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Chapter 18 - Chapter 18: Chōjūrō at Kirigakure’s Gates

Chapter 18: Chōjūrō at Kirigakure's Gates

Seeing Terumi Mei's reaction, Yuto paused, his face showing confusion.

"Lord Yuto… your clothes…"

Ao looked slightly embarrassed, lowering his head as he spoke softly.

At the reminder, Yuto blinked, glanced down, and his face flushed faintly red.

His clothing, already shredded in the final battle, had suffered further from his movements. It now hung loosely, barely holding together, on the verge of falling apart entirely.

"Ahem…"

Yuto coughed lightly and gestured toward Ao.

Ao immediately understood, quickly removing his own blue-green robe and respectfully offering it to Yuto.

Yuto slipped it on without care. Beneath it, he tore off a strip of fabric and tied it firmly around his waist.

"All right, let's go."

His tone was calm. The robe was a little oversized, but it didn't hinder his movements. As for whether it looked good—Yuto cared little for such things.

Only then did Terumi Mei turn back around. She stole a glance at him, her face once again tinged with a faint, unshakable blush.

Whoosh!

With three sharp gusts of wind, the three figures vanished from their spot, racing swiftly through the forest.

As they sped along, Yuto frowned. This pace was far too slow.

Having been sealed for so many years, he was eager to know Kirigakure's current state and, more importantly, the exact time in the shinobi world. Only then could he plan accordingly.

He hadn't asked Mei or Ao directly because each village followed its own calendar. None of them would measure time by Konoha's reckoning.

But the shinobi world's great timeline—the one that mattered—was counted from the founding of Konoha.

For example, Konoha Year Sixty was when the original series began, the year Naruto's generation graduated from the Academy.

Applied to another village, though, who knew what year it might be?

Back when Yuto served as the First Mizukage, nearly every year was consumed by war. No one cared what year it was, and even if someone had mentioned it, Yuto likely paid no attention.

"Where are we right now?"

Yuto suddenly asked, glancing toward Terumi Mei.

Freshly resurrected, he had no idea of their precise location.

"Lord Yuto, we're still within the Land of Water. For safety's sake, our meeting with Orochimaru was arranged on a small island west of Kirigakure."

Though her expression held a hint of puzzlement, Mei answered respectfully.

Yuto nodded. He reached out with both hands, seizing Ao with one and Mei with the other. His voice was steady and low.

"Hold on tight."

Boom!

Accompanied by a muffled boom, Yuto's body turned into a streak of light, darting eastward at terrifying speed.

Held firmly in his grasp, Terumi Mei and Ao felt the world around them blur. Everything receded at an astonishing pace, yet neither of them sensed the slightest jolt or resistance—not even the rush of air.

Ao's eyes widened in disbelief. He knew full well how fast they were moving. At such speed, resistance should have been overwhelming—yet here, it was as though it had vanished into nothingness. Even the sound of wind was absent.

Compared to Ao's shock, Terumi Mei's expression remained composed. As Mizukage, she knew far more than Ao ever could.

Many believed Lord Yuto's ability was limited to absorbing chakra. But within Kirigakure's forbidden scrolls—sealed texts only a Mizukage could access—there were detailed records describing the true nature of his powers.

———

At the gates of Kirigakure.

Chōjūrō paced back and forth, his face tangled with worry.

The Mizukage leaving the village without escort was no small matter. A Kage's actions could not be constrained, yet if word reached the elders, consequences could be severe.

And it had. Just earlier, a messenger from the elders had approached Chōjūrō, demanding Mizukage's presence for urgent business.

With Mei absent, Chōjūrō had managed to stall, but from the messenger's tone he knew the truth—they were already aware that Mizukage had left the village.

Their real intent in summoning him was clear: as Mei's trusted aide, surely he must know where she had gone.

Unfortunately, Chōjūrō truly did not know.

Helpless, he lingered at the gates, praying that Mei and Ao would return soon, or else he would face the brunt of the elders' wrath.

Just then, a black speck appeared in the distance, racing toward him at incomprehensible speed.

His expression hardened, hand twitching toward his signal flare—yet before he could act, the speck had already arrived.

No wind, no thunderous roar, nothing. It was like the arrival of a phantom. If Chōjūrō had not seen its approach with his own eyes, he would have thought it had materialized out of thin air.

"Ao? Lady Mei!"

Relief and joy filled his face when he recognized the arrivals.

Yuto released his grip on them and lifted his head, eyes settling on the familiar gates of Kirigakure. A trace of nostalgia flashed across his gaze.

"After all these years, it still looks the same."

At Yuto's words, Chōjūrō finally noticed the figure standing between Ao and Mei. A strange sense of familiarity welled up within him, though for the moment he could not recall when he had ever seen this man before.

(End of Chapter)

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