"I won't go with him!" Sasuke's expression darkened. Just the thought of Orochimaru lusting after his body made Sasuke want to drag him out and hack him into pieces with his sword.
"The threat from Orochimaru isn't as big as people think. The Living Corpse Reincarnation technique has severely damaged his soul. Now, Orochimaru is extremely vulnerable to mental attacks. Genjutsu is the easiest way to deal with him!"
Sakura wasn't worried about Orochimaru causing any trouble. A misguided Orochimaru was basically harmless now. Besides, their plan had always been to use the Leaf Destruction Plan for their own purposes.
"By the way, Uncle Fugaku, have you already infiltrated Konoha?" Sakura asked, looking up. This plan was originally prepared for the Uchiha clan after all—if the main characters didn't show up, how would anything move forward?
"We're currently at the exam site!" Fugaku Uchiha's expression turned slightly awkward for a brief moment before it vanished instantly. "Mikoto, Shisui, and I disguised ourselves as genin, with Haruka pretending to be our jōnin leader. We came here under the name of Yukigakure. We should be pretty close to you by now."
"Just one wall away!" Shisui said with deep helplessness in his eyes. Watching Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha showing affection to each other every single day had left him drowning in PDA overload—he felt like throwing up.
"Still single, Shisui-niisan?" Sakura saw the utterly lifeless look on Shisui's face and immediately realized he'd been buried under endless couple drama from this married middle-aged duo. She teased him right away.
"Well... about girlfriends..."
Shisui suddenly hesitated, avoiding eye contact while his face flushed suspiciously red.
"Wait a minute—that look! Shisui-niisan, don't tell me you actually found a girlfriend?!" Sakura and the others looked like they'd discovered something huge, staring intently at Shisui and not missing even the slightest twitch on his face.
"Spill it already! What's her name? Where's she from? Is she even a kunoichi? How long have you two been talking? How did you meet? When's the wedding? And—wait—is she even a girl?!"
"Hey, how could it possibly be a guy?! Of course she's a girl!" Shisui's head bulged angrily at that last question, clearly embarrassed.
"Tsk tsk... You and Itachi-san do have a history; who knows what really went down!"
Sakura mumbled under her breath beside them, making Itachi's expression subtly uneasy—Haruka's grip on his waist was seriously painful.
"It's all made-up nonsense about me and Itachi!" Shisui glared bitterly. Just thinking about that ridiculous book circulating through the ninja world made him cringe so hard he wanted to scream.
"You two were just too close in everything you did—it's hard not to get the wrong idea!" Sakura shot back matter-of-factly.
"Don't change the subject. Shisui, tell us more about your girlfriend!" Itachi forced a smile onto his face, deliberately ignoring the killing intent radiating from his girlfriend nearby.
"Actually, uh... you've probably all heard of her," Shisui said, scratching his head awkwardly. "It's Terumi Mei, the Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure."
"What the hell?! Shisui Uchiha, you bastard actually seduced our village's Mizukage?!" Before anyone else could react, Yagura roared in fury. Mei had two Kekkei Genkai and was excellent at handling administrative affairs—she was a truly qualified Mizukage. Now their leader would just fall into someone else's arms like this? And he was from another village!
"Shisui-nii, quickly tell us how you ended up with the Fifth Mizukage?" Sakura and the others gleamed with gossip-fueled excitement. These two people seemed like they'd never cross paths at all.
Chapter 164: I'm Four-Tails, and I Definitely Won't Change My Name—Oh Yeah, You Know You Want It![Upper]
"It's kind of no big deal, really. I once went on a mission to the Land of Water and just happened to run into her being attacked by a group of Kiri ninja. So I stepped in and saved her..."
As he spoke, Shisui blushed and looked away awkwardly. At first, when he met Terumi Mei, he hadn't thought much of it—he was just passing through. But since Yagura had already told him that Mei was chosen as the Fifth Mizukage, he decided to help her anyway. Back then, Mei was seriously injured while Kiri was caught in a power struggle. A faction of elders eager to seize the Mizukage position had sent forces everywhere hunting for her. Without protection, she would surely be captured soon. Helplessly, Shisui decided to stay behind for a while and look after Mei. In a way, since Mei knew the truth about Yagura's staged death, she and they were practically on the same side.
Once Mei's injuries improved enough, their relationship grew closer during those many days spent together. Then, upon Mei's invitation, Shisui accompanied her back to Kirigakure, helping her regain control of the Mizukage seat. After all those battles fought side by side, feelings quietly grew between them—love had found its way to Shisui.
"Oh, I get it!" Sakura grinned knowingly, covering her mouth. "Just two people stuck alone together—that's a classic setup for romantic sparks flying!"
"Kids shouldn't make expressions like that!" Kakashi irritably flicked her forehead with his finger.
"Hmph! Someone who reads smutty books until he goes weak-kneed has no right to talk!" Rubbing her forehead, Sakura shot Kakashi a disdainful look. "Besides, Sensei Kakashi, even though you're scolding me on the outside, aren't you thinking exactly the same thing inside?"
"Well, how should I put it... Actually, Mei will be attending this year's Chunin Exams too!" Shisui stammered slightly while scratching his head. "We can all sit down and chat together then!"
"Don't worry, Shisui-nii! We definitely won't hold you back!" Sakura laughed. In the original storyline, Shisui had died far too early to ever experience love. Looking at things now, she felt like she'd resolved yet another tragedy.
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