"Hiss!"
The sound of Aoba sharply sucking in a breath immediately drew everyone's attention.
Tsunade's gaze shifted downward, and she instantly noticed that Shizune's hand was placed somewhere it definitely shouldn't be.
"Ahem!", She cleared her throat lightly. Shizune caught the cue at once and quickly withdrew her hand.
Of course, all this happened under the table. Neither Asama Sandayu nor Koyuki Kazahana noticed anything.
"Aoba-sama, do you have some objection to my proposal?", Asama Sandayu continued to look at Aoba, waiting for his answer.
Although Koyuki felt rather embarrassed by Asama's forwardness and turned her face away, her cheeks bright red, she kept glancing sideways at Aoba, nervously anticipating his response.
"This…", Aoba opened his mouth, then turned his head to glance at Tsunade and Shizune sitting on either side of him.
"Why are you looking at us? He's asking if you'll marry into her family," Tsunade said casually.
Shizune's expression, on the other hand, was completely cold.
If it were just a normal political marriage, she could have looked the other way.
But wanting him to marry in instead? That was basically asking for death.
Aoba's lips twitched slightly. He looked at Asama Sandayu, then at Koyuki Kazahana, and finally shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but I can't agree to the idea of marrying into someone else's family."
"W–Why?", Koyuki's face turned pale.
Aoba lifted Shizune's hand and waved it gently in front of her, explaining, "Because Shizune-neesan is my girlfriend."
Tsunade glanced at their joined hands but didn't say anything. Then suddenly, she felt a hand under the table take hold of hers.
She froze instantly, holding her breath, thinking the brat was about to pull her hand up too.
But when she realized Aoba didn't follow up with any other move, she slowly calmed down. Only to retaliate by giving him a hard pinch in irritation and embarrassment.
"Besides, you should already know, I have other girlfriends too. So marrying in? Impossible."
Asama Sandayu's eyes flicked toward Koyuki, "Princess Koyuki…"
Now, what mattered was her own attitude. He hadn't really expected the "marry-in" proposal to succeed anyway.
But as a minister, he couldn't exactly push his own daimyo to become someone's concubine.
That would be true impropriety.
Now that Aoba had rejected the idea of marrying in, if Koyuki still wanted to be with him, she'd have to humble herself and take a lesser role.
At this moment, Koyuki looked like she was about to cry, clearly misunderstanding the situation. She thought she had just been rejected.
"Aoba, do you… not like me?"
"This…"
The corner of Aoba's mouth twitched again. He'd just said Shizune was his girlfriend, was she trying to make things harder for him?
But apparently, Koyuki wasn't thinking that far ahead.
"Ahem! Princess Koyuki—"
"Just call me Koyuki!", She corrected him with dissatisfaction.
Aoba went along with it.
"Alright then, Koyuki. This isn't really about liking or not liking someone. The issue of marrying in really isn't possible. And besides, we haven't known each other long, and the time we've actually spent together is even shorter, there's no real basis for 'liking' or 'not liking.'"
"So… it's because we haven't spent enough time together?", Koyuki stopped crying and thought for a moment. Indeed, they hadn't spent much time together.
'Then, if we just spend more time together, wouldn't that fix it?'
An idea popped into Koyuki's head, "Sandayu, there's no problem if we stay in Konoha for a while longer, right?"
Everyone present froze for a moment. Sandayu quickly came to his senses. It was obvious the princess had already made her decision.
"The domestic situation has already stabilized, so if Her Highness wishes to stay in Konoha to study for a while, there's no problem."
Koyuki's eyes sparkled as she turned toward Tsunade, "In that case, Hokage-sama, may I study in Konoha for a while?"
Tsunade: 'Study? You're not here to study, you're lusting after my Aoba's body.'
But since a daimyo herself had made the request, Tsunade still nodded and agreed.
Koyuki's face lit up with joy. She turned to Aoba and said, "Then may I ask you to be my guide, Aoba? Of course, I'll pay you a commission."
"I've got my own work to take care of. I might not have that much free time," Aoba replied.
"That's fine. I don't have to study every day."
"…"
And just like that, the matter was decided.
Asama Sandayu finally moved on to official business.
"Hokage-sama, we hope Konoha can assist us in establishing a new ninja village in the Land of Snow. In return, we're willing to provide Konoha with extensive support in the field of scientific ninja tools."
That was the so-called "official business", a matter of mutual benefit.
The Land of Snow could offer technology, while Konoha was the village with the strongest ninja in the world.
"Assist in creating a new ninja village?", Tsunade asked, "Doesn't the Land of Snow already have its own ninjas?"
A troubled look appeared on Asama Sandayu's face, "To be honest, the snow-nin we've trained ourselves are of rather poor quality. Even with chakra armor, they struggle to compete with the shinobi of other villages."
"Right now, there's also a huge shortage among our snow-nin. We've almost no elites left. That's why we wish to seek Konoha's assistance."
Most of their snow-nin, even with chakra armor, were barely on par with Konoha genin. The few stronger ones were either dead, or close to it.
Tsunade thought for a moment, "Forgive my bluntness, but the Land of Snow is far from the mainland. Wars are unlikely to reach you. If you simply need ninja services, you could just hire them directly from Konoha."
"No. Considering what happened with Doto Kazahana, we must take precautions. It's necessary for the Land of Snow to have its own ninja force, especially for the daimyo's protection. She must be guarded by strong snow-nin at all times."
Asama Sandayu continued, "We old men don't matter, but Her Highness is the pillar of the Land of Snow. She must not come to harm."
"Alright then, since you're so determined," Tsunade said, "On Konoha's end, we'll send a team of academy instructors to help you establish your village."
Although Konoha already possessed much of Doto Kazahana's old technology, few could actually reproduce it. With proper guidance, and Snow's material support, the research and development would move much faster.
And honestly, given how the Snow Country's daimyo was looking at Aoba, it was hard to say for whom that new village was really being built.
As the discussion continued, Koyuki, sitting in her seat, nodded earnestly.
"Then I'll be counting on you, Hokage-sama."
The incident with Doto had indeed been a lesson for her.
The power of shinobi was vital to a nation. No matter how noble a daimyo's status was, when faced with overwhelming force, titles meant nothing.
"Princess Koyuki, you're too kind. This agreement benefits Konoha as well."