From the beginning, this had been an unequal battle.
Teizawa's use of chakra had long since reached an extraordinary level.
Samui's defenses simply could not withstand a single blow.
In truth, Teizawa only had a vague understanding of Samui and Karui's original storylines.
There was not much he knew about Samui.
She should have developed further within Kumogakure.
But Karui was different. He did know about her.
According to the original plot, this girl had actually married Choji.
Choji's build...
Just thinking about it was enough to know that Karui had a great capacity for endurance.
So naturally, Teizawa had not been overly cautious.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Teizawa looked up at the ceiling, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
There was no doubt about it.
The one who won was always him.
The so-called black-and-white fiends of Kumogakure had been no match at all.
A long while later, Karui's muffled voice sounded.
"You... you'll give the Four-Tails to Kumogakure, right?"
Teizawa lowered his head and looked at her.
Her dark, bright eyes were peeking out from the edge of the blanket.
There was a trace of wariness in them, a trace of expectation.
And something else that was hard to describe.
"I will," he said.
Karui was silent for a moment.
Then she buried her face back into the blanket.
Samui rolled over, turning her back to them.
Her ears were as red as boiled shrimp.
Teizawa closed his eyes.
Outside the window, the sunlight grew brighter and brighter.
A new day.
And the final day.
The three of them slept until noon.
Teizawa patted Samui on the backside.
The crisp smack rang out, clear and loud.
Samui's eyes snapped open.
She slapped a hand at him, but Teizawa casually caught her wrist.
"Get up," he said.
His other hand was not idle either.
He gave Karui's backside a pat as well.
Karui poked her head out from under the blanket.
Her hair was a bird's nest, and her eyes were not fully open yet.
"What for...?"
"I'm taking you two out to rob someone."
Samui's eyes instantly cleared.
Karui also sprang up from the bed.
"Now?"
They spoke at the same time.
Teizawa had already dressed and was tying his belt.
"When else?" He glanced at them. "If we delay any longer, the Four-Tails really will be taken back to Iwagakure."
Samui and Karui looked at each other.
Then they lifted the blanket at the same time.
The two of them hurriedly dressed in a fluster, fastening buttons wrong and undoing them again.
Samui checked herself in the mirror.
She realized her face was red beyond reason.
Karui called from the side, "Are you done yet?"
Samui took a deep breath.
She forced down all those chaotic thoughts and pulled open the door.
Teizawa was already standing in the corridor.
He leaned against the wall with an intelligence scroll in his hand.
"Let's go."
He tucked the scroll into his clothes and strode outside.
Samui and Karui followed behind him.
Their steps were quick and urgent.
When they reached the inn entrance, Omoi was standing there.
Seeing the two women come out of Teizawa's room, the candy in his mouth almost fell to the ground.
Karui lowered her head and hurried past him.
Samui remained expressionless.
But the tips of her ears were terribly red.
Omoi looked at their backs, then looked at Teizawa.
He said nothing. He simply brought the other Kumo ninja and silently followed.
"Where are they?" Samui asked.
Teizawa walked at the very front, his pace unhurried.
But every step he took was steady.
"Northwest. About half a day from Konoha. Kitsuchi sent thirty elites to escort the money. The one leading them is an elite jonin from Iwagakure."
He paused.
"Kurotsuchi."
Samui's brows drew together. "Who?"
"Kurotsuchi."
Samui's footsteps faltered slightly.
Karui froze as well.
The granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi's daughter, Iwagakure's genius girl.
Kurotsuchi.
She had come in person.
Teizawa did not look back at them.
"Kurotsuchi is leading the team."
"When the money arrives, both sides will move at the same time. One hand pays the money, the other receives the person."
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "A thorough plan."
"Then how do you know their route?" Karui could not help asking.
Teizawa glanced at her. "I have my own channels."
He did not explain and continued walking.
Samui looked at his back.
For a moment, she realized she could not read this man at all.
These past few days, he had been drinking, eating, sleeping, and fooling around with them.
He looked as if he did not care about anything.
Yet he knew every move Iwagakure made.
Their route, their numbers, the person leading them, the people sent to receive them.
Everything was crystal clear.
"You planned this from the start?" she asked.
Teizawa did not answer. The smile on his lips only deepened.
Samui did not ask further.
No matter what plan he had, as long as the Four-Tails went to Kumogakure and Lord Raikage's order was completed, that was enough.
After they left Konoha, Teizawa led them away from the main road.
They turned onto a hidden path.
The forest grew denser and denser. The light grew dimmer and dimmer.
The road beneath their feet grew narrower.
Karui asked in a low voice, "Where are we going?"
"Taking a shortcut," Teizawa said without looking back.
After walking for roughly half an hour, Teizawa suddenly stopped.
He raised a hand, signaling for them to halt.
Samui and Karui immediately crouched down and held their breath.
Ahead was an open clearing.
The main road passed through the center, with thick forest on both sides.
Teizawa closed his eyes, and his perception spread in every direction.
A moment later, he opened them.
"They're here."
His voice was very soft.
Samui and Karui exchanged a glance.
At the same time, they tightened their grips on their weapons.
On the distant main road, a procession was approaching.
At the very front were Iwagakure scouts.
Behind them was the escort unit.
In the middle was a carriage.
The seven billion should be inside it.
Behind the carriage was another group bringing up the rear.
Teizawa's gaze landed on that carriage, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Seven billion.
Naturally, he would not let the Four-Tails return to Iwagakure so easily.
From the moment Roshi had been captured, he had been waiting for this moment.
Kitsuchi had sent people back to the village to retrieve the money.
He knew Kumogakure would intercept them on the road.
He knew Iwagakure had increased the escort force.
He knew Kurotsuchi had personally taken command.
He knew everything.
"Kurotsuchi is in the carriage at the back," he said softly. "The rear guard is under her command too."
Samui frowned. "How do you know?"
Teizawa did not answer.
Of course he knew.
The night Kurotsuchi left Konoha, he had left a little "something" on her.
Not a tracking jutsu.
Not a curse mark.
Only an extremely faint electromagnetic marker.
Silent, invisible, scentless.
Even Kurotsuchi herself had not noticed it.
From that moment on, where she went, who she met, and what she did had all been perfectly clear to him.
Including Iwagakure retrieving the money.
Including the fact that she was now sitting inside that carriage, holding a piece of intelligence, her brows tightly furrowed.
Teizawa withdrew his gaze.
"Ready?"
Samui tightened her grip on her short blade.
Karui drew the longsword from her back.
They nodded.
Teizawa stood and stepped out from behind the trees.
The clothes on his body had already changed into a Kumo ninja uniform, gleaming coldly beneath the afternoon sun.
He stood in the center of the main road.
He looked at the approaching procession.
"Move."
His voice was very soft, yet it clearly reached every person's ears.
(End of Chapter)
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