The Konoha delegation had barely arrived in the Land of Whirlpools before being escorted directly to an inn.
Even the astute Might Guy could sense that something was wrong.
Might Guy slowly walked over to the window and opened it.
He leaned forward and looked outside.
The Land of Whirlpools had countless incredible sights to see, but one particular object immediately caught his attention.
A gigantic structure covered by a massive white sheet.
Might Guy stared at it for a while, his expression thoughtful.
What is that?
He considered stepping onto the window frame and jumping down to investigate.
But just as he lifted his foot, he suddenly realized that doing so would be rather uncivilized.
He quietly lowered his foot again.
"Ahem."
Might Guy coughed heavily and muttered to himself, "People are always saying I'm too rude. How am I rude? I'm just… too enthusiastic."
Just as Might Guy was trying to switch from his usual youthful mindset into a more civilized one
Bang!
The window of the room next door was suddenly thrown open.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in a black robe, jumped down from the second floor with practiced ease.
"Hmph."
Hiruzen adjusted his clothes after landing.
"Naruto and Sasuke are definitely hiding something. Otherwise, why would they send a social delegation directly to an inn?"
Hiruzen muttered to himself.
He had been a cunning strategist since childhood.
If Naruto and Sasuke's intentions couldn't be hidden from Might Guy, there was even less chance of hiding them from him.
The moment Hiruzen landed, his eyes immediately locked onto the enormous object covered by the white sheet.
His sharp mind quickly connected the dots.
Whatever Naruto and Sasuke were hiding…
It was definitely related to that thing.
Hiruzen removed his black robe, took several deep breaths, and instantly transformed his entire demeanor.
His sharp, scheming expression disappeared.
He now looked like a kind, approachable old man who wouldn't hurt a fly.
Hiruzen walked into the crowd and soon spotted a woman staring curiously at the enormous covered object.
He approached her slowly.
"I'm from somewhere else…" Hiruzen deliberately spoke slowly, adopting the voice of an elderly man who was struggling to speak. "I wanted to ask… what exactly is that?"
People naturally tended to sympathize with the young and the elderly.
Neither group appeared threatening, so this instinctive sympathy often came naturally.
As Hiruzen asked his question, the woman who had been staring at the covered statue turned around.
The moment she did
Hiruzen's body trembled.
His eyes widened.
Wait.
Wasn't that Yugito?!
The Two-Tails jinchūriki from Kumogakure?!
Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat.
The Land of Whirlpools wasn't the only place Konoha had established friendly relations with.
The other villages had also begun seeking closer ties.
And in Yugito's case, her reason for coming wasn't simply political.
She wanted to stay by Chinatsu's side.
Originally, Yugito had come to Konoha under the guise of establishing diplomatic relations.
But then the world changed almost overnight.
The Uchiha residence was destroyed.
Chinatsu and the others moved to the Land of Whirlpools.
Everything happened far too quickly.
By the time Yugito realized what was happening…
Chinatsu was already gone.
In the end, Chinatsu was partly to blame.
She hadn't thought the situation through.
Although she and Yugito weren't particularly close, they had at least met before.
More importantly, Yugito had specifically come to Konoha because of her.
Chinatsu should have at least asked Yugito before leaving.
After being left behind, Yugito had sat listlessly in a Konoha inn.
Then she began writing furiously.
What was she writing?
A report.
A very detailed report about her experiences in Konoha.
Yugito had planned to write several years' worth of reports before packing her bags and heading to the Land of Whirlpools.
And, in the end…
She actually did it.
She crossed mountains and seas, traveling thousands of miles to reach the Land of Whirlpools.
When Chinatsu saw Yugito arriving completely soaked from her journey, she felt incredibly guilty.
Even under such unusual circumstances, she felt that she had failed as a friend.
Fortunately, Yugito didn't seem to mind.
As compensation, Chinatsu spent quite a considerable amount of time alone with Yugito.
But…
Let's not talk about what happened during that time.
The important thing was that Yugito was now an official "registered" member of the Land of Whirlpools, just like the Akatsuki.
Hidan had established an organization called the Chinatsu Culture Promotion Association.
Hidan was the president.
Yugito was the vice president.
What exactly was "Chinatsu Culture"?
That was a complicated question.
After all, Chinatsu was simply too charismatic.
According to the members of the association, trying to summarize her influence with a single form of culture was far too narrow.
Therefore, Chinatsu Culture was diverse and vibrant.
Every member could have their own interpretation of Chinatsu and still be respected by the others.
Of course, the strongest faction within the organization was Hidan's personal branch:
The Chinatsu Evil God Culture.
Naturally, the "Evil God" in question had been heavily idealized by Hidan's imagination.
Was an evil god necessarily a deity that did evil?
Of course not!
If that were the only requirement, half of Hidan's faction wouldn't even qualify.
Members of the faction spent their days praising the glory of the Chinatsu Evil God.
If these same people didn't frequently team up to perform good deeds, Chinatsu would probably have already declared the organization a cult.
As for Yugito, the association's vice president, she didn't lead her own faction.
Nevertheless, she was envied by many members.
After all, she and Hidan were the only two people in the entire association who could frequently meet Chinatsu.
At that moment, Yugito was staring curiously at the enormous Chinatsu statue covered by the white sheet.
She couldn't understand why everyone was hiding it.
After all, as members of the Chinatsu Culture Promotion Association, almost nobody thought the statue was strange.
So when Hiruzen asked her about it, Yugito simply turned around.
Upon recognizing him, she paused briefly.
Then…
That was it.
She wasn't particularly familiar with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And besides, this wasn't Konoha.
However, since he had asked about the statue, Yugito naturally had plenty to say.
Soon, the conversation turned into a full explanation of the statue.
Yugito, standing at around 170 centimeters, leaned slightly toward the elderly Hiruzen, who was only about 163 centimeters tall.
She placed one arm around his shoulder while pointing dramatically toward the enormous statue covered by the white sheet with the other.
A torrent of praise poured from her mouth.
Hiruzen, who had absolutely no understanding of art, was completely bewildered.
However, his years of experience as a shinobi and politician allowed him to extract the important information.
[Underneath the white sheet is a statue of Chinatsu. It's apparently quite beautiful, but it was covered only a few minutes before their arrival.]
Hiruzen fell silent.
He pondered for several seconds.
Then his eyes suddenly lit up.
He had figured it out!
Chinatsu and the others are preparing a surprise for us!
Hiruzen's lips curled upward.
How thoughtful.
He had already begun imagining what kind of grand welcome Chinatsu had prepared for the Konoha delegation.
Little did he know…
The moment that white sheet came off, the "surprise" waiting underneath would be something entirely different.