Gift

"Uh, would you believe me if I said I'm out of energy because I've been fighting with someone?" Aoba awkwardly started.

Then he saw Shion nod hesitantly and murmur, "Actually... if Aoba-nii wants to... wants to soak with... with Shion, Shion wouldn't... mind…"

Nobody would believe such 'nonsense'...

Aoba felt very desperate, suddenly wanting to drown himself in the bathtub.

If he had dared to nod, he estimated that the River Crab mythical beast would immediately cross dimensions to chase him down and swallow him whole!

So, he immediately, with righteous indignation, said: "I'm sorry, but please leave!"

"Eh?"

Shion was immediately puzzled. This wasn't how things went in the novels she read. Why was she being kicked out?

"Count to three. If you don't leave by then, your training volume for the next month will triple!" Aoba immediately pulled out his trump card to avoid being pursued by the River Crab mythical beast.

Upon hearing this, Shion hurriedly fled without a second thought.

"By the way, bring some food on your way back."

Closing his eyes, pretending not to see, but in fact, it was just an unnecessary action by someone who acted despite saying otherwise, Aoba instructed as Shion fled.

Not until the 'crisis' was averted did he open his eyes again and sigh in relief.

Then he squeezed a rubber duck and couldn't help but comment, "Seems like the food lately isn't bad..."

He wasn't sure what prompted this sigh.

Taking advantage of some free time, Aoba decided to open a unique treasure chest to distract himself from becoming a creep.

[Successfully opened the unique treasure chest...You obtained a Pet Resurrection Book]

This...

The surprise came so unexpectedly that Aoba, accustomed to his unlucky fate, found it hard to adapt!

He had wanted this item for a long time, waiting for over 350 chapters before it finally appeared from a unique treasure chest today. It was challenging!

With this item, he wouldn't have to tolerate that stupid cat. After using up all his life-saving methods, he could still... hehe!

Ignoring a series of insults from 'the prince,' Aoba happily put away his reward.

He even came up with a condolence speech for 'the prince.'

So, should he castrate 'the prince' first?

If he revives after being castrated, would it need to be done again?

This is a problem worth exploring.

At this moment, 'the prince' no longer dared to be arrogant, immediately showing a boot-licking face, his status plummeting.

The advanced skill card was casually added by Aoba to his [Armament Haki], raising it to LV8!

His defense needed to be stronger!

Once all his defensive abilities were maxed out and all limited breakthroughs completed, he wondered who could still harm him.

I have heard that Susano'o has a strong defense.

Sorry, mine is stronger!

After eating something and regaining energy, Aoba finally escaped the awkward situation and changed into dry clothes before leaving.

Shion's face was still red, fidgeting with her fingers and not daring to look at him, making it seem like he had done something genuinely unjust.

"Lord Aoba, when did you come back?"

At that moment, Ranmaru was brought in by someone else and asked in surprise.

"Just got back, oh, and I brought you a gift. See if you like it."

Aoba suddenly remembered the items that Scorpion had insisted on giving him, which he couldn't refuse even if he wanted to, and brought them all out.

"Lord Aoba, what are these?"

"Puppetry, and some other miscellaneous trinkets. I know a guy who's always hiding inside puppets, using them for transportation. You might try practicing it; it'll make moving around more convenient."

Ranmaru was initially stunned, then his eyes lit up with a glow. 

Although he always positioned himself as 'the eye,' he was more like a burden.

But if he could genuinely master puppetry, even with his leg disability and fragile body, he could fully protect himself and contribute his strength as much as possible.

Moreover, his red eyes could see through objects, so hiding in a puppet wouldn't affect his original sensory abilities.

Moving freely on his own was always Ranmaru's dream.

Now, he saw a glimmer of hope!

"Thank you for your generosity. I will work hard to practice it!" Ranmaru spoke earnestly like an adult, and his promises to himself didn't need to be voiced out. He would show them through his actions in the future.

Aobane didn't care. He valued Ranmaru's remarkable ability to 'bring people back to life.'

So, after transferring everything to Ranmaru, he left it.

Like Karin, without a teacher to guide them, how much they could grow and what achievements they could obtain depended entirely on their talents and efforts.

All he could do was provide a possibility, nothing more.

And then Karin became upset...

Ranmaru had received a gift, but she hadn't.

And just now, something vulgar had been done to her...

So, Karin couldn't continue to act shy and just stared at someone like a little cat begging for food.

Naturally, Aobane noticed this, but he pretended not to see.

It wouldn't have been just for Ranmaru if he had prepared a gift.

But if he didn't give anything to Karin now, he seriously doubted he could have a peaceful time in the coming days.

So, he immediately started searching through his ninja tool bag and found quite a few things.

Among them was a pair of pink glasses, a spare he had prepared when he originally bought glasses for Karin, as they were too easily broken.

So, when he gave the pink glasses to Karin as a gift, she was so happy she almost jumped up.

"Such beautiful glasses. Are they a gift for me?"

"You can't wait to put them on. Can I say no?"

Of course, Aobane only said this in his mind; outwardly, he maintained a pleased expression and finally managed to muddle through this situation.

Karin did not doubt that these were the glasses he had bought with her initially.

Then, Aobane noticed that Shiro's face also showed a trace of envy, probably because he had never received any gift in his life...

At that moment, Aobane took a mask from his ninja tool bag and handed it to Shiro.