The instant the door to the Kazekage's office was pushed open, sunlight poured down from the high windows, slicing a bright diagonal line across the dark wooden floor.
The group from Konoha filed in, and then…
Everyone's footsteps stalled, as if on cue.
Behind the desk sat a single figure.
He wore the Kazekage's distinctive dark-gold robe, but the cut was different from the traditional style: slimmer, cleaner, sharper. The shoulder line was crisp like a blade's edge, and the fabric didn't drape from behind the shoulders so much as sweep down at an almost weightless angle toward the waist.
He was young.
That was everyone's first impression.
Too young.
He looked only a few years older than Ino and Sakura… early twenties?
Maybe even younger.
He didn't have that Sand shinobi roughness, the kind wind and grit ground into you over years. His features were defined and handsome without being delicate: sharp brows slanting toward his temples, a high straight nose, thin lips pressed into a calm line, and a jaw with a hard, decisive curve.
Masculine.
Good-looking.
That was Ino and Sakura's first reaction.
But his eyes…
Those eyes were fixed calmly on the uninvited guests at the doorway. His pupils were pitch-black and bottomless, and yet there was a faint, strange gleam within them.
It made you feel, on instinct, like you'd been seen through.
He was sitting.
He was lower than all of them.
And still, somehow, it felt like he was looking down on them.
Kakashi's step paused for the barest moment, and his exposed right eye narrowed sharply.
In that instant, something primitive flared in him, the kind of warning that came before thought, like when you met a real monster on the battlefield.
Danger.
The word leapt out of the depths of his mind with no prelude.
There was no killing intent. No hostility. No overt threat at all.
Just pure instinct.
This man is dangerous.
Kakashi's right hand dropped unconsciously to his side, only a few inches from his ninja pouch. Not an attack posture. A readiness.
Might Guy stood beside Kakashi, and for once he wasn't wearing that wide, foolish grin.
His thick brows knotted into a single hard line. His gaze locked on the young man behind the desk, his body subtly coiling tight.
Like a hunting cat about to explode.
Guy's instincts told him the same thing: strong.
His eyes flicked, almost without meaning to, toward his right hand, the starting position for opening the Eight Gates.
Asuma stood a half-step behind them.
His fists had clenched without him realizing it, knuckles whitening from the pressure.
It's him.
In his mind flashed Kurenai's face, quieter by the day… the hollow look that sometimes appeared when her focus drifted… the one month she never spoke of anymore.
This Kazekage, Teizawa, had taken Kurenai prisoner for a month.
What did he do to her during that time?
Asuma's breathing turned rough for a heartbeat. His chest churned with a messy mix of emotions.
Anger. Confusion.
And a thread he didn't want to admit existed at all.
Unease.
Ino stood toward the back of the group.
At first she was only craning her neck in curiosity.
And then…
Thump.
She heard it clearly, her heart skipping a beat.
Then a second. A third.
Faster. Messier.
Like something was crashing around inside her ribs, making her cheeks burn and her throat go dry.
So… so handsome.
The thought popped up out of nowhere and smashed straight through her common sense.
She'd seen plenty of good-looking guys. Sasuke's cold, moonlit, untouchable vibe. Neji's quiet, jade-like noble air. And Naruto's sunny, dazzling grin.
She'd thought she was immune by now.
But the man in front of her…
That sharp, striking face. Those blade-like brows. Those eyes that looked like they could pierce anything, yet carried no obvious aggression.
And that pressure you couldn't ignore.
More handsome than Sasuke. More handsome than Neji…
More handsome than anyone she'd ever seen.
Ino pressed a hand to her chest, dazed, thinking that maybe this was what those stories called love at first sight.
Sakura stood beside her.
At first she only examined the unfamiliar Kazekage calmly.
Then something inside her went clunk.
Wait.
Sakura snapped back to herself and shook her head hard, like she could fling the thought out of her skull.
I like Sasuke!
Sasuke-kun!
Not this Kazekage who came out of nowhere!
She took a breath, trying to force her pulse back into a normal rhythm, but her eyes still drifted that way.
His brows and eyes… were honestly really good-looking.
No. No, no, no!
Sakura shook her head again, viciously this time.
Sasuke-kun is the best!
Sasuke-kun is number one!
She tried to brainwash herself as she quietly dragged her gaze away.
But the moment she looked aside, she couldn't help glancing back again.
Shikamaru stood at the very end of the group, hands in his pockets, posture as lazy as always.
His eyes swept over Teizawa, then paused briefly on Kakashi, Guy, and Asuma's reactions.
Then returned to Teizawa's face.
Interesting.
That was Shikamaru's silent verdict.
Kakashi-sensei's alertness. Guy's tension. Asuma's anger.
Three jōnin. Three different reactions.
But they all pointed to the same conclusion.
This Kazekage, Teizawa, is dangerous.
Shikamaru's gaze met Teizawa's for the lightest instant, then both of them looked away as if nothing had happened.
Old fox.
That was the first label Shikamaru stuck on him.
And a troublesome old fox, too.
Because people like that were the hardest to deal with.
At the same time, Teizawa took in everyone from Konoha at a glance.
Kakashi's readiness. Guy's coiled posture. Asuma's anger. Ino's daze. Sakura's wavering. Shikamaru's evaluation…
Every expression, every stance, every shift of the eyes, even the rhythm of their breathing.
All of it was categorized, analyzed, and filed away in his head in seconds.
An interesting mix.
"…" "…"
His gaze lingered briefly on Ino and Sakura.
Those two girls were even taller and more willowy than he remembered.
No wonder they were beauties in the original.
Then he withdrew his eyes without a trace.
He stood.
The dark-gold robe swayed lightly with the motion, making his figure look even more upright.
He stepped out from behind the desk, wearing a gentle smile.
"Welcome."
His voice wasn't loud, but it landed clean and firm. "Everyone from Konoha, welcome to Sunagakure."
As he spoke, Teizawa's lips curved into a faint smile. Sunlight spilled through the window and gilded him in a pale golden halo.
Ino's heartbeat skipped again.
Sakura's fingers clenched the edge of her sleeve without thinking.
Shikamaru's brows drew together, just slightly.
And Kakashi, Guy, and Asuma, all at once…
Tightened every nerve they had.
Guy reacted first, then Kakashi, then Asuma.
Even as they stayed wary, they returned the courtesy with a formal bow.
"Kazekage-sama!"
"No need for such formality."
Teizawa lifted a hand, cutting off the pleasantries. His eyes swept over the group.
Aside from a few he didn't recognize…
The ones he did were Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, Ino, Sakura, Chōji, and Shikamaru.
Especially Ino…
She'd grown up into an even more graceful figure.
For a moment, a strange thought rose in his mind, the impulse to marry into the Yamanaka clan.
He forced the frivolous notion down, hard, and smothered it before it showed on his face.
Still…
He could find an opportunity to "train" her a little.
His hands itched.
"The reason you've come, I already understand," Teizawa said with a smile. "But right now, Sunagakure truly can't spare the manpower. How about you stay in the village for now? Once our shinobi conference is over, we can sit down and discuss this exchange internship properly. How does that sound?"
(End of Chapter)
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