Akamaru nodded its dog head. It still had a bit of dog conscience, and it was impossible for it to betray companions.
Tenten moved closer to Akamaru and asked softly,
"Good doggy, do you know what happened to the Third Tsuchikage and the other high-ranking Iwagakure officials?"
Akamaru of course knew the situation of the Iwagakure ninja. More than a dozen dogs under its command were still monitoring them!
It immediately replied: "Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"… ⊙ω⊙"
Ino looked at Tenten speechlessly. "How could Akamaru answer us? It can't even talk!"
Tenten scratched her head and smiled awkwardly. "Sorry!"
Guy suddenly tensed all his muscles, sensing a massive surge of chakra approaching from behind, carrying a strong oppressive pressure.
"It's the Four-Tails!!" Neji's Byakugan immediately discovered the figure of the Four-Tails, Son Gokū.
At night, the Four-Tails was like a night demon, resembling a monster.
Neji cursed inwardly: "Damn it, I was careless. I didn't notice this guy!"
Kairen's chakra was far too massive and directly covered the Four-Tails' chakra range, causing Neji to barely notice it!
Just as everyone prepared for the worst, Akamaru barked at the Four-Tails.
Immediately, the Four-Tails obediently crouched down, its face full of a fawning smile.
What was going on?
As the strategist, Shikamaru was completely dumbfounded. Akamaru barked once, and the Four-Tails became obedient.
Looking at the others, they were equally stunned.
What the hell was this? Since when did Akamaru have such status? Even a Tailed Beast had to give it respect!
Akamaru lifted its dog head proudly, thoroughly enjoying this faint aura of showing off.
After staying beside Kairen for a few days, it had learned to act just like a human!
Akamaru glanced at the Four-Tails with its dog eyes. The other had only just joined the Kairen Empire. How could it compare to an old veteran like itself?
In the Empire, ability and skill were not important. The most important thing was learning how to flatter.
Akamaru had licked Kairen for two days and earned the position of Dog Grand General. How glorious that was.
Though the Four-Tails was a Tailed Beast, the Kairen Empire would not indulge it. At most, it was just a mount.
Akamaru, as a cadre, held a higher rank than it. As the saying goes, a higher rank crushes those below. And this was not just one rank higher, but three or four ranks higher.
Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief. No matter what, they had escaped disaster.
He rubbed Akamaru's dog head. "Thank you, Akamaru."
Akamaru waved its dog paw, humbly accepting the praise.
Guy looked at it and laughed. "Yo! Haven't seen you for a few days, and Akamaru's become even more human-like!"
Akamaru glanced at Guy with its dog eyes and barked, telling him what it meant to be separated for three days and viewed in a new light.
Shikamaru rubbed Akamaru's head again. "Can you take us to find the Third Tsuchikage?"
Akamaru nodded.
"Woof!"
Akamaru wagged its tail and immediately turned around, leading Shikamaru's group into Iwagakure Village.
Under the moonlight, Shikamaru and the others moved cautiously. Akamaru barked once, signaling that they didn't need to be so careful.
Kairen's army was entirely composed of dogs. They basically had no sense of vigilance.
At night, only a few lights were lit, and faint sounds of drinking and revelry could be heard.
"Come drink!"
"Drink!"
"Hey! Look. He got drunk after just a few cans. He's really pathetic!"
"He really is pathetic!"
"Listening to you, you sound pretty brave, huh?"
Shikamaru and the others followed Akamaru slowly into the deepest part of the camp, just as Akamaru had indicated with its barking.
The entire village reeked of alcohol. Shadow Clones lay sprawled everywhere along the way.
They could even see many Iwagakure ninja mingling with Kairen's Shadow Clones, as if they were only one step away from swearing brotherhood under the peach garden.
Seeing this, Shikamaru muttered softly, "Even Iwagakure, known for being as unyielding as solid rock, couldn't resist Moku Kairen's sugar-coated attacks. Can Konoha withstand it?"
Shikamaru glanced at Neji a bit longer.
The storm stirred up by Kairen had not failed to impact Konoha. At the very least, the Hyuga Clan was showing signs of unrest.
Neji's senses were sharp, and he noticed Shikamaru's probing gaze.
He did not respond. Recently, the Hyuga Clan had indeed become somewhat strange, as if plotting something.
He naturally knew the cause.
The ancient Tenseigan had reappeared in the ninja world. As followers of those eyes, the Hyuga would naturally follow.
The only reason they hadn't joined Kairen was because Kairen looked down on the Hyuga main family.
As a branch family member and a jōnin subordinate to the Hokage, Neji was caught in the middle, with both sides harboring some dissatisfaction toward him.
Shikamaru shook his head and continued following Akamaru's steps.
The waters of the village were too deep. He couldn't grasp them. He would leave that headache to the big shots.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, a Shadow Clone jumped out from the shadows and blocked Shikamaru's group.
Everyone's heart sank. Earlier, they had escaped thanks to Akamaru when facing the Four-Tails. But this time, they probably—
The Shadow Clone even carried a speaker, playing "The King Sent Me to Patrol the Mountain."
Shadow Clone pointed at the people behind Akamaru and asked, "Dog Grand General, who are the people behind you?"
"Woof! Woof!"
Akamaru barked twice, indicating that they were its servants, here to clean up its waste.
"So that's how it is!"
Shadow Clone nodded and stepped aside.
Shikamaru and the others were speechless again. They thought to themselves that this camp was truly useless. Kairen's Shadow Clones really were just a bunch of dogs.
After wandering around for a while, they finally reached the very center of Iwagakure.
Shikamaru rubbed Akamaru's head again.
"Thank you, Akamaru. After we finish our mission, we'll take you with us."
"Woof!"
Akamaru barked again. The meaning was clear—don't waste your effort. By following Kairen, it had found its own kind. It was willing to stay here.
"Move out!"
With Shikamaru's command, everyone in the squad dispersed in all directions and began gathering intelligence.
In Iwagakure Village, there was a house decorated extravagantly in bright red and purple, standing in stark contrast to the surrounding hardship, like a landlord's mansion.
After a rough yet prolonged exchange, Kurotsuchi came to understand the length of Kairen's ideology, and Kairen also reached the depths of her understanding.
Kairen, entering sage mode, stared at the ceiling, contemplating the sustainable development path of the ninja world.
Kurotsuchi's face carried a faint blush, her eyes filled with tenderness as she quietly observed Kairen's profile.
Though she had been forced, this man was truly handsome.
Kairen turned his head, his blue eyes meeting hers, and a teasing smile appeared.
"What? Not full yet?"
Kurotsuchi quickly burrowed back into the blanket, muttering,
"Stop already. I can't take it anymore."
Kairen smiled, then sensed several unfamiliar chakra signatures approaching.
No—not unfamiliar. He knew those chakra signatures well. They were Konoha ninja.
There were also two yin-nature chakra signatures he recognized.
Yamanaka Ino and Tenten.
Kairen instantly transformed from sage mode into beast mode.
"Today, I'll take on three at once."
After gathering intelligence, Shikamaru still couldn't suppress his curiosity and brought everyone to investigate Kairen's situation.
The squad carefully hid outside on the wall. They only intended to use the Byakugan to observe Kairen remotely. They had no intention of waking him.
After all, at this hour, he should already be fast asleep.
In truth, mortals only measure gods by their own shallowness, never knowing how long the other party can continue.
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