Chapter 29
"Huh? You want me to have two girlfriends?"
Ling Yu's eyes widened. The half-eaten youtiao in his hand dropped to the table.
He almost thought he'd misheard. He never expected his own sister to be even more outrageous than him—actually saying something like this out loud, even though he secretly wanted to do exactly that.
"What's that look for? I'm serious. It's not impossible, is it?"
Tsunade reached over and casually wiped the crumbs from the corner of Ling Yu's mouth. Her face was unusually serious as she continued:
"With your looks, you're not bad at all. You inherited the appearance of Konoha's number one beauty. As long as you don't grow up crooked, becoming Konoha's most handsome guy in the future is basically guaranteed."
While lecturing him, she didn't forget to casually brag about herself being recently voted Konoha's number one beauty.
"That… wouldn't it be too scummy?"
Though Ling Yu inwardly agreed with both hands, he still felt a little worried that Tsunade might be joking. After all, she loved teasing him like this.
"Scummy? You only become scummy if you abandon them. If you don't abandon them, who's going to call you scummy? Besides, having such a handsome boyfriend is already a blessing for them, isn't it?"
"And listen, little brother—the number of young shinobi in the Senju clan is getting smaller and smaller. The rest are mostly old, weak, sick, or disabled. The future hope of the entire Senju clan rests on you."
At this point, Tsunade's tone became unusually solemn. She even brought up the fate of the Senju clan itself. Ling Yu stared at her, stunned.
He never imagined someone could make "being a scumbag" sound so noble and righteous. Even after living two lives, he felt completely outclassed by Tsunade's logic.
She was right. Throughout the great wars Konoha had endured, the Senju clan had suffered the heaviest losses among the young shinobi—because both the First and Second Hokage were Senju.
To lead by example, over half of Konoha's shinobi forces in past wars had been Senju. After Tobirama's death and Hiruzen's rise, the Senju gradually withdrew from the front lines.
But the wars had been too brutal. The clan had lost too many shinobi, and their numbers dwindled until now only Ling Yu—bearing Hashirama's bloodline—remained as the last male heir.
The Senju elders had brought this issue up to Tsunade more than once before, but she hadn't said anything because Ling Yu was still too young.
Now that he had shown strength and maturity far beyond his age, Tsunade knew it was time to tell him everything.
"So that's why Sis is doing this for your sake, understand? That's also why I've been bringing Mikoto home so often."
"From Mikoto's behavior, she's basically already yours and won't escape. That's why I hope you get closer to Kushina too. Even if it's through Mikoto—that's fine. The more connections you have, the easier it'll be when you three end up together."
"Don't worry. Sis will help you. So go ahead and do it boldly—for the future of the Senju clan, I believe in you!"
With that, Tsunade swallowed the last bite of breakfast, patted Ling Yu on the shoulder, and left the living room.
Ling Yu sat there in a daze for a long time.
"So… I've been officially ordered to build a harem? Looks like I'm destined to be a scumbag after all."
After a while, he finally processed it. He never imagined Tsunade would be the ultimate boss. He used to think she kept inviting Mikoto over just because she was lazy and wanted someone to take care of her. Turns out it was all for him.
At that moment, Ling Yu felt a growing sense of guilt toward Tsunade.
"Don't worry, Sis. I'll definitely work hard to revive the Senju clan!"
Looking in the direction she'd gone, a sudden surge of determination rose in his heart.
Carrying that resolve, Ling Yu cleared the breakfast table. Checking the time, he realized it was almost time for school. He opened a spatial portal and headed straight to the ninja academy.
…
Konoha – Ninja Academy
After casually greeting a few familiar faces, Ling Yu walked toward Mikoto. Before leaving, he gave a quick glance toward Minato's seat—his eyes flashing with determination for a brief moment.
"Sorry, Minato. I'm not letting Kushina go. You'll have to find someone else. Konoha's huge—you'll definitely find someone you like."
Minato sat at his desk, suddenly feeling a strange tightness in his chest—like he was about to lose something important.
Confused, he quickly looked around, trying to find the source.
But all he saw were classmates messing around—and Ling Yu walking toward the back of the room.
"Was it just my imagination? Or am I overthinking things?"
Not suspecting Ling Yu at all, Minato muttered to himself and fell silent again.
He had no idea that this very thought would cost him Kushina forever.
Meanwhile, Ling Yu—
"Morning, Mikoto!"
"Morning, Ling Yu!"
Mikoto's smile was as charming and adorable as always.
After a simple greeting, Ling Yu sat behind her. Looking at her innocent, cute expression, a trace of guilt flickered in his heart.
Right now, two figures seemed to appear in his mind: one was the devilish scumbag version of himself, and the other was the angelic version.
The angelic Ling Yu, surrounded by holy light and flapping pure white wings, flew to his ear and pleaded:
"Wake up! Look at how pure and kind Mikoto is. If she gets hurt, you'll feel pain too. You should treat her wholeheartedly—don't break her heart!"
Ling Yu's conscience stirred. The guilt deepened.
Then the sky darkened. The devilish Ling Yu kicked the angel away and whispered seductively:
"Ling Yu, don't listen to his nonsense. You've been personally ordered by Tsunade to build your harem. You can't waver now! For Sis's expectations, for the future of the Senju clan—stay firm!"
Hearing those words, the guilt in Ling Yu's heart vanished instantly, replaced by a powerful sense of duty. A voice seemed to echo in his mind:
"As long as you give them happiness and never abandon them, you're not a scumbag—you're their savior. Think about the tragic fates they were supposed to have. Do you want them to suffer that again? You're not a scumbag. You can never be a scumbag!"
"Sorry, Mikoto. I'll definitely give you the happiness you deserve."
After an inner struggle, the devil side won. With a quiet apology in his heart, Ling Yu began his move.
"Mikoto, today there's a new…"
Leaning close to her ear, Ling Yu briefly explained Kushina's tragic original fate, then relayed Tsunade's request.
"Wuwu… Don't worry. I'll definitely get along well with her."
Mikoto's eyes reddened as she promised. Hearing about Kushina's suffering clearly pained her too—tears nearly fell.
Because of that, she took Tsunade's request to look after Kushina even more seriously.
"Thank you, Mikoto."
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