Yakushi Nono's agreement did not surprise Aoba.
"As for when you start work, once you've arranged everything at the orphanage, come over as soon as possible. The Hokage Building might be completely overwhelmed in a couple of days."
Samui and Mabui were still around for these two days. Once the handover was almost done and they headed to Kumogakure, the pressure would truly hit.
"I understand. I'll make the arrangements as quickly as I can."
Yakushi Nono nodded, then continued, "Does Hokage-sama have any other plans after this? If you have time, why not stay for dinner tonight and try my cooking?"
"Hmm? Director Nono's cooking?"
Aoba was a little surprised. After all, there were not many female ninja who could cook.
But thinking about it, it made sense. Yakushi Nono was not an ordinary ninja.
Seeing his surprise, Yakushi Nono smiled and explained, "In the past, I once went undercover as a chef in the residence of a noble who loved fine food. So I'm fairly confident in my cooking skills."
"You can handle the hall and the kitchen. Director Nono might even become a good wife and mother someday."
Aoba felt like Yakushi Nono had a lot of buffs on her.
He did not know if it was because she had been taking care of children for so long, but the maternal aura around her felt stronger than even Uchiha Mikoto or Kushina, who were already real mothers.
'What is this supposed to be?'
'A virgin mom?'
Of course, Yakushi Nono had no idea what wild thoughts were running through Aoba's mind while he looked so serious on the outside.
Hearing him say she could become a good wife and mother only made her feel even more strange.
'Is he hinting at something?'
"Would Hokage-sama like to try it? I'll go have someone prepare the ingredients right away."
"No need to trouble yourself."
Although Aoba really wanted to try it, he still chose to refuse, "I still have other matters to deal with later. I'll come back another time to taste Director Nono's cooking."
A trace of disappointment appeared on Yakushi Nono's face, "If that's the case, I won't keep Hokage-sama any longer."
———
Aoba did not stay long at the orphanage.
But by the time he left, because it was evening, the sun had already begun to set.
The surroundings were filled with the atmosphere of dusk. The originally snow covered Konoha, under the slanting sunlight, had turned golden, coated in a dazzling layer of light.
Aoba briefly sensed the Flying Thunder God marks on Hinata and the others and found that they were still together.
So he directly used Flying Thunder God to teleport over.
When he arrived, he realized that Uchiha Hikari and Fu were there as well.
Both of them were now living at his house, so it was normal for them to come out and hang out together.
"Aoba (kun)?"
When the girls noticed Aoba's sudden appearance, they were all clearly surprised.
Only Uchiha Hikari glanced up at him, then continued stuffing dumplings into her mouth.
"Aoba-nii, how come you have time to come see us today?"
Karin was the first who wanted to pounce on him, but Tenten and Sakura on both sides immediately pressed her down, making her sit properly in her seat.
"For a busy man like you to take time out to see us, it must be something important, right?", After holding Karin down, Tenten immediately guessed the purpose of his visit.
"That's harsh. Can't I come see you even if there's nothing important?"
Aoba smiled, then sat down in the empty seat next to Tenten and naturally took her hand.
Sakura and Ino could only sigh inwardly in regret. They were sitting in the middle, close together, and there were no empty seats beside them.
As for Temari on the other side, she did not feel that way at all, because every night she could already have much closer contact with him.
Tenten rolled her eyes at him, "We're not little girls anymore. We know you must be very busy during this period. We're not going to get mad just because you don't have time to hang out with us."
Back when they were six or seven, they might throw little tantrums if he was busy training and did not play with them. Now they would not.
"Ahem! It is something important…"
Aoba gave an awkward laugh, but as he spoke, his voice trailed off.
Because seeing the speed at which Uchiha Hikari was devouring dumplings truly shocked him.
This was even more exaggerated than Anko back then. The skewers piled up in front of her were enough to start a ninja duel.
He could not help but remind her.
"If you eat too many dumplings, you'll gain weight easily."
"Hmm?", Uchiha Hikari's hand reaching for the next skewer paused, unsure whether she should keep eating.
"He's just scaring you. It's not like you eat like this all the time. Once in a while won't matter," Kurotsuchi shot Aoba a glare for ruining the mood, then handed another skewer to Uchiha Hikari.
"And today's my treat. Hikari, eat as much as you want."
"Really?", Uchiha Hikari still asked.
"Really. And look at Hinata, has she gotten fat?", Kurotsuchi even used a real example.
Uchiha Hikari turned to look at Hinata, who she thought had a very nice personality.
"Kurotsuchi!"
Noticing the gaze, Hinata immediately blushed and called out softly in embarrassment, clearly unhappy about being used as an example.
But Uchiha Hikari had already accepted the dumpling and started eating again.
Because she remembered that at noon, Hinata had eaten several big bowls of rice.
She had not even eaten half as much as that, so she definitely would not get fat.
Hinata's face turned red, and the others could not help laughing.
Aoba was the same.
But he knew Hinata was just gifted. Everything she ate went to the right places.
"By the way, I heard you're about to become Tsuchikage. Congratulations. Your wish is finally coming true."
As if remembering something, Aoba turned to Kurotsuchi.
Kurotsuchi pressed her lips together and stared at him, "Did you do something to my grandfather and the others? Otherwise they wouldn't change their attitude so fast and suddenly tell me to go back and inherit the Tsuchikage position."
"Well… maybe you should ask your grandfather after you go back."
Aoba did not say it outright. He could not exactly tell her that her grandfather was probably scared out of his wits and decided to pledge loyalty to Konoha.
If it were just the two of them alone, being blunt would be fine. But with so many sisters around, Kurotsuchi had her pride too.
"…"
Kurotsuchi seemed to understand from his reaction. She gave him another look and did not say anything further.
Ino, who had been quiet, looked around and asked, "So Aoba, what important matter did you come to talk about?"
"Mm, it's like this…"
This time Aoba did not beat around the bush and directly explained the intern matter.
"If we become these interns, will we be able to see you every day?"
Sakura immediately asked what the others were all thinking.
"Well… not necessarily. There are still quite a few matters over at the Fire Capital."
Aoba did not dare promise too much.
"I see…"
Sakura and the others' excitement dropped a little.
The atmosphere quieted for a moment.
"So, what do you think? Are you willing?"
Aoba asked again, squeezing Tenten's slender hand beside him.
They were all his girlfriends. He believed they would agree, but it would probably come with some conditions.
He did not dare take it lightly. This might be a project worth several hundred million.
"Well…"
Tenten did not answer directly. After exchanging glances with the others, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
"Aoba, tell us first, are you free tonight?"
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