Yugito had actually wanted to say that she didn't think much of the Akatsuki at all, but one look at the Raikage's unquestionable expression made her swallow the words.
After the two women left the Raikage's office, the Fourth Raikage finally dropped heavily into his chair and muttered with open envy, "Tsunade really is ridiculously lucky. Somehow she ended up with a bodyguard like that."
He knew perfectly well what Akira's current role was: Tsunade's personal guard.
A young boy already carrying power on that level, beyond what most people even considered Kage-class, was absurd enough. What he might become in the future was something no one even wanted to imagine.
A ninja's prime usually ran from around thirty to fifty.
That meant Akira was still growing. He had not even reached his ceiling yet.
And even before reaching his peak, he already had enough weight to make the whole ninja world feel short of breath.
The Fourth Raikage was not especially close to Tsunade, but they had crossed paths before. Back when he needed treatment for one of his subordinates, he had even gone to her for help.
That woman, who could overpower even him in sheer monstrous strength, had always had his genuine respect.
And now that Tsunade had overcome her fear of blood and returned to full form, the name of the Sannin was echoing across the ninja world once again.
Still, knowing Akira stood on Tsunade's side actually eased the Raikage's mind a little.
He knew her temperament well enough. She was explosive, yes, but absolutely not the kind of person who would start a war without cause.
And if Akira had really been willing to hand Akatsuki intelligence to Yugito, then that was a clear gesture of goodwill. He obviously had no desire to see Kumogakure suffer.
"Thank God that guy's personality is more like Senju Hashirama's," the Raikage exhaled heavily, feeling cold sweat all over his back. "If he were anything like Uchiha Madara, we'd all be finished."
Out in the corridor, Yugito's face had darkened to the color of a storm cloud.
The truth was, she absolutely did not want to go to the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
It had nothing to do with fearing the Akatsuki. She simply did not want to spend time around that idiot rapper.
Her personality and Killer B's could not have been more different.
He was seven years older than she was, but the two of them had never gotten along in the slightest.
Sure, both of them were jinchuriki, so they had known each other for years, and B had even shown interest in her once or twice before.
But every single time, she had rejected him without hesitation.
That rapping lunatic had bizarre tastes. Instead of liking younger girls, he seemed fixated on mature women with dangerous figures and confident presence.
Someone like Yugito, all cold elegance and deadly glamour, was basically the exact center of his type.
The two women walked side by side through the village streets, with Yugito silent the whole way and radiating an unmistakable keep-away aura.
Samui had been her classmate since ninja academy days.
Back then, Yugito had been chosen as a jinchuriki not only because of her special constitution, but because her talent had been obvious even then.
The two women used to be very close. After all, they had both belonged to that same untouchable ice-queen category.
But after becoming jonin, the widening difference in their strength had quietly increased the distance between them.
Even so, Yugito still considered Samui a real friend.
The reason she had nearly clashed with her earlier was simple. She had been afraid Samui might lose her head and do something foolish that could harm Kumogakure.
More than anything, she was worried that Samui might start caring about a ninja from another village. In a relationship like that, it was always the woman who ended up paying the price.
Yugito knew perfectly well that Akira's words to her had carried a note of appreciation.
But she kept reminding herself who they were.
He was someone on a completely different level, and she was a jinchuriki. There was a gulf between them.
Of course, she was overthinking things more than a little.
Akira was simply the kind of person who treated everyone he liked well. If he respected someone, his attitude toward them was naturally warm.
He got along with people like Tsunade, Yūgao, Anko, and even hot-blooded idiots like Neji and Lee.
The reason he shared Akatsuki intelligence with Yugito and Samui was simply because he found the two women pleasant and did not want them dying for reasons they never saw coming. It really was that simple.
Besides, with Tsunade already in his life, every other attractive woman was just that: attractive.
Tsunade had once been recognized by her generation as the great beauty of the ninja world, and that title had not been empty flattery.
Add in the anti-aging medicine Akira had refined for her, and it was practically cheating. She no longer needed to keep expending chakra just to maintain her youth.
Age itself had almost stopped applying to Tsunade. Even if she lived until the end of the world, she would probably still look like a woman in her twenties.
Samui and Yugito both had incredible figures and exactly the kind of personalities Akira found interesting, but admiration was all it was. He had no intention of taking things further.
Back in Konoha, Akira's days had become very comfortable again. Every now and then Tsunade would send him out for a walk in the form of a mission.
She simply had zero concern for his safety. Looking across the entire ninja world, there still did not seem to be anyone capable of seriously hurting him.
Mostly, it was just that certain minor missions required someone at his level to show up and keep the situation under control.
The trip to the Land of Demons had caused some trouble, but the Ghost Army had never made it as far as Konoha itself. The damage at the border had been limited, and the Fire Daimyō had paid for the repairs himself.
With things calm again, Akira spent his idle hours sprawled on the sofa in the Hokage's office reading whatever happened to catch his interest, and he really was reading.
He was always remarkably well-behaved in that sacred place. Any private flirtation with Tsunade stayed firmly behind closed doors at home.