Three days later.
Kyoto.
On the distant main road, several carriages slowly entered Kyoto, surrounded by a group of Ninjas. Beside them was a child wearing a black T-shirt and white shorts.
"He is the Jinchuriki you mentioned?"
"Yes, Lord Sanjo."
Kazuma nodded. "Once we have him under control, we can use him as power and a bargaining chip to force Konoha to make concessions. Then we can slowly encroach upon them."
Kazuma reported the plan with immense confidence.
Sitting in the high seat, Sanjō Take still had some worry between his brows: "Hiruzen Sarutobi is easy to talk to, but Danzo is no ordinary person."
"Danzo is a fierce dog, but even the fiercest dog must obey the Hokage. Moreover, Danzo has recently lost the Hokage's trust."
Kazuma analyzed calmly, "If he makes a move, I have a way to deal with it."
"You can deal with him?"
Sanjō Take was somewhat surprised.
Kazuma nodded: "I have invited outside help. Although their identities cannot come to light, Danzo's actions against us also cannot be made public."
The other party nodded in satisfaction and said, "Then I am relieved. There will be no lack of benefits for you once the matter is settled."
"I am merely working to realize the vision of returning power to His Lordship the Daimyo."
Kazuma replied.
Sanjō Take frowned slightly but didn't speak, only nodding gently: "Indeed, we are all working to return power to His Lordship the Daimyo."
After saying that, he looked at Kazuma.
"I'll leave them to you."
...Kyoto.
On the main road, Naruto looked around, filled with curiosity about everything.
"This is Kyoto?"
"Yeah, never been here before, right?"
Masahiko said with a smile.
Naruto nodded gently: "I've never left the Village. This is my first time... Wow, that building is so big and grand!"
"That's the residence for receiving guests in Kyoto. If nothing goes wrong, we'll be staying there tonight."
Kurenai Yuhi said in a low voice.
Masahiko nodded, indicating he understood.
Afterward, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and asked in a low voice: "Kurenai, do you sense anything wrong?"
As a Special Jonin skilled in Genjutsu, Kurenai Yuhi's mental strength was excellent, which also gave her powerful sensory abilities.
Furthermore, she knew Asuma, making it convenient to mediate and communicate.
Because of this, the Third Hokage sent her along on the surface.
Kurenai Yuhi nodded: "Yes, but I can't sense the specific location. It might be the Guardian Shinobi, but I'm not sure which faction yet."
"No wonder. Since a moment ago, I've felt something isn't quite right."
Masahiko's expression turned solemn.
Then, he whispered: "Although my abilities have improved, I haven't gone on many missions lately. You'll have to help me!"
"The mission belongs to both of us. Helping you is helping myself."
Then, Kurenai Yuhi smiled, "I didn't expect you to get nervous too."
"Who wouldn't be nervous? I'm just usually better at hiding my emotions."
Masahiko said somewhat helplessly.
Kurenai Yuhi pursed her lips, holding back a smile, and said, "Don't worry, Asuma will be meeting us for this mission. There won't be any problems."
"Yeah."
Masahiko nodded, forcing himself to stay calm. But through his testing, he vaguely felt—
Kurenai Yuhi might not know about his deeper mission.
He followed beside Naruto, his gaze secretly watching the surroundings, feeling that something was off.
Suddenly... "Watch out!"
Kurenai Yuhi's expression became serious.
In the next second, several people rushed out from both sides.
Each was masked and wearing samurai attire, looking like Rogue Samurai, but their appearance was eerie and strange.
Kurenai Yuhi immediately used Body Flicker and jumped up, landing on the small platform in front of the carriage in the blink of an eye, side-by-side with the driver.
At the same time she jumped onto the Daimyos Wife's carriage, she finished her hand seals.
Genjutsu was released, and the several people who rushed out of the crowd froze in place.
In the next second, figures shifted like illusions as a dark shadow swept through the surroundings.
At this moment, the Daimyos Wife inside the carriage asked in terror: "What happened?"
"It's nothing, just some blind Rogue Samurai. They've already been captured. I'm very sorry for disturbing the rest of the nobles!"
Kurenai Yuhi said in a low voice.
The Daimyos Wife lifted the curtain and saw several Rogue Samurai outside tied up with a rope by Masahiko. Her face showed some displeasure:
"It's good that they're caught. They need to be interrogated properly. How can there still be Rogue Samurai in Kyoto?"
"Yes, please rest assured."
Kurenai Yuhi nodded.
She jumped down from the carriage, bowed apologetically again, and the carriage slowly moved forward.
Naruto, still in shock, looked at Masahiko blankly.
"Teacher..."
"Don't worry, that was just my Shadow Clone. I will protect you."
Masahiko gently patted his hair.
Only then did Naruto realize what happened and looked up to ask: "Isn't this Kyoto? Why would such a thing happen?"
"Kyoto isn't necessarily all beautiful."
Masahiko lowered his voice with a smile.
Naruto nodded half-understandingly. Judging by his expression, he was likely a bit disillusioned.
The convoy moved inward.
After escorting them all the way to the Daimyos Residence and watching the nobles get off and enter, Kurenai Yuhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She turned and whispered close to Masahiko: "I hate these kinds of missions the most."
"I think you handled it very well, and the pay for this kind of mission should be higher, right?"
Masahiko smiled.
Kurenai Yuhi rolled her eyes and said, "The money is more, but it's troublesome and full of rules. It's no fun at all. The extra money isn't even enough for the mental exhaustion."
Saying that, she glanced at Naruto and sighed softly.
This child was quite carefree, completely unaware he was in danger.
Kurenai Yuhi whispered:
"I couldn't get any results using Genjutsu. They only said someone paid them to attack the carriage, and they just accepted it in a daze."
She paused slightly and said, "I sent the men to the Town Magistrate's Office. These few... I suspect they were guided by Genjutsu."
Genjutsu doesn't just disrupt Chakra and create illusions; it also has a certain level of suggestion capability.
Against powerful Ninjas, it's naturally not very useful, but against ordinary people, it works every time.
The two were chatting.
Naruto suddenly said, "Teacher, Aunt Kurenai..."
"What 'Aunt'? How many times have I told you? Call me Big Sister Kurenai, or Teacher Kurenai!"
Kurenai Yuhi was quite dissatisfied.
Naruto shrank his head back, then whispered, "Teacher Kurenai, that uncle over there seems to have been watching us the whole time."
Kurenai Yuhi followed his gaze and saw a bearded man standing at a nearby corner.
She smiled and waved.
Only then did the man snap out of it and wave back. Just as he was about to walk over, a shout came from the alley behind him, and he left apologetically.
"Is he Senior Asuma?"
Masahiko feigned shock.
Kurenai Yuhi nodded and smiled: "Different from your impression, right?"
"Yeah, he... I remember him being quite handsome and clean-cut. Why did he grow a beard?"
Masahiko replied in surprise.
Kurenai Yuhi smiled: "I'll introduce you to him tonight, and you can ask him yourself then."
"Forget it, Senior looks a bit intimidating... I wouldn't dare."
Masahiko shook his head repeatedly.
Suddenly, a crisp sound of laughter rang out.
Kurenai Yuhi laughed for a while before remembering she was in front of the Daimyos Residence, immediately restraining her emotions to maintain her decorum.
She suppressed her laughter and said, "One should respect seniors. You're becoming less and less respectful toward me as a senior lately."
"Senior Kurenai, I was wrong!"
"No, I'm just joking."
Inside the Daimyos Residence not far away, Asuma watched quietly, his heart feeling quite conflicted.