Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha each gave Shindai a quick kiss on the cheek.
As soon as Shindai came to his senses, he immediately said, "What was that for? Are you trying to pull a fast one on me?"
Actually, both Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha had gathered tremendous courage to do that.
That day, after they reluctantly went along with Kushina Uzumaki, Shindai pulled out a kunai and dramatically stabbed himself before she even finished counting down. Whether Shindai saw them clearly or not was unknown, but they certainly saw everything.
For the past three days, they'd been thinking about what the future might hold. Though they originally wanted to take more time to decide, Kushina urging them to convince Shindai to return home finally pushed them to make a choice.
However, with just one sentence, Shindai completely broke their composure.
Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha simultaneously grabbed Shindai by the collar, forcefully pulling him closer.
Watching the two beautiful faces suddenly thrust right in front of him, Shindai asked confusedly, "What are you doing?!"
"What exactly is going through your mind?"
Shindai inexplicably looked away, acting embarrassed. "What do you mean by that?"
The girls forcibly turned his head straight again. "You know perfectly well what we're asking! Don't try to pretend you don't understand!"
Shindai muttered to himself, speaking so softly that Pakura and Hikaku couldn't hear clearly.
Hikaku Uchiha glared and snapped, "Speak louder! We're not deaf!"
Blushing furiously, Shindai shouted, "I want to be the one calling the shots! I don't want to be the pushover here!"
Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha seemed to turn into stone statues, staring blankly at Shindai.
"So...you actually understood all along? You've just been pretending not to get it because of this issue?"
Shindai lowered his head again and replied, "Well, it wasn't really pretending either. At first, I genuinely thought you two...were in that situation. You know what I mean. But later I figured it out. However, Pakura, you know my dream has always been wanting to marry two wives, the kind that would..."
Feeling awkward saying more, Shindai trailed off, so Pakura completed his sentence, "The gentle type—like those puppets you make—who'd greet you the moment you walked in with 'Master Shindai, welcome back from work.'"
"Mm-hmm. Actually, I'm conflicted too. Personally, I genuinely care about you both. But come on, this is my lifelong dream! You two have such short tempers—you fight me over literally anything. Gentle and sweet? Not even close! How about you two start being gentler? Then I'll reluctantly agree to..."
Shindai suddenly stopped mid-sentence because he sensed one... no, two killing intents!
His scalp crawled with dread—he was totally done for!
Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha smiled without warmth at Shindai, saying, "So we've got short tempers? And we're nowhere near gentle? That so?"
Shindai instantly backed off, waving his hands. "No no no, forget I said anything! You know how much I love talking nonsense!"
Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha both rose to their feet at the same time, gazing down at Shindai crouched on the ground.
Shindai shrank his neck inward slightly. Although he had verbally surrendered, really? He already knew what was coming next—another beating!
"Alright then, if you want us to be gentle, we'll play along. What do you say, Hikaku Uchiha?"
"Sure, since that's his wish, we should indulge him a little, shouldn't we?"
Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha each took one of Shindai's arms from left and right, pulling him upright.
"Lord Shindai, may we head home now?"
"You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you? So, what would Lord Shindai like to eat tonight? We can accompany you somewhere or personally cook for you."
Shindai stared in astonishment at Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha.
Are they serious?
But why did a chill just crawl up his spine?
Hesitantly, Shindai said, "I... I want ramen."
Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha replied gently, "Of course, Lord Shindai. We'll take you to Ichiraku Ramen for some noodles. So then, let's go."
Shindai gave an involuntary shudder. "Why are you suddenly calling me 'Lord'?"
"What do you mean? Lord Shindai, aren't we being gentle enough now?"
Shindai scratched his cheek. "Hmm… yeah, you're definitely being gentle, but it feels weird."
"Then let's hurry up and go. It'd be terrible if Lord Shindai starved."
Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha escorted Shindai out of the Scientific Research Division.
The following days could only be described as bizarre by Shindai.
During those days, Shindai acted incredibly irritating—normally, Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha would've thrown him down long ago.
But now…
Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha merely spoke to him in soft voices, praising him without scolding even once.
"This isn't right—it's way too suspicious! Sister Kushina, don't these two have a conspiracy going on?"
Kushina Uzumaki rolled her eyes. "A conspiracy? Shindai, I never thought you could be this clueless before. Both Pakura and Hikaku have already shown their feelings toward you, yet you're still acting like this… No, I can't take it anymore!"
Kushina Uzumaki swiftly stepped forward and slapped Shindai hard across the back of the head.
"[That's the One!]"
"Huh… Why are you suddenly acting so weird, Shindai?" Kushina took a disgusted step back, eyeing Shindai like some filthy thing.
Still savoring that strange satisfaction, Shindai froze completely. How could getting hit actually feel good? That doesn't make sense! That kind of thing shouldn't even exist!
Yet just now, when Kushina slapped him, it somehow felt oddly satisfying.
Kushina Uzumaki spoke earnestly, "Shindai, you'll never escape Pakura's and Hikaku's grasp. Accept that. You like them anyway—otherwise you wouldn't have acted so decisively back then. Since you all like each other, why go through all this trouble?
My suggestion is—attack Pakura and Hikaku tonight! I'll definitely support you!"
Kushina Uzumaki immediately took on the role of Shindai's so-called strategist, giving her some questionable advice.
Shindai widened her eyes in shock, "Attack directly? Won't I get beaten to death?"
Kushina shot her a look mixing disgust and pity for someone so clueless, "I guarantee—if you make a move, it'll work perfectly."
Kushina patted Shindai's shoulder, "It's time you grew up!"
After pulling off some ridiculous stunts, Shindai secretly hoped for some kind of reaction from Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha. But they hadn't moved even an inch, which disappointed her greatly.
Shindai no longer wanted Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha staying gentle. Kushina was right—tonight, she'd attack Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha. If she failed, she'd just take the beating, and everything would return to normal.
And if she did... well, then she just did!
Suddenly filled with passion, Shindai felt her blood pumping. Tonight had a fifty-fifty shot at breaking free—at least emotionally!
Seeing Shindai reignite her fighting spirit, Kushina nodded with satisfaction. After all these years, it finally seemed like things would work out. It had nearly driven her crazy with anxiety.
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