Chapter 356 The Loran Trio's Plan; Yūhi Kurenai Finally Gets Her Wish [HN]

The desolation and silence of the moon’s surface were left behind.

When Chiya returned to Konoha through the connecting passage and stepped into the Hokage’s office, the sun was already setting outside the window.

After dealing with the most important documents selected by Nara Shikaku, he rubbed his brow, but his mind was still occupied by the connection between the Tenseigan and the different type of energy, the same origin and opposing nature.

“Origin of energy…”

Chiya muttered quietly, and a trace of fatigue flashed through his Rinnegan.

Even for him, dealing with multidimensional crises while managing the village internally consumed a tremendous amount of mental energy.

He stood up and walked to the window, his gaze naturally falling toward the area outside Konoha.

The town that was gradually becoming clearer in the evening light, with scattered lights beginning to illuminate it, was Loran Town.

Back then, he had brought Sara and her people from their homeland in the desert and settled them here.

Now, with Konoha’s resources being directed toward the town and Sara’s careful management, Loran Town had developed into an important trading hub connecting the Land of Fire with the western countries, and its prosperity was no less than that of some major villages.

More importantly, it was a place where there were people who could let him temporarily relax both his body and mind.

Thinking of Sara’s gentleness, Nii Yugito’s stubbornness and deep affection unique to women from Kumogakure, and Pakura’s sensuality and dependence after everything she had experienced, Chiya’s cold heart could not help but warm slightly.

‘I’ll go to Loran Town today and take a look, and I’ll also check whether the composite barrier Orochimaru recently arranged there is operating properly.’

With that thought, Chiya’s figure disappeared from the office.

…

Loran Town, the town chief’s residence.

This was not a traditional ninja building, but instead combined the ancient charm of old Loran with Konoha’s practical style, making it both unique and cozy.

In the living room, three women with completely different styles were sitting together.

Sara was dressed in deep blue clothing, and her brows carried both the authority of someone governing a town and a trace of longing that was difficult to notice.

Nii Yugito was still wearing a neat ninja outfit, but the sharpness in her eyes had long since been replaced by gentle anticipation.

Pakura sat quietly to the side, wiping her fan with elegant movements.

“He’s back.”

Yugito suddenly spoke, as her sensitivity to powerful chakra as a Jinchūriki was especially sharp.

“He was handling affairs in the village, so he should be coming over soon.”

Sara’s face lit up with delight.

“I’ll go prepare dinner.”

Pakura nodded gently and quickly followed her.

Just then, a report came from outside the residence that an unexpected visitor had arrived, Yūhi Kurenai.

Kurenai walked in wearing casual red clothes instead of her usual ninja vest, and the outfit outlined her graceful figure.

Her beautiful face, however, showed obvious anxiety mixed with a trace of shyness.

“Sara-nee, Yugito-nee, Pakura-nee.”

Kurenai gave a slight bow, her tone somewhat hesitant.

“It’s Kurenai, why are you still being so polite? Come and sit.”

Sara warmly invited her over.

“Looking at your expression, is something troubling you?”

Kurenai took a deep breath and gathered her courage, her cheeks turning red.

“I… I want you three to help me. It’s about… Lord Chiya.”

The three women exchanged glances, immediately understanding.

Kurenai’s feelings for Chiya were naturally no secret.

This genjutsu prodigy and Jonin was calm and decisive during countless missions, yet whenever she faced Chiya, she would reveal the shy demeanor of a young girl.

“Have you thought of another new idea?”

Yugito asked teasingly.

They all knew that Kurenai had been pursuing Chiya for a long time and had tried many romantic approaches.

Kurenai’s pretty face became even redder as she counted them off on her fingers.

“I once gave him a flower arrangement I made myself that contained genjutsu, but he stared at it among his piles of documents for three whole days without noticing the unusual chakra; I invited him to study a new type of genjutsu with me, but he told me to have Shisui spar with me; I even… I even pretended to get injured during a mission because I wanted him to carry me back, but he directly used the Body Flicker Technique to send me to the entrance of Konoha Hospital…”

Her voice became quieter and quieter, filled with deep frustration.

“I’ve tried almost every subtle and romantic method I could think of, every method written in books and every method other people taught me, but he…”

By the end, her voice carried a hint of grievance and stubbornness.

Sara, Yugito, and Pakura found the situation both amusing and helpless.

Pakura sighed.

“Chiya… carries too many burdens. Ordinary warmth is difficult to reach the deepest part of his heart.”

Yugito also nodded.

“What about confessing directly? Have you tried that?”

“I’ve said it so many times already!”

Kurenai almost stomped her foot.

The living room fell silent for a moment.

It seemed that ordinary methods really were ineffective when it came to winning Chiya over.

At that moment, a sly glint flashed through Sara’s eyes.

She lowered her voice and leaned closer to Kurenai before revealing that terrible idea.

“If the direct approach doesn’t work… then how about we use an indirect approach?”

“An indirect approach?”

Kurenai looked confused.

Sara’s face also turned slightly red, but she continued.

“He should come over tonight. The three of us will find a way to make him stay, and then… after he falls asleep tonight, you… you quietly go in… and make sure the deed is done.”

“What?!”

Kurenai cried out in shock, her entire body turning as red as a cooked shrimp, even her ears becoming crimson.

That idea…

It was too outrageous!

Too embarrassing!

“How… how can we do that?!”

Her voice trembled, and she instinctively wanted to refuse.

However, Sara’s words continued to circle in her mind like a devil’s whisper.

“Kurenai, do you have any other way? Are you really going to keep waiting like this until more women become his confidantes, or until you lose heart yourself? Sometimes, happiness is something you have to fight for yourself.”

“Kurenai, you don’t want to lose Chiya, do you?”

Yugito crossed her arms, feeling that the method was somewhat absurd, but she still nodded.

“It’s risky, but… perhaps this really is the most effective way to deal with Chiya.”

Pakura pondered for a moment before speaking softly.

“We’ll help you from outside… and keep him here.”

Kurenai’s heart pounded wildly as her mind became a battlefield between reason and emotion.

Her reason told her that this was too crazy, but her feelings grew like wild grass.

She thought of Chiya’s deep eyes, the rare and almost imperceptible gentleness he sometimes showed, and the persistence she had maintained for so many years.

A courage born from having no other choice, mixed with shyness and anticipation toward the unknown, suddenly surged within her.

She tightly gripped the corner of her clothes, her fingernails almost digging into her flesh.

In the end, she nodded heavily with a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz yet unmistakably clear, her face bright red.

“I… I’ll try…”

The plan was decided.

The four women gathered together and began quietly discussing every detail, creating an atmosphere that was both tense and strangely exciting.

…

When Chiya’s figure appeared at the edge of Loran Town’s barrier, Sara was already waiting there with a gentle smile.

“Chiya.”

Sara stepped forward and naturally took his arm.

“I sensed the barrier’s fluctuations, so I knew you had arrived.”

Chiya nodded and looked over the transparent barrier covering the town, which combined sealing techniques with Natural Energy barrier techniques, sensing the stable flow of energy within it.

“The barrier is operating very steadily. Thank you for your hard work, Sara.”

Sara smiled sweetly and led him toward the center of the town.

“Yugito and Pakura have missed you too.”

Sure enough, when they arrived at the town chief’s residence, Yugito and Pakura had already been waiting for a long time.

When Yugito saw Chiya, she tried to remain calm, but the flash of joy in her eyes could not escape him.

Pakura simply gave him an arrogant smile and handed him a cup of freshly brewed tea.

“Chiya, have you been very busy lately?”

Yugito asked, her tone carrying a trace of complaint that was difficult to notice.

Chiya accepted the tea and took a sip, feeling the fragrance of the tea and the warmth of the three women before him, and some of his exhaustion from the past few days seemed to disappear.

“Yes, I had to deal with some troublesome matters.”

He had originally planned to inspect the barrier and then return to Konoha to continue studying the Tenseigan, but when he saw the expectant looks in their eyes, he ultimately could not bring himself to say that he would leave soon.

“Stay tonight.”

Sara spoke softly, her eyes filled with hope.

“I’ll cook personally.”

Yugito and Pakura also looked at him.

Chiya remained silent for a moment before finally softening.

“Okay.”

Dinner was warm and harmonious.

Sara prepared a sumptuous meal, including quite a few local specialties from Loran.

Yugito and Pakura also relaxed for once, occasionally talking about interesting things that had happened in the town.

Chiya did not talk much, but his expression was relaxed.

Sara even opened a bottle of treasured wine and repeatedly urged him to drink.

Chiya did not think much of it and simply assumed they were happy, so he drank a few more cups.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the night was already deep.

Under Sara’s guidance, Chiya arrived at the master bedroom that had been reserved for him and was also the most comfortable bedroom in the town.

The room was elegantly and warmly decorated, carrying the faint fragrance unique to Sara.

“Rest first. We’ll go wash up.”

Sara spoke softly, exchanged a knowing glance with Yugito and Pakura, and then left with them.

Chiya took off his outer robe and lay on the soft, spacious bed without immediately falling asleep.

The alcohol had made him slightly tipsy, but his mind remained clear.

He rested his hands behind his head and looked at the hazy patterns on the ceiling, his thoughts once again drifting toward the moon base, the connection between the Tenseigan and the different type of energy, and that Era Tree.

Just as he was lost in thought, the bedding beside him made an extremely faint but unmistakable rustling sound.

The next moment, a body carrying the dampness of freshly bathed skin, slightly cool yet containing astonishing warmth within, slipped into his bed like a clumsy but determined fish and pressed tightly against his side.

Chiya instinctively reached out and grabbed it.

‘Hmm?’

The sensation was wrong!

Sara was softer, Yugito was more sensual, and Pakura was more slender and bony.

But this body…

It was even more slender, carrying the youthful tension of a girl, especially the long legs pressed tightly against his arm, which had astonishing elasticity.

Chiya instantly woke up, and all traces of drunkenness and wandering thoughts disappeared.

He did not even have time to think.

His body’s instinct moved faster than his consciousness, and the Body Flicker Technique activated.

Whoosh!

Chiya’s figure appeared beside the bed, and his finger precisely pressed the light switch on the wall.

“Click!”

The soft light instantly dispelled the darkness, illuminating the bed and the girl curled up beneath the blanket, revealing only a face flushed as red as blood, filled with panic and shyness, yet also carrying the excitement of someone who had decided to risk everything.

It was Kurenai.

She had clearly prepared carefully.

She was wearing an extremely revealing silk camisole nightdress, exposing her snow-white skin and long, beautiful legs beneath the light.

At this moment, she was slightly curled up from nervousness, making her look even more alluring.

The two stared directly at each other, and the air seemed to freeze.

Chiya looked at this embarrassing yet alluring scene, first in astonishment, but after recalling the three women’s unusual urging for him to drink during dinner and how they had left together so knowingly, he instantly understood.

So…

The seemingly warm family dinner tonight had actually been a trap jointly planned by the three women.

The purpose was to send Kurenai to his side.

“Kurenai…”

“You…”

Kurenai’s body trembled slightly beneath the blanket from extreme nervousness.

There was no turning back now.

She suddenly threw off the blanket, her cheeks red enough to almost drip blood.

Yet she bravely raised her head and looked directly into Chiya’s dark eyes.

“Lord Chiya!”

Her voice was slightly sharp from nervousness, but her words were extremely clear and filled with the determination to risk everything.

“I like you! I’ve liked you for a very, very long time! I know the way I did this was clumsy, stupid, and even… shameless! But… but I really had no other choice!”

Mist quickly filled her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.

“I’ve tried every method I could think of, but none of them could make you look at me even once… I know I’m not as good as Lady Tsunade, and I’m not as good as Sara and the others… But I just… I just want a chance, a chance to stand by your side!”

She took a deep breath as if using all the strength in her body before shouting.

“Tonight… please let me stay!!”

The bedroom fell silent, with only Kurenai’s hurried breathing remaining.

Chiya looked at her.

He looked at her chest rising and falling intensely from excitement and at the complicated expression on her flushed face, a mixture of embarrassment, courage, anticipation, and desperation.

He looked into her red eyes, which were usually lively and cunning when she used genjutsu, but now contained nothing but pure affection and pleading.

The girl’s flushed face surpassed every confession in the world.

He suddenly remembered that Kurenai seemed to have always been there.

She had been there when he was not yet Hokage, when he was fighting across the world, and when he was unifying the shinobi world.

She had always quietly stood in the distance and watched him in her own way.

He had not been completely unaware of that long-lasting and passionate affection.

He had simply chosen to ignore it.

Now, she had used this extreme method to lay her feelings completely bare before him, leaving him no way to avoid them.

With Chiya’s strength and state of mind, he could easily send her away and reprimand the three women for their foolish behavior.

But…

Looking at Kurenai’s shy and delicate appearance and feeling the deep affection with which she had risked everything, Chiya discovered that his heart, accustomed to calculation and control, had actually softened for once.

His world was filled with crises and challenges, but it also needed these warm and sincere emotions to fill it.

He slowly walked to the bedside.

He looked down at Kurenai, who nervously closed her eyes as he approached, her eyelashes trembling violently.

He reached out, but did not touch her, only gently brushing aside the long, night-black hair scattered across the pillow.

“Okay.”

He sighed softly, his voice carrying a trace of compromise and an almost imperceptible gentleness.

Upon hearing that word, Kurenai suddenly opened her eyes and looked at him in disbelief.

Chiya said nothing more.

He turned off the light, and the room fell into darkness once again.

…

Outside the window, Sara, Yugito, and Pakura had listened to everything and exchanged glances, their faces showing both relief and slightly mischievous smiles.

Sara quietly made a hand gesture, and the three women silently withdrew.

They left the intimate atmosphere of the room to the pair inside.

That night, even the moonlight over Loran Town seemed to be tinged with an ambiguous crimson hue.