"H-how could I possibly do that! And Aoba isn't that kind of person either!"
Uchiha Mikoto reflexively refuted.
But even she knew she was just fooling herself, because whenever she was alone with Aoba, she could often feel that the look he rested on her wasn't all that proper.
It was just that she didn't hate it. On the contrary, she actually felt a bit happy because of it.
"Do you even believe what you're saying?", Kushina looked at Uchiha Mikoto with a half-smile, as if she could see straight through all of her thoughts at a glance.
Uchiha Mikoto didn't dare lift her head to face Kushina's eyes at this moment. She stammered, unable to get a word out.
Kushina didn't keep teasing her. Instead, she directly wrapped an arm around Uchiha Mikoto's shoulder, leaned in close, and said softly, "Don't worry, Mikoto, I'll help you."
"When the time comes, with the two of us working together, I don't believe we still won't be able to take down one little brat!"
"This…", Uchiha Mikoto had no idea what to say. She kept feeling like there was something off about Kushina's words.
'Why does Kushina have to get a piece of the action too?'
She knew perfectly well that Kushina was just the type who enjoyed watching drama and never thought things were too big of a fuss, but since her secret had already been found out by Kushina, she could only temporarily go along with her wishes for now.
To tell the truth, she actually felt that the way she and Aoba got along right now was pretty good. Some things, she could handle on her own.
But if things could change a bit, seemed like that wouldn't be bad either.
"Mikoto, there's no time like the present, let's convene a strategy meeting on capturing Aoba right now!"
"Huh?", Uchiha Mikoto was completely confused, but Kushina was already pulling her and running toward the Uchiha compound.
———
"Brat, who did you go see this afternoon…", After a round of in-depth yet easy-to-understand exploration, Tsunade lay on Aoba's shoulder, her eyes sultry as silk.
Compared to the crashing waves from just now, this moment of warmth was actually Tsunade's favorite time.
The lingering afterglow, his pounding… heart, and each other's warmth could be felt completely and clearly.
Unlike before… When she was too busy begging for mercy, and her body felt as if it were being controlled by just her cerebellum or something.
Instinctively carrying out a certain kind of pursuit. That kind of feeling, once it was over, only left endless emptiness and exhaustion.
Completely unlike how it was now, where she could actually, with a clear mind, truly feel this happiest thing in the world.
"Why are you suddenly asking that?"
Aoba was a bit curious. Tsunade had never really cared about this sort of thing before.
"I just want to know, is that not allowed?"
Tsunade bit him lightly on the collarbone, leaving a faint tooth mark, and suddenly felt a warm current flow into her body again.
But she didn't have that many mundane desires anymore now.
Aoba didn't think too much about it and answered Tsunade's question honestly.
"Anko-nee and Isaribi."
He didn't hide Isaribi's matter either.
"Heh! Really are a busy man, huh."
Tsunade said in a mocking, yin-yang tone.
"…"
Aoba was a bit speechless. If he didn't say anything, she kept wanting to know. Once he said it, she started getting unhappy again.
So he simply stayed silent.
Then he gently stroked Tsunade's smooth back with his palm, slowly sliding down to the lower part of her waist.
His fingers gripped tightly.
He really liked this feeling of sinking in deep.
It was like being wrapped up in layer upon layer of soft cotton.
But Tsunade's expression didn't change much. Clearly she was already used to it, "When are you planning to bring them over to the Senju compound? And also that queen from Roran."
"In a while. They still prefer the way things are between us now."
Aoba said helplessly.
Anko was purely in "let it all go" mode, while Seramu was a queen with a pretty strong sense of career.
Before she finished training Sara into a queen who could handle things on her own, she didn't want to leave Roran.
"I see…"
Tsunade didn't say anything more. The atmosphere in the living room suddenly quieted down.
But Aoba's big hand was still gripping.
Tsunade also seemed quite comfortable.
"Sensei, want to go take a bath together?"
Aoba suddenly asked.
"I don't want to move right now."
Tsunade answered weakly. She was completely limp and powerless at the moment, she didn't want to move at all.
"It's fine, I can help Sensei wash."
Aoba was more than happy to do this favor for Tsunade.
But Tsunade just rolled her eyes at him. With one glance she could see through his filthy little thoughts.
"No need, I'll go wash myself later. There's something else I want to ask you."
"Alright."
Aoba was a little disappointed, "What does Sensei want to ask?"
Tsunade's expression became serious again.
"Brat, let me ask you, do you know of a way to bring Kushina and Rin completely back to life?"
"Hm?"
Aoba was stunned for a moment. He truly had never thought about fully resurrecting the two of them, because he'd always felt that Tsunade would definitely be against it.
After all, she was already extremely against Impure World Reincarnation.
He just hadn't expected her to bring it up on her own now.
"Sensei, you want to bring them completely back to life?"
Tsunade's expression instantly became a bit conflicted.
At first she hadn't had this idea. But over this last year of living together, often seeing that disappointed look on Kushina's face when she saw them eating normally, she couldn't help feeling a little moved.
After all, they were the little sisters who had followed behind her since they were kids.
It was just that, if they really brought the dead back to life—
"If there isn't a way, just pretend I never asked."
Tsunade still chose to run away.
But Aoba's words made her jump in shock.
"There is, and there are two ways."
"What?"
Tsunade's eyes widened at once.
Aoba had already begun explaining.
"First, there's the Rinnegan. Uchiha Madara wanted to use that to resurrect himself. The Rinnegan's wielder can train a jutsu that resurrects others, except this jutsu requires consuming the user's life force."
"What about the next one?"
Tsunade immediately rejected this method.
"The second is a ninjutsu developed by Granny Chiyo of Sunagakure, called One's Own Life Reincarnation."
Aoba said. He remembered that in the original story Chiyo had used this jutsu to trade her life for Gaara's.
"The caster can completely convert their own chakra into the target's life force and heal someone on the verge of death, and it can also be used on someone who has already died. When it's used on the dead, you need to additionally convert chakra into a vessel for the target's soul."
"This is more or less a life for a life too, but this one can be used by controlling someone else through genjutsu."
"I didn't think Chiyo would actually be able to develop a forbidden jutsu on this level," Tsunade muttered under her breath.
"Sensei, if you want to resurrect Kushina-nee and the others, we can bring it up to Granny Chiyo. She probably wouldn't refuse us."
Aoba added, then fell silent, waiting for her answer.
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