Chapter 45: Temari Sees Yakumo, Like Princess Iron Fan Sees a Vixen
More than three hours had passed by the time Su Li finally came out of Sand Shinobi Village.
During that time, Chiyo had been relentlessly trying to extract as many benefits as possible for Sand Shinobi.
Seeing that Temari had officially become his fiancée, Su Li did indeed increase Sand Shinobi's share of rewards.
Of course, he didn't go so far as to provide cheat-level abilities.But in both quality and quantity, the comics distributed to Sand Shinobi improved significantly.
Naturally, there was a condition — Chiyo had to manage these comics properly, allowing only trusted individuals access to them.Ordinary comics were of little consequence.
"Then, let's stop here. I've already asked someone to prepare a dinner party for you," Su Li said, standing up after the long discussion.
However, Chiyo simply shook her head.
"No, the village is still waiting for our report. I'd like to return as soon as possible. When will Su Li-dono's comics be delivered to Sand Shinobi Village?"
"In about a week," Su Li replied after some thought.
Technically, sending the comics was as easy as sealing them in a scroll and having Namikaze Minato turn into light to deliver them instantly to Sand Shinobi Village.But that would expose his Glitter Fruit ability — something Su Li preferred to keep secret — so he chose a more reasonable timeline.
"A week, then. Understood," Chiyo nodded.
Once everything was settled, Chiyo instructed Kankuro to activate the Destiny Gundam. Soon after, a group of Sand Shinobi jumped aboard, channeling chakra to their feet so they wouldn't fall.
Inside the cockpit, Kankuro's hands trembled with excitement as he touched the controls.
"This... this is a nuclear-deuteron integrated advanced mobile artillery system!"
At that moment, Kankuro looked like a complete fanatic, his eyes practically glowing.
The energy system powering the Gundam didn't exist in the ninja world, but thanks to the system's adaptation, it could now run on chakra supplied by the pilot.
With Kankuro's current chakra reserves, it would be difficult to fight for long, but flying should be manageable.He could simply stop to rest when his chakra ran low, then resume flight — alternating until he reached Sand Shinobi Village.
It was still much faster than their journey here.
Just before departure, as Destiny Gundam started up, Chiyo turned to Temari and pulled her aside.
"That man's master's ability will change the entire balance of the ninja world," she whispered gravely. "Temari, the future of Sand Shinobi depends on you. You must find a way to make him fall in love with you."
"U-understood…" Temari replied, though she had never experienced love before and had no idea how to please a man. Still, she could only bite the bullet and agree.
Satisfied with her response, Chiyo turned and boarded the Gundam.
As the Destiny Gundam rose into the air, the Sand Shinobi delegation quickly disappeared into the distance.
After they left, Su Li noticed Temari's uneasy expression and approached her.
"Your face doesn't look too good. Are you feeling unwell?"
After all, she was alone in a foreign village — it was natural to feel nervous.
"No, thank you for your concern, Su Li-sama. I'm fine," Temari answered quickly, her voice tight with nerves.
Of course she was nervous.The man before her was now, officially, her fiancé.
Realizing that made her body stiffen even more.
She didn't know how to make Su Li like her — and she also didn't know what she'd do if he did like her and wanted to... do something strange.Her thoughts were tangled, a confusing mess of anxiety and curiosity.
"You don't need to be so formal," Su Li said gently. "Just call me Su Li. Doesn't it sound distant when you keep saying 'sama'?"
"I... I understand, Su... Su... Li-sama," she stammered, her tongue tying itself in knots.
Clearly, her nervousness wasn't going away anytime soon.Su Li didn't push further — forcing her would only make things worse.
"It's fine. Take your time. It's getting late, though. You haven't had dinner yet, right? Come on, I'll take you home for dinner."
"..."
The word home froze Temari in place. Her face flushed red.
She had never even been inside a man's house before, much less lived with one.
But that was exactly what Chiyo had arranged — Temari was to live in Su Li's home to "cultivate their relationship."And as his fiancée, there was no need to worry about rumors.
"I-I understand, I will!" she said quickly, her imagination spinning wildly.
Images she didn't dare describe flashed in her mind.The usually strong-willed Temari suddenly looked like a panicked child.
Su Li, seeing her flustered expression, could easily guess what she was imagining — and none of it was suitable for children.
In reality, he only wanted to introduce her to Yakumo.The two girls were around the same age, and he thought they could become friends.But explaining that now would only make things more awkward, so he stayed quiet and led the way.
Temari followed, heart pounding, her mind a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts.Logically, she knew that if Su Li truly wanted something from her, she'd have to cooperate — for the sake of her village.But emotionally, she wasn't ready for that at all.
In this tangle of duty and confusion, Temari followed Su Li to his residence.
When he unlocked the door, footsteps echoed from inside.
"Welcome back, Su Li—!"
A bright, cheerful voice called out — but then stopped mid-sentence.
The beautiful girl who had run out to greet him froze, her eyes landing on Temari standing behind him.
Temari, too, stopped in her tracks the moment she saw the other girl.
For an instant, her mind went blank.Then, out of nowhere, an image popped into her head — the story of Princess Iron Fan and the vixen.
This girl…
Was she… a vixen?