To send these three little girls home, Aoba also suffered a lot.
Although, due to Aoba's change in status, the fathers of Tenten and the others no longer looked at him with murderous eyes like before, their expressions were still far from friendly.
Each of them had a forced smile, with an expression that didn't quite match their emotions.
In front of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, Ino raised her hand and waved, her voice full of reluctance.
"Aoba, see you tomorrow!"
Even though she couldn't go to Tsunade's house with Aoba in the morning, she could still find him in the small forest in the afternoon.
Even if they couldn't play alone together, chatting and looking at flowers together wasn't bad either.
Aoba looked back, seeing Yamanaka Inoichi standing behind Ino like a statue, and still waved at her.
"Ino, see you tomorrow," After saying goodbye, Aoba quickly headed home.
———
Arriving at the door, he was surprised to see that the lights at home were already on.
Upon entering, sure enough, Hayame and Uzuki Yugao were already inside.
At the same time, a table full of food was prepared, seemingly waiting for him.
"Aoba, congratulations," Hayame's mouth could hardly contain his smile.
"Originally, I was planning to ask the Third Hokage to let you become Tsunade-sama's disciple."
"I didn't expect that you were already Tsunade-sama's disciple!"
Hayame was filled with pride, and his heart, which had been tense for so long, was finally at ease.
Becoming Tsunade's disciple, not to mention the high potential for the future, at least even if something happened to Aoba later, those clans wouldn't be able to just get rid of him without consequence.
"Haha, just lucky, just lucky," Aoba was quite humble.
"Aoba, don't be so modest. Being able to become Tsunade-sama's disciple is something countless people in the village dream of," Uzuki Yugao placed a bowl of rice on the table and then curiously asked, "I heard Tsunade-sama personally sought you out to take you as a disciple. Is that true?"
Aoba thought for a moment and then nodded in confirmation, "At that time, it was indeed my teacher who came to find me."
"It seems that even Tsunade-sama couldn't resist Aoba's talent," Uzuki Yugao was sincerely happy for Aoba.
"It's all thanks to my hard work and sweat!", Aoba said this, but in his heart, he silently added, 'And just a little bit of an external advantage.'
"Aoba really has worked hard. Here, as a reward, have a piece of beef," Uzuki Yugao picked up a piece of beef and placed it in Aoba's bowl.
"I don't eat beef!", Aoba replied without thinking.
"Hmm?"
Uzuki Yugao was momentarily stunned, looking at Aoba in confusion, "Weren't you the one who liked beef the most before?"
"Haha, just kidding."
Aoba quickly stuffed the piece of beef into his mouth. He had been too excited just now and blurted it out without thinking.
Uzuki Yugao gave Aoba a look of mild annoyance, "I almost thought today's food didn't suit your taste."
Saying this, she scooped another big spoonful of beef into Aoba's bowl, wanting to see if he was really joking.
Aoba didn't hesitate and started eating heartily.
Most of the beef in Konoha was grilled or pan-seared.
This stir-fry method was something Aoba had taught Uzuki Yugao.
Seeing Aoba eating so happily, Uzuki Yugao was also pleased and continued eating.
And Hayame, who had been watching from the side, smiled even more contentedly.
This was probably what family happiness looked like.
While eating, Aoba suddenly remembered something and put down his chopsticks.
"Uncle, Sister Yugao, my teacher said I can move to her place."
"That way, I won't have to commute back and forth, and it'll be more convenient for lessons."
Hayame and Uzuki Yugao stopped eating at the same time.
"If it helps with your learning, I have no objections," Hayame immediately agreed.
After all, he was often away on missions and didn't spend much time at home anyway.
But the main issue wasn't with him—it was…
Hayame glanced at Uzuki Yugao beside him and noticed that she had tightened her grip on her chopsticks, clearly hesitating.
After raising him for so long, she hadn't even had the chance to "harvest" him yet, and now she suddenly had to send him away.
Even if it was for his own good, it was still a bit hard to accept.
"Aoba, what do you think?", Uzuki Yugao asked about Aoba's opinion.
Without hesitation, Aoba answered, "I'll listen to Sister Yugao."
Seeing the sincerity in Aoba's eyes, Uzuki Yugao's heart trembled slightly.
Finally, with a hint of helplessness, she reached out and gently patted his head, smiling, "Then go ahead. I'll come visit when I have time."
"Mhm."
———
The carefree days passed the fastest.
As winter turned to spring, the snow by the roadside melted, and the trees along the streets began to sprout new buds.
Before they knew it, it was already the season of blooming flowers and chirping birds.
By the small river in Konoha's back mountains, at Naruto's secret base—
Two small figures stood together.
"Aoba! I've learned my first jutsu!"
Naruto looked extremely excited.
Aoba was also curious and asked, "What jutsu?"
"Watch!"
Naruto immediately jumped in front of Aoba and formed a hand seal in front of his chest.
A cloud of smoke instantly rose.
As the smoke dissipated—
"Pfft—"
Aoba's eyes widened, almost spitting out his saliva onto Naruto.
'What… what is this?'
'This blonde twin-tailed girl… what the heck is this?'
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y