When Li Fan's gaze lingered on the stone gate before him for several seconds, he reluctantly admitted the truth to himself.
In the original story, there really weren't that many female ninja from Sunagakure who could be named. Even if he included the anime's original characters, there were only about ten.
Most of them were either still infants or hadn't even been born yet.
For example, Yu No—the gentle, low-profile version of Tsunade—was probably only two or three years old right now.
Or the sisters Saye and Sana—gorgeous, well-endowed troublemakers—were likely only around one year old at this point.
As for other female ninja who never appeared in the original but whom he had met in person, there were certainly many. But he suspected the system had some hidden requirements, which was why they didn't appear on the list.
After figuring this out, Li Fan looked at the list again.
Two of the women had already received the Doubling Fruit and didn't need it again, but there were still seven left. If he could raise their favorability to 100 and then use the Doubling Fruit, their favorability would jump to 200 after midnight, bringing the total to over 1,000.
While he couldn't quite reach his goal of thousands of skill points by tomorrow morning, having over 1,000 skill points still meant he could find plenty of good rewards if he searched carefully.
Li Fan studied the list, finding the nine female ninja. He knew eight of them, but the last name was unfamiliar.
He tried to recall the faces from Rasa's memories, but he had no recollection of any female ninja named Hongyue. She hadn't appeared in the original story either.
In the end, Li Fan chuckled at himself.Maybe I saw her from a distance somewhere… or maybe she glanced at me once.
He quickly distributed the ten Favorability Fruits one by one.
"Hongyue—three top-grade Favorability Fruits used. Favorability increased to 29!""Karula—two top-grade Favorability Fruits used. Favorability increased to 17!""Each of the five—Le Man, Wan, and three others—received one top-grade Favorability Fruit each. Favorability increased!""Total favorability increased by 70 points. 70 skill points gained!"
"Sister, what's wrong?"
In the center of Sunagakure, inside a house that was far more luxurious than its surroundings, Yasha Lian's pretty face showed worry as she spoke to the woman beside her.
The beautiful woman shook her head slightly, sandy-brown shoulder-length hair swaying gently in soft waves. Then she blinked her indigo eyes, and her usual warm smile returned—though this time, it carried an indescribable undertone.
"Nothing, Yasha Lian. Let's keep talking about Li Fan."
Yasha Lian stared at her sister in surprise.
Just a moment ago, she didn't care at all about Li Fan… why the sudden change?
But the gentle woman didn't explain—she simply smiled at her.
Under that wordless gaze, Yasha Lian felt her composure crumble. Her sister had never hit her and rarely scolded her, but this quiet, piercing look was more intimidating than any lecture.
"Okay, okay, I get it, sister. Honestly—you weren't interested in Li Fan's affairs before, but now you're suddenly so curious."
She pouted playfully, glancing with barely concealed envy at the two full curves on her sister's chest.
Seeing her sister's perfect figure gave Yasha Lian more confidence in her own growth potential.
Karula rested her left hand on the table, propping her snow-white chin up. The motion pressed her ample chest together into a stunning, enticing shape. Even in modest clothing, the deep cleavage was impossible to miss.
Completely unaware of how seductive she looked, Karula simply smiled faintly, her eyes warm. That fleeting, subtle glance from her sister moments ago had not escaped her notice—after all, as a jonin, she was used to observing even the smallest details.
She found her little sister both adorable and amusing. How many years will it take before she grows to my size… and starts complaining about sore shoulders and the hassle of getting dressed?
Thinking of this, Karula shifted slightly closer to the table. Even as a senior ninja, carrying this weight on her chest every day could be exhausting.
In a secret chamber beneath another Sunagakure house, the lighting was unusually bright—almost like an office—despite being underground.
At the desk sat a woman in a black windbreaker and a rabbit mask, with two towering stacks of documents beside her.
Suddenly, a figure in a yellow windbreaker and eagle mask appeared three meters away, holding a bundle of papers aloft with both hands before bowing slightly.
"Commander Hongyue, the investigation results from Shadow Guard Teams 3, 4, and 5 have been returned."
Hongyue neither looked up nor paused her writing.
Seeing this, the other woman remained in her deep bow, still holding the papers above her head.
Ordinarily, she could have walked up and placed them on the desk, but she stayed exactly three meters away, as though Hongyue were some kind of dangerous creature.
It wasn't without reason. Deputy Commander Hongyue was infamous for her eccentricities. She kept herself fully covered year-round, never showing a scrap of skin. Though she spoke gently most of the time, any man who stepped within three meters of her risked her sudden wrath—and anyone who came within one meter was in real danger of being attacked.
Even though the messenger had only joined the Shadow Guard half a year ago, she had already heard the stories:
A few years earlier, when Hongyue first took her post, dozens of men—some from noble families and some long-established jonin—had been hospitalized simply for accidentally stepping too close.
None of them had dared retaliate. They'd swallowed their grievances and pretended it never happened.
Over time, even the female Shadow Guard members learned to keep their distance.
Privately, many speculated that Commander Hongyue suffered from extreme androphobia—or perhaps severe mysophobia.