Karin was a diehard fan of Shinju—an absolute fangirl who would defend him unconditionally no matter what.
And now that the masked man said he wanted to kill Shinju—
She instantly switched into full "verbal flamethrower" mode!
"Peh! Peh! Peh! Peh! Even if you die a hundred times over, Shinju will never die!"
"You coward, hiding behind a mask!"
"In your next life, you shouldn't even bother being human! You should just go *****—"
Even Suigetsu, standing beside her, felt chills running down his spine at her words.
(⊙o⊙)
He'd seen reckless people before—but never this reckless!
With that masked man's power, killing Karin would be like swatting a fly!
Yet she wasn't scared at all?!
Was this… the power of idol worship?!
In the end, probably because he didn't want to listen to Karin's insults any longer, the masked man simply left.
Afterward, Karin came back to her senses, stunned. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
"H-How am I still alive? Σ( ° △ °|||)︴"
Suigetsu patted the red-haired girl's shoulder and said in a deep tone,
"The fact that you're still alive only proves one thing—that masked guy must have plans for us! \( ö )/"
Jūgo nodded. What Suigetsu said made perfect sense!
...
Two days later, in Kumogakure.
Because Yugito had been captured, Killer B was placed under strict protection—essentially under house arrest inside the village.
"Yaaaah! So uncool! I don't wanna stay stuck in the village! I wanna go out, hit the streets, live free, yeah!" Killer B complained loudly.
Omoi, a lollipop between his lips, sighed.
"Sensei, just drop it already. We can't go out. Akatsuki's hunting the Tailed Beasts—you know that. (||๐_๐)"
Karui nodded. "Exactly. Did you forget how you were attacked by that masked man from Akatsuki last time? And since Yugito-senpai still hasn't been found, Raikage-sama definitely won't let you leave..."
Killer B pouted. "But still, locking me inside the village completely, not letting me take even one step out (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ) —that's too cruel!"
"You gotta understand, the only things your master seeks in life are true love and freedom…"
Feeling satisfied with his poetic line, Killer B pulled out his little notebook and scribbled it down.
"This line's gotta go in my next song—people will totally feel it..."
After jotting the lyrics, he looked up—only to see a familiar figure in the distance.
"Shinju? Who's that on your back?"
"Wait… that person looks kinda familiar… that's Yugito! (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!"
...
Shinju carried the still-unconscious Yugito to the Kumogakure administration office.
Raikage was deeply grateful.
"Thank you, thank you. If not for you, Yugito would've been in real danger this time..."
Shinju waved it off. "I actually found her too late. I didn't expect Akatsuki to cross multiple countries just to extract a Tailed Beast—they even performed the ritual at their base in the Land of Swamps."
Raikage sighed. "It's fine. What matters is that Yugito's still alive... You've been through a lot these past few days. Why not rest here in Kumogakure for a while before heading back? Or better yet, stay here for now—after a few days I can have someone take you and B to the island..."
Shinju shook his head. "It's fine. I can use the Flying Thunder God to return quickly. No need to go to the island yet. With the war looming, I'd rather return and make sure everything's ready."
Raikage understood his reasoning. After having his men deliver the promised reward, he personally saw Shinju off.
...
Land of Fire, Konohagakure.
After Tsunade's return, the news of the Fourth Great Ninja War spread rapidly throughout the village.
At a local barbecue restaurant, Naruto, Kiba, Neji, and the others who once took the Chūnin Exams together were having a reunion dinner.
Shikamaru sighed. "A war breaking out... what a drag."
Ino said, "Stop complaining already. I heard your dad got appointed as the Hokage-sama's advisor. I bet he's got a bigger headache than you do...~_~"
Chōji stuffed a big piece of grilled meat into his mouth and mumbled through it,
"But Hokage-sama's already the strategist for the Allied Shinobi Forces, right? Then why appoint Shikaku-san too... what, to be the strategist's strategist? (￢‸￢) ?"
Tenten said, "Maybe Hokage-sama's got more important things to handle, so Shikaku-san's temporarily taking her place."
Rock Lee sat quietly at the round table, not joining in the conversation, just focused on eating huge chunks of meat.
He wasn't much of a talker. All he knew was that with the war approaching, he had to push himself harder.
"After this meal, I'll run thirty laps around the village for digestion. ୧⍢⃝୨"
Kiba stroked Akamaru's head and said, "Can we not talk about the war? You're making Akamaru nervous."
Neji sighed. "It's the first time war has ever felt this close to us..."
As he spoke, his pure white eyes glanced toward Hinata.
Back then, he really had resented her for the unfair treatment from their clan.
But after the Chūnin Exams, he had gradually let go of that hatred.
Setting aside all that clan nonsense, Hinata was still that cute girl.
But she was too gentle by nature—if she went to war, she'd be in danger.
Neji silently swore to himself: no matter what happens when the war starts, he'd protect his little sister.
Hinata, meanwhile, hadn't noticed Neji watching her—because she was completely focused on Naruto.
Naruto-kun, even the way you're wolfing down food looks so cute~ (◔◡◔)
She started to wonder, "Should I confess my feelings before the war?"
No... maybe after the war! We're still so young! (´つヮ⊂︎)
Neji noticed her troubled expression and realized she was once again agonizing over Naruto. His gaze turned sharp.
"I must knock some sense into that guy!! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)"
"Achoo!!"
Naruto suddenly sneezed mid-bite, his head jerking down.
"Guess someone's talking about me behind my back," he said.
"Bet it's Shinju. Without me helping him out, he probably can't manage on his own. (◍˃̶ᗜ˂̶◍)"
Sai, who'd been invited to join them, chuckled.
"Yeah, right. Without you around, he's probably having an easier time. ╮(╯▽╰)╭"
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
Ino sighed. "Too bad Shinju's not in the village right now. It would've been great if he could join us for dinner. (◍ ´꒳` ◍)"
Naruto grinned. "You're telling me. But next time we eat with Shinju, we should all keep a hand on the table."
Shino raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that?"
Naruto leaned forward.
"You guys don't know? At the Five Kage Summit, Shinju flipped the entire table the Kage were sitting at. It was epic! ❛‿˂̵✧"
The room went silent.
"Hiss~~~"
He flipped the Five Kage's table?!
In the entire ninja world, Shinju might be the only person who could do that and still be alive!
Seeing everyone's stunned faces, Naruto laughed proudly.
"You think that's wild? You should've seen what else happened at that Summit! If you wanna know, I've got another big scoop for you… Ծ ̮ Ծ"
Before he could finish his sentence, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"You sure that 'scoop' of yours is ripe enough to share?"
It was Shinju.