"Hurry up! We're still within the Land of Fire's borders. Konoha's Shinobi could catch up at any moment!"
Mabui scrambled onto the eagle's feathers, the bandage she had wrapped around her own arm catching on the plumage. The wound felt like it was being doused in boiling oil.
Her teeth were gritted audibly, her knuckles white. Even her voice was weak and breathy.
After the incident with the Root's member, this was her final test for Makoto… to see if he was truly willing to follow them back to Kumogakure of his own accord.
Makoto stood in the snow with his arms crossed, watching Samui and Mabui struggle to climb onto the eagle's back.
The bandage around Samui's waist and abdomen was seeping dark red blood.
Every time she lifted her leg, she had to furrow her brow tightly. Her black tight-fitting clothes were soaked with sweat in uneven patches.
Mabui's arm trembled like a dead leaf in an autumn wind. Their wretched state was practically etched on their faces.
Makoto showed no trace of urgency. He lightly tapped the ground with the tip of his foot, his body floating up like a leaf caught in the wind, landing lightly on the broad eagle's back.
His movement was so gentle the eagle didn't even sway. Compared to the two women's frantic scrambling, it was like watching two completely unrelated plays.
Once the two women finally managed to climb aboard, the eagle flapped its giant wings and shot into the sky, the stirred-up snow mist blurring their vision.
It sped towards the Land of Lightning.
The sound of its wings cutting through the air was like muffled thunder rolling through the clouds, making their eardrums tremble. The wind on the eagle's back was strong enough to blow a person off.
Samui and Mabui sandwiched Makoto between them, their arms tightly encircling his waist, using their own backs to block the biting wind for him.
The stray hairs at Samui's neck were blown against her face. Mabui, feeling the body heat from the person in front of her, glanced at Makoto. The tips of her dark ears faintly reddened, and she quickly pressed her lips together to suppress the odd feeling.
They knew that once they brought Makoto back to Kumogakure, no matter what, the Raikage would arrange for several excellent Kunoichi for him, hoping to produce even more outstanding Uchiha offspring.
And she and Samui were among the best of their generation in Kumogakure...
Makoto, however, was completely at ease.
He felt around in his clothes, actually retrieving a few specially made kunai from his [Player Inventory].
He spun them on his fingertip and tossed them downwards.
The specially made kunai traced a beautiful parabolic arc through the air. The handles were stamped with his unique Flying Thunder God's mark, the Succubus Mark resembling a demonic pupil as the kunai fell into the sea of clouds below.
Samui and Mabui watched his actions, their brows furrowing slightly.
But remembering how the Root's member had been burned to ashes by Makoto's Great Fireball Technique, and considering their own condition, they swallowed the words on the tips of their tongues.
'This kid might seem casual, but he's more ruthless than anyone when he acts.'
Mabui looked back at the shrinking coastline of the Land of Fire. The land looked like an old, waterlogged cloth slowly shrinking into a blurry line.
She let out a long sigh of relief, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly.
Once they were out of the Land of Fire's borders, Kumogakure's reception team could come from the Land of Hot Water at any time.
By then, even if the Sandaime Hokage came personally, he wouldn't be able to snatch Makoto back from Kumogakure's hands.
Samui stole a sidelong glance at Makoto in her arms.
Sunlight filtered through the clouds onto his face, casting the shadows of his eyelashes beneath his eyes. Though he was just a half-grown youth, his eyes held a composure that didn't match his age.
A flicker of complexity passed through Samui's blue-green pupils.
She couldn't help but think, 'Is this the genius of the Uchiha Clan? So young, yet with such temperament. No wonder this clan could shake the Shinobi World with their might during the Warring States Period.'
She had heard before that Itachi possessed the mindset of a Hokage at seven years old. Back then, she had scoffed. Now, she was starting to believe it a little.
'What exactly is his goal, cooperating with us to leave Konoha?... He's really hard to read. But none of that matters now.'
Thinking this, Samui pressed her lips together, vowing inwardly, 'No matter what. As long as we can bring him back to Kumogakure, even if he's a bomb, we have to hold onto him first.'
The eagle passed through a thin layer of cloud. The sunlight suddenly became glaring.
Makoto had tossed quite a few Flying Thunder God's kunai along the way. He suddenly yawned, leaning further into the ample comfort of Samui's embrace, his head resting perfectly against her collarbone.
He found an extremely comfortable position and prepared to close his eyes and rest again.
The warm breath brushed against the hollow of her neck. Samui's body instantly stiffened.
She could clearly feel the itch of the boy's hair against her skin, and the warmth transmitted through his clothes.
Looking at his serene profile, she couldn't help but steal a few more glances.
The eagle flew faster and faster, piercing through layer after layer of clouds. The sea below changed from azure blue to a dark green. The coastline of the Land of Fire in the distance had completely blurred into a faint trace.
It didn't turn towards the Land of Hot Water, but flew straight in the direction of the Land of Lightning. The frequency of its wingbeats increased, clearly afraid of any complications.
Samui's breathing gradually steadied. She secretly glanced at Makoto leaning against her, then found that he had actually closed his eyes and fallen asleep.
His eyelashes fluttered slightly with his breath, finally showing a bit of the demeanor appropriate for his age.
But one had to admit, this little guy's heart was certainly big enough.
She let out a soft sigh. A hint of softness, which even she hadn't noticed, appeared in her blue-green pupils.
No matter what Makoto was after, once they entered Kumogakure's territory, he would be theirs.
When the Land of Fire's coastline completely disappeared from view, Samui and Mabui exchanged a glance.
Both saw the unconcealable joy in the other's eyes… they had really brought back the Uchiha Clan's genius.
Their sacrificed comrades had not died in vain.
The eagle let out a loud cry, like a thunderclap tearing through the clouds, speeding towards the black coastline of the Land of Lightning.
Makoto's eyelashes fluttered.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile curled his lips. He mused inwardly, 'The Land of Lightning, Kumogakure...'
'I'm f***ing coming…'
Much later, sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting patches of golden light on the sea surface, like paving a road leading to the Land of Lightning.
Makoto slowly opened his eyes, looking at the increasingly close black land. There was no trace of timidity in his gaze, only eager anticipation.
'The real show was just beginning.'
…
In Konoha, the snow had only half-melted. Dirty snow piles still lingered in the corners. The air carried the lingering scent of explosive tags, like a crushed cigarette butt lingering under one's nose.
The aftershocks of the disturbance a few nights ago remained… the Anbu, Root, and the Police Force had joined forces to eliminate almost all the Kumogakure's spies lurking within Konoha.
They had even detained the remaining members of the Kumogakure's envoy.
In the Hokage's Office, the smoke was so thick you could wring water from it.
Hiruzen was sunk in the wooden chair polished smooth by use, his pipe spinning rapidly between his fingers. The tobacco in the copper bowl sizzled as it burned, sparks splattering onto the map on the desk, scorching a sesame-seed-sized black mark.
His aged face was knotted into a deep frown as he stared blankly at the location of the Land of Lightning, 'The Kumogakure's spies had paid too high a price for the disturbance the other night. It didn't seem like mere provocation.'
When the first explosion sounded that night, he had instantly rushed towards the new Kyubi's Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto.
Running past the Hokage Rock, the faces of the successive Hokage were illuminated flickeringly by the light of the explosive tags, as if silently reproaching him.
He couldn't forget that night many years ago, when the previous Kyubi's Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Kushina, was kidnapped by Kumogakure. Their spies had used the same tactic.
The same thing absolutely could not happen a second time.
When Hiruzen reached Naruto's room, the boy was sprawled out asleep on his bed, drool running from the corner of his mouth onto the pillow.
Despite the earth-shattering explosions outside, he hadn't woken up. His little snores were even louder than the explosive tags.
Hiruzen crouched by the bedside for a long moment, reached out to tuck the covers around him.
His fingertips touched the child's warm forehead, and the tension in his heart slowly eased, 'Good, the Jinchuriki is safe.'
But he knew the Kumogakure's spies wouldn't have gone to such lengths to turn half the village upside down just for simple provocation. Even a fool could tell they were after something big.
When the Konoha Barrier Team reported that Kumogakure's envoys had broken out of Konoha, Hiruzen immediately dispatched Anbu and Root in pursuit.
When the Anbu reported, "We couldn't stop them. The Kumogakure's envoys escaped beyond the Land of Fire's border." Hiruzen was tapping his pipe on the desk, ashes falling rustlingly.
"They crossed the border?"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, his knuckles rubbing the burn marks on his pipe, carefully recalling the events of this period.
Suddenly, Hiruzen slammed his hand on the edge of the desk, his pipe nearly slipping from his grasp.
He remembered the confidential report Danzo had shoved at him a few days ago.
From Hiashi's account, he learned about Kumogakure's previous attempt to kidnap the Hyuga Clan's Main Family's bloodline.
Cold sweat trickled down his temples, soaking his graying beard. When he called out to the Anbu, his voice trembled. "Notify all Konoha's Kekkei Genkai Clans to conduct internal checks! See if anyone has gone missing recently!"
As the Anbu turned to leave, Hiruzen added, "Especially the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans!"
Not long after Hiruzen's order went out, the sound of shattering porcelain echoed in the stone room of the Root's base.
Danzo clutched the ceramic shards in his palm, his voice hoarse. "I knew those Kumogakure bandits were up to no good!"
"Hiruzen, it took you this long to realize? You are truly no longer fit to be Hokage!"
A shrewd light flashed in the gloom of his single eye. Danzo prepared to fish in troubled waters, ordering, "Follow the Anbu's actions. See if there's an opportunity to kidnap geniuses from the Kekkei Genkai Clans."
The Root's members vanished like shadows dissolving into ink, leaving not even a footstep behind.
Danzo, leaning on his cane, slowly walked out of the Root base, preparing to continue his 'discipline' of the Hyuga Clan.
From his observations during this period, he had concluded that the Hyuga Clan was a tumor on Konoha comparable to the Uchiha Clan. They needed to be struck hard.
He had also already assigned Root's 'flower' to make contact with Makoto, to see if he could be recruited to serve Root and contribute to Konoha.
It was just that Makoto seemed not to have left the clan's compound these past few days, so 'flower' hadn't been able to find him.