Kairen did not feel melancholic for long. Tsunade walked up to him, held his hand, and comforted him, saying,
"Kairen, your family saw you grow up healthy and they can be at ease."
Kairen shook his head, and suddenly, amid Tsunade's exclamation, he scooped her up.
"Hokage Building, let's go!"
...
The weather is dry, be careful of fire.
Kairen's flame in the dark night was impatient, wanting to bring people endless warmth.
At night there was no one around the Hokage Building. In the work area, Kairen began to move his hands restlessly.
"You wretch, can't you be a little gentler?"
"Don't worry! My gentleness is coming soon!"
The night was cold, the skin exposed to the air caught a layer of chill, but Kairen's big hands dispelled that chill in an instant.
Tsunade helplessly braced herself against the desk in front, and suddenly glanced at the Hokage portraits hanging on the wall.
"Grandpa, Second Grandpa, I—"
Tsunade felt truly ashamed in her heart. In such a place?
But her inner shame faded in an instant, and right after that she was like a lone boat on the sea, drifting uncertainly, rocking up and down.
They didn't dare turn on the lights at night, because there were pedestrians walking along the street.
The frequent passersby made Kairen unhappy, and in the end he slapped Tsunade's snow-white hips.
"I'll control the speed, you control the sound!"
"You bad guy~"
...
A heavy rain at night pattered down, and then gradually passed amid a burst of crying sounds.
Seeing Tsunade faint, Kairen knew he had used too much strength.
He was an immortal body; Tsunade was only flesh and blood.
There was nothing to be done—his heart's fire had been stirred today, and the throttle had been wide open the whole time.
Kairen carried Tsunade back to the Forest of Death and settled her properly.
Canon, together with several shadow clones from the Eastern Bureau, waited respectfully outside the door. When they saw Kairen come out, they hurried forward.
"Boss, the bounty has already been posted on the black market. Spending 100 billion ryō to buy the daimyo's head—isn't that a bit wasteful?"
Kairen waved his hand, looking a little uneasy.
"Such a small character isn't worth caring about. Besides, having so much money hidden away is bad for the circulation of the economy—let's help the poor a bit!"
Canon smiled. "I believe Kakuzu will hurry eight hundred miles with whip and spur and will come nonstop to take the daimyo's head."
"Who cares!"
Kairen yawned, looking a little withered—truly he had not exhausted his strength.
"Let the daimyo go. Let's see how long he can live. Daring to put a bounty on me in the black market—I'll let him taste what it feels like to be hunted!"
"Alright!"
"If there's nothing else, I'm going back to sleep. Sigh… Tsunade can't sit…"
Just as Kairen turned to leave, Canon suddenly called out to him.
"Boss, our Eastern Bureau prepared a gift for you!"
"Oh?"
Kairen turned around, looking at Canon with interest.
"What is it?"
Canon gave an evil grin. "Beauties from the Hyūga Clan and the Yamanaka Clan."
At this, Kairen instantly perked up.
"What's this? They want to form family ties with me?"
Canon nodded. "Ino–Shika–Chōy three clans don't want their clan names erased, so they've taken this last resort. The Hyūga Clan purely wants to attach themselves to you."
Kairen put on an expression of lofty righteousness.
"How outrageous. These ninja clans oppress the common folk and do all kinds of evil."
"And now they even dare to use sugar-coated bullets to corrupt me. Who do they think Moku Kairen is?"
The shadow clones all lowered their heads together, not daring to show the contempt in their eyes.
They were all the same individual—who didn't know he was lustful to the bone?
There was a time he almost laid hands on his shadow clones!
Kairen righteously waved his hand.
"Take me to see what sugar-coated bullets they're using to corrupt me, this servant of the people!"
Canon followed Kairen's aura. "I'll lead the way right now!"
On the road, the shadow clones all voiced disdain toward the Ino–Shika–Chōy three clans and the Hyūga Clan.
"Hmph! These petty villains really come up with strange tricks. Who doesn't know Secretary is upright and works for the people? He works twenty-five hours a day, and the other day he even had a high fever up to 100 degrees."
Kairen nodded repeatedly and then spoke some grand principles.
"Comrades will inevitably encounter some temptations during work, but we must remember our original intention: we serve the people."
"We must keep our duties in mind and regard power, money, and beauty carefully, and firmly keep our faith…"
The shadow clones immediately praised, "Secretary Kairen speaks well!"
The place where the sugar-coated bullets were arranged was not in the Forest of Death but in a training ground in the Eastern District.
The air was pleasant, the environment serene, and most importantly, it was hidden.
A high-platform pavilion tower, splendid to the eye, with golden dragons coiling.
Below the high platform, a huge bronze sparrow looked lifelike.
"Bronze Sparrow Terrace?"
Kairen said uncertainly.
Canon nodded. "Yes. Wolon and Fenchu guard the gate, the Nine-Tails suppresses the center."
Canon then led Kairen up onto the high platform.
Passing through the main gate, behind it were dainty and exquisite buildings, filled with the scenery of Jiangnan's watery towns.
Majestic outside, gentle inside.
Kairen was more and more looking forward to the enemy's sugar-coated bullets.
Spring water murmured, bamboo leaves were fragrant.
Along the gravel path, lantern stands appeared from time to time, fireflies danced, giving a sense of leisure.
Within the bamboo grove, there was a courtyard.
Wolon and Fenchu, two bear cubs, hugged bamboo shoots and slept beside the courtyard gate.
The Nine-Tails treated Wolon as a pillow, lying on it and dozing.
Hearing footsteps approaching from afar, the Nine-Tails opened its eyes, saw Kairen's lecherous face, shot him a disdainful glance, and closed its eyes again.
Canon stopped outside the courtyard gate.
"Boss, it's inside. They're the great beauties of their respective clans."
At some point, Kairen had changed into a scholar's attire, holding a folding fan.
On the front was written "Serene," and on the back was written "Date?"
Kairen tidied his clothes, perfectly embodying a beast in gentleman's clothing.
He flicked his long sleeves, revealing a refined expression.
"Tonight let this humble scholar meet these beauties."
With that, he pushed the door and went in.
As he passed, he didn't forget to rub the Nine-Tails' head.
Nine-Tails: "Human! (눈‸눈)"
...
Yamanaka Miki, twenty-five years old, from the Yamanaka Clan, cousin of Yamanaka Haiichi.
A head of long golden hair, light-green eyes, wearing a light-blue navel-baring outfit, revealing fair calves.
Her skin was fair, her looks excellent—she was a top-tier beauty of the Yamanaka Clan.
And she looked eighty percent similar to Ino in the Boruto era.
At twenty-three, in the ninja world of early marriage and early childbirth, she counted as an older leftover woman. The Yamanaka Clan had often scolded Yamanaka Miki over this.
Yamanaka Miki had a stubborn temper, possessed the feminist awareness of the new era, and wanted to find someone she truly liked.
So it had been delayed until now.
At present, the Ino–Shika–Chōy three clans faced the greatest calamity in a hundred years and were at risk of extermination.
So she had been sold off like merchandise.
A willful young lady like Yamanaka Miki naturally refused to accept it, but she was helpless.
After all, it was the clan that had given birth to her and raised her for more than twenty years; she couldn't just walk away.
Yamanaka Miki puffed her cheeks, rubbing her head as she paced back and forth in the small attic.
"Sigh! The Third is really useless. So many people and they still can't beat Moku Kairen?"
"And the clan is really something—knowing Moku Kairen is so strong, why still follow the Sarutobi family? Decades of savings have all been squandered, and they even paid me out!"