Chapter 294: Kankurō's Attitude Shift: Hello, Brother-in-law
At this moment, Tsunade was in turmoil.
Seeing Akiyama Makoto's lifestyle at home, she realized that just kissing was no longer enough to satisfy him.
With his strength and initiative, it was estimated that the adult women in his family had long been his partners in bed.
Would she have to serve him with the same price?
Thinking of this, Tsunade felt a heat rising from the bottom of her heart.
She shouldn't have had such a reaction.
After all, she had returned to her original life state. The only things that should interest her now were alcohol and the sense of mission to do something for Konoha.
But the youthful memories he left her felt like they happened just yesterday, making it impossible for her to forget no matter what.
Most importantly, even if she did this, would he accept it?
Tsunade had lost confidence in herself in this state.
Originally, the youthful appearance brought by the Yin Seal was a weapon strong enough to maintain her confidence.
Especially in front of her peers, Tsunade was always the most eye-catching one.
Unfortunately, Tsunade knew that her Yin Seal had no competitiveness at all in front of his secret technique.
If she stated the only condition she could offer, and then was rejected by him, wouldn't she be humiliating herself?
Even if Tsunade was beginning to be suppressed by him in strength and even status, she still wanted to protect her dignity.
Who told her to grow up as the Princess of Konoha, and now be the Hokage?
Tsunade could choose not to show her temper in front of him, but at least she shouldn't become an object played with and bullied by him.
This was Tsunade's last persistence.
So finally, Tsunade exhaled and said, "Fine."
"If you help me solve this trouble, I'll do whatever you ask."
"Let me see if you have the guts to make an excessive request."
Tsunade puffed out her chest, bumping his neck backward.
He rubbed his nose, which had bumped into a warm and soft embrace. Looking at Tsunade, who looked confident on the surface but was actually breathing irregularly, he smiled and said, "It's a deal."
"Good. Then I'll wait for your good news."
Then Tsunade turned and left. Although her steps seemed steady, she walked faster and faster, finally returning to her residence as if fleeing.
When she closed the door and leaned back against it, her suppressed emotions erupted, and her face turned crimson.
She had no doubt that he could solve the Sand Village's problem.
Shikaku Nara's so-called "winning game" of the Sand Village not admitting defeat was actually based on a very simple premise: that Konoha couldn't attack the Sand Village again.
But Makoto was different.
Mastering the Flying Thunder God, he could go "shopping" in the Sand Village every day.
Kill a Jōnin today, kill three Chūnin tomorrow.
Within a month, the entire Sand Village would collapse under his killings. At that time, no matter what conditions he proposed, the Sand Village would obediently agree.
This was also why Tsunade insisted on asking him for help.
Unfortunately, she had to pay the price herself—what if he really asked her to do that kind of thing? What should she do then?
Submit to him, or use the dignity of the Hokage to resist and break her promise again?
Tsunade instinctively didn't want to reject him again.
Not because she was infatuated, but because he clearly had a vindictive personality.
Last time, he took the First Hokage's necklace from her. This time, he fought against the Sand Village alone for her sake. What conditions should she offer to appease his anger?
Compared to that, satisfying him with herself seemed to be a relatively cost-effective approach—thinking of this, Tsunade couldn't help but slap herself.
Tsunade, oh Tsunade, you've wasted your life until now, yet you want to commit yourself to a little boy. You've really lived in vain.
"Lady Tsunade, what's wrong?"
Shizune heard the noise and ran out quickly.
Tsunade quickly covered her face. Seeing that she couldn't hide, she laughed and said, "Mosquito, just a mosquito."
Then she rubbed her cheek, and the redness and swelling disappeared immediately.
This method was enough to deceive ordinary people, but Shizune was also a master of medical ninjutsu. How could she be fooled?
Shizune memorized Tsunade's shaken, confused, and shy expression, secretly deciding to ask Makoto about today's events later.
After sending Tsunade away, Makoto immediately faced the gossip interrogation of the girls.
He didn't want to say much, but he was almost immediately stripped by the girls.
If he didn't talk, they would punish him with harsh torture.
Startled, he retaliated against them while recounting what happened before and after the Chūnin Exams.
In fact, apart from the fact that he met Tsunade in advance, there was really nothing he couldn't talk about between him and Tsunade.
It was just that after listening, the girls all looked at him unkindly, obviously feeling jealous.
Although they were all confirmed to be his women and would become his wives in the future, they hadn't been pursued so passionately by him yet.
"Sure enough, big is good."
Anko puffed out her chest, feeling she had grasped his weakness. In fact, she was right.
Yūgao's eyes lit up slightly, thoughtful.
Sakura and the others immediately put their hands on their chests to check their growth status, only to find dejectedly that they probably wouldn't grow to Tsunade's scale.
What to do? Admit defeat in this matter?
"Don't worry, you still have room to grow."
He looked at each of them and finally expressed kind comfort. Then he was attacked by the girls together again.
Hands of different sizes roamed over him. Finally, he got annoyed, grabbed one person randomly, and pressed her under him. The rest scattered in a hubbub.
He looked carefully at the person under him. To his surprise, it was Temari.
Temari was obviously stunned by such a scene.
In front of her was the almost naked Makoto, and she herself was disheveled, while he was panting heavily.
If it were just this, it would be fine. Just now, she was the most enthusiastic one playing, after all, having been suppressed by him for so long, the rebellious thoughts in her heart hadn't completely disappeared.
Now if he wanted to retaliate recklessly, should she resist? How should she resist?
Just as Temari was still hesitating, the figures of the two suddenly flashed, and they actually arrived on Makoto's bed.
Temari was startled, and then, to her own surprise, her emotions slowly calmed down.
She had expected this day long ago; she just didn't expect it to come so soon.
However, she didn't have much resistance in her heart. Instead, she had an eager impulse.
Perhaps this still wasn't because of love, but because Makoto was about to take full responsibility for resolving the dispute between Konoha and the Sand Village. If she became his woman, it would be more conducive to solving this problem.
Maybe this was the so-called political marriage.
However, since she didn't dislike him, what was unacceptable?
Thinking of this, Temari slowly closed her eyes.
He unceremoniously kissed her lips.
Clothes fell, and before long, the two were tightly hugging each other.
Just when Temari thought she was going to become an adult, he changed the subject and said, "Let's talk about the Sand Village. What does the Sand Village want?"
Temari felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, suffocating and uncomfortable.
She held his face unwillingly, found that he wasn't joking but really intended to talk business, and then lay on his chest like a deflated balloon.
Her brain slowly cooled down, and her reason recovered slightly.
Then her body began to burn again, because she realized that the state of the two at this time was too ambiguous.
He... could probably feel the curves of her figure, right?
"Not talking? Then I'll take it as you having no objections. The Sand Village will pay reparations to Konoha as the defeated side."
He pinched Temari's butt. Temari screamed, "No, absolutely not!"
What's absolutely not?
He didn't understand for a moment. Temari also realized her words were ambiguous and quickly sat up. "I mean, the Sand Village cannot admit defeat and pay reparations to Konoha as the defeated side."
"Granny Chiyo means that the Sand Village will treat the last incident as my father—no, as Rasa and his clique colluding with Orochimaru and acting alone. The rest of the Sand Village didn't know about this."
"The Daimyō of the Land of Wind didn't know about this either, so this doesn't count as a war, just a conflict, so naturally there's no defeat to talk about."
"The Sand can pay a certain price to redeem the three of us, but that's all."
He was amused by Temari's words. "You mean, Rasa, the Kazekage, was expelled from the Sand Village? To say such things... it's indeed Chiyo's style."
"Old but not dying is a thief" perfectly described Chiyo's current condition.
In his previous simulations, he had dealt with Chiyo quite a lot.
However, he soon tricked Chiyo into leaving the village to her death with news of Sasori, so he didn't fight with Chiyo for long.
Now, it seemed he could use this piece of intelligence to make a fuss.
But this alone was not enough.
The problem now was that the Sand Village was desperately trying to drag this failure to an angle irrelevant to the Sand Village, while he had to ensure Konoha didn't lose face or substance.
This seemed like an irreconcilable conflict, but in fact, he had a solution that satisfied both sides.
Hearing his dissatisfied tone, Temari's heart trembled, and she quickly said gently, "Um... I know you must have a way to solve all this, right?"
"You—you said you wanted me to become a member of the Akiyama family, and I consider myself yours too."
"Even if it's for me, don't make it harder for the Sand Village, okay?"
After speaking, Temari lay on his chest and actively offered a sweet kiss.
The body with exotic charm, trained over a long time, trembled slightly in his arms. This wonderful feeling made him feel that helping Temari wasn't in vain.
Of course, he wasn't doing these things entirely for Temari.
Temari was at best a lead-in. For the remaining key issues, he still had to talk to Chiyo.
So he said, "Tomorrow I'll take you to see Chiyo. There are some things I need to talk to her face to face."
"Also, Temari, I want to ask a question."
Seeing his serious expression, Temari immediately said, "Ask. I'll tell you everything I know."
"It's actually very simple. Chiyo is obviously going to sacrifice your father to protect the interests of the Sand Village. What about you?"
"To facilitate the peace talks between the two sides, what do you plan to give?"
Temari's body trembled, misunderstanding his meaning, and her feet hooked around his ankles.
Seeing that she was about to do something bad, he patted her back and said, "Don't mess around. I mean things outside the boudoir."
"Or to put it bluntly, are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the Sand Village?"
Temari didn't know why he said this, but finally nodded silently.
"Although Granny Chiyo is talking nonsense, she is right. It was indeed my father who caused all this."
"He died, unable to take responsibility, implicating us three siblings to become prisoners. To solve all this, what harm is there in me, the older sister, sacrificing myself a little?"
"In that case, the problem is simple."
He hugged Temari, patting her shoulder gently to calm down the emotional Temari.
The night was still long. Only by calming down could their discussion continue.
Slowly, Temari learned his thoughts.
After a long silence, she nodded again. This time, there was a trace of determination in her eyes, representing her determination to dedicate everything for the Sand Village.
Thus, as the night grew late, the two slowly entered dreamland.
He didn't do anything bad, but there wasn't much left undone.
When Temari woke up the next day, she was so shy that she wrapped her head up, not daring to look at him, and kept trying to kick him out of bed.
But this was his bed!
He didn't argue with Temari. After having breakfast with Temari and the other girls, he took Temari to the Konoha prison to pick someone up.
Seeing his appearance again, the reactions of Gaara and Kankurō were not big.
Especially seeing Temari affectionately holding his arm, Kankurō felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten a crow.
Gaara felt a sense of relief. It seemed that in his view, following Makoto, Temari would no longer be in danger no matter what.
"I came today to take you away."
He pointed at Kankurō. Kankurō was shocked and in disbelief.
Then he said, "Konoha wants to negotiate with the Sand Village, and you are Konoha's sincerity. Don't be happy too early. If the talks collapse, I will capture you back."
"N-No... I mean, thank you... uh, brother-in-law."
After the initial embarrassment, Kankurō spoke more and more fluently, and finally even called out "brother-in-law."
He looked at Kankurō in surprise, and Temari also turned bright red.
As for Kankurō, he covered his face in shame. He didn't mean it either.
However, thinking that he could escape the cage, Kankurō felt his previous persistence wasn't that important anymore.
Perhaps this was what ninja meant by "shouldn't have emotions"?
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