Chapter 46: Big Brother, I Can't Use Shadow Clones
"Hm? I didn't expect him to return to the village?"
"I'll head back to my lodgings first. If you can't find a place to stay… well, come to mine."
From the corner of her eye, Konan caught sight of Jiraiya appearing at the turn of the street. She tossed that line to Shiromo and then left on her own.
It wasn't that her identity couldn't be exposed, it just couldn't be exposed too early.
Otherwise, it would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.
As for the lodging Konan mentioned, it was accommodation that Konoha prepared for visitors with a certain status.
These people had a place to stay as soon as they arrived; they didn't need to fight over space in the inns.
Just as Shiromo had finished refusing to bully kids, the people from Sunagakure arrived in Konoha.
The eight-year-old Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru, ran into Kankurō, triggering a chain of events.
In the end, Gaara and Sasuke appeared, exchanged harsh words with each other, and the farce finally came to an end.
Naruto and Konohamaru walked along the streets of Konoha together.
"Big Brother Naruto, that guy with the big painted face was way too hateful! Starting tomorrow, I'm going to train really hard. Next time I see him, I'll definitely teach him a lesson!"
Konohamaru waved his fists, brimming with fighting spirit.
"Konohamaru, as long as you train hard with the secret technique I taught you, dealing with that guy definitely won't be a problem. And I just happen to be free today, so we can…eh?"
Naruto was just about to drag Konohamaru off somewhere to further "refine" a certain technique when he suddenly spotted a familiar figure.
Big Brother Shiromo?
Why was he in Konoha again?
Was it another mission, or had he come to participate in the Chūnin Exams?
Naruto froze for a moment, then shook his head.
He couldn't be bothered to think about those questions.
"Hehehe."
A strange smile slowly spread across Naruto's face. He slung an arm around Konohamaru's shoulders and began whispering instructions into his ear.
"Konohamaru, you know this, right? My secret technique works better the stronger the ninja is."
"Mm-hm! Of course I know! My grandpa and Ebisu-sensei were both easily taken down by you!"
"See that big brother over there?"
"Yeah."
"He's a top-tier expert I met on A-rank and S-rank missions. Even Kakashi-sensei respects him a lot. Anyway… you get it, right, Konohamaru?"
Naruto spoke with a completely serious expression.
Get it? Get what?
Konohamaru stood there, stunned.
What kind of riddle talk was this?
Fortunately, Konohamaru lived up to his reputation as someone who could learn the Rasengan just from a "poof-pop." He forcibly grasped Naruto's meaning.
"Big Brother Naruto, you mean… we use that big brother as our target to practice our technique, to test how powerful it is, right?"
"Mm-hm-hm! That's exactly what I mean."
Then the two of them sneakily ran off to a corner and used the Transformation Technique.
All of this was seen clearly by Jiraiya.
"That kid is Minato's son, right? Really… huh?, HUH?!"
When Jiraiya saw the technique Naruto and Konohamaru used, his eyes instantly widened.
"This is incredible talent. He's practically a genius!"
Jiraiya sucked in a sharp breath.
At the same time.
Shiromo ran into Kurotsuchi and Terumī Mei, who had come out together to stroll around.
Because of the Economic Mutual Alliance that Shiromo had helped establish, the two of them were unquestionably allies. Today was their first time properly meeting and getting to know each other.
It was also the second time Mei had seen Shiromo since last time.
"I'd always heard that the prettier a woman is, the better she is at deceiving people. I didn't expect men to be the same."
"The ones from the Land of Waves, Zabuza with the Executioner Blade, Kisame with Samehada, and even a Yuki clan Member with Ice Release…"
"If they weren't cooperating, if they weren't allies, I'd definitely have invited them to return to Kirigakure."
Mei's fingers brushed across Shiromo's lips, but there was no hint of complaint in her tone.
Shiromo didn't retort with anything like "If we hadn't cooperated, you wouldn't even be Mizukage." He simply smiled and asked: "So, have you found the Six-Tails?"
"We found him. I arranged a quiet little garden outside the village for him."
"…Before convincing him, we exchanged blows and I took a small injury."
Mei's tone suddenly shifted. She lifted a corner of the shawl draped over her shoulders, briefly revealing the bandages wrapped around her back for Shiromo to see, then covered it again.
"…You two even managed to get injured together?"
Shiromo didn't respond directly to Mei. When he saw the bandages on her, his peripheral vision instinctively flicked toward Kurotsuchi beside her.
Compared to before, Kurotsuchi's clothing had changed noticeably. Although it wasn't the high-slit cheongsam from the photos, it was already a significant improvement over the classic Iwa-ninja outfit that made it hard to tell male from female.
Because of that, the bandages exposed at her waist caught Shiromo's attention.
"I also went to look for the jinchūriki. That stubborn old man Rōshi is just like Grandpa, he insisted that I couldn't make decisions, that the village was still under the old man's control."
Kurotsuchi pouted, clearly displeased as she recalled Rōshi's attitude.
"Stop staring. He just burned my waist a bit with his Lava Release."
"What? You're not thinking of helping us apply medicine, are you? Forget it. Do you think the Mizukage and I don't know the Shadow Clone Technique?"
Kurotsuchi suddenly changed expression, letting out a mischievous laugh as she teased him, even jabbing Shiromo with her elbow.
"..."
Shiromo was just about to complain that Kurotsuchi was adding drama for no reason when two figures suddenly popped up behind him and squeezed their way in front of the trio.
"Big brother, I can't use shadow clones, and I'm injured too. Could you help me apply some medicine~?"
A "woman" with long blond hair, but with unmistakable whisker marks on her face, struck a flirtatious pose in front of Shiromo.
"Me too! My butt was just bitten by a scorpion. Kind big brother, could you help suck out the poison for me?"
The other woman twisted her body, trying to get closer to Shiromo.
To be honest, the biggest giveaway was Naruto himself.
At least Konohamaru's transformation didn't have any obvious features.
Shiromo looked at their performance with complete indifference, and even felt a bit nauseous.
"No!"
Kurotsuchi's face darkened as she stepped in front of Shiromo, hands on her hips.
"You're Konoha ninja, right? If you're injured, go to your medical department. Don't come asking ninjas from other villages for help!"
"The medical department is too expensive."
"Yeah, we're kids from poor families."
"This big brother looks like a good person who loves to help others. Please help us."
Transformed Naruto and Konohamaru spoke back and forth.
Smack.
Kurotsuchi slapped a stack of money into Naruto's hands, then turned sideways to show the straw hat hanging at her waist.
"See this? I'm the Tsuchikage, she's the Mizukage, and this guy has been contracted…uh, requisitioned, by us. Our injuries are extremely important. Take the money and go handle it yourselves at the medical department. Got it?"
After saying that, Kurotsuchi shot Mei a look, and the two of them grabbed Shiromo from left and right and dragged him away.
"This place is terrifying. Is everyone in Konoha a lovesick idiot?"
Kurotsuchi muttered quietly as they left.
(End of this chapter)