February 10th, 64 AE.
A caravan of eight hundred people arrived at the Gate of Konoha, and after Team Akaisen left the Chunins waiting there for them in charge of the Tsuchigumo Clan, they rushed towards the Hokage Tower to give their final report.
As soon as they entered, Tsunade's cold eyes landed on them, specifically at Enma, and Shizune, who was standing behind her, was visibly very nervous.
"Missions accomplished, Hokage-sama." He bowed to her, but she did not even glance at Utakata and the golden-haired girl by his side.
"Enma?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama?" He asked, frowning at why she seemed so upset. .
"Explain yourself!"
"What?" He furrowed his brows and caught the book that was thrown at him.
He handed it to Hana, who was standing by his side.
"Recent entry." Shizune lightly said, and Hana quickly went to the most recent entry on Iwagakure's Bingo Book.
She audibly gasped, and when the rest of the team looked at the details, they were shocked.
"What?" The Uzumaki asked in confusion, and Hana's hand trembled.
"Captain... Iwa has listed you in their Bingo Book."
"So?"
"S-class..."
"Nice." He smiled, and she gulped in fear and nervousness as she spoke again.
"Your epithet is the Red Demon."
"Hey, that's rude."
"Captain. They are accusing you of killing their two Jinchuriki, Han and Roshi, and two of their Jonins, Gari and Dakko..."
"I did not kill Roshi." He frowned.
"Captain..."
"Yes?"
Hana gulped again and stared at the number.
"186 Million Ryo..."
Even Enma was stunned now, and then he sighed.
"Nice..."
As soon as the word left his mouth, Tsunade slammed her hand on the table, making them all flinch.
"Gari died at the Central Hills of Akagahara, Hokage-sama."
"I know about that." She coldly said and he sighed.
"I..."
"Han was leading the Iwa Team, Hokage-sama." Izumi's indifferent voice sounded out in the office, cutting his words. "Catching Utakata alive was not easy. He lost consciousness and Rokubi took over. Enma fought the Tailed Beast on his own, leaving me to guard Tsuchigumo Hotaru. He managed to come out of that fight alive, but he was tired, and Han and his Team, who were watching the fight, jumped on the opportunity to kill him."
Tsunade froze at her words.
"Captain warned them to leave, but they did not want to leave. They wanted to kill him. So, he quickly took out one of their Jonins and then engaged with Han in a battle, who was a lot more physically stronger than him and in a better shape." She stopped and clenched her fist. "The battle could have gone either way, but Captain managed to kill the Jinchuriki before he could unleash the Five-Tails' full power. He also stopped me from killing the rest of the Iwa Team and let them run away. The Team had Tsuchikage's nephew and son-in-law, Kitsuchi, and Tsuchikage's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, on it. If anything, the Tsuchikage owes him a Blood Debt."
It was Utakata who had revealed to them that the girl was Tsuchikage's granddaughter and the Jonin by her side was her father. He was familiar with Tsuchikage's son-in-law and had met him years ago.
After her words fell, the office descended into minutes of silence.
"Shizune."
"Yes!" The young lady snapped out of her thoughts and immediately answered her Master's call.
"Konoha now has a new Bingo Book entry. Kurotsuchi. Her epithet will be 'The Liar's Granddaughter'. Danger Level: E Class. Set a prize of 1 ryo on her head, because that's all she is worth. Make sure you write that down as a note under the prize."
Her words stunned them all.
"Hokage-sama, that's petty. The girl is not weak. She can use Lava Release and possesses more Chakra than High-Jonins. She's physically strong too. An expert in Taijutsu, just like her father," Enma informed her.
"It's not about her strength. It's about the shame it will bring the Tsuchikage." She said, and he sighed.
"That's petty."
"That senile old man started it." She casually said, not denying his words, and glanced at her student, who immediately saluted to her and rushed out to execute her command.
Tsunade then glared at Utakata, and the Jinchuriki did not know why, but he felt like she wanted to kill him and that she could kill him...
"You will be staying in the village until Terumi Mei comes to Konoha with her entourage to attend the Chunin Exams in December."
"Yes."
"Do not give me a reason to kill you." She warned, and he understandingly nodded his head. "Uma." At her call, an Anbu suddenly appeared before them. "Take Utakata and show him his temporary residence."
"Enma-san..." the golden haired girl worriedly looked at the Uzumaki for help.
"Hokage-sama, let Tsuchigumo Hotaru stay with him. She is his student and lover."
Tsunade rasied her brow at him.
"She is En no Gyoja's granddaughter."
She kept looking at him until she nodded her head, and Hotaru immediately grabbed Utakata's hand and bowed to her.
The two left the office, and Enma started giving the final report on the Tsuchigumo Clan's Kinjutsu.
"... so, I chose to destroy it."
"That's fine." Tsunade did not care. "Does the girl know how to use it?"
"No, Hokage-sama."
She nodded her head and leaned back in her chair.
"Good job on bringing the Tsuchigumo Clan to Konoha." She said, and all of them bowed to her. "Take a break now. I will call you if there is a mission suitable for Akaisen."
"Yes!"
"Enma, you will report back to your duty as my Head of Security after a week. We need to discuss the plans for the security of the upcoming Chunin Exams, which have been postponed to the end of the year."
"As you say, Hokage-sama." He accepted her command and left the office with his team.
As soon as they left, Tsunade's left hand quivered, and she clenched her fist. However, she hid it under the table, away from the eyes of the Anbu.
Enma, Sasuke, and Izumi remained after everyone else rushed to their residences to freshen up, ready to enjoy their break.
The Uzumaki scanned the entire Village with his Mind's Eye and then smiled.
"Well, well, what a surprise. All our friends seem to be gathered up in the Third Training Field. Akane is there as well."
Izumi and Sasuke curiously looked at him, and as much as they wanted to return home and sleep in their beds, they followed him to check up on what everyone was up to.
The three of them stayed hidden as they watched everything that was happening in the Training Field, and it turned out that a Barbecue Party was going on.
Team 10 was there, and so were Team 8 and Team 3, and of course, Team 5. Other than them, the Ri-Bi-Ko Trio was there, as well as Konohamaru Squad and Arashi and his two friends, Inuzuka Akita and Kurama Yurito. None of the Sensei were present, and from Team 7, only Sasukra was there.
"Onii-sama!!!" Hiyori suddenly called out to him, brimming with excitement, having spotted them with her Mind's Eye that she was practicing.
Her call made everyone look in the direction she was waving at, and Enma sighed and flickered right in front of her.
She laughed as she jumped up in his arms, and giggled when he gave her a kiss on her forehead.
Sasuke and Izumi too revealed themselves, and it was not long before they were surrounded by everyone else.
As soon as he put Hiyori down, Enma was tackled to the ground by his little brother, who grinned at him, and then cried out when the Water Clone exploded and made him all wet.
"Onii-sama!" He complained, but then laughed as a whirlwind picked him up in the air and helped him dry up.
On the other side, Enma was hugging and spinning around with Karin in his arms, who then mischievously kissed him on the lips in front of everyone. She, of course, made sure that the kids were not looking their way.
However, their interaction did not sit well with a certain blonde-haired Senju.
"Karin! What the hell are you doing?!" Mito angrily shouted, but the Uzumaki paid no attention to her and rushed up to hug Izumi and Sasuke.
"Hey..." Enma smiled in Mito's direction but was soon hugged from the back as Ino jumped on him, making him laugh at her antics.
His and Sasuke's presence did not sit well with Kiba, who wanted nothing more than to leave, but his pride did not allow him to do it.
Everyone was curious when Shino approached Enma and deeply bowed to him, and the two them walked away from the others to talk to each other.
"What are they talking about?" Ino curiously asked the Inuzuka, who was standing with Akamaru resting on his head.
"Shino is thanking him for saving his adopted brother and cousin. It's someone called Torune." Kiba furrowed his brows, and even Hinata looked very curious, having never known that Shino had an adopted brother.
Izumi and Sasuke were surprised too, and since they knew the entire story, they had a better understanding of the things.
They were all even more surprised when Enma hugged his old friend, not in the least worried about the insects, something that none of them dared to do.
When they rejoined everyone, Lee shared a fist bump with the Uzumaki, and then the two Hyuga shook hands with him.
Tenten was super excited to meet him, and since she and Shizuka were very good friends now, the two stormed him and Sasuke with a lot of questions about their armbands and Team Akaisen.
"I saw Hana-nee with the same armband." Kiba suddenly said, and Enma nodded his head.
"She's on the Team and is our Medic and Sensor."
"Who else is on the Team?" Shizuka asked as she took out her notebook, and people laughed at her antics.
"Aburame Torune, Hyuga Tokuma..."
Both Neji and Hinata were surprised to hear that Tokuma was on the Team. He was one of the best Hyuga Shinobis.
"Hatake Kakashi, Uzuki Yugao, Yamato, Shin, and as you can see, Sasuke and Izumi.
"So, there are ten members," Shizuka nodded her head as she wrote the names down.
"Yes."
"And what is the purpose of Akaisen?" Tenten excitedly asked.
"We take missions that are very important for the village and too dangerous for anyone else." Sasuke smiled and they all turned quiet.
Shikamaru meaningfully looked at the three of them and furrowed his brows.
"What are the requirements to join Akaisen?" Neji suddenly asked, and even Karin, Mito, and Shizuka looked at them for the answer.
"I don't think we need more members right now." Sasuke shook his head.
"Yes," Enma nodded to his words. "As for the requirements, anyone with Chunin Rank and above can be picked by me to enter the Team if I deem them worthy and suitable to take on the Missions. Hokage-sama, however, has not allowed me to expand the Team, and I don't think it's necessary either. Besides, if I take away all the talented Shinobi to Akaisen, how would the other Teams and Units of Konoha function?"
"You pick the members?" Kiba raised his brow at him.
"He's the Captain of Akaisen, and every member was picked by him." Shino lightly said, and those who were unaware of this detail looked at Enma in shock.
"Why are you their Leader?" The Inuzuka frowned, irritated by what he had just learned.
Enma just shrugged and smiled.
"The Hokage appointed him as the Leader of Akaisen. Go ask her." Sasuke nonchalantly said and then met Lee's eyes, who were clearly itching for a battle. "Want to catch some fish? Eyes closed, just barehanded?"
The words surprised the boy, who brightly grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Let's go!"
"I want to try too!" Ino declared, and so did the young kids.
All of them quickly moved to the stream to have their fun.