In front of the crowd, Chinatsu naturally gave Naruto, Sasuke, and the Akatsuki members some face. After all, despite their appearances, they were now the heads of various departments in the Land of Whirlpools.
Nagato: Head of the Uzumaki Clan and President of the Land of Whirlpools International Relief Foundation.
Konan: Vice President of the Land of Whirlpools International Relief Foundation and a member of the Land of Whirlpools' Diplomatic Embassy.
Hidan: Member of the Land of Whirlpools' Diplomatic Embassy and President of the Land of Whirlpools' Chinatsu Cultural Promotion Association.
Deidara: Member of the Land of Whirlpools' Diplomatic Embassy and President of the Land of Whirlpools' Explosion Art Cultural Promotion Association.
Kisame Hoshigaki: General of the Land of Whirlpools' Customs.
Kakuzu: Financial Director of the Land of Whirlpools.
Naruto and Sasuke: Spiritual Leaders of the Land of Whirlpools.
These were all prominent figures. Chinatsu couldn't exactly give each of them a loving punch in front of all these people, could she?
Looking at her own "Free Chinatsu Statue" standing before her, Chinatsu's lips twitched slightly as she tried desperately to force a smile.
Seeing this, Konan quickly walked over to Chinatsu and whispered into her ear, "It has nothing to do with me. Really."
Chinatsu was exasperated, but she nodded.
She genuinely believed Konan had nothing to do with the statue. Among this group, Konan was undoubtedly the most normal one.
"Sister! How is it? Pretty, right?"
"Hmm…"
"Hahaha! If you ask me, my torch is the finishing touch!"
"Sister's outfit is the finishing touch, okay? But I can't blame you. You don't know about my legendary experiences with my sister. If you're interested, I can tell you. It was a bloody and stormy night…"
The crowd chattered excitedly around Chinatsu.
Even the normally composed Chinatsu was beginning to break down.
She lowered her head, barely suppressing her anger. If someone had installed an anger meter beside her, the needle would have already been approaching the maximum.
Fortunately, Chinatsu had great self-control. Even with her rage bar sitting only 0.1 points away from being completely depleted, she was still confident she could endure it.
At least…
She thought she could.
The very next second, a woman in a white robe emerged from the house.
Her eyes were barely open. She yawned lazily and rubbed them.
"What's wrong…? Why is it so noisy…?"
Kaguya muttered sleepily, tilting her head forward.
Although she was looking in Chinatsu's direction, the enormous statue immediately caught her attention.
Kaguya's head snapped backward.
Her pure-white eyes widened.
An expression of absolute disbelief appeared on her face.
"Oh my god…"
Kaguya stared at the statue.
"This statue…"
The level of abstraction had completely exceeded her comprehension.
Kaguya had suggested making a statue because someone had once made one of her as a way of flattering her.
She had been quite happy at the time.
But that was because the statue had actually been beautiful. It looked almost exactly like her while incorporating the artistic style of that era.
The statue before her…
Well…
It was obvious that there had been artistic embellishments.
A lot of them.
Kaguya stared at it for six or seven seconds.
As she finally understood what she was looking at, the corners of her lips began to twitch.
She was about to burst out laughing when Chinatsu's eyes widened.
She immediately stepped behind Kaguya and covered her mouth.
If Kaguya laughed now and completely shattered the awkward atmosphere, Chinatsu would be mortified.
"Everyone, back to your rooms. We'll discuss this stone sculpture later."
Chinatsu stood behind Kaguya, one hand firmly covering her mouth, while narrowing her eyes at the surrounding crowd.
At this moment, they still hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation.
Ten minutes later.
Inside the house.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
A series of loud impacts echoed through the room.
Chinatsu sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, staring coldly at the people in front of her.
Naruto, Sasuke, and the others were kneeling on the floor with their heads lowered, beads of cold sweat running down their faces.
Clearly…
They had finally calmed down.
Previously, they had been caught up in the excitement of surprising their sister and creating the statue.
But during the past ten minutes, Chinatsu had personally slapped some sense into them.
Now that they looked at the statue again, they were all embarrassed.
The masterpiece that had seemed so magnificent before now looked…
Rather abstract.
Under Chinatsu's intense gaze, nobody dared to say a word.
They had expected Chinatsu to explode in anger.
But after a long silence, Chinatsu simply sighed.
"Alright, alright. You didn't do it on purpose."
Chinatsu rubbed her forehead.
"Besides, the people outside seem to have been influenced by your enthusiasm. They haven't fully realized how abstract the statue is yet."
She glanced toward Konan.
"Deal with it quickly. We can remake it."
"Konan, you're in charge this time."
Konan immediately nodded seriously.
Kaguya, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but complain mentally.
You really spoil them.
Chinatsu could only lower her head and smile bitterly.
What can I do? They're all my people.
Spoiling them a little was perfectly normal.
As for the abstract statue outside, Chinatsu could have simply ordered them to throw it away.
But they had put so much effort into making it.
She could just let them keep it.
Remaking a proper statue wasn't difficult anyway.
Konan nodded seriously.
However, she suddenly remembered something and quickly spoke.
"By the way, Konoha Village made a formal social request to us some time ago. They said they would be sending several people you know."
"According to them, they should arrive tomorrow."
"Oh?"
Chinatsu raised an eyebrow.
"Konoha? And people I know?"
She thought for a moment before nodding.
"That's fine. Let them come. Our Land of Whirlpools is developing so well anyway…"
Chinatsu suddenly paused.
"…Wait."
Her expression changed.
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
Chinatsu's eyes widened.
She immediately waved her hand.
"Hurry up and deal with the statue outside!"
Everyone froze.
"Quickly! Quickly!"
They're arriving tomorrow?!
There was no way Chinatsu was going to believe that.
This kind of "flag" absolutely couldn't be allowed to stand.
Especially since the application specifically stated that the people coming were acquaintances.
What if Might Guy was among them?
Chinatsu was 100%
No.
1000% certain that if Might Guy was leading the group, they would arrive early.
And sure enough…
Chinatsu's premonition was correct.
Although the application stated that they would arrive around tomorrow, a team led by Might Guy possessed terrifying speed and efficiency.
While Chinatsu was still speaking, Konoha Village's main force had already arrived on the coast near the Land of Whirlpools.
They were separated from the country by only a stretch of sea.
However, although Might Guy was among the main force, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.
The reason was simple.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had snatched the position of Hokage from him with a single, devastating blow.
As a result, Kakashi was currently sitting miserably in the Hokage's office, working overtime.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had replaced Kakashi in the expeditionary group, stood across the sea and looked at the bustling Land of Whirlpools.
His face was filled with satisfaction.
He knew it.
His wonderful retirement was finally about to begin.