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After a day of training, Shin rubbed his stomach. He was hungry.
“Let’s call it a day. I’m starving.”
He announced to the girls, who were sprawled on the ground, exhausted.
“No wonder you’re so strong. You have endless stamina,” Tsunade said, panting.
She was exhausted. They had been training intensely for half a day, following Shin’s lead, and they were worn out. Shin, however, seemed perfectly fine.
“Don’t compare yourselves to me. I have an advantage,” Shin said.
The regenerative ability of his Perfect Sage Body was incredible. Unless the training was excessively intense, he wouldn’t feel tired. He was like a perpetual motion machine.
As they were about to head back, they saw a figure approaching in the distance.
“It’s Nawaki.”
Shin’s eyesight was excellent; he recognized Nawaki from afar.
“Shin! Sis! There you are!”
Nawaki approached with a cheerful grin, as if he had just won the lottery.
“Nawaki, you seem happy. Did you find some money?” Shin asked.
“No, but I earned some! And quite a bit, too! I’m treating you all to dinner today!”
Nawaki announced excitedly. He seemed genuinely happy.
But Tsunade, Kushina, and Mikoto all took a step back. Even Shin instinctively moved away.
“Nawaki, why do you stink?” Tsunade asked, wrinkling her nose.
“Stink? Do I?” Nawaki sniffed himself, but he couldn’t smell anything.
It wasn’t that his sense of smell was faulty; he was simply used to it. He had been exposed to foul odors all day.
“Nawaki, did you fall into a latrine?” Kushina asked suspiciously, taking another step back.
“No, I was just shoveling manure all afternoon.”
As soon as he said that, Tsunade, Kushina, and Mikoto retreated even further. Even Shin moved away.
“Nawaki, are you crazy? Why were you shoveling manure?” Shin asked, incredulous.
“I didn’t want to! But Orochimaru-sensei took a mission to clean up a farm, and that included shoveling manure. What could I do?”
Nawaki said with a grimace. He didn’t want to fail his first mission, so he endured the unpleasant task. And the reward was generous for a D-rank mission, comparable to a C-rank.
Shin looked at Nawaki with sympathy. Orochimaru had certainly chosen an interesting mission.
“I earned a lot, so I wanted to celebrate. Yakiniku, on me!” Nawaki declared grandly.
Tsunade’s face darkened.
“Nawaki, couldn’t you have at least taken a bath and changed clothes before coming here? You’re not here to treat us; you’re here to disgust us.”
Nawaki was bewildered. He was offering to treat them to Yakiniku; why were they reacting like this?
But with the stench emanating from him, no one had any appetite. Even Shin, who had been hungry, felt his stomach churn.
“Shin, why are they looking at me like that?”
Nawaki didn’t understand the murderous glares he was receiving.
Shin shook his head. “Let’s do this another time, Nawaki. We’re not up for it today.”
Shin rejected his offer. Nawaki was both disappointed and relieved. Disappointed that they weren’t accepting his offer, but relieved that he got to keep his money.
Nawaki left, dejected, chased away by Tsunade.
“Orochimaru has no shame, taking a mission like that. Only he would do such a thing,” Tsunade grumbled.
“Are we still having dinner? I’ve lost my appetite,” Kushina said.
“Of course we’re eating. We’ll starve if we don’t.”
Shin wasn’t going to let a little smell ruin his dinner.
Food was important, especially for training. Even with his Perfect Sage Body, he needed to eat.
In the end, only Shin ate dinner that night. Kushina and the others had no appetite.
“Mikoto, you’re living here now. Won’t the Uchiha Clan say anything?” Shin asked.
Mikoto shook her head.
“I’m practically invisible in the Uchiha Clan. No one will say anything.”
Mikoto might be pretty, but in the world of Shinobi, beauty wasn’t everything. Her quiet personality made her blend in.
“Don’t worry, no one will say anything about my student,” Tsunade said confidently.
Shin rolled his eyes. She made it sound like she was some kind of big shot.
“Hey, brat, are you looking down on me?”
Tsunade caught his expression and glared at him.
“Haha, you’re mistaken. I was just thinking how amazing you are,” Shin said, trying to appease her.
“Amazing? Shin is way more amazing than you!” Kushina declared.
Shin glared at Kushina. Was she trying to get him in trouble?
“Kushina, do you want to taste my fist?” Tsunade threatened.
“What are you going to do?”
Kushina hid behind Shin, glaring at Tsunade.
“Come here, I’ll punch you so hard, you’ll be crying in bed,” Tsunade taunted.
“Threatening me? You think you’re so great? Give me three years, and I’ll surpass you!” Kushina retorted.
Shin’s lips twitched. Was Kushina challenging Tsunade to a duel in three years?
But even in three years, Kushina wouldn’t be a match for Tsunade.
Unless she became the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and could perfectly control its power, defeating Tsunade within three years was impossible.
But Kushina couldn’t become the Jinchūriki now. The position was already filled.
And even if she did become the Jinchūriki, controlling the Nine-Tails’ power was no easy feat.
“Heh, fine. I’ll be waiting. But that doesn’t mean I can’t beat you up now.”
Tsunade hadn’t given up on teaching Kushina a lesson. She approached Kushina with a mischievous grin.
“Shin, help!”
Kushina was scared of that grin. She clung to Shin.
“Even Shin can’t help you now. I’m going to teach you some manners, little girl.”
Tsunade reached for Kushina.
“Come on, Tsunade, why are you bullying Kushina? She’s still weak. There’s no satisfaction in that,” Shin said, stopping her.
“Hmph, I knew you’d protect her.” Tsunade let Kushina go, giving Shin face.
Kushina bit Shin’s arm lightly. What did he mean by “she’s still weak?” That was insulting!
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