His gaze had already shifted to Kitsuchi.
Teizawa did not explain himself to Samui.
"Kitsuchi-dono, can you produce seven billion right now? That was our agreement. Five days."
Kitsuchi fell silent.
His mouth opened and closed, then closed and opened again.
"Wait a little longer…" His voice was hoarse, carrying a faint note of pleading. "It's just a final struggle now."
"I can't wait."
Teizawa sighed, his expression making it seem as if he were talking about something truly unavoidable.
"Your Iwagakure's Rōshi attacked the Land of Wind's border. A lot of people died, and they're all waiting for me to pay their compensation. Since you can't produce the seven billion…"
He paused, the corner of his mouth rising slightly. "Then I can only say… sorry."
Kitsuchi's face went completely pale.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But no words came out.
Teizawa had already turned to Samui.
"Is your seven billion enough?"
Samui raised her head and looked into his deep violet eyes.
"Enough."
Her voice was soft, but steady.
Teizawa smiled.
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow, money in one hand, the Four-Tails in the other."
He stood up and patted off dust that did not exist. "Meeting dismissed."
Kitsuchi stood in place, completely still.
His subordinates stood behind him.
Every one of them had gone deathly pale.
Mei walked out from the corner. When she passed Teizawa, her steps paused slightly.
"Kazekage-dono, you truly have impressive methods."
Her voice was very soft, so soft that only the two of them could hear it.
Teizawa smiled. "You flatter me."
Mei said nothing more and left the office.
Her figure was still graceful as she departed.
But much of the surprise in those emerald-green eyes had already been restrained.
Kitsuchi was helped away by his subordinates.
His steps were unsteady, as if he had aged ten years all at once.
Samui also left with Karui and Omoi.
When she reached the doorway, she looked back at Teizawa.
It was a brief glance, but meaningful.
There was gratitude in it. Complexity.
And something else that could not be put into words.
Only Teizawa remained in the office.
He stood in front of the shattered desk, lowered his head to look at the wood splinters, and the smile at the corner of his mouth slowly deepened.
This show had finally come to an end.
Tomorrow, the Four-Tails would belong to Kumo.
The seven billion would belong to Sunagakure.
As for Iwagakure… who cared about them?
After this, Kumo and Iwagakure would naturally start wrangling with each other.
By then, who would still be paying attention to Sunagakure?
He could quietly develop his village in peace.
Thinking that, he stepped out of the office.
The corridor was empty.
Moonlight spilled in through the windows, falling over him with a warm glow.
Tonight, there was still one more person who would come looking for him.
Uzuki Yūgao should be arriving soon, right?
…
"Sorry, I'm late."
Teizawa smiled as he pushed open the door, his tone as light as if he were arriving for an ordinary date.
Uzuki Yūgao stood in the corner of the room.
Her black Anbu uniform almost blended into the shadows.
Only her long purple hair carried a faint sheen under the moonlight.
Her back was straight, her posture like a blade on the verge of being drawn.
Her mask hid her face.
But the eyes exposed beyond it were fixed tightly on Teizawa.
Expectation, suspicion, tension.
And a trace of vulnerability too faint to notice.
"What did you mean by what you said to me earlier, sir?"
Her voice was cold.
Exactly the same as it had been during the day outside the Hokage's office.
But Teizawa could hear it.
He could hear what was hidden beneath that shell of ice.
Teizawa walked to the table and poured himself a cup of tea.
He took a slow sip.
"What did I mean?" He set the cup down, the corner of his mouth rising slightly. "Exactly what I said."
Swish.
Yūgao abruptly drew the short blade from her back.
The edge flashed coldly under the moonlight.
Her figure flickered from the corner to Teizawa's front.
The tip of the blade stopped three inches from his throat.
"Are you playing with me?"
Her voice trembled. "Hayate is already dead. He died in my arms."
"I watched him close his eyes with my own eyes. I buried him with my own hands. And you say you can bring him back… do you understand what you're saying?"
Teizawa lowered his head and looked at the blade.
Then he raised his eyes and looked into hers.
Those purple eyes were filled with anger and grief.
And a thread of hope so close to despair that it almost hurt to see.
"Of course I understand."
"Then why…"
Yūgao's voice caught in her throat.
She did not know what to say.
She wanted to say he was lying.
Wanted to say the dead could not be revived. Wanted to say she should not have come.
But she had still come.
Because that man had said: do you want Hayate Gekkō to live again?
Those words were like a needle.
They had stabbed into the softest part of her heart.
They had left her sleepless, had driven her here as if possessed, blade pointed at his throat.
"Who said the dead can't be revived?"
The corner of Teizawa's mouth curved into an eerie smile.
Under the moonlight, that smile seemed especially unreal.
As if it had walked out of some ancient painting.
Yūgao's blade froze in midair.
Her pupils contracted slightly, and her breathing grew rapid.
"What do you mean?"
Teizawa did not answer immediately. He only looked at her.
There was amusement in those deep eyes. Certainty.
And something she could not understand.
After a moment of silent eye contact, Teizawa said, "Impure World Reincarnation. The forbidden jutsu created by Konoha's Second Hokage. I don't know if you've heard of it."
"You mean…"
"During Orochimaru's attack on Konoha, as an Anbu, you should have seen the resurrected First and Second Hokage, shouldn't you?"
Yūgao's eyes widened sharply.
The blade was still hovering three inches from Teizawa's throat.
But she had already forgotten she was holding it.
Her breathing grew fast, and her chest rose and fell violently.
Beneath her mask, her lips were trembling.
Impure World Reincarnation… of course she had heard of it.
It was the forbidden jutsu created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
It could summon the souls of the dead back from the afterlife, attach them to sacrifices, and make them return.
No. Not return.
It was a puppet technique that defied the natural order.
They possessed the memories and strength they had held in life.
But they had no will of their own.
She remembered the disaster when Orochimaru attacked Konoha.
At the time, she had been an Anbu assigned to guard the village perimeter, so she had not seen it with her own eyes.
But she had heard about it.
The First Hokage and Second Hokage had been revived by Orochimaru through Impure World Reincarnation and forced to battle the Third Hokage.
That was the first time she learned…
The dead truly could "come back."
"You…"
Her voice was rough, as if her throat were full of sand. "What exactly are you trying to do?"
Teizawa shook his head. "I can't use it. And the people brought back by that jutsu aren't truly alive anyway. They're only puppets."
Yūgao's heart sank.
That tiny spark of hope that had just ignited was snuffed out before it could even bloom.
"But…"
Teizawa changed the subject, the corner of his mouth rising slightly. "Our Sunagakure's Lady Chiyo also created a forbidden jutsu: One's Own Life Reincarnation. You should have heard of that one too."
Yūgao's pupils contracted sharply.
One's Own Life Reincarnation.
Sunagakure's forbidden jutsu.
At the cost of all the caster's chakra, it shared life with another person.
That was not a puppet technique for manipulating the dead.
It was a true resurrection jutsu, one that exchanged life for life.
Of course she had heard of it.
It was a secret art of Sunagakure, known only to Lady Chiyo and a very small number of puppeteers.
This Kazekage was actually willing to bring out even that?
"You…" Her voice trembled. "You can use One's Own Life Reincarnation?"
"I can't."
Teizawa shook his head, then slowly added the next sentence before Yūgao's heart could sink again.
"But I can have someone else use it. Lady Chiyo's One's Own Life Reincarnation requires the caster to give up their life."
"I'm reluctant to let her die, but I can have her teach the jutsu to someone else. We can find someone willing to give their life for Hayate Gekkō."
He paused and looked at her. "Or we can find a lot of people, each of them sharing a little chakra. That way, no one has to die."
Yūgao's mind went blank.
She did not know what to say.
She did not know whether she should believe him or not.
Her reason told her it was impossible.
How could the dead be resurrected?
But her heart was pounding wildly.
Because what if it was true?
What if he could really do it?
She lowered her blade, her fingers still trembling.
"What do you want?" Her voice was hoarse. "Money? Or…"
Teizawa's gaze swept over her from head to toe.
The black Anbu uniform wrapped around her slender body.
The belt cinched her slim waist.
The short blade hung at her hip, and the Uzuki clan crest was engraved on its sheath.
Finally, his gaze landed on the eyes exposed beyond her mask.
"What can you give me?"
His voice was very soft, carrying the faintest trace of a smile.
Yūgao's heart missed a beat.
Of course she understood what he meant.
She was Anbu. A Konoha ninja. Hayate Gekkō's lover.
She could not…
But…
Her fingers clenched tight, her knuckles turning white.
"You…" Her voice was rough as sand. "You want me?"
Teizawa did not answer. He only looked at her.
There was appraisal in his gaze. Desire.
And the certainty of someone who had already decided the outcome.
Yūgao remained silent for a long time.
Moonlight spilled in through the window and fell over her.
It shone on the short blade still gripped in her hand.
Her shadow stretched long.
Cast against the wall, it looked like a statue.
"If you really can bring Hayate back…"
Her voice was very soft, soft as sleep-talking. "I…"
She did not continue.
But Teizawa already understood.
He smiled.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]