"Hiss…"
After listening to Shizune's words, Aoba couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
He thought, 'That shouldn't be the case, right?'
After all, Jiraiya's preferences were completely normal.
But a mischievous smile appeared on Shizune's face, "If Kushina finds out it was you who had Lord Jiraiya lead Naruto astray, she'll definitely come looking for trouble with you."
"…"
Aoba looked speechless when he heard that. He felt like Shizune was practically hoping Kushina would come cause him trouble.
And when dealing with an immature little secretary, naturally, he had to give her a serious round of "discipline."
Only after she admitted her mistake and took the initiative to beg for mercy did he let her off.
Of course, she'd probably forget the pain once she healed.
After dealing with the unruly little secretary, Aoba stayed in the office for a while to go through work reports, then made a trip to the Fire Capital.
———
When he came back, he realized Sakura hadn't arrived yet. After sensing around, he found she was in her own office.
He went next door. This was the shared office of Sakura and Ino.
After entering silently, Aoba stood by the door and looked at the two of them.
Ino's two-day leave had ended, so she had naturally returned to work.
She was also wearing a secretary outfit, outlining a perfect figure.
Although she couldn't compare to Hinata, she was still a young girl, yet she could already easily fill out this outfit.
Shizune would cry herself unconscious in the bathroom.
At this moment, Ino was propping her chin up with one hand, pouting as she looked at Sakura not far away, her face full of helplessness.
Sakura had clearly taken leave in advance as well.
Her outfit today could be described as full of energy.
On the outside, she wore a light gray V-neck knitted cardigan with buttons and pockets. Inside was a white collared shirt, with a wine-red ribbon tied at the collar. Below, she wore a dark blue pleated short skirt.
This whole outfit made her look very neat and clean.
It also cleverly hid her biggest disadvantage.
After all, with this outfit, unless someone at Hinata's level wore it, anyone else would just look plain.
As for those long, slender, fair legs unique to a young girl, they were currently not covered.
Instead, she held something in her hands, preparing to put them on.
Judging by the few pairs casually tossed beside the sofa, she had probably tried several already and wasn't satisfied with any of them.
Just as Sakura was about to slip the white thigh-high sock in her hand over her toes, she sensed the gaze. She slightly raised her head, and her beautiful eyes met Aoba's.
She froze for a moment, then her eyes lit up as she asked, "Aoba, do you think I should wear thigh-highs today, or bubble socks?"
"Thigh-highs."
Aoba remained calm. A simple question like this could no longer stir any ripples in his heart.
"Then… Aoba, how about you help me put them on?"
Sakura blushed slightly as she handed the thigh-high sock to him.
"?"
Looking at the sock in his hand, a question mark popped up in Aoba's mind. This time, there was a bit of a ripple.
"Honestly, it's just a pair of socks. Sakura, can't you put them on yourself?"
Ino, who was watching from the side, said with some dissatisfaction.
"Because Aoba does it better."
Sakura said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She had already sat down on the sofa and stretched out her soft, fair toes toward Aoba.
Aoba suddenly felt a bit relieved that his temper wasn't as volatile as before. He didn't refuse.
He aligned the opening of the sock with Sakura's toes and pulled it upward, all the way past her knee, stopping at her thigh.
When he let go, the sock snapped back with a "pa" sound, and her pale skin actually rippled slightly.
Her long, beautiful legs wrapped in the white thigh-highs seemed to gain an extra touch of elasticity, like a rare piece of art.
"Alright, the other one."
Aoba patted her leg, then picked up the other sock.
Sakura blinked, swinging the leg that was already wearing the sock, and said in a coquettish tone, "Aoba, this one still seems to have quite a few wrinkles. Can you smooth them out for me?"
"Hiss!"
Aoba opened his mouth, unable to stop himself from drawing in a breath.
'The old Sakura was just a "little schemer," but now has she completely turned into a little enchantress?'
But since Sakura was today's main character, he naturally didn't refuse. He carefully and seriously smoothed out the wrinkles on the thigh-high.
What Aoba didn't expect was that something as simple as putting on a pair of thigh-high socks would actually take a full ten minutes.
After smoothing out the very last wrinkle, he couldn't help but give Sakura's leg a light slap, saying with a bit of annoyance, "Happy now?"
"Mhm…"
Sakura's face was a little flushed now.
She had originally wanted to tease Aoba a bit, but it seemed like she ended up hurting herself more than him.
Aoba stood up straight again, but suddenly noticed another pair of black stockings appearing in front of him.
He followed that slender, fair wrist upward and met Ino's eyes, which carried a mix of stubbornness and a hint of jealousy.
The meaning was obvious.
"Ah, this…"
Aoba suddenly didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Judging by the feel and lingering warmth when he took them, she had probably just taken them off on purpose.
Now he really didn't know what to say.
But seeing Sakura's current state, she probably wouldn't be able to go out anytime soon. He couldn't show favoritism either, so he simply repeated the same process as before.
Just when he thought it was finally over, another hand stretched out in front of him.
Not Sakura, and not Ino.
A fourth person had appeared in the office, though not exactly an outsider.
It was Inner Sakura, with short hair and a somewhat cool, dashing look.
She was dressed exactly the same as Sakura, except the thigh-high socks in her hand were black.
What surprised Aoba even more, however, was the aura around her.
"Inner Sakura, you can already turn your whole body into a solid form?"
Just by sensing, he could tell that Inner Sakura was completely solid, unlike before when they soaked in the hot springs together and she only had a head.
"That's right. For this day, I've been training day and night without rest."
Inner Sakura smiled and directly threw herself into Aoba's arms. The solid, tangible feeling gave her a deep sense of reassurance.
Holding Inner Sakura, Aoba also felt a bit dazed.
Although he could touch spiritualized forms before, a truly physical body was something entirely different.
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