Chapter 391: Gekinin Emaki
The Cloud Village suffered heavy losses.
The march to war, which was about to begin, had to be temporarily withdrawn.
The A-B combo, consisting of the Fourth Raikage and Killer B, was now out of commission. This was a severe blow to the morale of the Cloud ninja. What was even more demoralizing was that Killer B had been critically injured by the Fourth Raikage himself!
Even with the Eight-Tails sealed within him, it would take time for Killer B to recover from his grievous wounds and return to his peak condition.
He had been beaten to the brink of death by the combined efforts of the Fourth Raikage and numerous other ninja. It took the Sealing Team an entire day of hard work to finally release him from the control of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
During this process, the Fourth Raikage was also injured, and over a dozen members of the Sealing Team lost their lives.
The Cloud ninja's trust in Killer B was shaken to a certain degree.
Once on the battlefield, would the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki still be an asset on our side? What if he goes berserk again?
The Fourth Raikage was not a man of many words and didn't know how to explain the situation, leaving him to sulk in frustration.
He was injured, and Killer B was injured.
Karui had left for Konoha, a matter no one spoke of. Everyone maintained a tacit understanding, as if she had never existed in the first place.
The death of the Magnet Release user, Toroi, at the hands of Hiruko, was another significant blow.
Toroi was a ninja comparable to Konoha's Asuma—a quintessential elite jonin. Now, such a jonin possessing a Kekkei Genkai had been killed within his own village, his body stolen. This was yet another heavy strike against the morale of the Cloud ninja.
The theft of Ginkaku's remaining corpse, the loss of the Amber Purifying Pot, and Danzo's guerrilla warfare in the rugged mountains of the Land of Lightning—all these matters made the Fourth Raikage extremely agitated. To launch a war while dealing with so many internal troubles to divert the village's internal conflicts? It wasn't impossible, but the execution would be complicated and fraught with significant risks.
He chose to first capture Danzo, retrieve the Amber Purifying Pot and Ginkaku's body, and then use Danzo as a bargaining chip to get benefits and territory from Konoha.
"Oh my, what is that you've painted on your toes? It doesn't look very nice," Hinata said with some disapproval upon seeing the polish on Ino's toenails.
"What's it to you? Why are you staring at my feet anyway?" Ino was a little speechless.
The Akatsuki members all wore black nail polish. It looked fine when she was wearing the black cloak with red clouds, but now in her regular clothes, Ino's toenail polish seemed overly mature and gaudy.
Ino had actually tried to wash it off on the way back, but she hadn't gotten it all off. She never expected that the habitually demure Hinata would be the one to spot it.
She couldn't exactly say, I was pretending to be an Akatsuki member, and it was super exciting. She could only use the excuse of youthful ignorance and a sense of curiosity.
Hinata gave her a good scolding.
Karui, having just been released from Konoha's Interrogation Unit, walked in the door to see Hinata washing Ino's feet.
The posture between the two of them... From a Cloud ninja's perspective, it seemed a bit too intimate. But they were both girls, so perhaps it wasn't a big deal. Still, Karui found it a little strange.
Barefoot, Ino quickly introduced them.
Karui had an impetuous personality, while Hinata preferred quiet. Their life experiences, the education they received, and their expectations for the future were completely different. There was little for them to talk about, so they exchanged only a few simple pleasantries.
"Well… you two carry on." Karui waved her hand, signaling that they could continue washing feet. She would go for a stroll and come back later.
"Um? That is… Karui, what would you like to eat tonight?" Knowing that she would be staying at the Yamanaka residence for the time being, Hinata quickly followed her to the door to ask.
Karui was completely bewildered. Is the social etiquette in Konoha this complicated? The young lady of the Hyuga Clan also moonlights as the Yamanaka family's cook? She couldn't make sense of it at all.
After two days of discussion, Karui's status was smoothly resolved.
Choza Akimichi greatly admired this girl who had traveled from so far away to be with his son. He honored his previous promise and approved of their marriage.
With the endorsement of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the Akimichi clan's consistently good reputation, even Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado didn't make things difficult. All obstacles to Karui living in Konoha were cleared.
Konoha sent a formal letter to the Cloud Village, announcing Karui and Choji's engagement. The Cloud Village neither agreed nor objected, and the matter was thus settled.
A kunoichi marrying into a rival village was not uncommon, neither in the past Warring States Period nor in the current era of hidden villages. It was nothing to make a fuss about.
Jiraiya had originally intended to appoint Karui as one of his Anbu, following the precedent set with Ari, but Karui refused. She no longer wanted to work as a ninja.
The Konoha leadership hadn't expected to gain any Cloud intelligence from her anyway, so if she was unwilling, they let the matter drop.
Karui stayed at the Yamanaka residence for two days but felt that living under someone else's roof was ultimately uncomfortable.
Ino didn't have any vacant properties either; she had sold all her houses to "Billionaire Hikari." So, she had to consult with Hikari again and ended up renting another house for Karui.
To live in a village with a high cost of living like Konoha without being a ninja, one needed a source of income.
"So, what skills do you have?" Ino asked Karui in Shikamaru's curry shop.
Karui frowned and thought for a moment. Besides killing people, did she have any other skills?
Hinata, who was now part of their little group, offered a suggestion: "Karui, I think... I think you, um..."
In the Cloud Village, the name "Karui" meant "light," corresponding to her partner, the anxious Omoi, whose name meant "heavy."
"Light" in many contexts can mean "of small weight, of a shallow degree, using little force, appearing casual." Karui was always impetuous, seemingly full of passion, but she acted without any real planning.
Faced with Hinata's hesitation, she frowned, a little annoyed, but knowing her awkward position, she said nothing.
Hinata was better around acquaintances, but still a bit reserved with strangers like Karui. "Actually, I... I just thought the card game you mentioned the other day was really interesting. Maybe you could try promoting it in Konoha?"
Was playing cards her only skill besides killing? Karui subconsciously turned to look at Choji. The big guy was devouring curry rice, not at all afraid of the spice, and eating with great relish.
Shikamaru nudged him with his elbow. The big guy hadn't quite heard what they were talking about but nodded enthusiastically. "I think that's a great idea, a really great idea!"
And just like that, the card game called "Gekinin Emaki" (Scroll of the Fierce Ninja) was born in Konoha.
The game consisted of various character cards, all featuring popular ninja.
When they played in the bars of the Cloud Village, the cards featured Cloud ninja. Now in Konoha, the rules didn't need to be changed; they could just swap out the characters and use it again.
The Cloud Village version was unplayable, but now they had switched allegiances. They could play just the same in Konoha!
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