After several dozen seconds, the rustling of a pen in the office finally ceased.Hongyue lifted her head at last, her lavender eyes reflecting the figure of the female Shadow Guard member, still bent at the waist, holding documents motionless in her hands.
Hongyue's left index finger, encased in a leather glove, twitched slightly.The papers in the woman's grasp floated forward, drawn by an unseen force, and landed before Hongyue.
As she flipped through the stack, she let out a slow sigh."As expected, nothing of value. It seems what Li Fan said is correct—the Third Kazekage was most likely murdered and his body concealed by the killer."
The woman froze mid-bow, her pupils contracting, her heartbeat quickening.When she had received the assignment that morning, she had entertained the same grim suspicion. But like everyone else, she refused to believe it—choosing instead to deceive herself, to repeat silently that the Third Kazekage must simply be acting out of character, that he had slipped away without telling anyone.
Yet hearing Hongyue say it aloud stripped away all pretenses.The Third Kazekage was truly dead.
Hongyue finished flipping through the documents, set them aside, and said softly,"Le Man, inform all Shadow Guard teams searching for the Third Kazekage outside the village to cease immediately and return at once."
Le Man nodded mechanically, her neck suddenly stiff.The Third Kazekage—murdered.What would become of the village?
In the eyes of Sunagakure's villagers and its mid- and lower-ranked shinobi, the Kazekage was the sky itself.The Third Kazekage, revered as the strongest in history, was both sky and sun—an eternal protector.That sky sheltered their spirits from every storm.That sun gave them the courage to endure life in their poor, harsh homeland.
Hongyue watched Le Man's stiff steps and sighed inwardly, saying nothing.The shinobi world was cruel—disaster could strike without warning.
She turned back to her desk but paused, her gaze drifting around the room.Finding nothing amiss, she shook her head—yet a strange feeling welled up inside her, escaping her lips before she could stop it.
"It might be a blessing if Li Fan became the Fourth Kazekage, our direct leader."
Le Man halted mid-step, recalling Hongyue's earlier words.Linking them to this new statement, her quick mind pieced the picture together.
A glimmer of hope lit her once-despairing eyes.Her steps grew light—she walked swiftly toward the door.The sky of Sunagakure had fallen… but now, perhaps, a new one was rising.
Hongyue, oblivious to Le Man's change in mood, was startled by her own outburst. She smirked self-deprecatingly.
"Though I haven't spoken much with Li Fan, it's a shame that such a man of courage and vision lost to Aoki [Green Wood]."
She stood and moved toward a bookshelf, searching for something—then stopped.Behind her rabbit mask, hesitation clouded her face. She shook her head.
"No… I shouldn't help either of them. They must compete fairly. Sunagakure needs the strongest. If I aid Li Fan, wouldn't that…"
She froze mid-sentence, her eyes suddenly blazing with fervor. Without hesitation, she began searching the shelves again, muttering:
"I was a fool. Li Fan is the one most suited to lead Sunagakure—the only one fit to be Fourth Kazekage!""Yes… I knew it the moment I saw him at the council. Why was I doubting myself? How stupid!"
Fortunately, the secret office was empty.If other Shadow Guard members had witnessed their usually composed, elegant deputy commander pacing and muttering like this, they would have been terrified—perhaps convinced they were under genjutsu.
At that moment, Li Fan had raised the average favorability of eight targets to forty points. He continued exchanging fruits to boost their base favorability.
Ten seconds later, Hongyue slapped her forehead."Honestly! I'm too slow doing this alone—why didn't I summon my shadow clones earlier?""If this makes Lord Li Fan receive the information even seconds later, it will be my fault!""If I commit such a sin, even serving Lord Li Fan my entire life wouldn't be enough to atone!"
Meanwhile, Li Fan had pushed the eight people's favorability above sixty. Smiling in satisfaction, he pressed on.
Moments later, Hongyue summoned five shadow clones. Together, she and her clones clapped their hands in unison.
"Lord Li Fan is the savior of Sunagakure! Only he can be Kazekage!""I will accept no one else—not even if the Third Kazekage himself returned!""Only by following Lord Li Fan can we save the village from destruction!"
Li Fan was just about to raise the eight people's favorability from eighty to one hundred when—
Knock, knock, knock!
The sound interrupted his work.Pushing open the stone door with curiosity, he began walking upward, pondering.
"That's strange. I'm in the basement, yet the sound's coming from above. And so loud… who could it be?"
The further he went, the louder it became.By the time he moved the floor tiles and emerged into the room, it was like a drumbeat.
"I'm here—stop knocking so hard!"
At his words, the pounding softened to a slower, drawn-out rhythm.
Opening the door, Li Fan was surprised.He had expected the noisy visitor to be a taijutsu powerhouse.Instead, a woman stood before him, posture straight and proper—like a model student.
Though she wore a black windbreaker and a rabbit mask, Li Fan could tell from her silhouette that she had an excellent figure.Her entire body was wrapped tight, revealing only a slender, pale neck and graceful feet—her skin, from what was visible, flawless.
As he studied her, Li Fan wondered why a beautiful Shadow Guard operative had come to see him.From her attire alone, and from Luo Sha's memories, he could tell she was from the Wind Shadow Guard, and of high rank.
Before he could speak, the high-ranking operative bent at a perfect ninety degrees in a deep bow.
Li Fan's lips parted slightly.What on earth was going on?