Chapter 205: Hinata's Mark, a Four-Person Chakra Connection
"Makoto-kun, aren't you going to change?"
Once they were in the large bathhouse, Akiyama Makoto set Hinata down, which earned him a puzzled look.
He smiled and said, "I'm here to give you the True Spirit Seal, not to take a bath with you. That would be a different situation entirely."
Hinata nodded, but then her hands stubbornly moved to his lapel. "But... I wouldn't mind. If you wanted to take a bath with me, I would only be happy."
Looking at the budding girl before him, he really wanted to agree.
However, he wasn't alone here today. There was also Kurenai Yūhi and Karin, who had just arrived. To prevent scaring her, he said, "But what if Big Sister Kurenai sees us in an embarrassing situation? Would you not mind then?"
Hinata's breath hitched, and the hands she had just bravely extended were pulled back timidly.
But at this moment, he put his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, "I understand your feelings. When we have the chance, the two of us will secretly take a bath together."
Hearing the word "secretly," steam immediately started to rise from Hinata's head. She nodded with the last of her willpower, and then went limp in his arms.
He picked her up again and walked towards the bath. Although he didn't plan on soaking, he still took off most of his clothes, leaving only his shorts. Otherwise, this whole pool of hot water would have to be drained and refilled.
By the time he sat down with Hinata, Kurenai and Karin finally arrived.
"Oh? I thought you weren't going to change."
He looked at the yukata-clad Kurenai with interest. She just shot him an annoyed look. "If I came in wearing my regular clothes, you'd definitely find a way to splash me and get them wet, wouldn't you?"
He shook his head, naturally not admitting to such a thing.
Kurenai didn't linger on this issue. Instead, she looked at him and said, "Are you sure you don't need me to prepare anything?"
"If you really must do something to feel at ease, Big Sister Kurenai, then please set up a sound-proofing barrier. I'm afraid Hinata might scream rather loudly."
Hinata could only butt her head against his chest and say in a muffled voice, "I will not!"
"Th-Then what about me?"
Karin looked at him with wide eyes. Everything that was happening was beyond her comprehension. Although the future Karin would be able to learn an S-rank sealing jutsu like the Adamantine Sealing Chains, the current her was, without a doubt, a complete novice.
"As for you, sit next to me and be ready to replenish my chakra at any time."
He found a position for Karin to increase her sense of participation.
Although she also began to feel shy, her heart and eyes were completely filled with him. Hearing that he might be short on chakra, she didn't care about anything else and waded into the water, sitting down obediently by his side. At the same time, she pulled open her yukata, revealing her shoulder, ready to offer him the "softest" spot.
Kurenai, who was setting up the barrier on the side, saw this scene of him sandwiched between Karin and Hinata, and an inexplicable feeling of sourness welled up in her heart. She felt this taste and slowly experienced the change within herself.
After she had finished everything, she subconsciously sat on the edge of the bath, her feet dangling in the hot water, seemingly just casually rippling the surface. But her gaze was fixed on him.
"Hey, shouldn't you be starting?" she said, her tone not very polite.
But then she noticed that her words were practically overflowing with sourness. Even Hinata and Karin were casting strange glances at her.
She could only pretend to focus on the water on her feet. Why is this milky white water so transparent?
On his end, he was indeed ready.
He picked Hinata up and had her sit on his lap. "Do I need to explain what to do?"
She shook her head, bit her lip, and then untied her yukata.
To his expectant gaze, a swimsuit that looked like it was for an adult was revealed.
Beside them, Karin was completely dumbfounded. Is that a figure a girl our age should have?
No wonder she ate so much! No wonder he let her eat so much!
Considering what he had said to her earlier, Karin was now prepared to become a rice bucket herself. All for the sake of one day being able to firmly capture his gaze.
Seeing that she had captured his attention, Hinata was secretly delighted, but still said, "Makoto-kun, don't stare... you're making me shy."
He gave her a slightly resentful look. This was the disadvantage of her having gotten close to the other girls and talking about all the details. He had originally thought she wouldn't be so prepared. But now it seemed he had underestimated her... Wait, something's not right.
"By the way, Hinata, did you decide to buy this on your own?" he asked casually.
Hinata, not suspecting a thing, immediately replied, "Ino and Sakura gave me the idea. They said it was a 'decisive battle outfit.' It seems you like it a lot, Makoto-kun. I'll have to thank them later."
He also felt that he should "thank" them properly. He would have to train them until they couldn't even rest.
Although he had only seen half of the scenery he had wanted to see, he wasn't too disappointed. He couldn't do anything strange in this environment anyway, and besides, he was just here to give her the True Spirit Seal.
He then placed his hand on her lower abdomen. "Are you ready?"
"Mm!"
"What kind of pattern do you want? A flower?"
She shook her head, bit her lip, and then said, "I want the Hyūga clan symbol. But I don't need the background color, just the flames painted in red."
He nodded. Her answer was within his expectations. No matter what, she still couldn't forget her clan. She just wanted to escape its destiny.
Then, under Karin's close watch and Kurenai's serious observation, a dense network of marks appeared under his hand, then spiraled and retracted. A Hyūga clan symbol appeared on her stomach.
This left Karin baffled. Had he just applied some kind of sealing jutsu to her?
Only Kurenai was frowning. With her own skill in sealing jutsu, she couldn't even begin to see the mysteries contained within this formula. She could only tell that it was incomparably complex and profound, but that he had already mastered it to the point of perfection, which was what allowed him to control it so easily.
"Did you see clearly, Big Sister Kurenai? Want to get a little closer?"
"And... there are some things you can only see clearly when you're close."
Faced with his temptation, Kurenai bit her lip and nodded.
She then entered the water. It lapped past her waist as she walked towards him, her yukata rippling on the surface. When she reached his side, he directly grabbed her hand and placed it on Hinata's stomach as well.
Being treated like this by two people, Hinata let out a soft cry, her face turning crimson. But she didn't dare to refuse. She could only hug him tightly, almost wrapping her entire body around him.
Kurenai, on the other hand, looked at him, puzzled. The sealing formula had already retracted. She couldn't feel any "trick" by touching it now.
Just as she was about to ask, he began to infuse his Yang chakra into Hinata.
A thick, strong, turbulent stream of chakra poured into her body, then gathered at the True Spirit Seal. The flame-like clan symbol on her stomach actually began to glow faintly, as if it had truly been ignited.
Hinata also felt her body begin to heat up and subconsciously bit his shoulder.
This scene made Karin immediately offer her own shoulder.
He was at a loss for what to do, but he didn't refuse her kindness and bit down.
Karin let out a low moan. Then, his chakra began to rapidly recover. And then, between the three of them—him, Hinata, and Karin—chakra began to flow.
At this moment, Kurenai felt the spiritual fluctuation from the True Spirit Seal.
Curious and moved, she also released her own spiritual power into it, trying to investigate what was going on.
The next second, all four of them felt as if they had been electrocuted. Their chakra began to run rampant in their bodies, and fragmented images flashed through their minds.
He was the first to react. Had they unintentionally built a channel similar to a chakra exchange?
He knew that this was most likely harmless, but it did not conform to the current understanding of chakra among ninja. Therefore, he took the initiative to let go of Karin's shoulder and also interrupted Kurenai's probe.
Karin and Hinata let out muffled groans and fainted.
Only Kurenai clutched her forehead, looking at him with a strange expression.
And her words made his hair stand on end.
"Honey, where's Shinku?"
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