Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

"You love me~ I love you~"

"Honey Ice City? I didn't expect to find one here."

Gui, her eyes half-open, turned her head in surprise, looking at Xue Wang dancing gracefully to the music in the stands. A hint of surprise lingered in her voice.

In the capital of the Water Kingdom, there is a Honey Ice Cream shop that has been open for more than a year. Gui is a regular customer there, and his favorite dish is the signature Snow King Sundae.

"Once I win, I'll treat you to as much as you want to eat!"

Hozuki Gengetsu twitched the corner of his mouth. He didn't like sweets, so he was indifferent to this kind of sweet food.

"Could I have a milk tea, please?"

Shinka, who had also been kicked off the stage by Uchiha Gin, also approached Yuki-oh. It was the first time he had seen such novel food, and out of curiosity, he ordered a cup of ordinary milk tea worth 600 ryo.

Snow King took the money, quickly rummaged around in the cart, and soon pulled out a cup of unidentified brown liquid, which he casually handed to Divine Fire.

"What about my little megaphone? Am I not worthy?"

Seeing that the Snow King didn't intend to raise the trumpet and that he hadn't gained any emotional value from the divine fire, he felt that he had wasted his money. Do you know how many steamed buns 600 taels could buy?

"Do you still want it? If not, I'll take it back."

The Uchiha Silver clone, dressed in the Snow King's skin, frowned. "What kind of trash are you? You want to hit on the megaphone? Do you even have a cleavage?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Seeing Snow King about to take back the milk tea, Divine Fire quickly snatched it away, inserted the straw, and took a big sip. The rich milky aroma instantly filled his taste buds.

"Pat~"

A single tear rolled down the deep wrinkles of Shenhuo's aged face and fell to the ground—this was the feeling of being in love.

"Wow, this is so delicious! What will I do if I can never drink it again!"

Seeing the incredibly exaggerated reaction from the divine fire, Mako on the island wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with longing for milk tea.

"Slurp~ Is it really that delicious?"

"Hmm~ The milk tea tastes absolutely authentic~"

Madara Uchiha, possessing VIP membership to the Snow King, crossed his arms and held his head high with an air of arrogance.

As is well known, Honey Ice City originated from Konoha Village in the Land of Fire, and Snow King's success inevitably made him feel extremely superior as a Konoha resident.

"Clap clap clap~"

Just as everyone was captivated by the blatant advertisement for the Divine Fire, Uchiha Gin, who had been left waiting for a while, clapped his hands impatiently.

"Please respect the spirit of sportsmanship. If you want a drink, please line up after the competition is over."

After Gin Uchiha cleared the area, only ten people remained on the island. They looked at each other, and several pairs of questioning eyes once again fell on Mako, who was wiping away drool.

Why wasn't this seemingly simple-minded housewife invited to the spectator stands?

"Uncle, why didn't that lady come with you?"

Enjoying the refreshing and rich milky aroma of the crispy cone, Chiyo, with her eyes half-closed in bliss, looked at Kamikaze sipping his milk tea beside her and asked curiously, "..."

"Do I look old? Besides, Mako is my wife!"

Shinka, who was completely absorbed in the moment, was considering which flavor of milk tea to buy for his wife when Chiyo's words almost broke him down.

"Huh? Officer, there's a pervert!"

Chiyo warily distanced herself from the enraged Shinka, watching him with a guarded expression.

"Is it wrong for me to be naturally mature for my age?"

Shinho felt greatly insulted, but on the other hand, Chiyo's words were also a compliment to his wife's youth and beauty. Thinking of this, his anger subsided considerably, his expression softened, and he even offered a self-deprecating explanation.

"God! Darling~ Remember to buy me a cup too! ヽ(￣▽￣)"

"Received the baby! ('ω')"

"vomit!"

The intimate interaction between the couple made many single people present uncomfortable. Several hateful gazes were fixed on Shenhuo, who was laughing foolishly, and they all planned to dig a hole and bury this lovey-dovey moment after the competition ended.

"Hiss~ Why is it suddenly so cold?"

"Uncle, why isn't your wife here yet? The competition is about to start!"

Chiyo reluctantly accepted the fact that this middle-aged man was lucky to have a young and beautiful wife. She thought about how the cruel competition was about to begin, and if that seemingly delicate woman didn't come to the stands soon, she might die.

"Slurp~ Slurp~ Glug!"

After taking two large sips of milk tea, finally swallowing the pearl stuck in the straw, a satisfied expression appeared on Shinka's face. He placed the empty cup aside, wiped his mouth, and his eyes suddenly sharpened. The aura emanating from his body made Chiyo slightly startled.

This aura is no less than that of a teacher. Just who is this man?

Chiyo frowned in confusion, quickly reviewing Shenhuo's appearance in her mind, only to find that there was no such person in the ninja world.

"Who exactly are you?"

"Me? I'm just an unknown night watchman."

Shenhuo shook his head, his flood-like aura slowly dissipating, transforming him back into the seemingly disillusioned and颓废 middle-aged man. His slightly dejected eyes fell on his wife on the battlefield, revealing a gentle light.

"But my wife is different; she's a..."

"No matter who she is, since she's stayed on the field, she's an enemy!"

The interaction between the Kamikawa couple made Onoki, who was still single, grit his teeth in anger. If he couldn't have her, he would destroy her. He wanted to make that man watch his wife suffer the ultimate humiliation!

"Oonoki, don't be impulsive!"

Unaware that his disciple's aura was unstable—a sign that his Dao heart was about to shatter—he immediately spoke up to stop him.

"Hehehe, Dust Release: Clothing Removal Technique!"

Completely insane, Onoki wouldn't listen to his teacher. He raised his hands to his chest, and a dazzling white light flashed.

"puff!"

Uchiha Gin, who was watching the show, almost choked. He was looking forward to seeing the future Third Tsuchikage's debut, but the moment the other party made a move, he revealed his deeply hidden lecherous nature.

Confused, Mako didn't know why she had become Onoki's target. She blinked in confusion and instinctively made a defensive gesture in the face of the white light rushing towards her.

"Be careful!"

Suddenly, a figure flashed in front of Shinji with incredible speed, raising his hand to unleash a thick earth wall in an attempt to block the oncoming Kekkei Tota.

"Have you forgotten everything I taught you? Get out of the way!"

To everyone's surprise, it was Kakuzu, who always knew how to protect himself, who turned around fiercely and cursed at Shinji, who stood there dumbfounded.

"Senior Sword!?"

boom!

As soon as Mako's surprised voice fell, the thick wall of earth finally collapsed under the erosion of Dust Release, and Kakuzu, who had turned his head, was unsurprisingly struck by the light carrying the power of disintegration.

"Ah! Ah~ Ah~ Ah~"

Having witnessed the power of Dust Release before, the moment Kakuzu was struck by Onoki's Dust Release, his mind began to replay his life's experiences like a revolving lantern. Thinking about all the money he had saved that he hadn't spent, his painful screams grew even louder.

".ah?"

As a result, after being enveloped in blinding light for a while, Kakuzu discovered that the gruesome dismemberment of flesh he had imagined had not occurred. Instead, he felt a lightness all over his body, as if he had shed a heavy burden.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

A woman's sharp, explosive sound drowned out Kakuzu's painful screams. Puzzled, he opened his eyes and saw Chiyo covering her face in the spectator stands not far away. The ear-piercing sound just now was from her.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I never expected the renowned Hunter's Knight Sword to be like this."

Hozuki Gengetsu's teasing voice rang out first, and Kakuzu realized then that he might have been a little too candid, feeling a chilling unease.

"Damn it! This is a paid service, everyone who's seen it, pay up!"

Kakuzu, looking at the scattered, still slightly mangled pieces of cloth, turned bright red with rage, like a boiled lobster. He bent down, picked up the still-intact storage scroll, pulled out a spare set of clothes, and, grumbling, put it on to cover himself.

"Little potato, you're dead meat! I told you, even the Sage of Six Paths can't save you!"

"Senior Sword, thank you very much."

Shinji, who had turned her back without daring to peek, cautiously turned around after hearing Kakuzu's angry curses, thanking him with a face full of relief.

"I will include the lost clothing in the commission fee."

"Pah! You want money for this? It's an eyesore."

Unexpectedly, Kakuzu took a bullet for that woman and didn't get to see the scene he wanted to see. Onoki was furious, and he would have to wash his eyes many times to recover.

"Hahahaha! Bandaged man, so you're actually a silent pervert. No wonder you were able to develop Dust Release~"

Hozuki Gengetsu wouldn't miss the chance to tease his old rival, clutching his stomach and laughing exaggeratedly.

"Onoki! I taught you Dust Release, not so you could do such despicable things!"

Wu was also furious. He had worked so hard to build up a good reputation for bloodline limit elimination, and Onoki had ruined it all with just one shot.

"I just want to subdue the enemy without fighting."

Onoki, who thought himself quick-witted, quickly found an excuse for his behavior.

"You're even lecturing me on military strategy? Go back and confine me to that little dark room for three months!"

"receive."

With a bitter expression, Onoki chose to accept the punishment. If he continued to talk back, it wouldn't be as simple as just three months of confinement.

Uchiha Gin, who also took a while to recover, watched the increasingly heated atmosphere, leaped into the air, looked down at everyone present, and slowly raised a red flag that he had somehow produced. His deep male voice reached everyone's ears.

"Although it's a bit cringeworthy, since someone has already fired the first shot, I hereby declare the game over."

Upon hearing Uchiha Gin's voice, everyone tensed up, holding their breath and raising their heads to gaze at the rabbit-headed knight in mid-air.

Surrounded by admirers, Uchiha Gin nodded in satisfaction and gently waved the flag in his hand.

".start!"

"Pleasure me to your heart's content~" (End of Chapter)