The door of the private room was opened by Kei. And the specially customized sake that Shikaku had been drinking could no longer resist the effects of the illusion.
With hazy, drunken eyes, he got up from his seat.
Grinning blissfully, he picked up a decorative fan from the liquor cabinet. Then, with exaggerated movements, he started dancing flirtatiously. While dancing, he even sang along:
"Ah-do-do-do-do~ I heard that left and right drink,
Left side drinks~ Momoko drinks~
Ah-do-do-do-do~ Next up~ Right side drinks~ Sakura-chan drinks~
Momoko, Sakura?! Are you kidding me?!
Was he so deeply trapped in the illusion that he thought he was partying on North Street?
Chōza and Inoichi's expressions drastically changed.
They wanted to escape, but before they could, they saw that Yoshino, who had heard the commotion from the front desk, had already poked her head into the private room.
"Excuse me, by Momoko and Sakura-chan, do you mean Miss Iwayama Momoko and Miss Yanagi Sakura?"
Yoshino stood at the doorway with a gentle smile, looking at the drunkenly dancing Shikaku, her voice soft as she inquired about the situation inside. As the true manager of Shushu-ya, she welcomed and sent off guests every day—she was hardly an ignorant housewife.
A drinking song, plus the names Momoko and Sakura-chan… she immediately thought of those two beautiful woman from North Street.
His dance was quite good, and his movements were practiced. Clearly, he had been there more than once.
"Yoshino-nee, I just got back from a mission and am in a hurry to see Kushina, so I'll head home first!"
Kei smiled at Yoshino, waved at her, and swiftly disappeared through the window.
"Ahem, I just remembered—I forgot to turn off the faucet before leaving." Inoichi reacted quickly, making up an excuse before immediately following through the window.
"M-Me too!" Chōza hadn't even finished his sentence before he vanished from the private room. Before leaving, he cast a sympathetic glance at Shikaku, who had just snapped out of the illusion, cold sweat pouring down his face.
With an inward sigh, he thought, This isn't about abandoning a friend—it's just that in a situation , there's no saving him!
Sticking around any longer, and they might get dragged into trouble too! Shikaku's wife was difficult to handle, but was his own wife any easier?
"Yoshino! Let me explain—I was caught in Kei's genjutsu! He even used the Mind Body Disturbance Technique on me! I couldn't resist—!" Shikaku hastily explained.
"Oh? Are you done explaining?"
Yoshino, still full of gentle affection, lifted her hand and tenderly wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Then go kneel on the washboard in the storeroom. There are too many people outside; don't embarrass yourself."
Shikaku wanted to protest, but when he saw his wife's face gradually turn serious, he didn't dare continue.
He hurried off to the storeroom to find a washboard to kneel on. At least for now, he was only kneeling in the storeroom. If he angered his wife any further, who knew where he'd end up kneeling?
"Momoko, Sakura… Heh. Seems like there's still some stamina left in him if he has the energy to drink with them." Yoshino let out a cold laugh.
She knew that Momoko and Sakura were performers who didn't sell their bodies. But men—what they dared to do today might not be what they dare to do tomorrow. If she didn't exhaust him now, would she have to spend the rest of her life worrying?
Kei made his way back to the Yamanaka clan's grounds, and from a distance, he saw the smoke curling up from his home's chimney. A smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
They say newlyweds miss each other terribly when apart, even for a day. Even though he and Kushina weren't married yet, they had just started living together. Being sent on a mission right after that—of course, he had been longing to see her.
Kushina, who was busy in the kitchen, turned her head toward the entrance when she heard the familiar voice.
Her face was instantly filled with joy.
Without even bothering to put down the spatula in her hand, she ran toward him in her fluffy little fox slippers and leapt straight into his arms.
Kei spun Kushina around twice. Before she could say anything, he lowered his head and used actions to express the longing in his heart. Kushina closed her eyes slightly, wrapping her arms around the neck of the man she loved, clumsily responding to his passionate affection.
More than five minutes passed.
With her clothes in disarray and her face flushed red, Kushina grabbed Kei's misbehaving hands.
"Tsunade-nee will be back soon…"
"She actually stayed in the village this long?"
Kei had a look of pure disbelief.
With Tsunade's personality, didn't she usually stay in the village for less than ten days before vanishing again? It had already been a month—why was she still at his house?
Sure, just for the sake of that set of Water Release techniques she passed to him, he could take care of her expenses for the rest of her life and still not be at a loss.
But he just wanted to enjoy some alone time with his girlfriend at home—was that so wrong?
"The Hokage issued a travel ban and won't let her leave the village."
Kushina playfully stuck out her tongue and nuzzled into her boyfriend's chest, greedily breathing in the comforting scent that made her feel safe.
"Then why don't we go to the Senju's old estate?"
"No, no, that's just running away to the old estate… That's not right."
"Ah…" Kei let out a long sigh.
He could understand why Tsunade was grounded—after all, war could break out at any moment. Even though she suffered from hemophobia and couldn't personally treat the wounded, just having her stationed at Konoha's hospital was enough to reassure most of the village's ninja.
How could the Third Hokage possibly let her wander around the world?
"I-I won't lock my room door tonight." With her cheeks burning, Kushina blurted out the words and then bolted into the kitchen.
With a click, she locked the kitchen door behind her.
"Hehehehehe~" Kei chuckled to himself, humming a little tune as he headed toward the bathroom.
He'd take a bath now. That way, he could skip this step tonight!
Just as he was about to run the bathwater, a knock on the door made him turn his head in confusion.
He walked over and opened the door.
Standing there was Ushi, dressed in ANBU gear with an ANBU mask.
He spoke directly, "The Hokage sent me to ask if you're willing to join the ANBU Training Division. If you accept, you'll serve as the Vice Director, primarily responsible for training new recruits, advanced ANBU training and assessments, as well as organizing daily 'practice missions.' If you're not interested, the Hokage will decline the offer on your behalf."
After delivering that long speech, Ushi—who was usually concise and avoided unnecessary words—let out a deep sigh. Relaying instructions was really not his thing.
"I'll join. Please thank the Hokage for me."
Kei glanced at Kushina, who was busy in the kitchen, and directly accepted the offer.
The ANBU Training Division was essentially the public face of Root, with Danzō serving as the Director. As the Vice Director in charge of training, advanced studies, assessments, and mission distribution for Root, he would hold real authority.
Essentially, he'd be undermining Danzō—completely justifiable. Besides, Shikaku had once said something that was absolutely true: If you want to eliminate all the underhanded schemes in the shadows, you have to wield a power that makes others afraid.
The darkness of the shinobi world?
Might as well play the game.