Konoha's sky had taken on an inky hue. The reception lasted until evening.
"You've had a long day. Please rest well."
Outside the guest quarters reserved for foreign dignitaries, Rena bowed slightly to the three Kumogakure shinobi, a polite smile on her face. "I will guide you to subsequent activities tomorrow. Until then, you have ample time to relax and recover from your journey. No one will disturb you."
After offering these gentle words, Rena softly closed the door.
Click.
Inside the room, the two Kumo shinobi raised their hands, massaging their cheeks, stiff from smiling all day. One of them glanced towards Yurui, who was scanning the room's furnishings with his eyes.
"Boss," he said, tilting his head towards the door and speaking softly. "That last bit was a threat, wasn't it?"
Yurui silently withdrew his gaze without answering. He walked into the spacious living room and sank into a sofa.
Seeing this, the two Kumo shinobi exchanged a look, wordlessly dropping the topic. They entered the living room, giving the décor an appreciative glance. "As expected of Konoha. So wealthy. Even their guest quarters for foreign visitors are this luxurious."
As they spoke, the two Kumo shinobi slipped their hands into their pockets. A small-scale barrier to block perception was triggered. An imperceptible ripple disturbed the air, and a voice sounded directly in Yurui's and the other shinobi's minds.
'Boss, any surveillance or bugs?'
"The honor is ours," Yurui replied aloud, his expression and tone unchanged. "It seems Konoha truly treats us as 'honored guests.'"
The two Kumo shinobi immediately understood. They began to chime in with aimless chatter, discussing where they might visit in the coming days.
Mentioning the entertainment district not far from the center of Konoha, the two even let out slightly lewd chuckles, discussing the rumored "Fun Fun" establishments.
Meanwhile, standing outside the door, Rena, her back to it, slowly opened her eyes.
Though she knew a shinobi shouldn't be swayed by emotions, hearing the crude talk fitting Kumo's rough style still made the young woman frown slightly.
"No chakra fluctuations sensed. No unusual movements detected…"
Rena quickly suppressed her distaste, lowering her hand from the seal but remaining alert.
If possible, she would have preferred Lord Third to have the three searched or to have placed surveillance barriers in the room.
But that suggestion had been gently yet firmly rejected by Lord Third. After all, Kumogakure had, so far, shown genuine sincerity. Discovering Konoha engaging in underhanded tactics would only give them leverage.
Yet, Rena had an ominous premonition, though she couldn't pinpoint why. Perhaps it was a woman's intuition.
Inside the room at that moment, Yurui stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of the high-floor guest room, overlooking the still bustling Konoha even in the evening. He watched the people below flowing through the streets like ants.
After a moment of silence, Yurui raised his hands, rapidly forming seals. Chakra he had long accumulated within surged forth.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke erupted silently. A Shadow Clone appeared beside him.
"Proceed," Yurui's true body stated calmly. "For Kumogakure."
The two Kumo shinobi exchanged another glance. In their hearts, they were clear: regardless of the mission's success or failure, they would not survive this.
Only if all three of them died here would the "weight" of the threat against Konoha be sufficient.
"For Kumogakure!"
The resolute voices of the two Kumo shinobi overlapped. Simultaneously, they raised their hands, swiftly forming seals. The chakra within them surged forth violently.
BOOM!!
An explosion that shook the evening sky echoed through Konoha. Windows in buildings, shopfronts along the street, and street lamps shattered like rain under the sweeping shockwave!
"Ah!"
"What's happening?!"
Pedestrians on the surrounding streets cried out in instinctive shock, turning terrified faces towards the source of the roar. They saw countless birds startled into flight. Thick, black smoke billowed from the fifth floor of the guest apartment.
A gaping hole had been torn in the apartment wall. Countless bricks and fragments plummeted from the height, crashing to the ground. Among them, three figures tumbled out, falling alongside the debris.
Thud! Thud!
The impact from dozens of meters shattered the ground, sending cracks spiderwebbing outward. Vivid, crimson blood began to pool.
By now, many villagers had heard the blast and rushed out of shops and homes to see. They watched as three figures fell from the sky.
Two of the figures lost all signs of life the instant they hit the ground. Only one figure, spitting out a mouthful of blood, struggled to his feet, roaring, "Konoha! How dare you betray the alliance?!"
The fury in that roar seemed utterly genuine, leaving the surrounding Konoha villagers stunned. They watched helplessly as the figure scrambled away.
Snapping out of it, someone finally recognized the two bodies lying on the ground. Their expression instantly twisted into horror.
"Those two… they're the Kumo emissaries!"
The moment someone trembled out those words, Rena, her body scorched and clothes tattered, appeared in a flash. Seeing the two corpses, her face turned deathly pale.
'How is this possible?!
Someone planted explosive tags in the Kumo delegation's guest room in advance?!'
"This is bad! I must report to Lord Third immediately!"
Though she hadn't yet realized it was a Kumo false flag operation, Rena instantly grasped the dire implications.
Ignoring her own injuries from the blast, she formed a seal, creating a Shadow Clone to pursue the sole surviving Kumo shinobi, while her main body sprinted with all her might toward the Hokage Building.
Meanwhile, the harried Rena failed to notice a figure concealed within the billowing black smoke above, leaping out and disappearing into the shadows.
It was Yurui, the sole survivor among the three Kumo shinobi.
The "Yurui" Rena's clone was chasing was merely another shadow clone. Other Konoha ninja arriving on the scene were also drawn by the clone, all assuming he was trying to flee the village.
In reality, his true target wasn't to escape Konoha, but the Hyūga clan compound in the opposite direction.
'Rest in peace. You are both heroes of Kumogakure. I will join you soon.'
Yurui's gaze was complex as he glanced down at the two corpses below. He then activated the Body Flicker Technique at full power.
Soon, he reached the woods near the Hyūga clan compound. The entire process had been surprisingly smooth.
But in the next instant, as his figure was swallowed by the dense tree shadows, plunging his vision into darkness…
A hand with distinct knuckles, gripping a short sword, extended from the profound shadows.
Almost purely from his battle-honed instincts, Yurui instinctively raised the kunai in his hand.
Clang!!
The clash of blades produced a sharp, earsplitting ring. A clear hum echoed in Yurui's ears. His wrist made a crisp sound from the impact. Using the tremendous force, he leaped backward, putting distance between them.
"Who's there?"
His expression darkened as he lifted his gaze towards the distant figure. He saw a robed figure emerge from the shadows, a short sword in hand reflecting the cold moonlight.
"This path is closed."
Looking at the finally appearing "supporting actor," Hyūga Kumokawa's hoarse voice held only calm.
"Go no further."