"Hm?"
Mabui looked at Samui with some suspicion and could not help asking again.
"Samui, would Lord Aoba really let your teacher go just because you threatened him with your own life?"
In her view, even if Samui wanted to save Killer B, there was no need to risk her own life.
Because there were clearly better options.
Given Aoba's personality, that option might actually be easier for him to accept.
"Mm. After all, there's so much work in the Hokage's office. He still needs us to help him with it," Samui answered with a bit of guilt.
"Is that so?", The more Mabui thought about it, the more suspicious she became, and the more she felt that something about Samui was off.
"Samui, your face is really red. Are you feeling hot?"
"Mm… a little. The heating is turned up too high."
'No… I can't let my thoughts keep running wild.'
Samui tried to control the rhythm of her breathing, to calm herself down.
"Wait! Mabui, what are you suddenly doing?"
Samui was in the middle of taking deep breaths, but Mabui's suddenly reaching hand completely disrupted her train of thought.
"Samui feels very soft right now."
Mabui had more or less figured out what was wrong with Samui today.
In the past, because of her personality, even when her shoulders and back were sore, Samui would still keep her body tense like a ball.
Straight and firm, yet still springy.
But the current Samui not only looked lazy and loose, she also gave off a limp, soft feeling.
Like a sponge that had been kneaded and squeezed many times, no longer tight like before, but soft and fluffy, like cotton.
This was very wrong.
"What are you suddenly saying? And don't touch me like that, okay?"
Samui slapped away Mabui's wandering hand and hurriedly clutched the towel tighter around her body.
Although she had already taken a shower and her body had mostly recovered, her mental capacity right now was almost completely filled by a certain guy.
Mabui's sudden move made her instinctively recall what had happened earlier.
"Oh."
'Definitely strange.'
Mabui withdrew her hand and did not say anything else, just quietly watched Samui.
"I… I'm going to change clothes!"
Samui reminded her.
"Oh."
Mabui nodded.
"..."
Samui grew annoyed, "Then go out! How am I supposed to change with you here?"
"We're both girls, why are you so bothered by it? It's not like I haven't seen before."
Mabui's face was full of confusion, "It's a good chance for me to check how your wound is healing too."
"You!"
For the first time, Samui felt that her good sister was this persistent and hard to deal with.
'Is that wound something I can just show you?'
At the same time, she also began to wonder whether Mabui had already noticed something.
"The wound disappeared a long time ago. There's nothing to look at."
"Samui, look me in the eyes and repeat after me!"
Mabui seemed to fully understand now. The suddenly serious expression on her face made Samui pause again.
"Repeat… repeat what?"
"Good sisters don't lie to good sisters."
"Ah, this…"
Samui's expression instantly stiffened.
"You know?"
"You're too flustered, Samui. This isn't like you."
"..."
Samui did not bother pretending anymore. After sighing, she lay straight down on the bed and said helplessly,
"Seriously, you call yourself a good sister. Couldn't you leave me a little dignity?"
She had originally planned to hide it for as long as possible, but the moment Mabui came back, she saw right through her.
Seeing that Samui was no longer pretending, Mabui could not help rolling her eyes, then also lay down on the neatly tidied bed beside her.
"Leave you dignity? Do you even know how much extra work I have to do for one day of you taking leave?"
The two were lying with their heads close together, but their heights were clearly different.
Samui neither confirmed nor denied it. One reason she had made this choice was also because she wanted to slack off a bit.
As for making Mabui suffer a little, wouldn't it be made up for when Mabui took leave herself next time?
"By the way, were you the one who took the initiative, or did Lord Aoba ask for it?", Mabui suddenly turned over, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Samui.
In an instant, she switched from complaint mode to gossip mode.
"I took the initiative."
Since it was already exposed, and there was nothing sisters could not talk about, Samui said it directly, "Just like Yugito said, that guy really does prefer being passive."
"T-that… really?"
This genuinely surprised Mabui.
After all, with Samui's cold demeanor, she could not imagine her taking the initiative no matter how she tried.
"So what about you? You've liked Aoba for a long time already. Aren't you going to try harder?", Samui asked directly.
"What nonsense are you talking about! When did I ever like Lord Aoba?", Mabui was stunned by this.
A layer of red even surfaced on her wheat-colored skin.
Earlier, Samui had been at a disadvantage because of her guilt, but now that she had chosen to be honest, the situation instantly reversed.
"Didn't you say before that Aoba is strong, handsome, and being with him wouldn't be a loss? Now he's even the daimyo of the Land of Fire. Isn't that an even bigger gain?"
"What are you talking about? I meant that it would be a gain if it were under Lord Aoba's request. If it's taking the initiative, that would definitely be a loss, okay?", Mabui felt that her past thoughts had been misunderstood and explained weakly, her face red.
"Then just wait to have endless work in the future and live every day like a beast of burden."
Samui did not argue with her explanation and instead said indifferently, "If I get tired of work in the future, I'll just go to the office and see him once, and then all the work will fall on you."
"Samui, you…"
Mabui looked at the good sister in front of her, who had grown up with her, in disbelief.
She could not understand how such cold words could come out of that mouth.
"Now it depends on how you choose."
There was not much change in Samui's expression, though plenty of bad ideas surfaced in her mind.
"In the past, we always spent New Year's together. Shizune and the others probably wouldn't object either."
Besides, Mabui clearly had feelings for Aoba. Otherwise, why would her heart race and her face turn red every time he patted her head?
Mabui did not know how to respond. The atmosphere in the bedroom fell silent for a while.
Then the two spoke at the same time.
"Let's eat first."
———
Time moved on to the next day.
[Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village Region]
On a stone mountain some distance away from the Hidden Cloud Village, Uchiha Itachi stopped his steps.
In front of him sat Nagato in a specially made wheelchair, his legs crippled, with the Six Paths of Pain surrounding them.
"Here is fine."
Nagato also raised his head and said, "This distance is right within the range where I can perfectly control the Six Paths of Pain, and it's not easy for the Hidden Cloud Village to discover us."
Uchiha Itachi gave a slight nod.
His role was simple to begin with, just to ensure the safety of Nagato's main body.
And besides, someone else would be coming to take his place soon enough.
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