"Yu, I've arrived."

Under the sparse starlight, Hinata stopped at the entrance of the Hyuga Clan main family estate.

"Alright, you go in. Let Hiashi-sama know that I'll visit again next time."

Yu also halted his steps. It was late, and he evidently had no intention of paying a visit to Hyuga Hiashi.

"Okay, thank you for taking me to Ichiraku Ramen today. It was delicious. Goodbye, Brother Yu."

Hinata politely thanked Yu with a soft voice, then walked into the Hyuga main family estate under Yu's watchful gaze.

Today's events were quite extraordinary for her mundane life as a member of the Hyuga main family. Not only did she meet a boy named Naruto Uzumaki, but most importantly, she once again saw Yu, the young man who had saved her when she was a child—the one she had thought existed only in her dreams.

After seeing Hinata off, Yu left the Hyuga main family estate.

The figure under the moonlight elongated as Yu walked along the path back to his home under the streetlights.

In the center of Konoha, in what appeared to be an ordinary apartment building.

Although there was still plenty of cash in the spatial dimenion of Kaio's Door Door Fruit, coupled with the rewards he received from carrying out S-rank missions, Yu was now considered wealthy. However, due to his frequent missions and training, Yu had not invested much in real estate in Konoha. He still resided in the same single apartment he had lived in since moving out of the Konoha Orphanage.

However, upon returning after some time away, stepping through the gate into his house, Yu discovered that the lights were on and the place was not as dusty as he had imagined. Instead, it was spotless, with the table neatly arranged and the bed made as if someone had been regularly cleaning and tidying up.

Yu was puzzled. Who could it be? Uzuki Yugao? Or...

"Yu?!"

As Yu entered, a girl with long, slightly curled black hair inside the room was surprised, her cherry lips parted, and her red eyes shining brighter than the moon in the sky.

"Hmm? Kurenai-Nee?!"

Yu exclaimed in surprise as he realized that the person in his room was Kurenai, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

"How come you're in my house?"

Looking at Kurenai, who had become even more beautiful in his absence, Yu asked with some confusion.

"I... I noticed that you often go out on missions and don't come back to live here. Sometimes I'm off duty, so I come over to help tidy up the house..."

Gazing at the handsome young man before her, whom she hadn't seen for a long time and whose features were even more striking, Kurenai's gaze became somewhat complicated. "By the way, I ran into Yugao on the way here..."

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"Congratulations to you both."

As she said this, Yu couldn't tell if her tone was one of jealousy or disappointment.

Although she and Yugao were good friends now, knowing that her crush had chosen to be with Yugao still dealt a blow to her that she found difficult to accept.

"Oh, you mean that thing..."

Hearing Kurenai's congratulations, Yu chuckled awkwardly. He wasn't blind; he couldn't have missed the affection Kurenai had shown him all along.

"By the way, you don't have the key to my house, so how did you get in?"

Seeing Kurenai's disappointed expression, Yu even felt a bit hesitant to look her in the eyes and quickly changed the subject.

"What do you mean? After all, I'm almost a Jonin now, so isn't it easy for me to come into your house?"

Upon hearing Yu's words, Kurenai gave him an irritated glance. "And... isn't your change of topic a bit too abrupt?"

"Ahaha, well, um... it's getting late. How about I walk you home?"

Seeing the look in Kurenai's eyes, so alluring and captivating, Yu couldn't help but feel a flutter in his heart. He awkwardly laughed to cover up the ripples stirring within him.

Honestly, both Kurenai and Yugao were rare beauties in this world. Either one of them would be a dream spouse for ordinary people.

Enduring the kindness of a beauty was the hardest thing to do, and Yu was not blind to Kurenai's obvious affection. As for Kurenai, the sexy and bold beauty with whom he had feelings, Yu did have thoughts about her.

However, since he had known Yugao first, and now confirmed a formal relationship with her, Yu didn't want his emotional connections in this world to become too complicated.

"Do you really want to chase me away like this?"

But how could Yu understand a girl's mind? Upon hearing his words, Kurenai's eyes dimmed, and her face showed a hint of bitterness.

"No, Kurenai-Nee, that's not what I mean..."

Seeing Kurenai's angry expression, Yu quickly explained, "Because I may have to prepare for a trip to the Land of Earth..."

"Fine, you don't need to accompany me! I'll go by myself!"

Before Yu could finish explaining, a breeze blew past, and Kurenai's figure vanished in an instant.

"Wait, is she really angry? Well, that's..."

Watching Kurenai leave in anger, Yu found himself alone in the spacious room, sighing helplessly.

The night was cool as water, and silence prevailed until morning.

Early the next day, while the sky was still dim, an ANBU ninja knocked on Yu's door.

"Yu-sama, Hokage-sama and the three Konoha Elders-sama would like to see you."

Upon seeing Yu at the gate, the ANBU ninja bowed slightly with respect.

The three Konoha Elders? So, does that mean Danzo is involved this time too?

Hearing this, Yu, who had just woken up, narrowed his eyes slightly. He keenly grasped a hint of information from the ANBU ninja's cryptic words.

"All the authorities of Konoha are present... What important matter could this be?"

"I understand. You can go ahead. I'll be there shortly."

After saying this, Yu quickly freshened up and changed clothes before heading directly to the Hokage's Office.

"Sarutobi-sensei."

After a few minutes, Yu appeared in the Third Hokage's office.

Besides the Third Hokage, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, two Konoha Elders, and Danzo, who hadn't been seen for a long time, were also present.

Seeing Yu's arrival, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu showed a hint of discomfort on their faces. The events that had occurred last time had severely damaged their reputation as Konoha Elders.

However, sensing their uneasy expressions, Yu couldn't help but smirk inwardly. He didn't even bother to greet them.

"You're here, Yu."

"We've called you here this time because there's a special mission we need to assign to you."

Seeing Yu arrive as scheduled, the Third Hokage nodded at him, then gestured to Mitokado Homura beside him to explain the mission.

"You're aware of what happened five years ago..."

"Ever since the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage, many people in the village have started to suspect that the Nine-Tails invasion was orchestrated by the Uchiha Clan."

Receiving the Third's signal, Mitokado Homura cleared his throat and looked at Yu before speaking, "Moreover, recently, under ANBU surveillance, the Uchiha Clan has started exhibiting unusual activities..."

"The number of conflicts between villagers and other ninjas has been increasing. They often excuse themselves from attending Konoha's meetings and frequently hold secret internal councils. Therefore, we have every reason to suspect that the Uchiha Clan is plotting a coup and rebellion."

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