Chapter 23

Pushing away the book handed to him by Nawaki, Shinki turned and walked into the kitchen. He needed to talk to Tsunade tomorrow, and he had to find a way to beat his brother soon.

Seeing Shinki ignore him and head straight for the kitchen, Nawaki worried that he might go to complain, so he followed him.

"Shinki, we're friends! You can't go and tell my sister!"

After washing the rice, adding water, and putting it on the stove, Shinki turned around and said, "So, you want me to help you keep it a secret?"

"Of course, we're friends! Friends don't betray each other!" Nawaki answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Shinki: "...."

*Friend? More like a little troublemaker,* Shinki thought, sighing. *Kid, don't you realize this is serious?*

Taking out two potatoes from the cabinet, Shinki began peeling them and asked, "Nawaki, do you actually enjoy reading these kinds of books?"

"Of course! What guy wouldn't?" Nawaki replied, feeling confident he was right.

"Don't you like this kind of book, Shinki? Or...do you just not like girls?"

"Ahem!!" 

Shinki almost cut himself with the knife. That one stung a bit.

Putting down the knife, Shinki said seriously, "Of course I like to read, but I won't read these until I'm grown up. Also, my preferences are perfectly normal; I like beautiful, cute girls just fine."

"Why wait until you're grown up? Does it even matter?"

Nawaki found it strange. Jiraiya had never taught him anything like that—he'd just taken him along to laugh.

Shinki shrugged. "Because it's pointless to look at those things before you're grown up."

"Think about it. Jiraiya takes you to see all this stuff because he can go out and have fun. But can you?"

"....."

Nawaki's smile froze as he thought about it. Jiraiya indeed liked to go to certain places he couldn't enter. Whenever he tried to follow, Jiraiya would drive him away.

"So...it's hard enough to save pocket money, especially under your sister's watchful eye. Don't waste it on pointless things. When you're older, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy that stuff, and no one will think anything of it. Got it?"

Blinking in confusion, Nawaki processed Shinki's words. "So, I should save my money and wait until I'm older so Jiraiya can take me to meet pretty ladies?"

Shinki rolled his eyes. "Sure...if that makes you happy," he muttered, weary of the conversation. *As long as you're not worried about your sister beating you.*

Somehow, Shinki's tone seemed insincere to Nawaki. He scratched his head, shrugged, and decided to go back to reading.

In the kitchen, Shinki kept hearing giggles from the living room, making him sigh. "What a mess."

After dinner, Shinki firmly kicked Nawaki out, seeing him as nothing but trouble. *He's a kid, yet his mind is full of schemes.*

*Better to let Jiraiya take the blame for this,* he thought. *After all, Jiraiya's the one who taught him.*

---

When he got home, Nawaki carefully poked his head around, like a guilty thief, hoping not to get caught.

Good, no one was around.

The yard was silent, and the house was still. Uzumaki Mito was likely teaching Kushina a unique Uzumaki sealing technique, and Tsunade was probably either working late or resting.

Confident that he was safe, Nawaki boldly entered the yard.

"Stop!"

"...."

Oh no.

Hearing the voice behind him, Nawaki froze, his smile instantly disappearing. He stood there like he'd been hit by a paralyzing jutsu.

"Why are you just getting home now? Where were you?"

Tsunade expertly twisted Nawaki's ear. "I remind you every morning to come straight home after school and spend time with Grandma. So what were you doing?"

Usually, Tsunade would just scold Nawaki a little for coming home late. After all, eight- or nine-year-olds were playful by nature. But today, Nawaki looked suspicious, sneaking in like he'd done something wrong.

So, Tsunade had hidden herself, curious to see what her little brother was up to.

"Ow! It hurts! Sister, you're going to rip my ear off!" Nawaki pleaded, hoping Tsunade would ease up.

"Tell me the truth. Where were you?"

Tsunade didn't relent. She knew exactly how much pressure she was using; it hurt, but it wouldn't actually harm him.

Realizing he had no choice, Nawaki admitted, "I went to Shinki's house. I ate there and came straight home, I swear."

Tsunade let go, trusting that Nawaki wouldn't dare lie. *After all, coming home a bit late isn't that big of a deal.*

But Nawaki, rubbing his ear, shot her a frustrated glare.

"Don't you look at me like that!" Tsunade warned, giving him a quick slap.

Caught off guard, Nawaki dropped the book hidden in his clothes.

Tsunade, having a habit of checking his backpack, was surprised. He had hidden the book in his shirt, but now it had fallen out.

"???"

Tsunade looked down, her eyes widening.

*This is bad,* thought Nawaki. *My precious new book... Forget the book; I'm dead.*

Picking up the book and flipping through it, Tsunade coldly asked, "Do you want to confess now, or do you want me to beat it out of you?"

"I... I bought it with my pocket money, just today."

"So you went to Shinki's house just to read this?"

"Not really... Shinki told me it's not for kids and sent me home."

Surprised, Tsunade raised her eyebrows.

*Shinki actually refused to read it and even gave Nawaki a lecture?*

In her experience, only Orochimaru avoided these kinds of things; most other male ninja, from the Third Hokage to Jiraiya, didn't shy away from them.

Tsunade was genuinely impressed. *Shinki not only abstained but also tried to keep Nawaki away from it.*

"Nawaki," Tsunade said, her tone softening slightly, "what am I going to do with you?"

Nawaki's face turned beet red as he held his backpack tightly, unable to meet her eyes.