Chapter 258: Karin, Do You Want to Be My Wife?
On this day, Akiyama Makoto's house was surprisingly quiet.
The girls had all returned to their respective homes. At a time like this, they naturally needed to be with their families.
As for Anko, Kurenai, and Yūgao, they were also busy with various tasks and would likely only return late at night to sleep.
It was only because Makoto had already performed such a huge service, coupled with the fact that he wasn't a Konoha ninja, that he could return home to rest so openly.
"Family Head!"
Karin rushed over, her eyes slightly red, clearly having been crying.
He smiled and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Were you worried about me?"
Karin nodded, admitting it without hesitation.
With Tenten and the others as examples, and after what had happened today, she no longer wanted to suppress her feelings for him.
Then, as if remembering something, she quickly pulled down her collar. "Family Head, please restore your chakra."
"Okay."
He lowered his head and bit down directly. This was her concern for him, and he naturally wouldn't refuse.
As his chakra rapidly replenished, she let out a soft moan and collapsed into his arms.
He carried her to the sofa and sat down, contemplating what to do next.
Although he had killed one White Zetsu, he knew very well that more White Zetsu would come to visit his house.
To prevent this, he decided to reinforce the sealing jutsu on his house and also transfer important items to the Land of Waves.
Because there, he could set up seals and secret bases without restraint, building a fortress of steel and concrete that even White Zetsu couldn't enter.
Furthermore, he had no interest in participating in the intrigues of Konoha. The only thing he was concerned about was the fate of Temari and her brothers. He wondered if Naruto had successfully Talk-no-Jutsu'd Gaara.
Of course, although he had no intention of fighting for power in Konoha, he still needed to point out a clear path for Hiashi Hyūga, Yamanaka Inoichi, and the others, finding them sufficiently weighty positions in the new Hokage's team.
He didn't need to worry too much about the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, but advancing the Hyūga clan further would be somewhat difficult.
Because Konoha would also worry that the Hyūga clan might become too powerful and eventually rebel like the Uchiha.
But one thing was certain: as long as Tsunade was in power and he was alive, such a thing would not happen.
It wasn't that he would make Hiashi strictly restrain the Hyūga clan, but rather... the Hyūga ninja were so useful, why did they have to stay cooped up in Konoha?
If Konoha couldn't provide enough jobs, wouldn't it be great for him to take the Hyūga ninja to work in the Land of Waves?
The next thing he had to pay attention to was Tsunade.
Although Konoha had been turned upside down, judging from the original story, she wouldn't know about the attack on Konoha for another month or two.
This wasn't surprising, as she went to great lengths to avoid being tracked by Konoha ninja and didn't want to say a word to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
If no one bothered her for a month or two, she would just think her counter-tracking work had been excellent recently.
So where should he start...
As he was pondering, a small head popped into the room.
He looked at the person in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Moegi looked a little embarrassed. She lowered her head and said shyly, "My family's bathhouse was destroyed... Grandma said she doesn't want to run the bathhouse anymore."
"Then we met Sister Karin, and she invited us to stay here temporarily. Um, Big Brother, please don't blame Sister Karin. She just felt sorry for us."
Moegi eagerly put in a good word for Karin, afraid that he would be angry at her for making decisions on her own.
Karin also woke up at this time—she had actually woken up a while ago, but she was enjoying his embrace and pretending to still be asleep.
Now she sat up straight, looking at him uneasily, also worried that he would be angry.
But he wrapped his arm around her waist and gently nibbled her ear. "You still haven't gotten used to your identity. You are now Akiyama Karin, a member of this family."
"Although you can't decide my affairs for me, as one of the mistresses of the house, exercising some authority and spending some money is completely fine. You don't need to worry about me getting angry anymore, understand?"
Karin's face turned crimson the moment he bit her, and his subsequent words made a dazzled look appear on her face.
Although he had told her from the beginning that she could take the surname Akiyama and was a member of this family...
However, judging from the fact that she called him "Master" (or similar respectful titles), she saw herself as a servant.
But it turned out he saw her as a woman—then... then she would have to start dressing up properly from today on!
"Heehee, Sister Karin is so lucky! Looks like I worried for nothing!"
Moegi let out a long breath, then put on the smile he was familiar with. "Big Brother, I'm hungry. Can we eat now?"
"Don't worry, Grandma and I won't stay for free. Leave the housework to us from now on!"
He had wanted to refuse, but then he thought of something.
With the growth of the Akiyama family, there really did need to be someone to manage all the domestic affairs. Letting the girls around him do this would be a waste of resources.
After all, they would all be powerful ninja in the future. Even if they were willing to do such things, that should be after everything had settled down.
However, Moegi's grandmother seemed to be a very good choice.
On one hand, she had enough experience dealing with people. Not just anyone could run such a large bathhouse alone.
On the other hand, he knew her background well. Even in the simulation with Moegi, he had a good impression of her.
Of course, he wouldn't make Moegi's grandmother do all the housework; that would be too hard on her.
He would hire her as a housekeeper, and then let her arrange for some trustworthy people to come and do the housework, just like when she ran the Kazematsuri Bathhouse.
At this thought, the way he looked at Moegi changed, his eyes lighting up.
Moegi froze, subconsciously crossing her arms over her chest, her cheeks flushing slightly. "What's with that look? I'm not going to throw myself at you like Sister Karin!"
"I'm still young! Don't go too far!"
"You're young now, but you'll grow up eventually, won't you?"
"What will you think after you grow up?"
He casually teased her. Moegi turned her head away shyly. "We'll talk about grown-up things when I'm grown up! Right now, I definitely won't agree!"
He shrugged. "Where is your grandmother? Take me to see her. Is the old lady frightened?"
Moegi looked at him in surprise. "How did you know?"
"Knowing her, if she was staying at our house, she would definitely come out to greet and thank me immediately, not let you come out and joke around."
"Alright, take me to her."
Moegi's eyes reddened. Her gaze towards him was filled with gratitude and trust. She nodded heavily, then rushed up, grabbed his hand, and led him to the guest room.
He then examined Kazematsuri Matsugu in the guest room. It turned out that the old lady's old injuries had relapsed due to her age. An old injury in her lungs was causing her to have a low fever.
In the simulation with Moegi, he had casually healed Matsugu's injuries, but he hadn't done so in reality yet. Now was a good opportunity.
He then treated all of her injuries.
In a short while, the old lady sat up, hale and hearty, and contributed one simulation attempt to him.
"Thank you, my lord. Moegi and I don't know how to repay you."
Although Matsugu was feeling much better, the pressure of reality still made it hard for her to breathe.
Moegi was still a few years away from graduating from the Academy and being able to stand on her own. Now that the two of them didn't even have a place to live, the money they had saved naturally couldn't be used to rebuild the bathhouse; it had to support their lives.
He comforted her for a few moments, then didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his intentions.
Matsugu agreed with a look of surprise and joy, and even pulled Moegi to her side, telling her to call him "Lord."
Moegi looked blank and was about to bow her head when he flicked her forehead.
"We'll each use our own forms of address. Moegi can just call me 'Big Brother'. Or let Moegi choose herself. Would you rather call me Big Brother or Lord?"
Moegi said matter-of-factly, "Big Brother, of course! You don't have the airs of a 'Lord' anyway."
Matsugu looked at her granddaughter helplessly, clearly having seen through her future.
But... maybe this is a good thing. At least I won't have to worry about no one taking care of Moegi if I don't wake up one day.
"See? I'll just be Moegi's Big Brother."
He patted Moegi's head, and she smiled happily.
Then he looked at Matsugu. "Madam Kazematsuri, since we're acquaintances, I won't stand on ceremony."
"Here is one million Ryō for you to use. Supplies in Konoha might be a bit tight right now, so prioritize everyone's daily needs. Later, you can ask them if they have any special needs. As long as the amount isn't huge, you don't need to ask for my opinion."
"As for how long this one million Ryō lasts, there's no set number. When it's used up, just give me the accounts. We're running a trial now; the detailed rules can be slowly established in the future."
Matsugu immediately nodded and accepted it. She knew his character, and knew that he was wealthy now, and more importantly, extremely strong.
Besides the Sannin Jiraiya, there was probably no one in Konoha who was his match.
Having become the housekeeper of the Akiyama family, she naturally had to show her professional attitude, to secure a bright enough future for her granddaughter.
It was just a pity that Moegi was still young and foolishly pulling on him, saying she was hungry. It could only be said that the ignorant are fearless—or perhaps, this was precisely Moegi's good fortune?
Looking at her granddaughter's innocent appearance, Matsugu stood up. Today, she was going to show off her cooking skills.
"Delicious!"
Karin put down her bowl and chopsticks with satisfaction, then looked at him, seeming to have something to say.
Seeing this, he also put down his bowl and chopsticks. After encouraging Matsugu with a few words, he took Karin to the courtyard.
"Do you have something to say?"
Karin's face suddenly turned red. She hid her fingers behind her back, twisting them together. Seeing his smiling face, she mustered up her courage. "Um... can you take a bath with me today?"
"Eh—"
He was slightly taken aback, then understood. "You want the True Spirit Seal?"
Karin nodded quickly. "Um... Master, I want to become stronger too."
"I talked to everyone and found out that the Uzumaki clan has naturally strong chakra. If I become stronger, I can definitely help you."
"So... please give me the True Spirit Seal? I promise to be absolutely loyal to you!"
He sighed softly. "It's not a question of loyalty. My True Spirit Seal is only for my future wives."
"Do you want to be my wife?"
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