The night deepened.
For once, Yuto Souta wasn't sitting at his little desk by the window, tinkering with new ninjutsu. Instead, he lay on his bed, arms behind his head, brows furrowed tightly.
He was mulling over the sudden option the system had thrown at him.
According to the system's explanation, progressing from B-rank rogue ninja to S-rank rogue ninja mirrored the template buffs from chunin to Kage-level.
And compared to that final Kage rank, reaching S-rank rogue ninja was clearly the easier path...
Plus,
If he defected from Konoha, he could openly research his Dust Release and Wood Release without restraint.
It wasn't a bad choice.
"But if I defect now... where would I even go?"
Yuto Souta sighed.
The Akatsuki organization wasn't fully formed yet—just look at those Rain ninjas from the exam.
Hanzo of the Salamander still ruled the Rain Country, and the current Akatsuki probably didn't even have Konan, let alone that accountant guy...
After much thought, Yuto Souta still couldn't make up his mind.
Defecting had its perks, but the pursuit that would follow could seriously disrupt his research.
Staying in Konoha came with more restrictions, but at least it was relatively safe for now... Well, not that safe.
Right now, there was a ninja perched outside his window, peeking in.
This was a big problem...
Yuto Souta's brows creased.
He raised two fingers, casually forming a seal as a wind bullet quickly took shape.
"Wind Release."
"Vacuum Wave."
Compress, compress, compress again—shrinking a fist-sized wind bullet down to the size of a glass marble, boosting its power through chakra compression, had become second nature to Yuto Souta.
Whoosh!
Clang!
The intruder deflected the wind bullet with a kunai, then calmly hopped into the room and removed their mask.
A familiar face—layered, dyed hair, and a frame not much older than his own.
It was Yakumo from the Sand Village.
"You're making it easy for people to misunderstand something here," Yuto Souta said coldly.
A Sand Village ninja sneaking into his room?
Konoha's Anbu and higher-ups wouldn't just brush this off as a romantic rendezvous, would they?
"What, are you scared?" Yakumo replied with a playful tone.
At that moment, she reverted to the haughty demeanor she'd had when they first met, as if everything that happened in the Forest of Death was trivial.
Yuto Souta didn't respond.
He just lay there on the bed, silently staring at Yakumo.
His scarlet eyes glinted, three tomoe prominently displayed. Right now, Yuto Souta bore an eerie resemblance to the Uchiha elders from that evening...
But the pressure in his gaze alone was enough to make Yakumo squirm.
"I'm here to say goodbye."
In the end, Yakumo revealed her purpose.
Though her tone carried a hint of reluctance and frustration.
Only a handful of Sand ninjas had passed the second exam. While the chunin qualification wasn't their main goal, abandoning the exam under these circumstances was still a blow to their pride...
But... what could they do about losing face?
The Sand Village had surrendered twice in the last two ninja wars, and even in this war that had barely begun, hadn't they already started peace talks?
Yes, her trip to Konoha wasn't just for the exam—it was to convey the Sand Village's intent to negotiate peace.
It was humiliating, but what could she do about it?
"Konoha's gate isn't over here, though," Yuto Souta said matter-of-factly, seemingly oblivious to Yakumo's dejection.
"The Uchiha compound is pretty far from Konoha's gate... Plus, there's only one gate. Leaving any other way means the Anbu will come knocking."
Knocking?
Probably meant something like a wanted notice... Konoha slang, maybe?
Yakumo's face darkened instantly.
"I know where Konoha's gate is!"
"Then what are you waiting for?" Yuto Souta shot back without missing a beat, his voice growing colder.
He was in the middle of pondering his life's big decisions—having someone suddenly creep up to his wall was not cool...
And if the Anbu or Root caught wind of this, it'd stir up a whole mess of trouble.
If they started doing routine checks every few days, how was he supposed to conduct his research or benefit humanity?
And... even if he chose to defect,
He sure as hell wasn't going to the dirt-poor Sand Village!
"You...!" Yakumo was clearly riled up by Yuto Souta's attitude, taking a moment to calm herself down.
When she looked at him again, her gaze was icy.
"What I mean is, if we ever meet on the battlefield someday, I... won't hold back!"
With that, Yakumo's figure vanished in an instant.
She didn't really need to come here... Such a risky move could easily make Konoha doubt the Sand Village's sincerity for peace.
But she just couldn't swallow her pride!
Her prized Kekkei Genkai had been undone by three Water Releases...
And after cracking it, this kid still had so much energy left—enough to fight off that coalition of genin for half a day!
It made her, the Sand Village's top genius, feel like a complete joke...
Before leaving, she'd wanted to say goodbye and issue a challenge—to prove to this guy that she hadn't backed down and never would.
But this guy's attitude...
It was way too condescending!
Fuming, Yakumo melted into the night like a shadow, vanishing from sight.
Back in the room, Yuto Souta watched her leave, followed shortly by a few trailing figures, and let out a sigh.
"Dumb girl..."
If those were Anbu tailing her, this peace talk was probably doomed.
All because Yakumo made a detour to the Uchiha compound.
Neither the Uchiha nor the Sand Village were on Konoha's trust list...
And if it was Root following her...
Then the entire Sand Village team might just get wiped out!
Konoha right now was at the peak of Sarutobi Hiruzen's reign!
Sure, only one of the Sannin was still in the village, but they were Konoha's Sannin nonetheless!
Add in Sakumo Hatake, who hadn't been sabotaged to death and was instead tearing it up on the Stone Village front, plus the near-legendary Golden Flash...
Wiping out this Sand Village squad? Konoha absolutely had the guts to do it.
But... what did any of that have to do with him?
Yuto Souta glanced at the time. Yep, three minutes to midnight.
Compared to the Sage Body he was about to unlock,
Everything else was just noise...
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