"Katagiri!"
After another round of banter, having confirmed through this subtle way that both foster mother and son's mental states were more or less normal, Hii Kōri turned and called out.
A ninja wearing a headband, the lower half of his face covered by a mask, pushed open the door and entered.
Katagiri, once known as No. 183, was now a core member of the barrier corps. With his calm nature and efficient work, Chiyo had temporarily transferred him to serve as her assistant.
Honestly, Chiyo felt this was the best decision she'd made since the war began.
"Chiyo-dono, Hii-dono."
Katagiri bowed slightly, his gaze quickly sweeping over the three children who had appeared in the room out of thin air, but lingering not a moment longer. His hands remained properly at his sides—steady and reliable, never overstepping, just like his personality.
"Please find available rooms for these three children. Preferably connected ones if possible. No need to arrange rations—I'll handle that later."
Hii Kōri ruffled Konan's hair, patted Yahiko and Nagato's shoulders, signaling them to rest with Katagiri.
Katagiri silently nodded, accepting this temporary task. He then stepped aside, gesturing for the three children to follow.
Having experienced life's hardships and Hii Kōri's teaching, none of the three were the type to inappropriately whine or act out. They bowed to Chiyo and Hii Kōri, then quietly followed Katagiri out.
"They're good children."
Watching Katagiri and her three 'disciples' grandsons' leave, Chiyo raised an eyebrow slightly. Just this composed temperament alone already made them quite outstanding among peers.
"Well, they're the seedlings I picked. I'm quite confident in my eye for talent. Ahh... so tired."
Thus boasting, Hii Kōri sprawled on the sand table's edge, emitting a lazy groan.
"If you're so tired, go rest."
Chiyo's gaze swept over the sand table Hii Kōri had rearranged, her eyes flickering. Then she asked firmly: "What, something else to tell me?"
"Hmm, of course."
The shadow beneath him surged, and Tsunade—bound even more securely—was delivered between them. "Here, the Senju princess, Tsunade-hime."
"...The hell?"
Gazing down at the kunōichi bound almost like a mummy, Chiiyo's expression was slightly dazed. After a moment, she tilted her head and let out a hum that filled her with a lifetime of doubts.
'I've lived long enough to see everything?.jpg'
'Wow, I haven't actually seen this one.jpg'
"How did you capture her?"
As an opponent who had neutralized her poison, Chiyo naturally had a quite deep impression of Tsunade.
Precisely for this reason, the scene before her strongly doubted.
"Ah... probably the superposition of many coincidences."
Scratching his chin, Hii Kōri's tone was somewhat uncertain.
Having detected Konoha's movements, to prevent those squads from interfering with him while alleviating Suna's pressure, he'd activated the 'landmines' he'd planted for months.
Then, because the southeastern attacks were exposed, Chiyo seized the opportunity to counterattack Konoha, releasing poison on a large scale.
And Tsunade, to counter Chiyo's poison, temporarily relocated, and was intercepted directly by Hii Kōri, who had gathered information through 'Demonic Descent' recipients.
Coincidentally, Katō Dan was Tsunade's lover. His misery dealt a tremendous shock to Tsunade's psyche, allowing Hii Kōri to capture Her sword is invincible.
"Anyway, that's how it went."
Sprawled in his chair, Hii Kōri seemed to recall something and casually took out a necklace from his scroll, tossing it to Chiyo: "This seems to be something passed down from Hashirama Senju. Should serve as identification."
"Ha... so this is why you modified the sand table."
Since the failed Konoha raid days ago, they'd already begun withdrawing their front lines, as if on alert. More directly put: they didn't want to continue fighting.
Unlike Ame, which only local battlefields succeeded with Hanzō 'active,' Suna, thanks to Hii Kōri's vast array of new equipment, could completely stalemate with Konoha for quite some time.
Though Suna definitely couldn't win, when Konoha would win was no longer for them to decide.
"Hmm. So now I'm unsure about our side's attitude. Whether to until Iwa intervenes, or quit while ahead and exit with Konoha following the stepping stone. I strongly lean toward the latter."
Pulling Tsunade up, embracing her like a pillow, ignoring her increasingly dark expression, twirling her honey-colored hair with his fingers, Hii Kōri quite blatantly commented on her as an 'object': "After all, we now have a considerable amount of chips. Best to end early before anyone disrupts the situation."
"Good! We'll blood-sacrifice Konoha's White Fang!"
"Calm down, old hag! There'll always be chances to kill White Fang. Don't waste such a rare opportunity on him!"
Seeing Chiyo suddenly furious, looking as if he was about to exchange Tsunade for Sakumo Hatake, Hii Kōri slapped his forehead. Checking, he found a trace of 'curse' still in Chiyo's body and hastily withdrew that remnant. Thinking: all these months using cursed energy against enemies, and now the boomerang finally hit him.
"Spirit Transformation is already ours. With our minds, we'll develop resurrection techniques sooner or later. Better spare White Fang and let Sasori or big brother deal with him."
"...Ah, you're right. Anyway,strategically, Suna has achieved great victory."
Coughing twice, gradually calming down, Chiyo rubbed her brow, showing a happy wry smile: "The previously drafted ceasefire agreement will need revision now."
"Leave the details to your decision-makers. I'm going to rest."
Casually tossing the 'display item' Tsunade back into shadow, Hii Kōri waved to Chiyo, completely uninterested in engaging with his old hag's Versailles.
Ten-plus minutes later, having arranged follow-up matters for his three disciples and heading toward his original room, Hii Kōri suddenly heard behind him a long-unheard, soft and passionate call.
"Kōri!!!"
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!
patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!