"See? I told you there was nothing to worry about with Aoshi here." At that moment, Honoka squeezed her way through the crowd.
She leaned against Aoshi and affectionately hugged his arm.
More than two years had passed.
She had grown even more graceful. Bright eyes, white teeth, and long red hair—her smile was sweet and adorable.
Yet, feeling the softness pressed against his arm, Aoshi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
As expected, not everyone could compare to Tsunade.
She was the greatest in Aoshi's harem. Her presence alone could overwhelm everyone else.
Even big-sister Mikoto fell a little short in comparison.
Of course, that didn't mean Aoshi favored Tsunade or neglected the others. He treated everyone equally.
"Alright, you may go in and see Minato, but don't disturb his rest," Aoshi said.
"Thank you for your trouble." Mai and the two Jonin bowed gratefully to him.
Then they entered the treatment room and saw Minato wrapped from head to toe in bandages.
But with Aoshi's assurance, their worries eased—they knew Minato was already out of danger.
All he needed now was quiet recuperation.
Mai walked to Minato's bedside and gently tucked in his blanket.
She called softly, "Minato?"
Minato slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Mai, a look of apology appeared on his face.
"Sorry, Mai… for making you worry."
Mai shook her head, signaling that it was fine.
"We're the ones who dragged you down this time. We're sorry, Minato," the two Jonin apologized together.
But Minato smiled faintly and said, "I chose to do it myself. You don't need to apologize."
The more he said that, the heavier the guilt weighed on them.
Meanwhile, after giving his instructions, Aoshi led Honoka back to his office.
With no patients to attend to for the moment, he closed the door and sat down, pulling her into his arms.
Then, as her cheeks flushed, he leaned in and kissed her first.
It wasn't their first time. After all, they had been together for two years already.
But inside Konoha Hospital, it was Honoka's first experience.
For a moment, nervousness and excitement surged together in her heart. So she didn't resist—she responded to Aoshi just as eagerly.
They only parted when both were slightly out of breath.
If the place had been suitable, Aoshi would have taken Honoka straight to the final round.
But when his gaze fell on the fair, jade-like feet of the barefoot red-haired girl, another idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.
He had to admit—compared to his previous life, this ninja world filled with extraordinary powers was far better.
A girl like Honoka could walk barefoot every day without losing any of her beauty.
At most, her feet would gather a little dust. A simple Water Release ninjutsu would wash it all away in an instant.
Sensing Aoshi's gaze lingering on her feet, Honoka asked curiously, "Is something wrong?"
She had always been this straightforward.
"Nothing strange at all," Aoshi replied calmly. As he spoke, he lifted Honoka and set her down on the office desk.
Her perfect jade-like feet rested right against him.
Then he told her what he had in mind.
After hearing it, Honoka's face instantly turned bright red.
She never expected Aoshi to come up with such an idea.
So she instinctively refused.
"No way."
"Absolutely not!"
She had never done anything like that before—it was far beyond her imagination.
She simply couldn't accept it.
Seeing Honoka shake her head repeatedly, Aoshi didn't want to miss this chance.
"Everything needs to be tried at least once. I'll teach you."
Under his persistent persuasion, Honoka finally gave in.
"Alright then… but I've never done this before."
"It's actually very simple," Aoshi said.
Under his guidance, Honoka looked half-understanding at first.
But as a ninja—and a Chunin at that—she learned quickly and soon grasped the technique.
Aoshi praised her again and again. Hearing that, Honoka's face lit up with a bright, happy smile.
After a while, there was a knock on the door.
At the same time, a nurse's voice came from outside.
"Doctor Aoshi, a patient has just been brought in. You're needed immediately."
"Alright, understood. I'll be right there," Aoshi replied at once.
"Then I won't disturb your work." Her face still flushed, Honoka hurried out of Aoshi's office.
She looked as though she were fleeing in disarray. "Just now, I must have been bewitched… How could I agree to do something like that?"
Watching her rush away, Aoshi smiled indulgently. The little minx was actually shy.
After finding Mai in Minato's ward, Honoka left Konoha Hospital with her.
As for the two Jonin, they had already departed earlier.
"Honoka, you head back to the Senju Clan Compound. I'm going to buy some nutritious food to cook for Minato," Mai said outside the hospital.
Honoka could only nod. "Alright, I'll head back first."
When she returned alone to the Senju Clan Compound, Kushina immediately came over to her. "Well? Is he okay?"
She didn't care that much about Minato—she simply didn't want anything to make Mai sad.
In the current ninja world, her clansmen were becoming fewer and fewer. So she cherished every single one of them.
"Don't worry. With Aoshi around, of course, everything's fine," Honoka replied.
"Good, good." Kushina finally let out a breath of relief, then sighed again.
"Sigh… who knows when I'll be allowed to go out freely."
Because of her severe rampage in the past, Sarutobi Hiruzen now kept Kushina under much stricter supervision.
And even with the method Aoshi had proposed to ease her relationship with the Nine-Tails, hatred built up over so many years couldn't be erased so easily.
The Nine-Tails' attitude toward Kushina had improved, but true trust and understanding were still far away.
In other words, Kushina had yet to fully master the Nine-Tails' power.
Under these circumstances, the Hokage would naturally not allow her to move about freely.
However, since nothing serious had happened for more than two years, Kushina no longer had to stay confined inside the Senju Clan Compound all day.
She could now move around Konoha within certain limits.
Only places like Konoha Hospital—crowded or critically important—remained off-limits.
Previously, Kushina had complained to Aoshi about this.
All he could say was that, after all, she wasn't the so-called Child of Prophecy. And he himself didn't really believe in such things anyway.
Even so, Aoshi had no better solution. After all, he had never been a Jinchuriki himself.
"No need to rush. Compared to two years ago, things are already much better," Honoka said softly, trying to comfort her.
"Just like Aoshi always says—so long as you keep trying, you'll succeed sooner or later."