Frontier Town.
Garden.
Konan held a fiery red rose in her hand.
But her expression carried a trace of resentment as she looked at Bai Ye's hands.
A dozen roses, yet in the end, she only got one—one she had to buy from Bai Ye.
The naive Konan had assumed that after seeing him purchase flowers from the little girl, Bai Ye would naturally offer her one in a gentlemanly gesture.
But she quickly realized Uchiha Bai Ye had no such intention.
Instead, when he noticed her staring at the flowers, he simply assumed she wanted one too—and sold it to her at a discount.
A straight man of steel?
Clueless about how to please a woman?
Konan frowned slightly, confused.
What kind of man was this?
Powerful.
Confident.
Arrogant to an extreme.
And wasn't he… kind of cool?
She was beautiful, and if she could truly conquer him, she believed she would be able to enjoy herself more than anyone else.
Does this man like women who are a little wilder?
If I had known, I would have put in my lip studs today.
Konan mused silently.
As for Bai Ye's thoughts?
Hah.
You are Konan, and you expect me to give you flowers?
The hair accessory he had given her before was nothing more than a trade—an exchange for the paper crane.
At the hot spring hotel, weren't the women who doted on him already sweet enough?
If anything, the flowers should be for them.
Did Konan really think that just because a little girl called her his 'girlfriend,' she had somehow become Uchiha Bai Ye's real girlfriend?
I'm not your father. Why should I indulge you?
Just like the conversation Konan had deliberately brought up earlier.
She had spoken about the living conditions of smaller nations caught in the crossfire of the great nations and voiced her dissatisfaction with the imbalance of power.
This was, after all, the original purpose of the Akatsuki organization—to unite and force the five great nations to acknowledge them, to negotiate peace so that war would not constantly erupt in their homelands.
A grand ideal.
If one had enough strength, it might even be possible.
Even Nagato, to this day, followed a similar philosophy.
But what did any of this have to do with Uchiha Bai Ye?
Small nations suffering in the wars of great nations?
That's how it's always been.
If not for their use as buffer zones, did some people truly believe these smaller nations would still exist?
Did anyone genuinely think that a small ninja village from a minor country could ever stand against the Five Great Villages?
And as for the effects of war?
Big brother, the Land of Hot Water is barely a day's journey from the Land of Fire, and many villages welcome foreigners.
If life becomes unlivable, move.
Who is forcing anyone to stay?
Even in the Land of Rain, Bai Ye was willing to bet that nine out of ten people were sick of the constant downpour and held no deep affection for their homeland.
And yet, here I am trying to relax, and she's bringing up politics?
Is she sick?
Bai Ye rolled his eyes, too lazy to continue this conversation with Konan.
The affairs of nations had nothing to do with him.
He just needed to be a good captain of his own guard.
Perhaps one day in the future, when his Guard expanded to become the Ninja World Guard, he would have to care.
And with his methods, the Five Great Nations and the minor ones would all disappear—becoming simply, the Ninja World.
One people. One order.
Perhaps for the first few decades, due to generational hatred, peace would require an iron fist to enforce.
But in ten or twenty years, those who lived through war would be gone.
Who would care about old grudges then?
Peace was inevitable with time.
The real reason the Shinobi World remained fractured was simple:
It lacked a ruler powerful enough to suppress everything and bring about true unity.
Had Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama joined forces, it could have happened.
But Hashirama, too deeply influenced by Asura's Chakra, refused to cooperate with Madara, squandering the opportunity.
People.
They take themselves too seriously.
Some were not meant to be saviors, yet they burdened themselves with a savior's worries.
---
Bai Ye sighed deeply, stood up, and left Konan behind with a casual wave.
With his beautiful wives and concubines waiting for him, he had no time to waste in debates.
When he returned to the hot spring hotel, the scene that greeted him left him speechless.
As the Captain of the Guard, naturally, the entire hotel had been reserved.
Now, in the spacious hall, Tsunade was arrogantly leading a gambling ring, grumbling at the sticky note on her forehead.
Beside her, Kushina and Mikoto were fully engaged in the game.
Even Yuugao, once known as the cold and aloof kunoichi, had seemingly unlocked a new side to herself, her golden eyes gleaming as she focused on the game.
Only Kurenai reacted differently—seeing Bai Ye enter, she immediately clung to his arm, acting sweet and affectionate.
Bai Ye knew exactly what she was doing.
As more and more women joined his household, Kurenai—who had no powerful background or innate bloodline—felt a sense of crisis.
But Bai Ye was not one for empty words of reassurance.
His actions would prove everything over time.
His gaze then shifted to the most ridiculous sight of all.
Kaguya.
Or rather, a certain rabbit.
Apparently, after spending the day at the beach, Kaguya had gotten used to being handled by Yugito Nii.
So much so that the jinchūriki had taken it upon herself to cuddle the so-called Rabbit Goddess freely.
And now, everyone had started asking her for tips on how to hold Kaguya.
Kaguya was stunned.
She was the Rabbit Goddess, not some common pet!
But Yugito, ever straightforward, simply explained that it might have something to do with her being a Jinchūriki.
This left Tsunade and the others helpless.
At this point, aside from serving Bai Ye, Yugito had acquired another duty—
Providing a 'proper' living environment for the Chakra Ancestor.
…A glorified pet caretaker?
Even though Kaguya's spirit form clearly had no need for bodily functions, Bai Ye still found the sight absurd.
"Don't spoil her too much."
Bai Ye handed Kurenai the bouquet, instructing her to distribute the flowers to the other women before walking toward Yugito.
"She's just a rabbit. She's not more important than you."
Yugito blinked, her heart warming at his words.
Then, without warning, she blushed and planted a quick kiss on Bai Ye's cheek.
Dog men and women.
Kaguya, glaring at them, twitched her nose in frustration.
Did they forget she was the Rabbit Goddess?!
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