After catching up with Hyūga Hiashi and the others, Kiyosuke brought Naruto back home.
Fortunately, Rin came by now and then to help clean. Otherwise, the house would've been buried under a thick layer of dust and completely unlivable.
He left Naruto to play in the courtyard while he tidied up two spare rooms—for Haku and Pakura, who would be staying with them soon.
Big houses really were convenient. So many rooms meant you could accommodate a lot of people. And when you were tired from playing, you could just crash and sleep.
"Kiyosuke-san, teach me taijutsu!"
Naruto clung to Kiyosuke, eager to learn some moves.
"Sure. Let me show you a basic one—Leaf Whirlwind."
"Okay!"
He demonstrated the Leaf Whirlwind technique, then left Naruto to practice on his own in the courtyard. Before long, Haku was brought back.
Seeing Haku in good spirits, Kiyosuke nodded with approval. The boy had been living in the shadow of his parents' deaths, afraid of the world around him. But it seemed the new environment in Konoha was helping him come out of his shell.
"Here, Haku. This is Naruto, the one I mentioned to you. Naruto, this is Haku. He's going to be your older brother from now on."
"Older brother? Not... older sister?"
He's so pretty—how could he not be a girl?
"He's a boy. He just... happens to look, well, beautiful."
Naruto's eyes lit up. He threw his arms around the startled Haku and shouted:
"I've got a big brother! I've got a big brother! Awesome! Hmph! Now I've got a big brother too! Sasuke, that smug little show-off, always bragging about his brother—well, now I have one too!"
Kids really did have a competitive streak.
Kiyosuke shook his head with a helpless smile. These two children of destiny just couldn't seem to get along. Were they already starting this young?
Still, it was a good thing Naruto accepted Haku so quickly.
Even if... the gap between Haku and Itachi...
Haku truly could be called a genius, but when compared to Itachi, he lost his shine. Then again, almost everyone seemed dull beside Itachi. That boy's talent and insight far surpassed his peers.
Seriously, who contemplates the meaning of life when they're still a toddler?
He himself hadn't even considered such things.
"Eh? Haku, why are you crying?"
Seeing tears slip down Haku's cheeks, Kiyosuke asked gently.
"It's nothing, Kiyosuke-sama."
Haku shook his head and hugged Naruto with a smile.
"Mm. Starting today, I'm your big brother, Naruto."
"Mm!"
Naruto nodded vigorously, happily dragging Haku off to play, completely forgetting about the taijutsu training.
Kiyosuke didn't mind. They were kids, after all. What mattered most was that they were happy.
"All right, you two. I'm heading out for a bit. There's money on the table—Haku, if you and Naruto get hungry, go buy something to eat. I need to stop by the hospital."
"Okay."
"Understood, Kiyosuke-sama."
He changed into casual clothes and left the house. On the way, he bought some fruit. Passing by the dango shop, he noticed they still had some in stock.
"Boss, I'll take two servings of three-colored dango."
"Boss, two servings of three-colored dango, please. Thank you."
A girl's voice spoke at almost the same time as his. Kiyosuke looked down and saw a girl from the Uchiha clan.
She had a teardrop mole beneath her eye.
"Sorry, these are the last two servings. Would you two be willing to split?" the shop owner said apologetically.
The girl looked a bit troubled, so Kiyosuke said, "Let her have them. I'll check another place."
"Thank you so much!"
The girl bowed in gratitude. Kiyosuke rubbed his chin and asked,
"Taking them to share with a boy you like?"
"N-No!"
The girl waved her hands frantically, her face flushing red.
"It's… it's just—"
"Izumi?"
Itachi appeared behind them, puzzled, and greeted Kiyosuke.
"Kiyosuke-sama."
"Mm. Itachi."
"ITACHI?!!"
Uchiha Izumi stiffened like a cat seeing a dog, snatched the dango, and bolted.
"Eh? Did you bully that girl or something?" Kiyosuke asked, baffled.
Itachi shook his head.
"No, I didn't. Boss, do you have any more dango?"
"That girl just bought the last ones," the shopkeeper replied.
Itachi's face fell.
"Sold out again... I'm late... again!"
"I'll head off, then. Got things to do," Kiyosuke said, waving goodbye. He stopped by a bookstore and picked up a few books, then headed to Konoha Hospital.
...
After Rin's treatment, Pakura looked much better. She sat up in bed with nothing to do.
Seeing Kiyosuke enter, she said:
"Didn't you have something to do? What, did your Hokage send you to interrogate me about Sunagakure intel?"
She'd just noticed several figures loitering outside the room. Not only that—there were even two people squatting in the tree outside the window.
"Something like that. If you want to talk, go ahead. If not, no big deal."
Kiyosuke shrugged, placing the fruit basket and books on the table.
"Some things to pass the time with. I'll pick you up tonight."
"You're thoughtful."
Pakura knew staying in the hospital alone would be dangerous, so she didn't refuse. She picked up one of the books.
"Make-Out Paradise?"
"Ah—sorry, that one's mine."
Kiyosuke reached out, trying to snatch Make-Out Paradise from her hands.
But Pakura was quicker. She dodged, flipped it open, and read a few lines.
Upon seeing the bold phrases and flowery vocabulary, her face turned so red it looked like it might start bleeding.
"T-This... this is shameless!"
She slapped the book onto Kiyosuke's face.
"Uwah!"
Slammed in the face, Kiyosuke winced and coughed.
He quickly stashed the book away and said, righteously,
"What are you talking about? That's a literary masterpiece Jiraiya-sama compiled from years of firsthand research. It's not shameless at all—it's full of profound insights. You need to read it carefully to truly understand. Here, this one's actually yours."
He pulled out The Tale of Tenacity and Willpower.
"This is one of Jiraiya-sama's earlier works. It's very proper—based on one of his students. Good for passing the time."
"I'm not reading that! I heard Jiraiya's a total perv, and now I believe it! And your teacher, Orochimaru, he's supposed to be some cold-blooded psychopath. Out of the Three Legendary Sannin, maybe only Tsunade is halfway decent."
No, she's a hopeless gambler!
"Don't underestimate Make-Out Paradise! It's really popular."
"With you men, maybe!"
"Uh… yeah."
Make-Out Paradise was definitely more popular among men.
Jiraiya had spent years collecting material for it. The book was full of juicy content—heart-wrenching romances, passionate drama. Techniques—er, knowledge—covered a broad range.
You could learn a lot from it.
In all kinds of ways...
"Honestly, you seemed like such a decent guy, Asakawa. But now I see I was wrong about you!"
"Hey now, you're seriously backing up against the wall? I am a decent guy, okay? Otherwise, your thighs would've been covered in marks by now!"
"Y-You—!"
Just imagining the scene made Pakura blush all over again.
Whoa, whoa... wait a second!
Hold on—why can I understand this stuff?!
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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