After staying in the north and south chambers of commerce in the tea country for about a week, the last group set off for the land of fire in the little girl's nostalgia for this trip.

It would be a few days before the Mashu family's chamber of commerce in the north of the Tea Country would travel to Konoha Village, passing through a relatively prosperous inland city on the way, and it would be the last city for the group to stay for more than three days during this long-term trip of half a year.

The group left Konoha in early spring, but it was already early autumn. Although the maple leaves are not yet completely red, there are already many trees with a light yellow color on the edges of the leavesHue.

The yellow-green handover is very good-looking.

After a little rectification in the hotel provided by the Chamber of Commerce, under the persuasion of Veneto, Zhou Jian Min finally stopped entrusting the little girl to Itachi, but took the little girl to walk around the street in the company of others.

Although it is not a ninja village, the city is also very prosperous, and it can be said that it is not inferior to Konoha Village.

The central part of the road was paved with paved light grey masonry, which was not needed and could not have been paved except for the frequent attempts of horse-drawn carriages; There are also many types of shops on both sides of the road, in addition to the indispensable teahouses and inns, there are also a variety of confectionery shops, pharmacies, and even jewelry.

The little girl has seen a lot of the world with Zhou Jianwen in the past half a year, but when she sees such a lively and prosperous city, she still can't take her eyes off it.

Seeing that Sakura Haruno's eyes were already fixed on a dim sum shop, Zhou Jian Min and his own ship girls glanced at each other, and then showed a knowing smile to each other.

"I'm a little tired after walking around for so long," Zhou Jianwen said suddenly, and in the little girl's somewhat worried gaze, she looked at the dim sum shop she had been staring at before, "Why don't we go to that shop and sit down."

Since Zhou Jianwen, the only one in the group who can call the shots, said so, naturally no one will jump out to oppose it - and the little girl herself didn't notice that her mind had already been discovered by others.

Autumn is a dry climate, even in the southern part of the Fire Country, which is also a coastal country in the Tea Country, let alone in the inland region.

The little girl ordered a bowl of red bean ball soup that she didn't seem to be tired of, and ordered a plate of pastries at the recommendation of the clerk. As for the others, whether it was the ship's mother who was a subordinate of Zhou Jian Min, or Kakashi and Itachi who were just doing escort work, they were indeed not polite after Zhou Jian Wen said "You're welcome".

Anyway, the big guys have been getting along day and night for more than half a year, and it has long passed the time period when they can pretend to be polite.

Watching the little girl who already likes sweets and Uchiha Itachi eating with relish--it can even be said to be happy, and the girls of their own ships are not too restrained in this relaxed environment, and Zhou Jian Min, who has long been tired of eating these snacks in the corpse soul world for a hundred years, suddenly feels that this is not bad.

Zhou Jianwen, who was not in good health and was basically unable to drink cool green tea in the autumn, ordered a pot of osmanthus flower tea, and smelled the unique aroma of osmanthus that spread along with the mist of water, and Zhou Jianwen suddenly felt that his mood was much better.

"I remember that there were still a few osmanthus trees planted at home, and in previous years, I had always instructed my family to collect and make sugar osmanthus flowers," seeing that the little girl seemed to like this aroma too, Zhou Jianwen also poured a cup of flower tea for her, and then said, "This time, I also asked Fusang to pay attention to collect some before going out." ”

"When I get back, I'll use that sugar osmanthus to make snacks for Sakura."

Zhou Jian Wen herself is actually not very good at making Japanese confectionery - even if she once tried to make it because she was idle and bored in the hundred years of the Corpse Soul Realm, but the result was ...... Let's not talk about it.

However, Chinese dim sum is different, although Zhou Jianwen only made it a few times when they were still at the command post, at first it was taught to her by Yi Xian and Ying Rui, and later it was made by herself from beginning to end when the two of them only watched and did not speak.

As for the effect...... It's not that she is boasting, even if she can't be a commander in the future, she can make a fortune with this craft.

Hearing Zhou Jian Wen say that she wanted to make snacks for herself, the little girl's eyes immediately lit up, and she nodded heavily, she was still a little lingering in the world outside Konoha Village, but she suddenly wanted to go back at this moment.

Probably seeing the little girl's eagerness for home, or pastries to be exact, Zhou Jian Wen shook her head a little amusedly, and then she found that the people around her, whether they were ship girls or ninjas, showed similar expressions.

"Snacks," Zhou Jianwen stretched out his finger and lightly touched the little girl's forehead, and his tone was as much spoiled as he wanted, "Don't think about eating." ”

The little girl subconsciously raised her hand to cover her forehead, which had no red marks at all, and then looked at Zhou Jianwen with blinking eyes quite innocently, and was about to say something to defend herself, but the next second her eyes came into contact with a rather familiar figure outside the window.

Then subconsciously "eh" out loud.

Zhou Jianwen thought that she had hurt the little girl—although she didn't use force, she was a little unsure when the little girl shouted like this—even if her fingertips didn't use force, her nails might have scratched the little girl's skin.

Thinking like this, Zhou Jianwen looked at the little girl in front of her a little nervously, "Did it hurt you?" ”

However, the little girl didn't know Zhou Jianwen's worries, and her eyes were still glued to the figure outside the window, until Zhou Jianwen also noticed that something was wrong and wanted to look out of the window, and then said in a voice as soft as her own image:

"Mr. Bailan?"

Long before the little girl spoke, Zhou Jianwen had already realized that her low voice might not be because of her previous behavior, but that "Mr. Bailan" also made Zhou Jianwen a little distracted for a moment.

Not to mention Funakami, the others, including Kakashi and Itachi, also turned their eyes out of the window after the little girl spoke—

Then they saw a certain big man in Konoha who really shouldn't be here, wearing a blue kimono, wearing a linen-colored coat, and looking at him no matter how you look at itMessy white hair...... I hang around the window of the shop.

After hearing the little girl's greeting, the man, who didn't know if he had noticed their presence early on, immediately raised his head to look at them, and then showed a bright smile and waved at them through the open window.

To be precise, he waved his hand at the silent Zhou Jianwen.

Looking at the man's smile as bright as in the past, Zhou Jianwen, who had not seen him for more than half a year, pursed his lips tightly and did not speak, and his eyes moved to the side after staring at Bai Lan for a few seconds.

As soon as he saw Zhou Jianwen look away, the smile that Bai Lan had still on his face immediately collapsed.

Due to the relationship between Zhou Jian Wen and Bai Lan with his back to everyone, the others could only see Bai Lan's suddenly collapsed smile standing outside the window, but the ship girls who had been watching Zhou Jian Wen and Bai Lan's relationship for many years also immediately turned their heads to look at their own commander after seeing Bai Lan's reaction.

In fact, let's not say it's the ship's mother, even Kakashi and Itachi, who don't know how Shujian Min and Shirana usually get along, can actually see who the change in the expression of this Hakuran-sama, who has a pivotal position in Konoha, is for.

Even in the entire Konoha Village, there are not many people who can affect this person's emotional changes, and among them, only Zhou Jian Min has such qualifications.

But judging from Zhou Jianwen's reaction......

Kakashi and Itachi suddenly remembered the strange reaction of Sakura Haruno when she mentioned Shiran, at the beginning of the trip.

- Could it be that there is really some unknown discord between these two?

It's probably because the object of gossip is too special, even if it's sullen...... No, homemade people like Kakashi and Itachi couldn't restrain it all at once.

The two of them quickly sorted out their expressions and returned to their usual posture as Bai Lan left the window and prepared to walk inside, but their eyes still wandered back and forth on Bai Lan after she walked into the room and sat down next to Zhou Jian Min.

Although it seems to others that there has been a dislike, but in such a situation, Zhou Jian Wen and Bai Lan can still pretend that they haven't noticed anything.

One drank osmanthus tea in silence, while the other, after very naturally picking up a cup and pouring himself a cup of tea, asked the clerk for a few more snacks.

Naturally, he knew how strong the preference for sweets was for someone who forcibly squeezed into his side - even if his own daughter and Uchiha Itachi combined, it was estimated that he would not be able to match him in this regard, but the problem was ......

"I can't hold you to death," snorted unceremoniously, facing Bai Lan, who was forced in, she didn't have the slightest tenderness in the face of the little girl.

"Don't say that, Jianwen."

As if regaining confidence from Fang Cai's frustration, the regrouped Bai Lan regained his smiling appearance in front of people's impressions, and then continued with a smile at Zhou Jianwen, who didn't know if he was really unhappy about his arrival:

"I came here to see you, so you can't show a happier look."

Deliberately these two words sounded a little wrong, and Zhou Jianwen, who was keenly aware of this question, frowned slightly, but he quickly figured out Bai Lan's source - this is eight out of tenNine was what Watergate told him.

According to the rules of Konoha Village, ninjas who travel outside the village must communicate with the Hokage on a regular basis. Although Zhou Jian Wen has long since withdrawn from the ninja membership, for one reason or another, he still maintains a certain amount of contact with the water gate during this journey.

Therefore, Bo Feng Shuimen naturally knew that their group would return to the village in the near future and that she would stay in the city for the next two days.

As long as Bo Feng Shui Men has a heart, then it is basically equivalent to Bai Lan knowing.

Zhou Jianwen didn't show much surprise when he knew how the other party knew that he had come to this city, but it didn't make Bai Lan feel any further frustrated - Zhou Jianwen's mind was clearer than anyone present, if not in this world.

If Zhou Jianwen couldn't figure out how he got the news, then Bai Lan would find it strange.

"So," Zhou Jianwen put down the teacup in his hand that was almost empty, and after slowly refilling himself with a cup of tea, he glanced at Bai Lan on the side, "Is there something wrong with running over on purpose?" ”

Bai Lan didn't care if there were other people here, and who those others were, she said directly to Zhou Jianwen, "I miss you." ”

"We haven't seen each other for more than half a year, and we finally got the news of you in Jianwen, so I hurriedly ran to find you," Bai Lan winked at Zhou Jianwen, but she didn't make the cute gesture of the little girl in Zhou Jianwen's eyes, or even how to look at it......

It's all like having bad intentions.

Fearless of Zhou Jianwen's coldness, Bai Lan seemed to have been used to it for a long time, and continued to ask, "Jianwen, do you miss me?" ”

“…… If you think you want to think about it, you think about it," as if he couldn't stand someone's stalking, Zhou Jian Wen sighed softly, then glanced at some people next to him who were pretending to be drinking tea and eating snacks, and finally looked at Bai Lan again.

"I remember there's a shrine around here," Funakami continued, looking directly into the purple eyes of the white orchid vine, after a pause, "it just so happens that you're here too, so let's go over and have a look." ”

Knowing that Zhou Jianwen was going to talk to himself in private, Bai Lan's expression suddenly became a little subtle in the eyes of others.

The curvature of his mouth hadn't changed in any way, but his eyes narrowed slightly, and even the smile that had been quite bright had become a little elusive - neither Kakashi nor Itachi could tell if Hakuran was more happy at the moment, or if he was playing some kind of ghost idea.

"Hmm...... Since Jian Wen has said so, how can I excuse myself? After about half a minute, Bai Lan, who still maintained that strange smiling face, suddenly spoke, "But Jianwen, you don't mind if I bring some snacks with me, right?" ”

Zhou Jianwen glanced at the dim sum on the table, which was half ordered by Bai Lan, and nodded after an eerie silence for a few seconds, "You are free." ”

Calling the clerk to pack up and pay the bill, while Zhou Jian Min was busy telling the clerk what needed to be taken away and which could be stayed, he also looked at the other people who had gone out with him, "Veneto and I are enough, as for Sakura, I'll trouble you." ”

No matter where Zhou Jian Wen goes, he must bring Veneto, who is a secretary ship, with him, not to mention the ship's mother, even Kakashi and Itachi, who have only been with them for half a year, are very clear - in fact, every time Zhou Jian Wen enters and leaves the Hokage Building in recent years, there is always Veneto's presence by his side.

Even if it was a private discussion with Bo Feng Shuimen, Veneto never left Zhou Jianwen's side.

The child is the most keen, and Sakura Haruno, who felt the abnormal atmosphere between Zhou Jian Wen and Bai Lan, frowned, and then pulled Zhou Jian Wen's sleeve with some concern, "Lord Jian Wen......"

Sakura Haruno, who has been raised by Zhoujian Min's side since she was a child, is the person who knows most about Zhoujian Min's private relationship with Bai Lan in addition to the ship's mother.

Although she has heard others mention more than once how close the relationship between Zhou Jianwen and Bai Lan is, after all, seeing is believing, and the little girl has always felt that although her Lord Jian Wen and Bai Lan are close, but at the same time, intimacy always reveals some strangeness that she can't say.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Zhou Jian Wen reached out and rubbed the little girl's hair, comforting the little girl in a soft voice that had never been shown in front of Bai Lan, and then looked at Kakashi and Itachi, who had never expressed any opinion from beginning to end, and then said again:

"Sakura, please, you can wander the streets again, and we'll meet at the hotel at the end of the day. If there's anything you can talk to Kaga Akagi, they'll come and contact me. ”

The people of the Zhenzhou family have a special way of communicating, which is no secret in the past six months of getting along - mainly because Zhou Jianwen did not deliberately hide them.

As for Kakashi and Itachi, they didn't rudely ask what this method of communication was, the bloodline boundary and the secret art of the clan can't be easily passed on, and even asking is quite a powerful thing, which is common sense in the ninja world.

Although there are other means to replace them, those are still a minority.

After instructing the two young ninjas who had been with them for more than half a year, Funakami finally looked at Akagi and Kaga.

Although she didn't say anything more this time, for the two ship girls who have been with Zhou Jianwen for many years, Zhou Jianwen didn't need any words, just a look, and they could understand it.

Coincidentally, they nodded to Zhou Jian Wen to signal her to rest assured, Akagi and Kaga quietly glanced at Bai Lan on the side, and at this moment, the other party was carrying a few packets of snacks wrapped in oil paper, and then smiled innocently at Zhou Jian Wen.

"Let's go," Zhou Jianwen, who had long been resistant to Bai Lan's smile, nodded, and then left the dim sum shop with Veneto, who had already gotten up.

Bailan lifted her foot and was about to follow, but then she seemed to remember something again, and then turned her head and gave Kakashi and Itachi who had been pretending to be wooden people from beginning to end with a strange smile.

"In the past six months, Jian Wen has the protection of Lao Er."

It's still Hakulan's signature smile, still the sweet voice and slightly flirtatious tone, but it makes Kakashi Hachiki and Itachi Uchiha, who are also well-informed and old-fashioned, break out in a cold sweat.

Obviously, the other party was just saying words of thanks, and it was clear that the other party didn't exude any murderous aura and malice towards them, but it still made Kakashi Hachiki once again experience the uneasiness and ...... when he confronted the masked man in the country of birds

An indescribable sense of trembling.

He didn't have a lot of contact with Bai Lan, and the only few contacts he had were because of the relationship between his teacher, the fourth generation Hokage, but he never thought about this "root" who seemed to be smiling all the time and didn't seem to be serious, but he was never ambiguous in business......

There is such a side.

Could this be the real Bailan? Or did he have some other purpose?

Kakashi, who was suppressed by the momentum exuded by the other party, was a little glad that he had been wearing a mask all year round, he opened his mouth slightly, and finally let out a slightly dry voice, "Hakuran-sama is polite, this is our task." ”

"Yes, mission ......" Bai Lan sighed meaningfully, then nodded with a grin, "Then the mission is hard, two." ”

According to the relationship between Shiran and Minu Funakami, the words he said successively should be very ordinary, just words of personal gratitude, but in the ears of Kakashi Hachiki and Uchiha Itachi, they were mixed with a dangerous aura.

Just as Kakashi, who was a little older and the captain of the two-person operation, was about to say something, a soft voice that belonged to a young girl suddenly interjected:

“…… Mr. Bai Lan," the little girl who was originally drinking the second bowl of red bean ball soup put down the spoon in her hand, and then raised her head and said to Bai Lan, who was already looking at her, "If you don't go out again, I'm afraid Lord Jian Wen will really be angry." ”

Bai Lan, who was still wondering how Sakura Haruno could speak at this time, was stunned for a moment, and then after hearing her mention Zhou Jian Min, she subconsciously turned her head to look at the door with her eyes and words......

Then, he met the cold gaze of Zhou Jianwen with a cold face.

If Bai Lan really asked Bai Lan to pick a suitable adjective to describe Zhou Jianwen's gaze at this moment, then there were only two descriptions he could give:

Either that, Zhou Jianwen's gaze made him feel like he had been frozen by the deathless Zero Point Breakthrough - Original version of some old enemy Mr. Or maybe it's Zhou Jianwen's gaze comparable to his use of swastika by his subordinate Hibangu Winter Shilang in the Corpse Soul Realm back then.

"Oh, that's really distressing," Bai Lan sighed with a wry smile, though his wry smile didn't seem real to everyone.

"Thank you for the reminder, Sakura," Bai Lan felt her body almost be shot by the cold gaze of Zhou Jian MinOut of the two holes, he was about to reach out and rub the little girl's hair like Zhou Jianwen, but the next second his movements froze in place.

Not just because of Zhou Jianwen's gaze, but also because of Veneto, who had already come to his side while he was saying those words.

"Mr. Bran," said Veneto, who did not call him by his first name in front of the others, but used a slightly more respectful address, "said Mistress Kanwen, and if you don't go there again, then you won't need to appear in front of her in the future. ”

Veneto truthfully relayed Zhou Jianwen's words, and also succeeded in causing Bai Lan's body to stiffen.

Then everyone looked at Bai Lan, who was still releasing a strange aura to them for unknown reasons just now, and rushed to Zhou Jianwen's side at a speed that was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye, as if he had used the Flying Thunder God, and then said to Zhou Jianwen with a smile:

"Let's go, Jianwen."