"Damn it, what a heartless man, he actually took all the sake."
Tsunade rubbed the face that had just been pushed away. Next time she would try turning into a child—surely Hyuga Mirai wouldn't stay so hard-hearted then.
Still, Hokage affairs really needed attention. After Mirai left, Tsunade reflected that she had indeed been a little lazy lately. She used the excuse of developing new jutsu, and while she had deepened her mastery of electromagnetic techniques, she had accomplished little as Hokage.
From here on, she also needed to expand the influence belonging to the Fifth Hokage. For now, only Root obeyed her completely; everyone else's stance was vague, even Tsunade herself wasn't entirely sure.
The Inuzuka, Aburame, Akimichi-Nara-Yamanaka, Kurama, and other neutral clans had to be drawn in. Tsunade also wanted to approach the Hyuga clan, though she wasn't clear about their attitude toward Hyuga Mirai. Several old conservative elders of the main family had died, but Mirai had once been Kiyo Hyuga's bodyguard.
Before that, however, Tsunade decided to take control of the ANBU. Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions had gone too far. She had originally thought her teacher could serve as a link to the Land of Fire's daimyo, so she had kept him in the administrative office.
But she hadn't expected the old man to overstep again and again, even daring to conceal something this important from her. Though the daimyo had a hand in it, a shinobi who deceived the Hokage no longer had any reason to remain.
"Tomorrow I'll have the old man retire and send him home. Let Shikaku take over some village affairs, and free up Kabuto to reorganize the ANBU."
Leaning on her hand, Tsunade thought to herself. In half a year, would she be able to control more than half of the village's power? If not, Mirai might really ban her from drinking and gambling. By then, even acting spoiled would be useless.
In this matter, Tsunade believed Mirai would carry it out. He controlled half of the liquor trade in the shinobi world and a third of the Land of Fire's casinos. If Mirai blacklisted her, Tsunade's future would be unbearably bleak.
After leaving Tsunade's home, Hyuga Mirai went straight out through the Forest of Death. For someone who could fly, detours didn't matter—his path was always the shortest line between two points.
"Sake really is troublesome."
Its effect on the nervous system was immediate, and the sensation made Mirai uncomfortable. He stopped, then directly used Chakra to dispel the alcohol from his body.
This was something any trained shinobi could do. For Mirai, who came from a medical background, it was nothing at all.
"A senbon?"
Once the alcohol was gone, Mirai noticed a senbon stuck in the trunk ahead. It looked like something a careless shinobi had left behind.
But the senbon gave him a strange feeling. He instinctively looked in the direction it pointed and found another senbon there. The sharp tips seemed to guide the eye toward the next, like markers.
When he saw the fourth, he suddenly noticed many leaves falling around him, though no wind was blowing.
"Genjutsu. Red, is that you?"
He sensed someone appear behind him, a senbon aimed at his throat. But Mirai caught it with his fingers first, though the other person had seized his other hand.
For someone to get this close without him activating the Byakugan—it was impressive.
"So it's a combination of Genjutsu and barrier. You've improved a lot, Red."
It was indeed Kurenai Yuhi behind him. She had distracted him with illusions, then closed in.
This time, she hadn't used the traditional Chakra invasion method, but instead interfered with his vision, creating a Genjutsu barrier or space.
It resembled the Kurama clan's five-senses manipulation, though she still couldn't manifest the illusion physically.
"Finally, I caught you. You were careless this time."
Breathing deeply, Kurenai looked at him with a complicated gaze and asked coldly, "What is your purpose in coming to Konoha?"
"To discuss the Chunin Exams?"
Mirai chuckled, but then Kurenai's Chakra suddenly flared, her grip tightening. She pressed closer to stop him from escaping, her arms locking him so tightly that their bodies were nearly pressed together.
"Eight Gates, and even the Strength of a Hundred Seal. Tsunade taught you? But alone, you can't catch me."
With those two techniques, Kurenai's power could rival or even defeat a Kage. But against Mirai, it still wasn't enough.
Disruption Pulse!
A wave of electromagnetic Chakra surged from Mirai's body into hers, instantly disrupting her nervous system. It was one of Tsunade's compulsory electromagnetic techniques that Mirai had also learned.
Like a breeze, the pulse struck before Kurenai understood what it was. When she tried to move again, her arms failed her, forcing her to release him.
"My reflexes are disrupted—this is Disruption Pulse!?"
She had studied it with Tsunade, who had once said anyone mastering it could become her personal disciple. Kurenai quickly recalled the methods of breaking it: either carefully soothing her nervous system with healing jutsu, or forcibly resetting it with the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
But Mirai didn't give her the chance.
While her body failed her, he struck her tenketsu to block her Chakra flow, then pressed his hand to her neck and applied a sealing jutsu.
With those few moves, Kurenai lost all ability to resist. Her body wouldn't obey, her Chakra was blocked, and even her Strength of a Hundred Seal was sealed away.
Weakly, she leaned against him.
"You're too reckless. You've always been like this. Against an enemy you can't handle, you should call for backup quickly." Mirai ran his fingers through her wavy hair, noticing it was thicker than when she was young.
"Tsunade is your comrade, isn't she? Her becoming Hokage—did you have something to do with that?"
As Mirai turned to leave, Kurenai forced herself to ask.
Her question made him stop. He bent down and asked, "Where did you hear that, Red?"
He was sure no one monitored the Senju compound, and no one dared monitor Tsunade. All electronic devices and barrier jutsu there were under his control.
So the leak must have come from Tsunade herself!
That woman... it looked like he would have to cut her sake supply for an entire year and ban her from every casino in Konoha. He decided instantly—Tsunade must have let something slip while drunk. If he didn't punish her, she'd get completely out of hand.
"If even the Hokage is tied to you, your aim must be more than Konoha. You're after the entire Land of Fire."
Kurenai had gathered intelligence on him even more carefully than the ANBU. What they missed, she picked up and analyzed.
"You guessed a little right, but not completely. Red, sometimes the more you know, the greater your danger."
"Compared to my teammate's betrayal and ANBU interrogation back then, I'm already prepared."
Her ruby-like eyes met his steadily, refusing to give answers.
"Forget it. No matter how you found out, since you know my greatest secret, I can't let you return to Konoha for now."
With that, Mirai hoisted her onto his back and flew into the sky.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked nervously, sensing something strange in his expression.
"To a place where you'll be absolutely unable to leak anything."
He activated the Byakugan—no one noticed what happened in the Forest of Death. He saw that Kurenai had laid several Genjutsu traps, betting he would pass this way. And she was right.
Had he not chosen this route, he would have had to fly over the Hokage Rock or through Konoha, too conspicuous. She had calculated correctly.
"A troublesome matter..."
Mirai muttered. He wasn't oblivious—he had long noticed the feelings of Ayaka Uzumaki and Kurenai, but he had too many tasks at hand.
Through his research on life, Mirai could grant himself and those close to him lifespans of centuries, even millennia. He wanted to wait until the world was unified and life infinite before dealing with such things.
"What do you mean by troublesome?"
"Because I don't know what to do with you yet. For now, I can only keep you by my side."
He answered casually, then sped up—but not toward the Sand Federation.
Back in Konoha, as Tsunade pondered how to secure more power, she suddenly shivered.
"Why do I feel like someone's cursing me? Must just be a chill."
She shook her head and stopped thinking about it, heading to the Hokage's office. She had to work harder—otherwise, even her sake would be gone next time.
(End of Chapter)