How could Pakura not understand the hidden meaning behind Aoki's move?
If he wanted to spar, he could have just sparred. But he deliberately chose to issue the challenge outside the first floor of the office building.
And he shouted it out so loudly, afraid that others wouldn't hear or see it.
However, it had to be said that Aoki's petty cleverness was very effective.
Regardless of whether Li Fan agreed or disagreed with this so-called "sparring," Aoki achieved the result he wanted.
Pakura looked at the growing crowd of onlookers, continuing to glare fiercely at Jonin Aoki.
If looks could kill, she would have killed Aoki several times over already.
Although Pakura wasn't very politically sensitive, the meaning of Chiyo's words a short while ago was so obvious that she naturally understood it.
But Li Fan was her best friend, and he was the strongest among the younger generation.
Coupled with his well-reasoned, calm, and decisive words at the meeting just now...
Pakura naturally raised both hands in agreement for her best friend to become the Kazekage.
Then, Pakura withdrew her fierce gaze. She leaned naturally and intimately close to Li Fan's ear, whispering with breath like orchids:
"He is dissatisfied with what Elder Chiyo said to you at the meeting just now."
"Don't worry. As your best friend, I support you."
Li Fan looked at Pakura's stunningly beautiful face up close.
Even observing from such a close distance, he couldn't see a single blemish or pore on Pakura's face.
Li Fan could easily tell that Pakura wasn't wearing any makeup.
Just her bare face alone far surpassed the countless heavily photoshopped pictures from his previous life.
After observing her up close for a few seconds, Li Fan's heartbeat accelerated, and a multitude of messy thoughts popped into his mind.
Li Fan cursed himself silently.
To divert his attention, he tilted his head slightly and looked at Jonin Aoki, who was staring at him with a face full of fighting spirit.
Hearing Pakura's reminder, Li Fan understood.
They felt his strength wasn't enough to take on the role of Kazekage, and they had ambitions of their own.
But they didn't dare openly oppose what Chiyo said, so they staged this scene.
In Li Fan's memory, the original Rasa didn't become the Fourth Kazekage immediately after the Third Kazekage disappeared either.
It was only after the Third Great Ninja War began, and he performed exceptionally well in several battles...
Coupled with the Kazekage position being vacant for too long... that he was finally accepted by everyone and recommended as the Fourth Kazekage.
It seemed a fight was unavoidable.
If he couldn't defeat this veteran Jonin, Aoki...
Then even if the Chiyo siblings recommended him as Kazekage, he probably wouldn't be able to convince the masses.
Just like Gaara.
After he became the Fifth Kazekage, assassination attempts from within the Sand Village continued unabated for a long time.
A large number of ninjas were also in a state of watchful suspicion.
The only ninjas Gaara could truly control were those from Baki's faction.
This situation continued until the leader of the opposition, Jonin Yura, committed suicide, after which things slowly began to calm down.
Although his popularity with the general public was definitely far better than Gaara's, who was hated by everyone in the early stages...
He still had to beat the first opposition leader who jumped up into submission.
These thoughts flashed through Li Fan's mind, and then he nodded slowly to Jonin Aoki.
Seeing Li Fan nod, Jonin Aoki's face immediately showed unconcealed joy. He was about to say something when Li Fan interrupted him:
"Tomorrow morning. Meet at the village gate."
After saying this, Li Fan turned to Pakura with an apologetic look:
"Sorry, I can't go to your house for dinner tonight. Let's do it tomorrow night."
Hearing Li Fan's words, a smile filled Pakura's beautiful face. She shook her head gently:
"It's okay."
Pakura naturally understood that this was Li Fan preparing in advance for tomorrow morning's battle.
After all, Jonin Aoki had been a Jonin for more than twenty years.
He was also one of the renowned powerhouses in the Sand Village.
During the Second Great Ninja War, shortly after becoming a Jonin, Aoki became famous by single-handedly killing over a dozen Anbu from the Cloud Village with his exquisite puppet techniques.
And throughout the Second Great Ninja War, which lasted for several years...
Jonin Aoki killed more than twenty Jonin, including many who were on the verge of fame. His military exploits were illustrious.
Even Pakura herself didn't have much of a chance of winning against this long-established senior.
She reckoned that surviving fifty moves against him would be considered very good.
In Pakura's impression, although "Li Fan" was stronger than her, his strength was limited.
Under these circumstances, if Li Fan still went to her house for dinner this afternoon...
How would he have the time and energy to rest and build up strength for tomorrow morning's battle?
Besides, having a meal could wait a day or two.
Li Fan's thoughts were simpler.
Right now, his most important task was to stabilize the situation in the village and remove any stumbling blocks that dared to jump out and stop him from becoming Kazekage.
As for other things like eating and bonding, they had to be pushed back a bit.
And Li Fan had a slightly dark thought in his mind.
That was, Pakura only had twenty-something affection points right now. Even if he went to her house and ate with her, nothing would likely happen.
But if he waited until tomorrow, and her affection doubled on top of the existing twenty-something points... that would be different.
Faced with Li Fan's reasonable request, Jonin Aoki couldn't refuse. He could only nod in a muffled voice:
"Fine. Remember to be on time tomorrow!"
After saying this, Jonin Aoki left without looking back.
Thinking that he could become the Kazekage soon...
Aoki's blood began to flow faster involuntarily throughout his body.
Previously, he was suppressed firmly by the Third Kazekage, the strongest Kazekage.
Aoki originally thought he would live in the shadow of the Third Kazekage for his entire life.
But unexpectedly, the Third Kazekage suddenly disappeared mysteriously and was very likely no longer in this world!
With the Third Kazekage dead, aside from the Chiyo siblings—two old folks...
Although there were still two or three guys in the village with strength similar to his...
If it really came down to a death match with those guys...
Aoki believed he would most likely be the victor.
So as long as he took the lead in defeating Li Fan, the strongest of the younger generation, and made a name for himself first...
Then his chances of winning the fight for Fourth Kazekage would be great!
Thinking of this, Aoki fantasized about becoming the Kazekage, his rugged face covered with a hearty smile.
Although the Sand Village was the poorest among the Five Great Nations...
And the Kazekage didn't have as much power as the Kage of other villages...
The Kazekage was largely constrained economically by the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and suppressed politically by the joint efforts of the village elders.
Furthermore, the first three Kazekage didn't meet good ends. It could be said that being the Kazekage was a high-risk profession.
But no matter how Aoki thought about it, he felt...
Whatever happened, it would still be countless times better than just being a Jonin like he was now!
Being the Kazekage was dangerous, but was being a Jonin not dangerous?
Li Fan watched Jonin Aoki's retreating figure silently and shook his head.
He hadn't seen a single trace of this Jonin Aoki in the original story.
That left only one possibility.
This Jonin Aoki very likely died in this Third Great Ninja War.
And since he didn't have any friends or family who interacted with the main characters, his deeds remained obscure.
Li Fan looked around at the growing gathering of ninjas.
He turned to greet Pakura, then walked toward his house.
His current Skill Points were only 370. He couldn't even dream about those top-tier combat items.
But this guy Aoki... based on the intelligence from the memories he acquired...
This guy was at least at the peak Jonin level, even much stronger than Baki would be ten years later.
However, Li Fan wasn't too worried.
Because he had the system cheat. Although it was embarrassing to say, the system was naturally part of his strength.
As soon as he got back, he would immediately convert all his skill points into affection items to desperately increase everyone else's affection.
Counting the time difference between tonight and tomorrow, he could harvest several thousand skill points by tomorrow.
Although several thousand skill points couldn't be exchanged for existences like the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan or the Rinnegan...
He could definitely get other good stuff.
After all, he had only seen the first page of the system exchange with one hundred items.
There were still nine hundred billion pages and ninety trillion exchangeable items behind it to browse.
"Sparring, huh? That kid Aoki has always had ambitions for the position of Kazekage. Now he's finally found his chance."
In the center of the Sand Village, inside a room that looked unremarkable from the outside...
Chiyo sat on a chair, speaking expressionlessly.
"Hehe, sister, that kid Aoki always likes to use petty tricks."
"This is also why, despite his very good talent, his strength has been slow to improve further."
Ebizo, sitting next to Chiyo, had a faint smile on his face.
But looking closely, there was no smile in his murky eyes.
After all, the two siblings had already clearly indicated Li Fan's status earlier.
And the people present at the time hadn't objected.
But Aoki directly challenged Li Fan right after the meeting ended.
This act of playing petty tricks was tantamount to provoking the authority of the two siblings.
"Then, my Lords, should I go and warn Jonin Aoki?"
Suddenly, a gentle female voice appeared in the room.
The speaker wore a black trench coat and a rabbit mask.
Even though the black trench coat concealed her figure, one could still tell from the outline that her body must be excellent.
She wore black mid-heels, standing at a height of 1.7 meters.
The tops of her feet, half-exposed by the heels, were snowy and smooth, with no visible veins.
The skin on the tops of her feet was so tender and white that it emitted a faint luster even in the slightly dim room.
Her ankles were round, white as snow, petite, and exquisite.
Aside from the few exposed parts of her feet, the only other exposed skin was a small portion of her fair neck, where numerous tattoos were visible.
This proved she was a puppet master, and a high-ranking one at that.
This woman wearing the black trench coat and rabbit mask...
Was the same woman who had been watching from the corner of the office earlier.
Chiyo pondered for a while, but finally shook her head:
"No. The spar proposed by that kid Aoki is reasonable, and Li Fan agreed to it."
"In this case, we have no reason to interrupt them. Moreover, even if we did interrupt, it would be useless. Those who are unconvinced will remain unconvinced."
Ebizo immediately added:
"If that kid Li Fan had disagreed at the time, we would have had sufficient reason to help him. But he agreed on the spot."
Speaking of this, Ebizo shook his head slightly, seemingly pitying Li Fan.
Although the leader of a village didn't necessarily have to be the strongest person in the village...
No matter how poor their strength was, they should at least rank in the first tier when competing for the Kage position—among the top five or six in the village at that time—to be justifiable.