Probably due to exhaustion from days of constant traveling, Nawaki drifted off without noticing.
After an unknown amount of time, he heard soft footsteps approaching, followed quickly by a familiar voice.
"Uncle, Uncle."
"Senior, Senior."
A teenage boy and girl leaned over him and gently shook him awake.
"Why aren't you sleeping? Why come here?"
Nawaki half-opened his eyes, looking at Ginji and Aoi Tsukigami before him. He mused that their family hierarchy was a bit of a mess.
"Couldn't sleep, so we came to play with you."
The two excited kids didn't want to disturb their companions' sleep, so they went straight to Nawaki instead.
"If you two don't sleep, why should I bother?"
Nawaki glared at them, annoyed, but still lazily sat up halfway.
"Uncle, something fun happened today."
"The old man came to pick us up, and he had a smile on his face."
"But somehow I just felt like his emotions were off."
"Did you anger him or something? Hehe~"
Ginji kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the bed, with Aoi Tsukigami immediately sitting beside him.
Both sets of eyes were fixed on Nawaki, watching him like he was about to spill some juicy gossip.
"What kind of talk is that? Do I look like the kind of guy who disrespects elders or neglects the young?"
"I just wanted to learn some ninjutsu from him as a junior."
Nawaki explained very seriously, showing no hint of inappropriate intentions.
"Senior, you truly are something else."
"The [Light and Heavy Rock Jutsu] originally belonged to Uncle Kawaki, yet you still want to learn it from him."
Aoi Tsukigami couldn't help laughing out loud, clearly implying Nawaki was taking advantage of an opportunity.
"How can you speak like that to your uncle?"
Little Ginji gave Aoi Tsukigami a stern lecture while maintaining a serious face, and Nawaki couldn't help but feel warmth inside.
Blood runs thicker than water—nephews always have your back.
"You're not meeting him for the first day either."
Ginji's next sentence left Nawaki feeling ice creep into his heart.
"Hahaha~"
Aoi Tsukigami finally couldn't hold back anymore, doubled over laughing.
"You little bastards, don't ever expect anything good from me again."
Nawaki raised his hand and gave each one a light slap, as if trying to prove he still had some bite.
"Oh come on, Uncle, don't be mad!"
"It was our mistake."
Ginji covered his head while apologizing quickly—a well-practiced family tradition.
"Exactly, exactly."
Aoi Tsukigami pouted cutely, making Nawaki break character completely.
"Alright you two, neither of you are good kids."
Looking at the two clever troublemakers before him, even if Nawaki had been genuinely angry, he was already cooled off by now.
"Senior, I heard from Uncle Kawaki that the Third Raikage is extremely powerful."
"You better not go risking yourself unnecessarily."
Aoi Tsukigami's concern for Nawaki was genuine; she knew exactly what kind of person Nawaki was. Coming over tonight was also partly to remind him to stay cautious.
"As if I need you to tell me that."
"Do you think I'd risk my life for something that isn't even my own business?"
Nawaki rolled his eyes helplessly. Did he really need a reminder from this little girl?
But deep down, he felt warm!
"Uncle, just follow that old guy and learn more skills."
"I'll just follow behind you and have some soup leftovers."
Ginji showed remarkable generosity, showing no greed at all.
As the heir to Wood Release, his talent in Earth Release surpassed even Nawaki's.
"Stick to plain water, not broth."
"That was you laughing at me earlier, right?"
Nawaki poked Ginji on the forehead. No wonder this kid was his brother-in-law's son—always sniffing out every little gain.
"Hehe~"
Ginji smirked playfully and arched an eyebrow, causing Aoi Tsukigami to scowl in disgust and edge away.
"This place isn't like it was under Minato. Watch yourself out there on the battlefield."
"Treat it as training—don't go charging in headfirst all the time."
"And don't go beyond my sight."
"Got it?"
Once the teasing was done, Nawaki got serious with his instructions.
Setting aside personal ties, these kids were Konoha's rising stars.
If anything happened under his watch, he'd have no idea how to explain it back home.
What kind of rotten assignment had his brother-in-law handed him?
"Understood, promise to keep that in mind."
Ginji and Aoi Tsukigami both readily agreed. They were still young, but far from irresponsible.
"That'll do. For now, the situation remains unclear."
"After tomorrow's meeting, I'll give things more thought."
Nawaki didn't treat them entirely like kids, sharing a bit of intel.
"Okay."
Ginji and Aoi Tsukigami nodded without saying much more.
"Go rest now, I'm tired."
Nawaki waved off the two annoyances.
"Good night, senior."
Watching them leave, Nawaki allowed himself a faint smile.
"Those two little brats."
Shaking his head, Nawaki lay back down, beginning to grasp how his brother-in-law must've felt guiding us kids back then.
The night passed peacefully, and the sun rose softly in the east.
After a restful sleep, Nawaki and the other Konoha ninjas shared breakfast and returned indoors to await Iwagakure's response.
It wasn't long before Iwagakure messengers arrived to summon Nawaki to the conference.
Accompanied by an Iwagakure guide, Nawaki arrived alone at today's conference hall.
As he entered, he found everyone already gathered, save for one empty seat.
"Greetings, everyone. I am Senju Nawaki from Konoha."
Meeting their gazes, Nawaki introduced himself plainly and without hesitation, then took the empty seat beside Ōnoki.
Oh…
Like Naruto: Start with Pursuing Tsunade. Please collect it: (m.
"Now then, everyone is here."
"On behalf of the Land of Earth, allow me to first express gratitude for Konoha's assistance."
Ōnoki opened with some polite words, aiming to ease tensions among his subordinates.
It wasn't only Konoha that bore hatred toward Iwagakure—the feeling was mutual.
"Since Nawaki-kun isn't yet familiar with our current situation, summarizing recent battles today will be quite appropriate."
"Kazuko."
Ōnoki called a name, and a man of average build stood up promptly.
He was the new intelligence chief, who'd succeeded Nakano Daisuke.
"Since the Cloud invasion began, we've clashed five times."
"The first time we clashed, our Five-Tailed Jinchūriki Han was killed under an ambush by the Third Raikage's son and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki."
"Having lost a high-end combat power, we've been at a disadvantage in all subsequent clashes."
Nawaki listened to Kamechi's report with complete indifference. However, the two Cloud Ninja who had taken down the Five-Tailed Jinchūriki caught his attention.
As for the matter of an ambush or not, Nawaki pretended not to hear. He'd been to meetings filled with this kind of self-serving flattery before.
The Five-Tailed Jinchūriki had fought against his sister and brother-in-law at least—Nawaki knew Han's strength wasn't something to scoff at.
"..."
"Under Tsuchikage-sama's wise leadership, we're still holding our own against the Cloud Ninja."
Kazuko finally tossed in a compliment—it was clear why he was seen as a suitable successor.
After hearing everything, Nawaki couldn't help but scoff inwardly. If you were really holding your own so well against the Cloud Village, why come begging to Konoha for help?
Although there had been flattery involved, Kazuko hadn't sugarcoated the state of the battlefield either.
Sifting through the fluff, Nawaki summarized things clearly in his mind within just a few sentences.
Iwagakure lacked high-end combat power—every clash ended in defeat, and they desperately needed someone capable to step up.
Thinking this far, Nawaki gained clearer understanding of his role here—and felt even more confident about getting Ōnoki to cover the costs.
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