At the entrance of the Snow Shadow House, Hyuga Kaze hesitated for a moment, then simply stepped forward and opened the door himself, inviting Uchiha Izumi to enter.

"Quan, what are you standing there for? Come in. Don't worry, they're all very easy to get along with. You've met them so many times before, just think of it as making friends further, it's fine."

Hearing Hyuga Kaze's words, Uchiha Izumi couldn't help but roll her eyes. How could things be the same before and now? She really wanted to complain, "Lord Yukage, your tone now is exactly the same as when you lied to me and said it wasn't pungent at all!"

However, the current situation left Izumi in no mood to refute or complain. Looking at the open door, Izumi slowly moved her feet and followed.

Seeing this, Hinata Kaze smiled and took the lead to enter. Izumi followed closely behind, head bowed, looking like a submissive little wife.

Izumi cautiously followed Hyuga Kaze into the house, but they didn't see anyone even upstairs. All the bedrooms were empty; Kurenai and Anko weren't there. After searching around, they finally found the little girl, Uchiha Hikari, in the living room.

She was lounging on the sofa watching a movie, a popsicle dangling from her mouth, looking quite content.

But the smear of white, creamy cream on the corner of her mouth made Izumi lower her head again after just one glance, as if she had something similar on the corner of her mouth before.

"Why are you the only one home? Where are Tsunade and Kurenai?"

"Woo"

Satisfied, Uchiha bald head swallowed the last bite of cream in his mouth, watching the movie without turning his head, lazily responding to Hyuga Kaze.

"They went to the Land of Snow. Apparently, someone from Konoha infiltrated the caravan and entered the Land of Snow. They made their way around and ended up in the capital. They seem to know that big-breasted woman and managed to contact Tsunade through the casino. Anko and Kurenai probably know them too, so they decided to go together in the end."

So you left me here to let me tell you something.

Don't worry, Kurenai and the others took your special kunai with them; they'll call for your help if they're in danger. Also, according to Tsunade, the information she received indicates that those people weren't representing Konoha, but rather their own clans.

"Oh, I see. Do you know which families came, and who they are?"

In fact, Hyuga Kaze already had some guesses about who was coming. There aren't many families in Konoha that have the wisdom to escape the quagmire and the ability to implement it.

Slumped back, he patted his belly contentedly and tried hard to recall what he had just done.

"I heard from Kurenai Yuhi that her name was something like Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, or Yamanaka Ino."

......

In the backyard of a casino in the capital of the Land of Snow, Tsunade, Kurenai, and the others had already met up with Nara Shikaku and his group.

"It's been a long time, Lady Tsunade, and also Jonin Kurenai and Anko-san."

Even though he was meeting with ninjas from other villages in a foreign land behind his own village's back, and some of them had already been declared rogue ninjas, Nara Shikaku remained calm and composed.

"So it was Shikaku and Inoichi."

When Tsunade first met Nara Shikaku and the others, she was somewhat excited, but her enthusiasm soon turned to dissatisfaction.

"Are even your clans going to abandon Konoha?"

"It's hard to say who will abandon whom first."

Nara Shikaku let out a helpless sigh and explained, "Ever since you, Fifth Hokage, disappeared, Hiruzen Sarutobi has returned to power. Under the pretext of protecting Konoha, they have intensified their exploitation of the various clans. In less than three years, they have taken nearly 50 people from the Ino-Shika-Cho clan alone!"

Even so, they still wouldn't let go; they even wanted to completely drain us dry.

Nara Shikaku looked like he had no other choice.

“Even though our families are willing to serve Konoha, we cannot gamble our family’s survival on Hiruzen Sarutobi’s conscience. Besides, Konoha has long since deviated from the original intentions of the First Hokage when it was founded, and has been completely distorted into a tool for the profit of the Sarutobi, Shimura and other families.”

Seemingly harboring deep resentment towards Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, Nara Shikaku showed no embarrassment at betraying his former master, addressing him by name without any politeness.

After a pause, Nara Shikaku continued:

"Actually, for the sake of the clan's survival, we can tolerate being exploited even the most. But the more crucial point is that the ninja world is currently in turmoil, and those idiots like Hiruzen Sarutobi probably don't have the ability to protect Konoha Village."

To be honest, we've been in the Land of Snow for a few days now. Although it's a bit cold here, the overall environment is still quite nice.

After learning that you were in Yukinin Village, we felt much more at ease. Our biggest concern, regarding military strength, was completely put to rest after witnessing a breathtaking battle recently.

Compared to Konoha, Yukigami Village is probably our best choice.

Tsunade opened her mouth, then closed it again. She couldn't refute Nara Shikaku's words; she had witnessed firsthand how the living conditions of the residents of the Land of Snow had gradually improved and how their entertainment had become more abundant.

Left with no other choice, Tsunade pulled out a bottle of sake and chugged it down.

"You guys don't know much about Hinata Kaze either, aren't you afraid of misjudging him?"

Nara Shikaku maintained a calm expression. "This was our choice. If anything goes wrong, it just proves our judgment was flawed. Wouldn't it be better to let a newcomer take over?"

"What a disappointment!"

Seemingly provoked by Nara's resolute attitude, Tsunade sadly put down the sake bottle.

This wine tastes good, but it doesn't get you drunk. Ever since her physical condition improved, she hasn't felt drunk no matter how much she drinks!

Tsunade couldn't help but reminisce about the near-fainting feeling she had experienced recently while practicing taijutsu with Hyuga Kaze after getting slightly tipsy. Although it was very uncomfortable at the time, and she even started talking nonsense, at least she forgot all her troubles.

Even though she was deeply hurt by Sarutobi, and initially resolutely abandoned Konoha to help Yukigami train medical ninjas, Tsunade's heart has gradually softened over the years of seclusion.

No matter what, it was the foundation established by her grandfather. Now that Konoha is about to fall apart, how could Tsunade not feel melancholy?

A quick glance caught sight of Yamanaka Inoichi beside her, and the little girl standing in front of Kurenai and the others. Tsunade's lips twitched involuntarily. With her vast experience, how could Tsunade not understand what Nara Shikaku and the others were up to when they defected to another ninja village with a young and beautiful girl?

"You guys really went to great lengths to join the Snow Village."

Tsunade's sarcastic words contained a hint of barely perceptible embarrassment and annoyance. This little girl was clearly a junior member of the Nara or Yamanaka clan. If she followed Hyuga Kaze, how would her seniority be determined?