In the lavish, spacious bedroom, Ameno's mortified, furious voice rang out.
"Wait. Y-you… what are you trying to do?"
"Hey, hey, you're asking what I'm trying to do?" Teizawa sneered as he worked at the layers between them, his tone icy. "Then what did you come to me for? Don't tell me you crossed half the country just to stare at me."
"I… I'm not ready," Ameno said, clutching her collar tight to her chest and refusing to let go.
"Ready for what? It's not like you're marching into a battlefield."
"J-just… give me a little time, okay?"
Teizawa's eyes narrowed as he looked down at her.
"You don't want to?"
Ameno's lashes trembled. Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes as she gripped her collar so hard her knuckles turned white.
"I'm scared."
Teizawa let out a short, scornful laugh. "Scared of what? You're a shinobi. What is there to be scared of?"
"It's different," Ameno whispered, careful as if one wrong word would shatter what little courage she had. "Please. Just give me a little time."
"No."
Teizawa had never been the type to talk about feelings first. To him, it had always been: get on the ship first, pay for the ticket later.
But when he saw Ameno trembling, crying like she'd been pushed to the edge, something in him clicked. He paused, studied her, then spoke as if he'd suddenly remembered an irrelevant question.
"Did you ever ride a carousel when you were a kid?"
"Huh?" Ameno blinked through her tears, thrown completely off balance. "N-no… I never did."
"Then your childhood was seriously lacking." Teizawa pried her hands away, but his grin was wicked rather than rough. "Fine. Tonight, I'll make up for it. Carousel first… then the little rocking ride."
"Y-you—"
Ameno's protest didn't finish. The room fell quiet, the rest swallowed by the soft press of closeness and a long stretch of time that needed no words.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
Teizawa was, genuinely, stunned.
Compared to Ameno, Temari suddenly felt like she'd grown up poor.
And once Teizawa made up his mind, he didn't hesitate.
A real man, after all, was supposed to draw his blade when it mattered.
…
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the medical Water Release: "Water Jellyfish" (Self-Healing)]
After Teizawa secured a "stage victory," the system's mechanical voice rang out in his mind right on schedule.
In the next instant, the detailed method of using this so-called medical Water Release was stamped into his memory.
And Teizawa couldn't help being surprised.
Because this medical Water Release, "Water Jellyfish," didn't just let him heal himself.
It could also restore his physical condition for a period of time.
That was… absurdly good.
Tempted, Teizawa immediately formed hand seals and silently recited in his mind:
"Suiton (Water Release)! Mizukurage (Self-Healing)!"
A cool, icy sensation surged through his body.
In the blink of an eye, the fatigue from earlier vanished completely.
He felt like he had endless energy to burn.
"Damn… that's insane," Teizawa muttered, eyes bright with excitement.
This jutsu could do that?
At the same time, Ameno, still lying there and questioning reality, suddenly furrowed her brows.
Wait.
Why does it feel like he's… again?
Before she could make sense of it, Teizawa had already gone in for a second round.
…
The next day, the Wind Daimyo's estate sat beneath the blazing noon sun in an eerie, unnatural silence.
The main road that was usually packed with traffic had been cleared completely.
A Sand shinobi stood every five steps on both sides.
They faced outward with their backs to the road, on guard.
The killing intent in the air was sharp enough to make a person's spine go cold.
Deep inside the estate, the once glittering, gold-laden warehouse district had been emptied down to the last corner.
Squads of Sand shinobi carried out the final batch of valuables from palaces, hidden rooms, and underground vaults.
Their movements were uniform, silent, and efficient.
Teizawa stood on the highest central viewing platform in the estate.
He looked down on the teams below, busy as ants.
At his side was Ameno, her face still a little pale, her eyes and brows carrying a resentful gloom that refused to fade.
"Can't you take me back to the village?" Ameno asked bitterly.
Last night she'd been treated like a doll, posed and turned whichever way he pleased.
Even now, her body still hadn't fully recovered.
And then this man turned around and acted like nothing happened, saying she had to stay behind at the estate.
Of course she felt wronged.
Teizawa turned and shot her a look, thinking: women really are the type to take a mile the second you give an inch.
Before you "deepened the exchange," they could still maintain basic awe.
Once you'd truly laid everything bare…
They got clingy.
They stopped caring what your status was.
Just because they had two mouths, they started acting righteously demanding.
Still…
Thinking of how soft and limp she'd felt in his arms, Teizawa couldn't quite bring himself to be harsh.
"Be good," he said, softening his tone as he fed her a well-meaning lie. "I can only feel at ease if you stay here and watch the daimyo's estate for me."
Because if he dragged a newly claimed Ameno back to Sunagakure…
Temari would take one look and rip her throat out.
He was doing it for her own good.
Hearing him say that, Ameno pressed her lips together, still doubtful.
"But I'm only a genin. What can I even do?"
"You're my woman," Teizawa said flatly. "So you're going to hold the daimyo's financial power for me. That way I don't have to worry about my back."
"W-what? Me… can I really do that?" Ameno's confidence wavered.
"I'll have Baki follow your orders," Teizawa said. "You just take over."
Ameno hesitated, caught between nerves and uncertainty. Teizawa leaned in and kept pushing, smooth and relentless.
"You're the only one I can trust, Ameno. You'll help me, right?"
"T-then…" Ameno bit her lip hard. "I… I'll try?"
"I believe in you," Teizawa said with a gentle smile.
The smile made Ameno's heart flutter.
Almost reflexively, she squeezed her thighs together, lips parting as if she wanted to say something, then didn't.
In truth, Teizawa's decision to let Ameno try controlling the estate's economic lifeline wasn't a whim.
Ameno was a medical-nin.
And medical-nin weren't just known for fine chakra control, they were known for being meticulous.
Point that meticulousness at money…
She'd probably become competent fast.
Just like how a boss's finance chief had to be one of their own.
Teizawa trusted Ameno more than anyone else he'd just handed the handle of the knife to.
"Kazekage-sama," Baki said as he strode up the steps to the viewing platform and dropped to one knee.
The veteran jōnin had a sheen of sweat on his forehead, fine and dense.
"The last three hidden chambers have been inventoried. All valuables have been crated."
"The total is confirmed: twenty-three billion ryō, plus assorted treasures, antiques, and sealed scrolls. The estimated value of those hasn't been fully counted yet."
Teizawa didn't turn around, only gave a quiet "Mm."
His gaze stayed on the square below.
It was piled high with crates of every size.
Even the smallest reached a person's waist. The largest needed four men working together to move.
The materials varied: rosewood, ironwood, even stone crates carved from single blocks of granite.
Every surface was layered with sealing tags, stacked so thick they looked like scales.
"There are too few space-time specialists," Teizawa finally said, regret in his voice.
"In all of Sunagakure, the number of space nin who can relocate this much material in one go is under five."
"Even space scrolls are pathetically scarce…"
Baki lowered his head. "I'm sorry sir. I failed to train more…"
"It's not your problem," Teizawa cut in. "It's the talent gap caused by Sunagakure's long-term lack of resources. So…"
He raised a hand and pointed to the far end of the square.
More than two hundred specially made wagons were lined up in formation there.
They'd clearly been modified in a hurry.
The wheels were reinforced. The axles thickened.
The carriage bodies were double-layered with iron plates and wooden boards.
Each wagon was pulled by four sturdy desert packhorses, obviously requisitioned from the daimyo's own stables.
"We'll use the oldest method," Teizawa said, voice calm. "And the most reliable."
(End of Chapter)
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