Naruto: I, who didn't want to be hacked to pieces, saved the ninja world.

"That's great! Brother Qingye can eat with me now."

Hanabi saw that Shirokumo Aoba looked very expectant, and her smile became even brighter.

As he spoke, he opened the food box in his hand, which contained two steaming hot eel rice bowls, various tempura dishes, and some small vegetables.

"It looks pretty good."

Looking at the eel rice covered in broth and still steaming, Shirokumo Aoba, who had just finished physical labor, suddenly felt a strong urge to eat it.

"It smells so good! I think I smell eel rice. Is Shizune back?"

At that moment, Tsunade also came out of the bathroom, having changed back into her previous clothes.

She only realized she couldn't wear the secretary's outfit after taking it inside.

As she came out, she saw Shirakumo Aoba and Hanabi sitting together.

And there were two servings of eel rice placed in front of them. Well, only two servings.

"This was brought by Hanabi. If you're hungry, teacher, you can eat mine first. Hanabi and I can share one to tide us over."

Shirokumo Aoba also noticed Tsunade's gaze and knew that she wanted to eat but was too embarrassed to ask.

I reckon Jingyin will be back soon; he'll just need a couple of bites to fill his stomach.

Fireworks shouldn't have too much of an opinion.

Just as he had expected, Hanabi subconsciously pouted when she heard that Shirakumo Aoba was going to give his own portion of eel rice to Tsunade.

But when she heard the other person say that they would share the same dish with her, her eyes immediately lit up again.

She pushed her eel rice bowl towards Tsunade and said obediently, "Lady Tsunade, you eat this. One bowl is enough for me and Brother Aoba."

After saying that, he couldn't wait to stuff the chopsticks in his hand into Baiyun Qingye's hand.

Her intention was quite clear: she wanted Baiyun Qingye to feed her.

"Ah!"

Tsunade watched this scene with amusement, and also wanted to tease this little girl who rolled her eyes.

"That won't do. You're growing right now, you can't go hungry."

She walked up to the two of them and picked up the reluctant Hanabi from Shirokumo Aoba's arms. "You eat this large portion, and Aoba and I will share one to taste it."

"?"

Hanabi pursed her lips, unwilling to give up, and said coquettishly, "But I can't finish this portion by myself."

"It's okay, take your time eating."

Tsunade playfully rubbed Hanabi's face in her arms.

She felt that it would be nice to have a child as cute as Hanabi with Aoba.

Hanabi looked at Shirokumo Aoba with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

Bai Yunqingye couldn't help but chuckle. "In that case, let's eat together."

After saying that, he took out all the plates from the food box and divided the tempura, eel rice, and vegetables into three equal portions.

"……All right."

Hanabi was at a loss for what to do.

The three of them sat together on the sofa and ate the eel rice that Hanabi had brought.

When Shizune returned with the food box, she was stunned to see the three people sitting side by side.

"Huh? What's going on here...?"

"This was brought by Hanabi. I was a little hungry, so I ate it to tide me over."

Baiyun Qingye explained.

"I see..."

Shizune glanced at Tsunade with some suspicion, then followed the scent to the familiar-smelling flower in the corner.

Although the appearance of the fireworks was somewhat unexpected, it was already quite clear what had happened in the office before that.

Lady Tsunade is really something, she only went out to buy food and yet...

"They must be really starving. They should eat more to replenish their energy!"

Shizune opened the food box in her hand with a rather resentful expression, took out a bowl of old hen soup, and placed it in front of Tsunade and Shirokumo Aoba.

"Cough cough."

Bai Yunqingye looked a little embarrassed. He knew that Jingyin had figured it out. As expected of an excellent secretary, her ability to read people was really strong.

But Tsunade, without changing her expression, picked up the spoon, tasted it, and nodded in satisfaction. "It tastes good. Next time, remember to ask the shopkeeper to add some more goji berries, and it will be even better."

"...I've got it."

Shizune felt somewhat frustrated by Tsunade's reaction. In the past, Tsunade would at least try to hide it a little and act somewhat embarrassed.

Things have become so mundane now.

It's so enviable... no, it's so infuriating!

Hanabi, who had been listening in, blinked and asked curiously, "Mom often adds goji berries to the dishes, saying they're good for your health. Is Tsunade's health not very good either?"

"..."

Tsunade's face was a little dark.

-

Chapter 631 The Operation of the Hidden Cloud Village

While the Hokage's office was filled with joy and harmony, the other Kage's office was far from peaceful.

They have already learned from Iwagakure that Konoha is going to take action against them.

The Fourth Raikage, not wanting to sit idly by and wait for his doom, made a bold decision, taking advantage of the excellent opportunity of Konoha's New Year.

"Lord Raikage, I've already issued a request to Kusagakure in my personal capacity. How many of our own ninjas should we send?"

The newly appointed Raikage's secretary, Nozomi, inquired about the Fourth Raikage's situation.

The Fourth Raikage crossed his arms, his expression solemn, and quickly made a decision: "Send two ANBU squads over there first, let the people from Kusagakure scout out the situation. We just need to find an opportunity to kidnap them."

Kidnapping people is a traditional skill of Kumogakure.

Whether it was infiltrating Konoha to kidnap Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, or secretly abducting Hinata Hyuga during the Hyuga clan's young lady's birthday banquet.

They're professionals when it comes to kidnapping people.

"Understood, I will give the order shortly."

hope nodded in agreement to the question, and then reported another matter, "Lord Raikage, our spies in Konoha just sent us urgent intelligence through a secret technique."

The Fourth Raikage inquired earnestly, "What information?"

hope answered just as seriously, "Shirokumo Aoba is about to become the new Hokage, and the enthronement ceremony is expected to be held the day after tomorrow."

boom!

Upon hearing this, Raikage's previously serious gaze immediately lit up, and he slammed his right hand on the table.

"Very good! Then the day after tomorrow will be the best time for this operation."

The reason he chose to operate during the New Year was because most Konoha ninjas would return to the village to celebrate the New Year on that day, making it easier for them to kidnap people.

Now, with the addition of the Hokage succession ceremony, the possibility of Shirakumo Aoba appearing near the target is completely eliminated.

Even if Baiyun Qingye possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique, he couldn't possibly disrupt their plans without their knowledge.

However, seeing how excited the Fourth Raikage was, hope wore a hesitant expression.

The Fourth Raikage frowned slightly upon seeing this. "Just say what you want to say."

After some hesitation, hope said, "Lord Raikage, with Samui and Mabui here, we and Konoha might still have room to maneuver, but if we tie them up..."

"Enough! hope!"

Before Xi could finish speaking, the Fourth Raikage interrupted him with an angry shout, "Mabui and Samui may still have some feelings for Kumogakure, but their betrayal is beyond question!"

He recalled the reply from Samui and Mabui last time, "Don't contact me again," and with the subsequent investigation, he also learned that Yugito had become Shirakumo Aoba's woman. He was instantly enraged.

"You probably don't need me to explain what betrayal means to the Hidden Cloud Village, do you?"

"...I understand, Lord Raikage."

Seeing the Raikage's fury, hope could no longer bring up the matter and could only sigh helplessly.

He also knew that Samui, Mabui, and Yugito had been labeled as rogue ninjas by Kumogakure, but they still had feelings for Kumogakure. If he could make good use of them, he could still try to win them back.

It is said that Shirakumo Aoba takes his girlfriends very seriously.

That's why this plan exists.

Seeing Nozomi sigh, the Fourth Raikage's anger subsided somewhat.

“I know you’re worried that tying them up will completely ruin our relationship with Konoha. After all, the information that Konoha would take action against us was leaked to us by that old fox Onoki. We can’t trust it completely, but we can’t completely distrust it either.”

"Lord Raikage..."

hope wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by the Fourth Raikage, "That's why I had you issue a request to the Grass Village, while our ninjas only acted in the shadows."

"At that time, you can have someone take care of the people responsible for issuing and accepting the commissions, as well as the environment at the scene. Konoha will only be able to find the Grass Village, not us."

"If Konoha doesn't intend to attack us, nothing will happen. But if they really do, then it doesn't matter whether our relationship deteriorates or not. With this card, at least we can give Shirokumo Aoba a headache."

It must be said that when the Fourth Raikage wasn't losing his temper, he could still use his brain.

After listening, hope did not offer any further suggestions, bowed slightly, and then turned to leave.

"I will arrange it immediately."

After hope left, the Fourth Raikage turned and looked out the window at the Hidden Cloud Village nestled among the mountain peaks and clouds. After a deep sigh, he picked up the Raikage's robe beside him, put it on, and jumped out of the window.

It transformed into a bolt of lightning and fled into the distance.

While carrying out operations in the shadows, he also needs to have his own actions.