What's wrong with having a large harem if you're the emperor of the ninja world?

Kurenai Yuhi's voice distorted with extreme fear.

Di Yan looked at Xi Ri Hong's reaction, which was like that of a frightened bird.

The smile at the corners of his mouth deepened a few more times.

He slowly withdrew his hand, as if he had merely brushed away a speck of dust.

"Look... red."

Di Yan's voice was terrifyingly calm, yet it carried a despairing certainty: "I knew you would 'agree'."

His gaze swept over Kurenai protecting Hinata, carrying a cruel insight into human nature.

"You'd do anything for Hinata, wouldn't you?"

Kurenai Yuhi trembled violently, her arms around Hinata tightening around her.

Di Yan's words were like a cold, venomous snake coiling around her heart.

Yes, for Hinata...

For this student she treated like her own son.

She is willing to sacrifice everything, including her dignity and her life...

Even, including betraying Konoha's bottom line?

This thought caused her so much pain that she almost suffocated!

Di Yan said no more, as if he had everything under control.

Kurenai Yuhi was unaware that Ino from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio was also her target.

Di Yan glanced at Xi Ri Hong, whose face was contorted with anxiety, and casually raised his hand.

It was done with an attitude of bestowing charity.

He lightly patted Kurenai's buttocks, which were tense from nervousness.

"I want to see the letter before dawn."

Leaving behind this cold command, Di Yan acted as he had when he arrived.

She turned and got out of bed quietly.

His figure blended into the shadows of the bedchamber and disappeared outside the door.

The heavy palace doors closed gently, isolating the outside world.

Inside the bedchamber, only the cold moonlight remained.

And Kurenai Yuhi's figure, tightly embracing Hinata, trembling silently.

Tears streamed down Hinata's sleeping face like beads from a broken string.

Hinata seemed to sense something.

He frowned uneasily in his dream and murmured a vague, incoherent phrase.

Kurenai lowered her head, looking at her disciple's innocent sleeping face, her heart aching.

The threat posed by Di Yan is like an invisible mountain.

It was so heavy it made it hard for her to breathe.

Writing the letter meant personally sending Asuma and Ino-Shika-Cho into the trap carefully laid by Teiyan.

I won't write about Hinata...

She reached out her hand, trembling, her fingertips touching the cold tabletop.

There were paper and pens that had been prepared there sometime earlier.

The paper was white, and the ink was black.

At this moment, however, it was like a contract leading to hell in her eyes.

Her finger hovered above the paper.

It trembled violently and could not fall for a long time.

Every second of hesitation felt like a slow, agonizing torture to the soul.

The instinct to protect Hinata and the belief in protecting Konoha were fiercely torn and collided within her heart.

This letter, whether written or not

How should she choose?

.......

19. Kurenai's little tricks, accept the punishment.

The morning sunlight, carrying a touch of coolness, spilled into the exquisite courtyard of the palace.

Di Yan was dressed in training clothes.

They are performing seemingly casual yet rhythmic morning exercises.

The breath was long and steady.

Uchiha Izumi stood like a shadow in the distance, her eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Footsteps sounded, carrying a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

Kurenai's figure appeared at the entrance to the courtyard.

Her face was pale and her eyes were red.

Clearly, he hadn't slept all night.

She clutched a folded letter tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Emperor Yan slowly withdrew his power.

His gaze calmly fell upon Kurenai, as if he had already anticipated her arrival.

Kurenai took a deep breath.

He forcefully suppressed the humiliation and surging emotions in his heart.

She walked up to Di Yan and handed him the letter.

Kurenai's eyes darted around.

They dared not look directly into Di Yan's eyes, which seemed to see through everything.

"The letter... is finished."

Her voice was dry and hoarse.

Di Yan took the letter but did not open it immediately; he merely weighed it in his hand.

His gaze swept over the neat handwriting on the envelope.

Recipient: Sarutobi Asuma.

Signed: Xi Ri Hong.

A barely perceptible smile curved the corners of his lips.

He slowly opened the envelope and took out the letter inside.

His gaze swept over the area quickly.

The letter contained exactly what he had "requested":

The words were earnest, filled with despair and helplessness.

The description details being "trapped in the palace," "besieged by an unknown and powerful force," and "in an extremely critical situation"...

He pleaded with Asuma, his words dripping with fervor, for him to bring his most trusted subordinates, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, to his aid at the last minute.

Kurenai's body trembled slightly.

She nervously observed Di Yan's expression, her heart pounding in her chest.

She placed all her hopes on the letter, on that extremely subtle illusion mark that required special mental strength to trigger.

That was something she had painstakingly gathered under immense mental pressure, after exhausting all her energy!

As long as Asma sees this letter and comes into contact with her spiritual imprint.

It will immediately trigger the illusion.

Everything that happened here...

The Mangekyou Sharingan of the Emperor Yan, the orphans of the Uchiha clan, the fates of Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, the Emperor Yan's ambition for Konoha, and their current true situation...

Everything was clearly transmitted back to Konoha!

This was her only resistance, her only hope!

Di Yan finished reading the letter, but his face showed no surprise.

Even with a hint of... boredom?

He looked up at Kurenai, who was as nervous as a frightened bird.

Those red eyes were filled with unease and a final act of defiance.

"Hmm, well written."

Di Yan's tone was as calm as if he were evaluating an ordinary report.

A flash of red light appeared in his eyes.

Then, he folded the letter paper haphazardly and stuffed it back into the envelope.

Kurenai Yuhi's heart was in her throat.

He...he didn't notice?

Or...did they discover it but don't care?

Just then, Di Yan spoke calmly:

"spring."

Like a ghost, Uchiha Izumi, who had been hidden in the shadows, suddenly appeared beside Di Yan and knelt on one knee:

"His Majesty."

"Give this letter," Di Yan handed the letter to Quan, his tone leaving no room for doubt, "deliver it to Konoha Village as quickly as possible and personally hand it to Sarutobi Asuma."

"Make sure that he opens and reads it himself."

"As ordered!"

Quan accepted the letter without the slightest hesitation.

With a flash, he transformed into a black shadow and disappeared into the courtyard.

Shockingly fast.

Watching Izumi disappear with the letter that carried her last hope.

The heart of the evening sun was like a rollercoaster.

First, there was a sudden sinking sensation, followed by an unbelievable surge of ecstasy!

He sent it out!

He really did send it out!

Is it...

Could it be that my illusion mark was hidden so perfectly?

Even Di Yan, who possesses the Mangekyou Sharingan, couldn't detect it?

Hope is like a faint flame.