Leaving the ANBU underground compound, Tobika stepped into the sunlight. The glare hit his mask, burning through the eyeholes right into his pupils. He squinted, raised a hand, and—
Noticed every other rookie walking ten steps away from him.
"…Huh? Hey, do you guys want to grab some gri—"
Before he finished, the entire group accelerated like he was the Nine-Tails itself.
Sure, the sub-captain had asked him to punch her.Sure, he might have sent her flying through a wall.But darkness above—he hadn't expected everyone to act like he was a war crime waiting to happen.
An Uchiha who doesn't hold back.Hits a woman.Hits an ANBU officer.Hits her hard enough to require structural repairs.
The rookies had already written his biography in their heads.
A breeze passed.Tobika noticed the stray sprout growing from his hair—another White Zetsu remnant sign he would absolutely ignore—and sighed.
What happened to team bonding over grilled meat?
He turned.
Yuhi Kurenai stepped out of the base, calm and graceful as ever.
Tobika flashed beside her in a blur, walking shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Long time no see."
"Long time no see," she echoed, voice flat but not hostile.
They hadn't been close at the Academy, but he'd always complimented her eyes.Uchiha praising someone else's eyes tended to leave a mark.
"Red, that sub-captain today… which Sarutobi is she? Haven't seen her before."
Kurenai glanced sideways.
"She's the Third's daughter-in-law. She's been in ANBU since our jōnin training days. I saw her when the Hokage invited me over once."
Tobika blinked.
Right.The Sarutobi clan never invited him to anything.Not surprising—Hiruzen had only invited Tobika to the office twice, both times to scold him.
He shook it off and made his way to the Konoha Hospital, fruit in one hand, flowers in the other.
He had heard something… interesting.
Yakura still hadn't been discharged.
Seven days had passed since their battle.Even with Konoha's uneven medical standards, a muscle bruise shouldn't need a week.
Unless she was faking it.
A brown-clad Konoha shinobi blocked his path.
"You here to visit Sunagakure's Yakura too?"
Tobika raised a brow. "How'd you guess?"
"Plenty of people lost comrades to Suna. They keep showing up with kunai 'to pay respects.' We've had to stop all of them. And with the alliance talks almost complete, leadership said nothing—absolutely nothing—must happen to Suna's ninja inside Konoha."
He scratched his head awkwardly.
"You going in there is… dangerous. She's strong."
Tobika peeked toward the ward.
Two Suna shinobi were guarding the door, glaring at everything like feral cats.
He took out a document and handed it over.
"I'm being sent to Sunagakure for 'friendly exchange.' Need to ask Yakura a few things."
"Oh—my apologies. Please, go ahead."
The guard stepped aside, sympathy written all over his face.
Tobika thought:If this is how Suna treats injured comrades…My trip is going to be hellish.
Inside, Yakura lay sideways on the bed, reading intelligence briefs.
Konoha pushes back Kiri.Konoha and Kumogakure stalemate.Iwagakure retreats and negotiates a ceasefire.
"It's always Konoha," Yakura muttered. "Always stabilizing the field."
She tossed the papers away, bored beyond reason.Since the war ended, she realized she didn't know what to do with peace.
She closed her eyes.
Then the door creaked.
Someone entered quietly, pulled out a chair, sat down, and—
scrape scrape scrape…
The steady sound of a blade peeling fruit drifted into the silence.
She frowned, opened her eyes—
And stared.
A handsome, black-haired Uchiha youth sat by her bed, legs crossed, sunlight framing him like a golden outline.He carved the apple with slow, effortless grace.
Uchiha really were unfairly good-looking.
"What are you doing here?" she finally asked.
"You're awake?" Tobika looked genuinely surprised. "You've been here a long time. Thought I'd check on you."
She snorted and looked away.
"Why leave the hospital? To get insulted by your villagers?"
"…Fair."
Tobika took a bite of the apple, stood, and walked to her bedside.
"Plenty of people from Konoha died to Suna. Shame I wasn't on your battlefield. No chance to fight you back then."
"You can fight me now."
Her eyes sharpened, killing intent flaring.
Tobika chewed his apple, unimpressed.
"It's not even sweet," he muttered. "Damn merchants scammed me again."
"I'm fully recovered," she said, lips curling upward as she reached toward her weapon pouch. "Afraid?"
But before she grabbed it, something landed in her palm.
She blinked at the peeled apple.
"Yakura," Tobika said softly, "this might be the last big conflict among the Five Nations for a long time. Enjoy the peace while it lasts."
She stared at him, stunned.He glanced at the Suna forehead protector on her brow and grimaced.
Almost forgot—her village and Orochimaru would one day blow up the Third Hokage.
Still… the world would eventually calm down.
Crunch.
Yakura took a small bite of the apple, and Tobika leaned back.
"I'm being sent to Suna as a medical envoy," he told her. "I'll exchange knowledge with your medics and learn from Chiyo-sama."
She gave a low, amused laugh.
"You know, Konoha sent envoys before. They tend to die.""Tailed Beast tantrums. Misfired jutsu. Stray explosive tags. Poisonous well water.""So many… accidents."
Tobika rubbed his chin.
"So my stay is going to be awful."
"Unless," she said casually, "you become my slave. Then no one will dare touch you."
Tobika reached over and pinched her cheek.
She glared daggers.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking how thick your skin is. Talking like that without blushing."
He set the flowers into a vase.
"Last time you came to Konoha, I sent you to the hospital. I even carried you around half the village while blocking stones and kunai. Staying cooped up in here is a waste. Once you're up, I'll show you around Konoha. In return, you'll show me around Suna."
A gentle wind rustled the curtains.
Yakura stared out the window, thinking of her young disciple back home—"Scroll."She'd probably like Konoha's apples.
They were sweet.
Sweeter than she admitted.