The Fourth Raikage frequently smashed his desk, so Hidden Cloud Village had one made of refined steel for him. At this moment, his fist slammed onto the desk, making a "thump, thump" sound.
Their boss was always like this, so C and Darui were used to it.
Darui was inherently lazy, so he gestured for C to take a look.
With short yellow hair, a handsome face, and fair skin, C looked out of place among the dark-skinned Ninja of Hidden Cloud Village. He quickly scanned the document, and a hint of joy appeared on his face.
"Raikage-sama, this is good news."
Before he could finish speaking, the Fourth Raikage slammed his fist on the table: "Good news, my ass! Don't I know what those guys are thinking? They just want to bet on both sides before the war starts!"
C waited quietly, while Darui stood with his arms crossed, eyes closed, resting.
After the Fourth Raikage finished his outburst, C continued, "Raikage-sama, this is good news, whether it's to mislead Iwagakure or to mislead Konoha Village, it's good news."
The Fourth Raikage stared intently at him: "How am I supposed to tell Bee? Tell him his disciple is going to be married off to Konoha Village? What will Bee think if they meet on the battlefield in the future? How will that child Karui handle herself?"
C answered frankly: "War has no distinction between justice and evil. Hidden Cloud Village wants to compete for more living space, and Konoha wants to protect its existing interests, it's that simple. We are Ninja, and Karui is too. Any choice she makes is her personal business, unrelated to the Ninja Village, and unrelated to Bee-sama."
The Fourth Raikage was so enraged that he kicked and punched, completely demolishing the refined steel office desk into pieces.
"Go call Bee and Karui, I'll talk to them!"
"Yes." x2.
Two days later, Konoha received a private letter from the Fourth Raikage of Hidden Cloud Village.
The matter was simple: a Ninja family from Hidden Cloud Village wanted to form a marriage alliance with a Ninja family from Konoha.
Hidden Cloud Village planned to marry Karui over. Karui was a disciple of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee, and she also came from a Ninja family, so her status was very high. Konoha naturally needed to consider a suitable match.
What did you say? The Fifth Hokage isn't married either? You pervert, don't go corrupting a 15-year-old girl!
The Hokage was definitely out. Kakashi and others were mostly married, and even if they weren't, their age wasn't suitable.
The Konoha 12 then entered the high-ranking officials' consideration.
The four Kunoichi were immediately excluded. Sasuke had his brother behind him. If Itachi knew that Konoha Village had found him a dark-skinned sister-in-law, would he explode on the spot? Sasuke was out.
Similarly, hot-blooded youths like Naruto, who could make a vampire's mouth blister, were also removed from the list. Jiraiya's reason was that Naruto was still young.
Lee had no Ninja clan support behind him, so he wasn't suitable.
Shino? Who's that? Not suitable.
Hyuga Hiashi spoke for Neji: "We are the Byakugan clan, no dark-skinned people!" Neji also left the list of candidates.
Finally, only Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba remained.
Shikaku, as the representative of the Ninja clans among the Village's high-ranking officials, did not express any opinion at this stage. Danzo, who was secretly pushing the whole matter, naturally expressed approval. Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado still harbored a glimmer of hope for averting war. A Kunoichi marrying over wouldn't be a loss for them. Both agreed, and the matter was finally settled.
The three spirited young men were to travel to Hidden Cloud Village for Karui to choose who was suitable, and then the marriage could be finalized.
To put it plainly, this was a private matter, but in the current environment, private matters had also become public affairs.
Sending just the three of them? A bit dangerous.
Sending Jonin to protect them? Too few would be useless, too many and there was a worry Hidden Cloud Village might turn hostile.
Hidden Cloud Village was marrying off a daughter, and Konoha Village, for the sake of face, couldn't refuse.
What to do? Ino, who was quite capable, young, knew the Fourth Raikage, Killer Bee, and Karui, and whose status was also similar, became the Jonin bodyguard for the three.
She was to escort these three spirited young men to their arranged meeting.
How to handle it afterward would be decided by the two Ninja Villages.
Ino had no objections to this. After packing her bags, she waited for the three at the Village gate.
Shikamaru and Choji were old friends, so there was nothing to say. Kiba wasn't close during Ninja Academy, and now... he still wasn't. However, this dog lover, along with Shikamaru, Choji, and Naruto, were the Ninja Academy's four truancy kings, so their relationship was quite good, and there wouldn't be any communication problems.
Shikamaru, usually the most lackadaisical, was the first to arrive for the gathering.
Looking at the white clouds in the sky, he thought and thought, then still whispered to Ino, "Let Choji perform well this time."
"Uncle Shikaku hopes you'll try for it, right?" Ino asked.
Shikamaru scratched his head: "He said to handle it myself. How do you handle something like this? If war breaks out, it'll really be troublesome."
Ino didn't take up that topic. Anyway, there were still a lot of hidden details in this matter, and it might not even work out. She seemed to be on the first layer, but was actually on the tenth layer...
Choji arrived shortly after, carrying large and small bags, looking nervous, as if he wasn't going on an arranged meeting but was going to fight someone to the death.
Kiba was the last to arrive, chased by a girl with long chestnut hair.
"Bastard! You dare to go on an arranged meeting, I'll beat you to death!"
A cat perched on the shoulder of the girl with long chestnut hair, while Kiba's Ninja dog, Akamaru, whom he had raised since childhood, had grown up and was now following his owner. Whenever the long-haired chestnut girl's cat meowed, Akamaru would bark twice in return.
Kiba, driven to desperation by the beating, stopped, turned around, and furiously retorted: "What's wrong with an arranged meeting? The Kunoichi of Hidden Cloud Village are gentler than you cat slaves!"
The girl with long chestnut hair was furious: "Cats never fawn over humans! Cats are the ultimate beings at the top of the world!"
Kiba was extremely displeased: "Nonsense, dogs are the best! Dogs remember human kindness after three days! Cats are never tamed even after three years! Tama, don't you even understand this principle?"
"Cats are the most noble!"
"Dogs are the most loyal!"
Ino, Shikamaru, Choji: "..."
The three of them stood like fools at the main gate of Konoha Village, watching Kiba and the Kunoichi named Tama fiercely debate the pros and cons of cats and dogs. Neither side gave way, and eventually, their respective cats and dogs also started fighting.
Akamaru was large and well-trained. Tama seemingly only had one cat on her shoulder, but as the fight began, six small kittens instantly emerged from her clothes. Seven cats battled Akamaru, making quite a lively scene.
Ino initially didn't take it seriously, but as she watched, she noticed Choji trembling beside her.
"Why are you trembling? What does this have to do with you?"
Choji was full of dread: "Will I become like this in the future? It's too terrifying!"
Shikamaru nodded beside him, still shaken. He really didn't want to go on an arranged meeting. Oh, heavens, spare him, he was still a child!
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