"I've always been fair with rewards and punishments," Shinho said after a brief pause. "The main responsibility doesn't lie with you. You just need to wear them here in the Hokage's office."
"U-understood…"
Mabui bit her soft lips.
She had no way to refuse. Compared to the tail, a pair of ears wasn't a big deal. She could accept that.
"You can go buy them now," Shinho said generously. "I'll wait for you here."
"…" Mabui's voice trembled slightly. "Yes."
Less than ten minutes later, she appeared once again.
The only difference was the pair of black ears on each side of her head. From their color and texture, they matched her tail perfectly.
"Come here."
Shinho beckoned her over.
Mabui fought the panic rising within and walked to his side.
"Don't move."
Shinho reached out and placed his hand on her thigh clad in black stockings.
Mabui's expression froze. She could clearly feel the path of his fingers, sliding along her stockings, brushing past the edges of her tight skirt and tailored suit jacket, and finally resting on one of her canine ears. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, but it wasn't very noticeable on her deeper skin tone.
"Did you have anything to report?" Shinho asked, withdrawing his hand.
"Our shipping routes were attacked," Mabui answered, relieved she could speak, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Attacked?"
Shinho raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Now that's interesting."
"It happened along the southern route, the one that goes from the Land of Water to the Land of Wind. Yesterday, a group of strangely dressed people robbed some of our ships," Mabui explained. "They don't look like they were ninjas and their power seems to come from a stone."
Shinho fell into thought. It sounded somewhat familiar.
The stone of Gelel?
He finally recalled something from a movie plot: The stone of Gelel, which came from the Gelel veins.
In ancient times, people built a highly advanced civilization using the stone, but were ultimately destroyed, and the survivors went overseas.
In the original story, they attacked the Land of Wind to collect the The stone of Gelel, only to be wiped out by Gaara and Naruto. Essentially, the The stone of Gelel contained enormous chakra, similar in concept to the "primeval stones" used by Gu Masters.
If his memory served him correctly, the antagonist in that movie was named Haido. Even with The Stone of Gelel, he wasn't that strong.
"Go check with Sasuke and Naruto," Shinho decided after a moment. "If they're free, have them look into it."
The stone of Gelel was a decent treasure.
Plus, there might be some 'achievement' to gain from the incident, so it was worth dealing with. But Shinho wasn't planning to go himself. It was far more enjoyable to stay in the Hokage's office and play around with his secretaries.
Besides, Sasuke had recently integrated Hashirama's cells, and Naruto had learned the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, this would be good practice for them.
"Yes," Mabui said, then turned to leave. At the door, she tucked away her tail and ears before daring to step outside.
Shinho gave a small chuckle and continued with his work.
By afternoon, he had finally finished reviewing all the documents. The ninja world hadn't fully settled into its new order yet, so many things needed his personal attention or at least his direction.
Shinho stretched lazily. After thinking a bit, he decided to head off and find Hanabi, his sister-in-law, for the rest of the afternoon. He also realized he hadn't fulfilled his duty as a squad leader in quite some time.
"Samui, come here."
Using Territory Immortal Gu, Shinho summoned her.
Before long, there was a knock at the door.
"Lord Hokage."
Samui entered, walking over to him and bowing slightly.
Shinho reached out, gently rubbing her stocking-clad thigh. Like Tsunade, Samui's legs were firm yet soft. Even a light squeeze let him feel that plush give.
Samui instinctively tensed. She clearly felt Shinho's hand moving upward, which made her heartbeat quicken. A moment later, she bit her lip in silence; his hand disappeared beneath her tight skirt. Even so, she did not dodge, simply letting him do as he wished.
"I'm heading out in a bit," Shinho remarked casually. "If anything comes up, you handle it."
"Mm."
Samui gave a reflexive response but then quickly covered her mouth.
Shinho looked up at her. That little "mm" had been so soft and alluring it set his pulse racing.
"Samui…"
Rising to his feet, Shinho wrapped both arms around her ample hips. Fixing his gaze on her soft lips, he leaned in and kissed her.
Samui closed her eyes, returning his embrace.
She let out a muffled sound, feeling a slight pang in her chest, but that discomfort quickly turned to a gentle warmth, thanks to Shinho's skill.
Her typical cool demeanor vanished. Face flushed, her curvaceous figure gave off a subtle fragrance. After a long while, their lips parted.
"Samui," Shinho exhaled softly. "When can I come to your place?"
Though he'd been getting small advantages from her, it was tough only being able to 'sample.'
Samui needed a few seconds to realize what he meant.
Her heart pounded wildly as she looked at Shinho. After some hesitation, she asked, "T-tomorrow night…would that be okay?"
"Of course," Shinho replied, a smile spreading across his face.
Samui looked away, her blush creeping up to her ears. Yet for reasons she couldn't quite explain, she felt as though a weight had lifted from her shoulders.
"Then I'll show you my cooking skills," Shinho said, gently caressing her cheek.
"Mm."
Samui nodded softly.
"Good girl," Shinho murmured, sliding his right hand down to button up her shirt. "I'm heading out, so I'll leave this place to you."
Once he left, Samui sank into the Hokage's chair, pressing a hand to her chest.
It slowly dawned on her that she had just agreed to something that could change her life completely. Was she really going to entrust everything to him?
Samui stared into space. She found she wasn't as opposed to the idea as she might have expected; maybe she'd already grown used to him.
Following the reconstruction of City of Fire, it was divided into four main sectors: the palace complex in the center, surrounded by the various ninja clans and Jonin quarters, and beyond that a mixed residential-commercial district.
Shinho headed toward the Hyuga clan's new district. After a while, he came to a stop, because he saw the Yamanaka Flower Shop.
The entire Yamanaka family had relocated to City of Fire, and so had their store. Shinho thought for a moment, then walked inside. There were no customers and no one at the counter.
At that very moment, footsteps sounded from the second floor.
"Welcome—Shinho?!"
Ino stopped in her tracks, surprise lighting up her face.
Shinho looked her over. She was dressed as always in a tight-fitting top that left her smooth, flat stomach and navel exposed.
"Shinho, how do you have time to come by today?" Ino walked up, smiling.
"I came to see you."
Shinho held her hand. "Is that not okay?"
"Of course it's okay!"
Ino blinked, then lit up with excitement.
"I have a present for you."
Suddenly recalling something, Shinho raised his free left hand.
Ino watched him with anticipation. The next second, a red rose appeared, just like the one he'd once given Konan, formed from immortal essence within his immortal aperture.
"This is…chakra?" Ino exclaimed, eyes wide. "Shinho, that's amazing!"
Shinho smiled. "It's a rose that never wilts."
"Thank you."
Ino took the rose and examined it closely.
"It's nothing," Shinho said, looking at her. "You're even more beautiful than the flower."
"Eh?"
Ino's cheeks reddened, and she became flustered. "W-why say that all of a sudden?"
"Just telling the truth," Shinho replied, then changed the subject. "How have you been lately?"
"Other than doing missions, I've been training," Ino admitted, a little embarrassed. "I haven't finished absorbing the Yin chakra from Ido and Moryo yet."
Shinho gave a thoughtful nod. Indeed, leaving aside Idu for the moment, Moryo, an existence comparable to a tailed beast, wasn't easy to absorb. He had considered using achievements to get some soul-path Gu to assist or using Cleanse Soul Immortal Gu.
Maybe that would work.
"Let's go upstairs to your room," Shinho suggested.
"Huh?"
Ino froze, her face suddenly turning scarlet.
"I didn't mean it like that."
Shinho gave her a slightly exasperated look.
Sure enough, compared to Hinata, Ino seemed to have a better grasp of certain things. "I'll help you with your training."
"…Alright."
Realizing she had misunderstood, Ino lowered her head, not daring to look at him, and followed him upstairs obediently.
The second floor was a small lounge area, furnished with various pieces of furniture. Shinho sat down on the sofa, taking her hands in his.
"So how do you usually train?" he asked.
"I draw out the chakra bit by bit, then convert it before absorbing it," Ino explained, trying to ignore the tingling sensation in her hands.
No wonder her progress was slow. But there really wasn't a better method, different forms of chakra could cause chaos in one's body.
Shinho let go of her hands. "Don't bother converting it this time. Just absorb it directly."
Ino blinked in surprise. Then, meeting his gaze, she nodded. She trusted Shinho.
She pulled out the scroll containing Moryo.
Opening it, she closed her eyes. A cold, eerie energy flowed out and into her body.
Shinho reached out and pressed his hand against her smooth, pale abdomen.
Cleanse Soul Immortal Gu!
The chilling aura instantly compressed and stabilized, becoming something Ino could integrate normally. It worked!
Beings like Idu and Moryo, whose essence was heavy in Yin, had souls practically made up of chakra.
"That's…incredible!"
Ino's eyes went wide with astonishment. Something that would normally take her half an hour to absorb now took only a second with Shinho's help. It was a revelation, filling her with hope.
Hm?
Ino became aware of the large hand resting on her stomach. This was the first time she'd been so physically close to a man, and it felt strange.
But it was all for the sake of training, she told herself that repeatedly.
Outside, the sun gradually sank lower in the sky. Deeply focused on her practice, Ino finally felt her body's fatigue catching up with her. Taking in too much Yin chakra in one go gave her some discomfort.
She opened her eyes, and her heart instantly quivered. Shinho's face was right there, so distinct, and for a moment she found it hard to breathe.
As a self-professed admirer of good looks, she suddenly felt parched.
Warmth flooded her cheeks; her fair skin took on a light pink hue.
Shinho swallowed involuntarily. She looked…truly appetizing. Slowly, he leaned in and kissed her.
Ino's eyes went wide, her heartbeat racing. Her mind went blank, and she clumsily tried to follow along, completely unsure what to do.
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