Early the next morning, Yagami slowly woke up to a faint tickling sensation near his nose.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Kushina smiling mischievously above him, holding a strand of her red hair and brushing it lightly across his face.
"You really are getting more and more bold, aren't you?"
Yagami narrowed his eyes.
"Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson today."
Kushina let out a startled cry as Yagami suddenly moved.
In the next instant, he flipped over and pinned her beneath him like a tiger pouncing on its prey.
His hands had already begun forming seals, and he was just about to open a barrier around the tent
when his expression shifted slightly.
Someone was rushing toward his camp.
Yagami froze for a moment.
Then he sighed.
Left with no choice, he could only let go of the smug-looking Kushina for now.
"Lord Yagami, are you awake?"
"The support unit from the village has arrived at the front."
As Yagami got up and began putting on his clothes, the voice of a messenger rang out from outside the tent.
The messenger clearly knew why Yagami and Kushina were staying together, so he was sensible enough to stop about ten meters away.
"I heard you. I'll be there soon."
After answering, Yagami quickly finished dressing.
When Kushina heard that people had arrived from the village, she also got up immediately.
The village higher-ups had already said before that they would grant Yagami, the greatest contributor in the battle against Sunagakure, a special honor.
Because of that, Kushina was very curious.
What kind of honor would the village give him?
After all, Yagami was her man now.
Naturally, she cared about anything related to him.
At the entrance of the Konoha camp, all the Jōnin commanders had already gathered.
In front of them, a support unit of around a thousand shinobi stood in neat formation.
They were the latest reinforcements sent from Konohagakure.
In fact, there were two other thousand-man units just like this one.
They had already been dispatched to the battlefields against Kumogakure and Kirigakure respectively.
In order to gather these three support units, the village higher-ups had spent several days recalling shinobi who were out on missions.
Only then had they barely managed to assemble these three thousand-man forces.
At this point, aside from the Uchiha clan and a small number of ANBU and Root operatives, almost every Konoha shinobi above Chūnin rank had been sent to the battlefield.
With that, Konoha had thrown nearly nine thousand shinobi into the war.
The village's remaining strength had practically been hollowed out.
"What happened to that giant crater on the battlefield?"
"Did a meteor fall there or something?"
"A meteor? Don't be stupid. That was left behind by yesterday's battle between Lord Yagami and Iwagakure's jinchūriki."
"Even now, just looking at it makes my heart shake."
"Yeah. I don't think I'll ever forget that explosion."
"Hahaha, I was about to say the same thing."
"You guys came late, so you didn't see it. Honestly, missing that scene might be the biggest regret of your lives. That mushroom cloud shot straight through the clouds."
"What?! That was caused by a battle?"
"That's way too ridiculous!"
"Even for a Kage-level shinobi, isn't that too much?"
"Hey, quiet down. Lord Yagami is here…"
Before Yagami and Kushina even reached the entrance of the Konoha camp, they could already hear the excited voices of the Konoha shinobi.
Every discussion revolved around Yagami's battle from the day before.
"Lord Yagami!"
"Lord Yagami!"
The moment Yagami arrived at the camp entrance, every shinobi there—both the commanders and the newly arrived reinforcements—called out with excitement and respect.
Although Yagami was only around eighteen years old, his strength had already reached a level most shinobi could never touch in their entire lives.
Because of that, no one treated him according to age.
No one called him a kohai.
Every one of them addressed him respectfully as "Lord Yagami."
"You've all worked hard."
Yagami raised one hand, calming the excited crowd.
Perhaps because of his overwhelming strength, there was now a natural pressure around him that belonged only to someone who had stood at the peak of battle.
Even standing before thousands of shinobi, his presence still seemed impossible to ignore.
After quieting the crowd, Yagami noticed someone among the support unit from Konoha.
A village elder.
Mitokado Homura.
Behind him stood Aburame Zena, Hyūga Hizashi, and several other Jōnin who had come as reinforcements.
"Yagami."
Before Yagami could step forward to greet him, Mitokado Homura walked over first with a smile.
"You truly are frighteningly talented. To think Konoha would produce a shinobi like you at such a young age."
As he spoke, Homura warmly grasped Yagami's hand.
Yagami's expression stiffened for the briefest moment.
"Mito-sama, you praise me too much."
He responded politely, then quietly pulled his hand back.
After all, being grabbed so warmly by an unfamiliar old man was not exactly comfortable.
Homura did not seem to notice. He simply laughed.
"No need to be so modest."
"With young shinobi like you in Konoha, old men like us can finally breathe a little easier."
There was some obvious flattery in his words, but Yagami still answered calmly.
"Mito-sama, let's continue this inside the command tent."
Yagami did not have much personal feeling toward Mitokado Homura, but the man had come with a smile and spoke politely.
There was no reason to embarrass him in front of everyone.
So Yagami naturally prepared to welcome him into the camp.
However, Mitokado Homura waved his hand and declined.
"No, no. There's no need."
"These old bones of mine didn't come here to inspect the battlefield."
His gaze sharpened slightly, and his voice became more formal.
"I came here on behalf of Konohagakure."
A brief silence fell over the camp.
The surrounding shinobi instinctively straightened their backs.
Homura looked at Yagami and continued.
"To deliver the honor the village has decided to bestow upon you."
Yagami's eyes moved slightly.
Kushina, standing beside him, also became serious.
Homura smiled faintly.
"Once that is done, I must return to the village and report to the Hokage."
The atmosphere around the camp entrance changed at once.
The noisy discussions stopped.
Every shinobi's gaze landed on Yagami.
Everyone understood what this meant.
This was no ordinary reward.
This was recognition from the village itself.
For a shinobi, that kind of honor carried a weight heavier than any simple mission payment.
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