Yu turned to look at her flushed, delicate face. He hadn't expected their relationship to progress this fast.

It was an unexpected development.

But still…

They both had something to gain from this.

As for feelings—those could come later.

As Mei shyly closed her eyes, Yu leaned in from the side. She felt her lips meet his.

Her breath hitched. She opened her eyes in surprise as his tongue brushed hers.

Yu raised his hand—

"Lady Mei!!"

A female Kiri-nin burst in with hurried steps, her shout echoing through the room as she pushed open the conference room door.

"Hhh—!"

The kunoichi froze at the sight before her, gasping. Her mind went blank as she stood paralyzed.

This… this was beyond what she could handle.

"…"

Yu and Mei pulled apart. He glanced toward the door while Mei quickly stepped back, her cheeks burning, hastily wiping the corner of her mouth.

"What is it?"

Her face still red, Mei steadied herself and spoke in a cold tone once again.

The female Kirigakure shinobi, startled awake, quickly replied in shock, "Master Gen sent me to inform you—the patrol squad at the village border captured a three-man infiltration team from another shinobi village."

"A team from another village already infiltrating? Could it be that even before the Tailed Beast Chaos, other villages had their eyes on Kirigakure?"

Terumi Mei furrowed her delicate brows.

She instantly switched into her role as a shinobi, pushing aside all the shyness in her mind and sinking into deep thought.

Uchiha Yu jumped down from the table, walking past Mei as if nothing had happened. He said:

"Let's go check it out."

He didn't seem at all irritated by having his jutsu interrupted. What surprised him more was that he'd just agreed to help if Kirigakure was invaded—and now the invasion had come.

Seeing how calm Yu was, Terumi Mei's breathing steadied a little. She followed behind him, leaving the conference room along with the female shinobi.

Mei glanced back at the door, clenched her fist, her thoughts tangled.

---

In the dark and damp prison beneath Kirigakure, inside the interrogation room, Ao was interrogating a middle-aged shinobi whose entire body had been sealed, leaving only his head mobile.

Outside in the corridor, several Kiri shinobi stood guard.

Clang—

The outer gate opened. Uchiha Yu and Terumi Mei descended the stone steps together, the shinobi parting to clear a path for them.

Thanks to Ao's explanation, the Kiri shinobi already knew their village had escaped danger tonight entirely because of the Uchiha. Their gazes toward Yu were now filled with gratitude and respect.

Of course, a few still held suspicion and wariness toward him.

"Have you extracted any intel?"

Terumi Mei cast a sideways glance at the gathered shinobi.

They were from Gen's faction—effectively her direct subordinates now.

At present, most key positions in Kirigakure were under the control of Gen's faction.

"Nothing useful yet. One of them committed suicide on the spot after we caught them. We managed to stop the other two."

"Of the two survivors, one is being interrogated by Lord Ao. The other is being tortured in the deeper part of the dungeon."

The Kiri shinobi reported one after another.

"Which village's forehead protector were they wearing?"

Mei asked.

"Kumogakure."

One of the shinobi quickly stepped into the dark storage room next door and brought back a forehead protector from Kumogakure, handing it to Mei.

Uchiha Yu glanced at it and remarked, "They're not actually from Kumogakure."

Faking identities was a basic infiltration skill for shinobi infiltrating enemy villages.

"Mm. Right now, Kumo's attention would definitely be focused on Konoha, not Kirigakure."

Terumi Mei nodded seriously, handing the protector back to the shinobi as she analyzed the situation.

A moment passed.

Ao walked out of the interrogation room with a helpless expression, sighing inwardly, If only we had the Yamanaka clan's ability from Konoha.

Upon seeing Mei Terumi and Uchiha Yu, his eyes lit up and he spoke in a low voice,

"Lord Yu, Lady Mei, I apologize. We weren't able to extract any useful intel."

"Sigh…"

Mei Terumi shook her head, then turned to the Kirigakure shinobi behind her.

"Pass down the order—dispatch several squads to strengthen patrols around the village. Be on guard for other villages disguising their shinobi as refugees to infiltrate us."

"Yes!"

Several high-ranking Mist shinobi immediately dispersed.

The rest looked troubled.

Uchiha Yu glanced at the dark interrogation room and stepped inside, speaking calmly,

"I'll give it a try."

"Lord Yu!"

Ao's eyes widened.

Mei Terumi immediately followed Yu into the room. Outside, a few Jonin whispered among themselves:

"Can he really do this sort of interrogation?"

"No idea. A matter this classified… is it really okay to let an outsider hear it?"

"Exactly…"

Ao furrowed his brow and glared at them with fierce eyes.

"If you don't want to die, then shut up!"

Just as the others were about to argue, a voice came from the interrogation room:

"We're from Sunagakure. Our mission in infiltrating Kirigakure was to gather intelligence on the village's recent activities…"

The Mist shinobi exchanged shocked glances, their pupils dilating. They looked through the glass window toward the room.

The man in the interrogation chair—sealed so only his head could move—had pupils flickering with the mark of Yasakani. .

Uchiha Yu stood before him.

Although Yasakani couldn't read minds, it could manipulate one's spirit and force them to tell the truth.

"Sunagakure…" Yu narrowed his eyes at the name and immediately asked,

"What is the Kazekage's latest move?"

"The Fourth Kazekage led a unit to Iwagakure. After negotiating with the border garrison, he suddenly dispatched us toward Kirigakure… the main force of the Sand Village is also heading this way."

The middle-aged Suna shinobi replied stiffly.

Yu and Mei Terumi exchanged glances.

She looked visibly shaken.

Yu followed up with a few more questions, but the man knew nothing further.

Only then did he step away.

"Thank you… Uchiha Yu," Mei whispered beside him, her voice filled with respect.

If not for him, they wouldn't have discovered this information until Suna's forces were already at their gates—by then, it would've been too late.

"Don't call me 'sir' or 'sensei,'" Yu muttered with a glance.

He turned and left the filthy interrogation room, air heavy with rot.

"Yes—" Mei smiled faintly and followed behind him. But moments later, her face darkened, anxiety creeping in.

"I'll have someone escort you back to rest. I'm going to discuss countermeasures with Master Gen."

Yu nodded slightly.

Mei and Ao departed, and the rest of the Mist shinobi stared at Yu in utter silence before quickly following.

The female Mist ninja who had stumbled upon Mei and Yu earlier was tasked with escorting him back to his quarters near the Mizukage's Tower.

The two walked through the village streets.

The female ninja was nervous.

She feared that by tomorrow, her body might be found floating near the shoreline of the Hidden Mist.

"No need to be so tense," Yu said, gazing up at the full moon in the night sky.

"Eh?" She exhaled deeply, finally relaxing.

Yu paid her no further attention.

He was deep in thought.

Suna's move on Iwagakure must've been incited by Konoha—an attempt to stage a "circle Iwa to save Konoha" strategy.

But no one in Konoha could've expected Suna would suddenly turn their blades toward the Mist instead.

It must be that Iwagakure leaked some intel about Kirigakure to the Sand.

The shinobi world now…

Was getting more interesting by the day.

°°°

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