Time flew by.
Only one day remained until Sunagakure's first-ever Ninja Delegates' Summit.
The entire village simmered with a strange, contagious excitement.
Everywhere in the streets and alleys, villagers gathered in little clusters of three to five, talking animatedly.
Tea houses and taverns were doing thirty percent better business than usual.
Even the shinobi who normally kept stone faces couldn't help trading a few amused remarks about the summit while handing off missions.
And at the very center of all that noise…
The Kazekage's office.
Right now, it was so quiet it felt almost unnatural.
Sunlight filtered through the blinds, cutting alternating bands of light and shadow across the floor.
Several documents lay spread across the desk, clearly ignored.
The air carried a faint scent of the sea.
Teizawa lounged back in the broad chair, posture relaxed.
Temari was kneeling beneath the desk.
Only half her flushed face showed, along with a tumble of messy blond hair.
Knock, knock, knock…
A sudden knock at the door.
Teizawa's brow twitched, almost imperceptibly.
Temari's body went rigid.
Instinctively, she tried to open her mouth and rise…
"Don't move."
Teizawa's voice dropped to a near whisper as he placed a hand on the top of Temari's head, stopping her from getting up.
Temari's eyes went wide.
Her face screamed, are you insane?
Teizawa didn't explain.
He took a slow breath, adjusted his posture, and smoothed his expression back into that usual, steady, indifferent calm.
"Come in."
His voice was even, as if nothing at all were happening.
Temari's heart clenched.
The door opened.
An ANBU shinobi slipped inside, light as a cat.
But the instant he landed, he very clearly hesitated.
Because by habit, ingrained over years of ANBU work, he should have appeared in the office without a sound, dropped to one knee, delivered his report, then vanished without a sound.
But now…
He had to knock.
He had to wait until the Kazekage said "come in" before entering.
He even had to walk like a normal person, instead of dropping in upside down from the ceiling.
The ANBU shinobi went down on one knee, wearing the standard animal mask, his expression hidden.
But if anyone could have seen his face, it would have been extremely, extremely aggrieved.
We're ANBU.
Walking, seriously?
How are we supposed to hold our heads up in front of our coworkers like this?
Still, no matter how much drama he acted out internally, he swallowed it.
Who would dare defy the Kazekage's orders?
"What is it?" Teizawa's voice came from above, calm and authoritative.
The ANBU shinobi reported, "Reporting to the Kazekage, a group of Konoha shinobi has arrived at the village gate."
"The leader claims they come under the Hokage's orders to conduct exchange and study in Sunagakure, in preparation for the upcoming Chūnin Exams."
Teizawa's eyes lifted slightly.
Konoha?
At a time like this?
His mind accelerated.
The agents he'd planted in Konoha hadn't sent back any word…
Either Tsunade's keeping this under an extremely high level of secrecy, or…
This mission has another purpose.
"Who's coming?" His voice stayed even, but his fingers tapped the armrest without thinking.
The ANBU shinobi answered, "They are led by the Copy Ninja Kakashi, the Blue Beast Guy, and Asuma of the Guardian Ninja Twelve."
"Total accompanying personnel: twenty-seven. Including fifteen genin, eight chūnin, and four tokubetsu jōnin."
Teizawa's brows rose a fraction.
That lineup…
Kakashi. Guy. Asuma.
Three jōnin leading a twenty-seven-person delegation, calling it "exchange and study"?
A faint, almost invisible curve formed at the corner of his mouth.
Tsunade, that old hag, isn't here just to drink tea.
And…
Teizawa suddenly thought of something else.
Kakashi actually dares to come to Sunagakure?
Isn't he afraid Chiyo will try to tear him apart?
After all, Kakashi's father, Sakumo, the "White Fang of Konoha," had personally killed Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law on the battlefield back then, cutting off her bloodline.
That blood debt had been etched into the old woman's bones for decades.
And now Kakashi strolls into Sunagakure in broad daylight.
He's basically walking into the muzzle of a gun.
Teizawa narrowed his eyes.
That hot-blooded idiot's taijutsu really was a variable.
If Guy opened Hachimon Tonkō (Eight Gates) all the way to Shimon (Gate of Death), the damage output was something even a tailed beast couldn't endure.
Guy wouldn't open the Gate of Death lightly, but as a potential threat, it had to be factored in.
"Where is Gaara?"
"He's trying to control the tailed beast's power," the ANBU shinobi replied.
After Shukaku had been beaten senseless that time, it had finally, begrudgingly, agreed to lend Gaara its strength.
From then on, Gaara's growth had skyrocketed.
By now, he could be called a half-perfect jinchūriki, at least.
"Have Gaara receive them. Bring the Konoha group to the Kazekage's office," Teizawa ordered.
"Yes!"
The ANBU shinobi responded, body flashing…
Then he hard-stopped in midair.
He remembered the Kazekage's new rules.
No Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) indoors.
No flipping in the corridors.
No walking around hanging upside down from the ceiling.
So this elite ANBU could only freeze there, suspended in an extremely awkward pose.
Then…
He silently dropped back to the floor.
He took a deep breath and started walking.
Step by step. Properly. Like a model citizen.
He left the office with a back that looked full of tragedy.
The door closed.
The office fell quiet again.
Then…
"Cough, cough, cough!"
A violent coughing fit erupted from under the desk, like someone was about to cough out a lung.
Temari crawled out from beneath the desk in a scramble, rolling and stumbling as she came.
Her whole face was red, like a shrimp dropped into boiling water.
Her hair was a complete disaster. Her clothes were a mess.
There were even traces at the corner of her mouth that looked highly suspicious.
She braced herself on the edge of the desk, bent over, coughing until tears came out.
"You… cough, cough… you did that on purpose!"
When she finally caught her breath, she glared up at Teizawa, cheeks blazing.
"Why didn't you let me get up just now! What if he noticed… what if…"
She couldn't finish.
The moment she imagined that ANBU shinobi glancing a little longer, or catching the wrong scent…
Temari's face reddened so hard it was almost ready to drip blood.
Teizawa, meanwhile, showed not a shred of guilt.
"Wasn't discovered, was it?" he said, completely matter-of-fact.
"You…"
Temari choked on her words, furious, and utterly helpless against him.
All she could do was fumble with her clothes while trying to murder him with her eyes.
Fix the collar. Tie the sash. Fix the hair…
The hair was hopeless for now.
She could only rake her fingers through it a few times and call it "good enough."
She shot him one last vicious glare.
"Tonight, I'm settling this with you!"
Then she turned and bolted into the back lounge like she was fleeing a battlefield, claiming it was "to rest."
The door slammed shut with a bang.
Teizawa stared at that door, the curve of his mouth deepening.
Then he drew his gaze back.
Konoha had arrived.
Kakashi. Guy. Asuma.
Interesting.
He lifted the teacup on the desk and took a slow sip.
The tea had gone cold, but he didn't care.
Tsunade, Tsunade. What are you testing with this move?
Or…
Are you trying to see just how much weight this newly appointed Kazekage really carries?
He set the cup down, a meaningful curve appearing at his lips.
Then I'll let you see.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]