Watching Arata Itsuki walk off without a backward glance, the Third Hokage was practically shaking with rage.
That brat didn't even bother pretending anymore—openly defying him at every turn.
He shot a glare at Danzō beside him and snapped:
"How are the preparations? When's the earliest we can begin?"
Although Hiruzen was the one fuming, Danzō didn't look any happier.
His attempt to disgust Arata had completely failed.
"I told you long ago—kill him while you still could. Now you regret it?"
Hiruzen did regret it.
If he had known things would turn out like this, the moment Arata returned half-dead all those years ago, he should have ignored everything—even Tsunade—and finished him off.
But there is no medicine for regret.
He had no choice but to swallow this bitter fruit.
"Enough nonsense. Answer me—how are the preparations?"
Finally becoming serious, Danzō said:
"The shinobi world is guaranteed to descend into chaos within three months. Until then… we endure."
Hiruzen slowly exhaled.
Three months was a long wait, but patience was something he had mastered—he endured far more than that on his path to becoming Hokage.
Three months was nothing.
---
After adopting Shizune, Arata had no intention of acting as a babysitter himself, so he hired several maids to take care of her daily needs.
Arata's job was simply to guide the little girl in training.
Shizune had never experienced such treatment.
Being bathed, dressed, and fussed over by a group of maids left her completely dazed.
Meanwhile, Tsunade finally confronted Arata.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't understand why Arata wanted to adopt this kid.
She had checked Shizune herself.
The girl wasn't particularly talented—certainly not enough to justify adopting her.
So why?
What was Arata thinking?
Could it really be… some strange fetish?
Arata had just finished arranging everything for Shizune and was on his way to inspect his new system reward—
but Tsunade blocked him at the door.
Seeing his wife's displeased expression, Arata grinned:
"What's wrong? If you want to… handle things, wait until tonight. Doing it in broad daylight is a bit much, don't you think?"
Before he could finish joking, Tsunade punched the wall beside him.
BOOM!!!
The entire wall exploded into rubble.
Inside, the maids were midway through dressing Shizune.
The wall suddenly collapsing made them freeze in horror—
—and Shizune stared blankly at the destruction.
Arata swallowed hard.
What the hell? I didn't even do anything. Why is she so angry?
Tsunade stepped right up to him, raising her fist and shaking it in front of his face.
"Speak. Why did you adopt this girl? If you can't give me a proper explanation, you're dead."
Arata finally understood.
It was because of this.
But the problem was—he really didn't have a good excuse.
And with Hyūga Higurashi offering to have his granddaughter Hyūga Tamamo apprenticed to Tsunade yesterday, the timing couldn't be worse.
If he didn't explain himself properly today…
he really might not be sleeping in the marital bed tonight.
And while Tsunade couldn't physically hurt him due to his elemental body—
—it would definitely destroy his sex life.
The maids immediately grabbed Shizune and pulled her aside in panic.
If these two actually started fighting, it wouldn't stop at breaking one wall—
half the estate might collapse.
Shizune, however, was not scared at all.
She giggled as she watched Tsunade and Arata face off.
A maid quickly covered her mouth.
"Young miss, please don't laugh—Tsunade-hime's fists are no joke…"
Before the maid could finish, Tsunade shot a murderous glare their way.
The maid nearly fainted on the spot.
Tsunade ignored her.
Her target was Arata.
After struggling for the right words, Arata finally said:
"Remember that medical research notebook I gave you? I didn't write all of it. Kato Dan contributed a lot to it as well. We were genuinely close friends. He died, so I'm taking care of his niece for him. But if you don't like her, we can send her back. I heard they planned to assign her to the Intelligence Division anyway. If you're fine with that, I don't mind."
Arata first emphasized his "deep friendship" with Dan—
Dan was dead, and Tsunade had no way to verify the truth.
Then he used the Intelligence Division as a threat.
That place ate people alive—especially children.
Placed there, Shizune would either be turned into a heartless espionage tool…
or die without a trace.
As expected, the moment Tsunade heard the words "Intelligence Division," her expression softened.
"Really?"
Seeing her reaction, Arata pressed forward:
"Of course it's real. If you don't like it, Shizune can live in the side courtyard. This place is huge—I don't even have to see her if you don't want me to."
Tsunade finally believed him.
But she still huffed:
"You'd better not! And you are not allowed to randomly adopt children ever again!"
Arata felt his face twitch.
He hadn't forgotten—Mito already told him she intended for him to adopt Uzumaki Kushina someday.
He had no idea how he'd explain that one.
After scolding Arata, Tsunade transformed instantly, her expression becoming gentle as she went over to fuss over Shizune.
Arata watched his tigress of a wife and muttered under his breath:
"Whatever. When it's time to bring Kushina home, I'll let Mito handle Tsunade…"
He wasn't a lolicon—why did his system keep throwing little girls into his life?
Maybe the system had a weird preference, not him!
Suddenly—
[Ding! Task complete: Continue toward the border and rescue Shizune when the time comes.
Reward: One day of Hyperbolic Time Chamber usage.]
The system prompt startled Arata.
Did this thing… actually have self-awareness?
But soon his attention locked onto the reward.
[Hyperbolic Time Chamber: Upon entry, one day in the ninja world equals one year inside. Upon time expiration, the host is automatically returned.]
This was perfect.
If anything, what he lacked most right now was training time.
A free extra year of cultivation would massively boost his strength before the upcoming war.
But he couldn't use it yet.
The teleportation was instant—he needed to find a safe, empty place first.
And he needed to prepare food beforehand.
Otherwise, going in for a year and starving to death would be the greatest joke in ninja history.
***************************
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