The group cheerfully joined the merchant caravan ahead.
Ye Liang had been confused by Kurotsuchi's words earlier, but now he understood completely.
The native residents of Iwagakure before him truly matched Kurotsuchi's description—there was absolutely no expression on their faces, and even the way they walked appeared mechanical!
Every action they performed was extremely standardized, without any unnecessary motion. Like [Ultra Instinct] from Dragon Ball—it was truly impressive.
"Miss Kasuga, are you here for business too?" Ye Liang casually leaned next to a female mercenary guard and smoothly picked up a roadside flower, tucking it behind her ear.
"No, we're just the guards for Kasuga." The woman blushed—she couldn't believe that someone as handsome as Ye Liang was actually striking up a conversation with her!
"We're only here as Kasuga's bodyguards. Sir, there's no need to call me 'miss.'"
"No way! In my eyes, a beauty like you, Miss Kasuga, deserves nothing less than a queen—calling you princess wouldn't even be exaggerating."
After a while, the group found lodging at a local inn.
The troupe they had met earlier seemed to be performers coming to Iwagakure.
They were an all-female military unit, and hidden within their palanquin the entire time was their leader—Kasuka Kazahana. Ye Liang vaguely recalled that this person might actually be the princess of the Land of Snow. Unexpectedly, he'd met her here.
Entertainment? That's all it is?
Ye Liang suddenly sensed something suspicious in this situation. White Zetsu's team has always been known for being practical—since when do they need frivolous entertainment like this?
He found it strange.
At this moment, Deidara—who had been staying in separate quarters—suddenly slid open the shoji (paper-and-bamboo sliding door) to Ye Liang's room.
"Mr. Ye Liang, may I come in and talk for a bit?"
"Mm, come in." Ye Liang frowned inwardly—You've already entered without permission, why bother asking?
"What's up?" Ye Liang hadn't yet gone to sleep—it was still early evening, and by his habits, he never slept soundly while surrounded by potential enemies.
"I just feel like something about today was off, so I wanted to talk it over with you."
"Off?" Ye Liang blinked.
Honestly speaking, aside from realizing those villagers were actually impersonated by White Zetsu clones, he hadn't considered anything else unusual—after all, he wasn't originally from Iwagakure, so failing to notice deeper issues wasn't unexpected.
"Well, even though our Iwagakure does have its own traditional entertainment, we've absolutely never invited performers from other nations before. So that all-female military escort today seemed very suspicious."
"You mean Kasuka Kazahana's group?"
"Yeah."
Ye Liang paused thoughtfully. Although Deidara made sense, he himself hadn't sensed anything off about Kasuka Kazahana today. Nor had he noticed anything strange about her female guards either.
The real question lay in why Iwagakure—normally completely isolated and closed off—suddenly went out of its way to invite a famous courtesan from the Land of Snow for performance.
What's more, according to that bodyguard Kasuga mentioned earlier, their mistress's performance fee wasn't cheap at all—the Hidden Rock Village had specially paid top dollar and issued a sincere invitation.
"Fine, go get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."
"Ye Liang, who had gained some insight, casually dismissed Deidara.
No use overthinking it anyway."
"Fine."
Deidara left Ye Liang's room.
In the distance,
Inside the Tsuchikage's estate courtyard, an exquisite dance performance was unfolding.
Kazahana Kasuka, the grand finale performer, passionately lost herself in displaying her delicate figure. Surrounded by a similarly ornate troupe of female dancers, she gracefully captivated the audience.
Among them was Tunichi, who had met Ye Liang this morning.
"Miss Kazahana, don't you feel something is off about these people?" Tunichi continued swaying her body rhythmically while secretly conversing with the central figure, Kazahana Kasuka.
"They do seem strange! These people appear expressionless, and aside from that man named Kitsuchi, the Tsuchikage, they all seem soulless somehow."
"Miss, I keep feeling uneasy. We should leave when we get the chance."
"Agreed!"
The two decided on their plan!
The banquet had been going on for quite a while now.
Kazahana Kasuka's performance finally came to an end.
With elegance, she bid farewell to the Tsuchikage before preparing to leave.
"Miss Kazahana, why not stay another night instead of leaving so soon?"
"No thanks! We have other business performances tomorrow morning, so we'll take our leave now." Kazahana Kasuka quickly bowed and took her leave again. However, just as they were about to head out the door, several Iwagakure Jonin wearing yellow clothes directly blocked their path.
"What are you trying to do!"
Realizing the danger, Tunichi hurriedly positioned herself in front of Kazahana Kasuka as protection.
"Miss Kazahana, we Earth Country people are very hospitable. You're leaving like this; we will feel regretful," said Kitsuchi, the Tsuchikage, who had been sitting alone atop the high platform, as he directly descended from his seat.
"As far as I know, your Snow Country seems to be short of ninjas, right? Therefore, it often suffers from bandits nearby."
"What do you want!" Glaring at Kitsuchi with high alertness, Kazahana Kasuka had a feeling something was about to go terribly wrong today.
"Nothing really. We simply wish to inform Miss that if you need ninja protection, we Iwagakure will naturally assist us in stationing ninjas inside your Snow Country."
"You want to occupy our country!"
Kazahana Kasuka angrily shouted.
"Eh, what do you mean by occupying? We merely intend to protect the Land of Snow for you."
"Darn it!" Kazahana felt anger surge from nowhere; publicly a famous dancer of the Land of Snow, her true identity was actually the cherished daughter of the Land of Snow's shogun (military ruler).
The Princess of the Land of Snow!
"So, you've already investigated my identity beforehand." Shooting an intense glare at Kitsuchi, Kasuka revealed her rage, but the latter didn't even bother to deny it.
"Princess! Let me cover your escape!" Tunichi started panicking!
Upon hearing such dialogue, how could she not understand Kitsuchi's intentions now? Quickly pulling out her hairpin, she menacingly aimed at the blocking ninjas.
The rest of the dancing companions also showed their decorated hair accessories!
"Attack!"
At Kitsuchi's command, those two Jonin immediately launched attacks toward Kazahana Kasuka's group of female warriors. They moved fast — boosted by the Land of Earth's terrain, their strength had grown by at least half!
Damn it!
The Female Warriors suffered casualties in an instant, and their leader Kasuga, who was the strongest among them, also began sustaining injuries. After all, they were ordinary women with no ninja training—how could they possibly stand a chance against these Jonin from Iwagakure?
"Kasuga!" Kasuka Kazahana cried out in anguish. Although Kasuga was her personal guard, they had grown up together since childhood—they were closer than actual sisters. The two had always gotten along so well, even vowing to come of age and marry on the same day!
"Don't you dare die here!"
Just as she finished speaking, she spotted a lightning-fast Shuriken hurtling straight toward Kasuga. Its speed was too much for Kasuka Kazahana to block in time!
Panic surged through her!
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