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After traveling for half a month, Shin, Kushina, and Mikoto returned to the Land of Whirlpools.
The situation in the war had changed. The Third Raikage’s death had greatly impacted Kumo.
This was good news for Konoha, but terrible news for Kumo. Their pillar of support was gone.
A, the Third Raikage’s son—had vowed revenge on Shin. Shin had heard the news, but he didn’t care.
A didn’t have the strength to challenge him. Even at his peak, A wasn’t that impressive in Shin’s eyes. He wasn’t even as strong as his father.
Of course, that was in the original story. Perhaps things would be different now. Maybe A would train harder to avenge his father and surpass his original strength.
But even if he did, he wouldn’t be able to defeat Shin.
Kumo couldn’t target Konoha for now. The Third Raikage’s death had caused internal conflict. A, who had just become the Fourth Raikage, had to withdraw and deal with the problems within the village.
Konoha had benefited greatly. All they had to pay was a billion ryō.
On the Land of Rain battlefield, things were also looking up for Konoha. Minato Namikaze was turning the tide with his Flying Thunder God Technique.
He could easily kill Jōnin, and no one could stop him.
And in their fight against Kirigakure, the Uchiha Clan was finally able to unleash their full power. The situation was improving for Konoha.
———
“You’re back early.”
Tsunade said when she saw Shin, Kushina, and Mikoto.
Shin could sense resentment in her voice. She was angry.
“The Third Raikage wasn’t easy to deal with. It took some time,” Shin said with a chuckle.
“Shin-nii, the Third Raikage died half a month ago,” Konan said.
“….”
“Hmph, you were out having fun for half a month. You must have forgotten about us,”
Kushina poked Shin. That was a terrible excuse.
Mikoto looked embarrassed. If Shin hadn’t said they should return, they would still be out there having fun.
Mei Terumī watched them, enjoying the drama. She even giggled at Shin’s awkwardness.
Shin glanced at Mei Terumī. She had grown bolder. She even dared to laugh at him now.
He decided to ignore her for now and focus on appeasing Tsunade and Konan. It took a lot of effort to calm them down.
Tsunade regretted not going with them. She should have gone instead of researching Wood Release.
“By the way, Danzō sent someone to deliver this.”
Tsunade placed 900 million Ryō before Shin. “Why did Danzō send this much money?” She asked curiously.
“We killed the Third Raikage and earned some extra money from Danzō. We made a total of 1.5 billion ryō this time,” Shin said with a smile.
Kushina had already collected the reward from the black market. They had originally planned to give the Third Raikage’s body to the black market as proof of his death.
But Shin didn’t give it to them, and they didn’t complain. As long as they confirmed the Third Raikage was dead, it was fine. They didn’t dare to anger the Reaper of the Shinobi World.
“I earned all this money!” Kushina’s eyes were practically sparkling.
“Shin was the one who killed the Third Raikage, not you. So technically, Shin earned the money,” Mikoto said.
“Shin only delivered the final blow. The Raikage was already on his last breath. And even if Shin earned it, it’s still mine.” Kushina put the money away.
“Mei, I want to check on your training. Come with me,” Shin said, glancing at Mei. He hadn’t forgotten her laughing at him earlier. He would use this opportunity to punish her.
Mei’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at Shin’s expressionless face and gulped.
“Let’s go.”
Shin didn’t give her a chance to refuse.
“Konan, I think I’m in trouble,” Mei said, her face pale.
“It’s because you were laughing at him earlier. Shin-nii can be petty sometimes,” Konan whispered.
“Did I just hear someone call me petty? Did I mishear?” Shin suddenly popped his head back in, looking at Konan.
“No, Shin-nii! You must have misheard!” Konan blushed, embarrassed. She hadn’t expected him to hear her.
“Fine, I’ll let it slide this time.”
Konan breathed a sigh of relief.
“Mei, what are you waiting for? Come on!”
Mei Terumī had no choice but to follow Shin. She hoped he wouldn’t be too harsh on her, considering she was a beautiful girl.
———
At the training grounds, Shin didn’t actually punish her. He just tested her strength.
“You’ve improved, but not much,” Shin said, looking at Mei.
“I feel like I’ve gotten a lot stronger,” Mei muttered.
She was satisfied with her progress, which was far faster than before, thanks to Shin’s guidance.
“Really? I don’t see it. You’re still as weak as before.”
Mei was indignant. Weak?
“That’s so mean!” She thought her strength was outstanding for her age.
“How old are you?” Shin asked.
Mei Terumī was stunned. “I just turned sixteen.”
“Why are you asking? Are you trying to gather intel on me so you can pursue me?”
Thwack!
Shin flicked her forehead.
“You’re overthinking it. Your imagination is quite impressive, though.”
Mei Terumī rubbed her forehead, pouting. Why did he hit her? It wasn’t gentlemanly at all.
She wasn’t the mature woman she would become in the future. She was still a sixteen-year-old girl.
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