"Th…thank you!"
Isaribi was somewhat overwhelmed by the favor; she hadn't expected that this Hokage would be not only easy to talk to but also such a good person.
"This can also count as Konoha's compensation to you."
Tsunade waved her hand, "You two can leave for now; Aoba, you stay."
"Yes!"
Anko bowed slightly to Tsunade, winked at Aoba, then pulled Isaribi away.
———
"Isaribi, I'll take you to buy some daily necessities first, then we'll head home," Outside the Hokage building, Anko proposed.
"Mm? Okay," Isaribi was a bit stunned.
Anko waved her hand in front of her, "Why do you seem a little absent-minded?"
Isaribi came to and said embarrassedly, "I just didn't expect the Hokage to so readily agree to let me live in Konoha."
She'd heard that the great ninja villages usually have very strict screening; she had been quite nervous before.
"That's because Aoba is here."
Anko explained, "Also, you didn't know, right? Aoba is Tsunade-sama's disciple, he'll probably become the next Hokage before long."
"Eh?"
Isaribi exclaimed; she hadn't expected Aoba to have such an identity.
Anko patted her shoulder and said boldly, "So, we've got big backing in Konoha, we can walk around with confidence!"
———
After Anko and Isaribi left, the atmosphere in the office fell into silence.
Tsunade had Aoba stay behind alone, but she didn't say anything, just sat there staring at the desk.
Aoba noticed the silence; Tsunade glared at him, then showed a helpless expression.
"Teacher, I brought you a gift this time I returned."
Aoba took the initiative to speak.
"A gift?"
Tsunade raised her head; a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, "Show me."
Aoba produced a rolled scroll, unrolled it, then took out two exquisite paper boxes and handed them to Tsunade and Shizune.
"What's inside these?", Shizune took the paper box and, unable to hide her curiosity, asked.
"Kimonos," Aoba answered forthrightly.
"Kimonos?", Tsunade and Shizune both shuddered at the same time.
They opened the boxes and, indeed, kimonos were inside.
Their expressions turned complicated as they exchanged a glance.
'Could this mischievous kid be intentionally trying to make things obvious?'
"You did that on purpose?", Tsunade asked, frowning.
"Ah?", Aoba looked puzzled.
Seeing his reaction, Tsunade frowned again.
'Could the kid really not know the special meaning when a man gives a kimono to a woman?'
"Hmm?", She felt the fabric and craftsmanship for a moment, then her gaze suddenly turned sharp.
"Teacher, is there a problem?", Aoba asked, baffled.
Tsunade said expressionlessly, "If I'm not mistaken, these should be from the Land of Hot Water, right?"
Shizune also felt it, touched her chin and nodded seriously, "Indeed, the fabric is from the Land of Hot Water."
"Aoba, you went to the Land of Hot Water too?", Shizune looked at Aoba with a smile.
"Um…"
Aoba's expression turned frightened, 'You can tell the origin just by touching the fabric? That is terrifying.'
"I remember the Land of Seas is quite far from the Land of Hot Water, right?", Shizune continued.
"Um…"
Now there was no excuse to find.
"Well, Anko and I finished the mission and then we went to the Land of Hot Water to play for a few days."
"You weren't saying before that you and Anko had nothing going on?", Shizune looked at him displeased.
Aoba scratched his hair, "Anko told me to keep it secret for now."
"Heh, you kept that 'secret' pretty well, huh," Tsunade sneered.
'Secret?'
Shizune, thinking of something, furtively looked at Tsunade.
Tsunade-sama often sneaks around with Aoba too, and she thought Tsunade didn't know, but she actually knew perfectly well every time.
If Tsunade does it and Anko does it, maybe sneaking around is just more exciting?
"What are you staring at me for?", Tsunade felt a little uncomfortable under Shizune's gaze, glared back, then put the kimonos into the office drawer.
"N…nothing!", Shizune, caught peeking, turned her eyes away.
Tsunade glared at Shizune once more, suppressed the urge to clean house, and said coldly to Aoba, "Don't hide things like this from us again, understood?"
"Understood," Aoba nodded obediently, then suggested, "Teacher, should we try the clothes on now to see if they fit?"
"If there's nothing else, you can go," Tsunade ignored him, the brat had given her a false alarm… a needless scare.
Aoba didn't mind; he continued, "Also, about that Hidan, there are some things I didn't put in the report."
"The one you sealed the chakra of and threw into prison?"
Tsunade recalled the message that had come through, "Your report said he's a follower of the Cult of the Evil God and planned to massacre a ninja village, that village was the Hot Water Village, wasn't it?"
Aoba nodded, "When Anko and I arrived, he was already about to act, so I brought him back."
"I see…"
Tsunade nodded, "Luckily you two went to the Land of Hot Water; you prevented a tragedy."
"We heard about the Cult of the Evil God while in the Land of Hot Water, so we went there on the spur of the moment."
Aoba straight-facedly said that nonsense.
Tsunade now noticed the core of the issue and asked, "You brought the man back specially, is there something unusual about him?"
Aoba nodded seriously, "That Hidan seems to possess an immortal ability."
"Immortal?", Tsunade and Shizune both widened their eyes.
"Are you sure?", Tsunade looked at him seriously; this wasn't a joking matter.
This was the first time she'd heard of someone being immortal; even legendary hermits' lifespans weren't that different from ordinary people.
Aoba nodded earnestly, "Because this matter was so shocking, I didn't put it in the report."
"I tested it personally. Even if you pierce his heart or sever his head, he still survives. But he doesn't have a particularly strong regeneration ability; someone needs to help reattach his head."
"Even like that, it's an incredibly terrifying ability," Tsunade sank into deep shock.
"So I thought it necessary to study him properly. Even if we can't replicate the ability, having a test subject isn't bad. That guy isn't a good person anyway."
Aoba presented his idea.
Tsunade thought for a moment, then nodded, "I'll go take a look later."
After Aoba finished reporting Hidan's information, Tsunade drove him out.
The atmosphere in the office turned a bit awkward.
After all, teacher and disciple both received kimonos at the same time, and both accepted them, it was rather embarrassing.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.