XX-level Hokage

Soon after, Mashiro and Yakumo sat together on the steps.

"Do you like chocolate?" Mashiro asked. "I've never had any," Yakumo shook his head.

"Didn't you eat the food I brought directly to you?" Mashiro asked.

"No, I thought you were sent by the Hokage. I always thought the Hokage wanted to kill me, so I didn't eat any of the food you brought the other day," Yakumo said.

Upon hearing this, Mashiro unwrapped a chocolate and popped it into her mouth, then kissed Yakumo under her questioning gaze.

Their lips met. For a long time.

Mashiro licked her lips and said, "Now you know what chocolate tastes like. Do you like it?"

Yakumo's gaze was somewhat unfocused, her face flushed. Upon hearing Mashiro's words, she nodded gently: "I like it." "Kurama Yakumo's favorability +15, reward: Reality-Illusion Conversion."

Mashiro left Rikyuu Manor and emerged from the shadow of a tree not far away.

What she told Yakumo wasn't actually a lie; it's just that the monster was herself.

Chapter 18: The Wind Rises

Mashiro strolled leisurely along the path near Richu Manor. Although she could quickly return to the village via the Shadow Legion, Mashiro preferred the feeling of walking alone, as it allowed her to better consider her future plans.

Just then, a beautiful figure approached from the front. As the figure drew closer, Mashiro narrowed her eyes. (Red.)

After agreeing to become the teacher of Class 8, Kurenai had been looking for an opportunity to visit Yakumo. As Yakumo's former teacher, Kurenai felt a vague sense of guilt towards him.

After meeting with their respective students today, the teachers in charge of the teams had a short gathering. Kurenai also received Asuma's love confession again. In fact, Kurenai had always had a good impression of Asuma.

Everything changed after that dream. Unlike others, that strange dream almost became Kurenai's nightmare. Even though she knew that the person did not exist in the world, Kurenai felt extremely panicked. As a result, Kurenai was never able to accept Asuma's pursuit.

After the gathering, Hong strolled around outside the village for a long time and unknowingly arrived near Rikyu Manor. She thought she would take the opportunity to visit Yakumo. "Who are you?" Hong looked at Mashiro's appearance and had a guess in her mind, but still asked.

"My name is Hyuga Mashiro. You must be Kurenai Yuhi, the Jonin. I've heard our teacher mention you." Mashiro said to Kurenai with a faint smile. "Oh, it's you, Miss Mashiro. I'm Yuu's team leader. It's a pleasure to meet you. I think we'll see each other often in the future," Kurenai said with a smile.

“Then, Ms. Hong, I’ll be entrusting Tian to you from now on,” Mashiro said brightly, extending her hand. Hong smiled and nodded, taking Mashiro’s outstretched hand.

After exchanging pleasantries, Mashiro suddenly asked, "Is something troubling you, Ms. Kurenai?" "Why do you say that?" Kurenai asked, startled.

“I have a habit of wandering around alone in secluded places when I’m troubled, and I unconsciously wiggle the fingers of my left hand. I saw that Ms. Hong was also walking alone in the woods, and her left hand was wiggling unconsciously when she was talking just now. Of course, this is just my subjective guess, Ms. Hong, don’t worry about it,” Mashiro said softly.

Hearing Mashiro's words, Kurenai smiled wryly, patted Mashiro's head, and said, "It seems we have similar habits. You weren't wrong, I am..."

I have some worries.

"Is it about feelings?" Mashiro asked with amusement.

Hong paused for a moment, her expression quite complicated, as if asking how you knew.

“There are very few things that could bother a young Jonin like Kurenai-sensei. Besides, Kurenai-sensei is so beautiful and at the perfect age, so I suspected it was a romantic relationship. And it seems I was right,” Mashiro said, looking at Kurenai’s face.

Hearing Mashiro's words, Kurenai couldn't help but sigh. Mashiro was so precocious; no wonder she was the current head of the Hyuga clan and a disciple of the Hokage. Just as Kurenai was about to refute Mashiro, Mashiro suddenly asked, "Doesn't Kurenai-sensei like Asuma-sensei?"

Kurenai was completely shocked and puzzled. Although Asuma's pursuit of her was not a secret among Konoha's Jonin, why did Mashiro know about it?

"Why do you make that guess?" Hong couldn't help but ask.

“I heard from you before that Asuma-sensei is pursuing you, and given that you’re currently troubled by relationship issues, it’s clear that you’re bothered by Asuma-sensei. But considering that Asuma-sensei has been pursuing you for so long, it seems that you’re not exactly popular with Asuma-sensei,” Mashiro said softly.

"Mashiro, you are really smart." Kurenai exclaimed again, as if she now understood why the Third Hokage had taken Mashiro as his disciple.

"Teacher Hong, you flatter me. I'm just speculating based on a lot of information I have. More importantly, I seem to know the reason for Teacher Hong's worries." Mashiro's tone became strange as she spoke.

For some reason, Kurenai felt that Mashiro was giving her a strange feeling right now. Mashiro leaned close to Kurenai's ear and whispered, "Uchiha Zero."

Upon hearing this name, Hong's face changed drastically; her expression became serious and complex. "You..."

Just as Kurenai was about to ask something, Mashiro turned and left.

"Come to the Hyuga residence tomorrow, and I will give you the answer you seek."

Hong stood there for a while, then finally sighed and continued walking towards Richu Manor. [Name: Hong Xi]

Gender: Female Age: 27 Favorability Rating: 15 Relationship: Strangers

Favorability Bonus (50): Illusion Mastery Favorability Bonus (90): Illusion Immunity

She closed the display panel and looked at the setting sun with a somewhat indifferent expression.

It was late autumn, and most of the leaves on the trees had withered and fallen to the ground, making a "rustling" sound when stepped on. Suddenly, a cold wind blew by, blowing away the withered leaves that were about to fall, stirring up the fallen pale yellow leaves on the ground, and also blowing the pure white dress.

Unfortunately, no fire broke out. "The wind is picking up."

Many things in life are inexplicable, such as that strange dream. Few people are troubled by dreams, but Hong happens to be one of them.

That night, when she got home, Kurenai had another strange dream. She was sitting on her bed, and a man was standing in front of the French windows with his back to her. The man's identity was none other than Uchiha Zero, who had been troubling Kurenai all along.

"Are you deceiving everyone, including me?" she asked in the dream.

“Yes,” the figure replied. “That’s good.”

She seemed to be laughing in my dream.

After a moment, he said, "Zero, you have everyone in your hands, using lies and threats to force all those who oppose you to bleed, but have you ever thought about how you will face the wrath when all your lies are exposed?"

The figure did not answer, but slowly turned around.

Just as Kurenai was about to see Uchiha Zero's true appearance, countless shadows enveloped her, and she vaguely saw a pair of Byakugan eyes before waking up.

Meanwhile, Mashiro was also having a dream, an incredibly long dream. "Hello, my name is Kurenai Yuhi."

"Thank you. If it weren't for you, I would probably be dead by now."

“I am very scared, scared of my own weakness. When I am agitated, I often walk alone in the woods.”

"Yes, I think I've fallen for you." "Did you do that?"

Are you deceiving everyone, including me?

"Besides Quan, we are all your playthings, subject to your power, your money, and your coercion." "If there is another life, please let me go, okay?"

Mashiro woke up in bed, rubbing her forehead. "What a long dream."

Chapter Nineteen: One Year

Kurenai ultimately failed to find him, something Mashiro had anticipated, but she wasn't worried; there would be plenty of opportunities. A year passed quickly, and Mashiro accomplished many things during that time.

Training, interacting with various powerful figures, transferring Sakura, transferring Yakumo, and carrying out missions.

For her future plans, Mashiro needed a very high reputation, so she began to carry out various missions as a third-generation disciple. With the fourth generation and Minato leading the way, most of the village's leaders did not find it inappropriate and were happy that another talented person had appeared in the village. As a result, the third generation secretly continued to build momentum for Mashiro.

At the border between the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire, there is a group of rebels who form a band of bandits.

The eldest brother, Sato Yasushi, the second brother, Yamamoto Toru, the third brother, Sato Riki, and the fourth brother, Kariyama Kaoru, led a group of underlings to fight on both sides of the border between the two countries.

Because they were extremely powerful and had never robbed any important figures from either country, Konoha hadn't bothered them in recent years. Of course, no one was willing to pay for their services.

Ye issued this mission primarily because killing one Jonin and four Chunin would cost a lot of money.

"Fourth brother, how's it going? Has that woman caught up with us yet?" a middle-aged man with a full beard asked.

“No, I sensed her chakra.” A pale, gaunt man beside the bearded man answered, his hands on the ground. These two were Sato Yasushi and Kariyama Kaoru.

Sato Yasushi visibly breathed a sigh of relief, then asked his fourth brother with a grim expression, "Fourth brother, what exactly happened?"

"My second and third brothers and I were discussing the goods we had just stolen when a group of black-clad ninjas suddenly appeared and attacked us. My drunken second brother and injured third brother were caught off guard and killed by the ninjas. Because I'm a sensory ninja, I sensed something was wrong beforehand and managed to dodge their attack. After killing a few of them, I ran to find you, boss. As you know, our underlings in the courtyard were in chaos, with many black-clad ninjas attacking everywhere. When I found you, I saw you fighting that woman," Kaoru Kariyama said, still shaken.

After listening to Kaoru Kariyama's words, Yasushi Sato also said with a cold face, "I was almost the same. I was drinking alone in my room when a dozen black-clad ninjas appeared out of thin air and attacked me. I quickly dodged and then used earth spikes to eliminate those black-clad ninjas. Then a woman wearing a fox mask attacked me with a water dragon bullet. I fought with her until you came. I used the Dust Path to stir up sand and dust and escaped here with you."

"A black ninja appearing out of nowhere, a fox mask, could it be...?" Kaoru Kariyama hadn't finished speaking.

Sato Yasushi interrupted him with a stern face: "Hyuga Mashiro, the head of the Hyuga clan and a disciple of the Third Hokage, has risen to fame in the past year. His price on the black market has been driven up to the top ten on the assassination list. His summoning beast, which has the Byakugan and the black shadow, is also known as the Black and White Phantom."

Then Sato Yasushi looked at Kariyama Kaoru and asked in a cold voice, "Why did she come here? I remember we have no conflict with Konoha. Did you and the second and third brothers do something behind my back?"

Kaoru Kariyama was extremely nervous and said in a trembling voice, "A week ago, my third brother and I ambushed a caravan."

At that time, a man claimed to be the brother of the wife of the daimyo of the Land of Fire. However, the third brother was injured by the guards and, in a fit of rage, did not believe the man's words and killed everyone in the caravan.

Then I found a letter on that person's body. That person was indeed the brother of the wife of the daimyo of the Land of Fire. He was preparing to return to the Land of Fire with the caravan because the caravan had an accident halfway through the journey.

When I found out about this, I panicked and asked my second brother what to do. He said not to worry, since there were no survivors, the people of the Land of Fire wouldn't know it was us. My third brother and I were afraid of being punished, so we didn't tell you, eldest brother.

Sato Yasushi was furious at the thought process of his brothers. He slapped the fourth brother and scolded him, "You bunch of idiots, can't you use your brains? Who else but us, the Wild Alliance, would be capable of doing something like this at the border between the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire?"

"Boss, spare me! Boss, spare me!" Kariyama Kaoru realized his own foolishness at this point.

Sato Yasushi had no intention of doing anything to his brother; he only had one thought in his mind: revenge!

"I must avenge this; the second and third brothers cannot have died in vain," Sato Yasushi said, filled with resentment. Kariyama Kaoru nodded in agreement.

"That woman was just a teenager. If the second and third brothers hadn't been careless, those black-clad ninjas would have had no chance of killing them."

"You go first. I'll sneak over and kill that woman. If it weren't for your safety, in a one-on-one fight, she would have died by my hand," Sato Yasushi said.

These words deeply moved Kaoru Kariyama, and just as he was about to say something, a round of applause broke out. "Clap clap clap!"

"It really touched me."

Mashiro emerged from the shadows of the forest.

"Fourth brother, let's go," Sato Yasushi said, taking a step forward.

Kaoru Kariyama looked at Yasushi Sato ahead with immense grief, then turned and ran away.

“No need to make him run so far, I’ll send him on his way with you,” Mashiro said calmly. “You seem quite confident, Keiko.” Then several kunai flew towards Mashiro.

Mashiro easily dodged the kunai and walked step by step towards Sato Yasui. "Fire Release: Demon Hook Flame Technique"

Sato Yasushi formed hand seals, and several fire blades attacked Mashiro from all directions.

Mashiro pressed one hand to the ground, and instantly several stone walls rose up around her. Then, several water-style techniques appeared and surrounded the stone walls, which blocked the fire blade.

Just as Sato Yasushi was about to form hand seals again, Mashiro's voice rang out. "Illusion: Withered Vine"

Immediately afterwards, countless withered vines appeared out of thin air and tightly bound Sato Yasui. Sato Yasui hurriedly gathered his chakra to try to get rid of this illusion, but found that nothing happened.

"Is this real?!"

Sato Yasushi quickly realized the situation. At this moment, Mashiro had already walked to a short distance in front of him. Upon seeing this, Sato Yasushi hurriedly used his bound left hand to form a hand seal.

Sand Release: The Technique of Transforming the Body into Sand

Then Sato Yasushi's body turned into yellow sand and fell off the withered vines, before gathering again in a nearby location.

"This guy is strange, it's best to leave." After witnessing Mashiro's unsealed ninjutsu and strange illusions, Sato Yasushi immediately had the idea of ​​retreating. Just as he was about to escape, more than a dozen shadowy ninjas blocked his way.

Mashiro walked up to him and murmured, "A huge amount of chakra, powerful chakra control, all five types of chakra, and mastery of all five types of ninjutsu. Tell me, what do you mean by all of these combined?"