"You... you did that, and I... I... You haven't even confessed to me yet, so how... how could you do something like that?"
Kurenai recalled what had just happened, and her cheeks turned so red that they seemed ready to burn.
She was mortified with embarrassment.
Ho... how did this happen?
Seiryū had actually kissed her!
And it had been completely unexpected.
It wasn't on the cheek or forehead either, but directly on the lips!
Wasn't that something only couples did?
Seiryū hadn't even confessed to her yet, so how could he suddenly do something so bold?
"Don't misunderstand. I was testing a Forbidden Jutsu. A kiss just happens to be one of the conditions for activating it."
The shameless Seiryū smacked his lips as he looked at the thoroughly embarrassed Kurenai.
He could not help thinking to himself, 'Now this is how a normal girl reacts after being kissed!'
Even when he had kissed Tsunade, aside from a slight blush, she had remained remarkably calm.
She had even kissed him back simply because she felt she had somehow lost out otherwise.
What kind of normal reaction was that?
Kurenai's reaction made far more sense.
She was shy, flustered, and blushing furiously.
Not only was it pleasant to look at, but it also reassured Seiryū that his understanding of women had not completely failed him.
That troublesome woman Tsunade was the abnormal one.
She was already heading dangerously close to yandere territory.
"Um... is it that kind of... that kind of Forbidden Jutsu from Rōran?"
Kurenai's cheeks remained crimson. She lowered her head, not daring to look directly at Seiryū, and spoke in an extremely soft voice.
"Doesn't that mean... I'm already your wife now?"
Seiryū stared at her.
"?"
Then he could not help laughing.
This girl was certainly getting ahead of herself.
Was that really the first thing that had come to mind?
Had she already imagined herself becoming his wife long ago?
How cute.
"What are you laughing at?"
Kurenai finally gathered enough courage to look at him.
"You... you did something like that to me. If... if that isn't what you're thinking, then I... I..."
Her cheeks puffed out slightly, and her beautiful red eyes shimmered with emotion.
Her expression practically screamed that if he dared abandon her now, she would never forgive him.
"Relax."
Seiryū reached out and rubbed her head.
"I've practically been the Yūhi family's future son-in-law since we were children. You're not getting rid of me in this lifetime."
A meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"However, I need to establish three rules with you."
Kurenai visibly relaxed before asking curiously, "What three rules?"
"From now on, you have to listen to me!"
"But... how can an older sister listen to her younger brother?"
Seiryū stared at her again.
"?"
Then he leaned closer.
Their faces were only a short distance apart, close enough that they could hear each other's breathing.
Seiryū looked directly into her red eyes.
"Older sister?"
"Didn't you just say you wanted to be my wife?"
"If you don't want to be my wife, then I suppose I can keep calling you older sister."
'You're too close!'
Even after what had just happened, having Seiryū this close still made Kurenai incredibly nervous.
Her beautiful red eyes darted aside as she pursed her lips.
"Then... don't call me older sister anymore."
"Three rules!"
"At least tell me why I'm supposed to listen to you first."
"Between me and that troublesome woman, who are you going to listen to?"
Seiryū finally revealed his true intentions.
Hmph.
Tsunade thought she could manipulate him?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible!
Seiryū had never willingly allowed himself to be controlled by others.
When he had been weak, he sometimes had no choice but to endure unfavorable situations.
But now that he could rightfully call himself Sage Seiryū, how could he allow himself to be pushed around?
Even if it was by someone he cared about.
Therefore, he was going to win everyone back over.
If Tsunade had spent the past two years bringing them onto her side, then Seiryū would simply bring them back onto his!
That was how he and Tsunade had always gotten along.
It had been that way before, and it would probably remain that way in the future.
"Of course I'll listen to Tsunade-sensei!"
Kurenai shifted slightly away from Seiryū.
Still embarrassed, she avoided looking directly at him.
"She's not only my Sensei, she's also the Hokage. Of course I have to listen to her!"
Seiryū immediately protested.
"Wrong. That's completely wrong."
"You're my future wife. Shouldn't you be standing on my side?"
"But..."
Before Kurenai could continue, Seiryū kissed her again.
Two seconds later, they separated.
Seiryū looked at her seriously.
"So, who are you going to listen to?"
Kurenai's thoughts were still slightly scrambled, but whatever Tsunade had told her clearly remained firmly planted in her mind.
"I... I'll still listen to Sensei."
Seiryū kissed her again.
"Still refusing to surrender?"
"If you don't surrender, I'll keep going!"
"You're bullying me!"
Kurenai's heart was pounding wildly from embarrassment and frustration.
"I'm going to complain to Tsunade-sensei!"
How could he act like this?
He was always teasing her!
She absolutely had to complain to Tsunade.
As for asking her to betray Tsunade?
That was impossible.
Kurenai was not the type of person who would betray someone who trusted her.
Not even for Seiryū.
Seiryū fell silent.
He suddenly felt exhausted.
She still would not surrender?
Just what had that troublesome woman Tsunade been telling her?
Had she secretly used Kotoamatsukami?
"What exactly did that troublesome woman tell you?"
Seiryū looked thoroughly confused.
"Why are you supporting her this firmly?"
"This isn't right. Let me check whether someone put you under Genjutsu!"
Seeing his expression, Kurenai was secretly delighted, but she gave a small, triumphant snort.
"Hmph. We've already formed an alliance."
"If you misbehave in the future, all of us will ignore you!"
Seiryū froze.
"An alliance?"
So that was what had happened?
The corner of his mouth twitched.
"Don't tell me this so-called alliance consists entirely of people close to me."
"What do you think?"
Kurenai glared at him.
"You awful man."
In truth, Kurenai was still somewhat unhappy about the whole situation.
By now, she knew more about Seiryū's intentions.
He liked several girls and had even considered following Rōran's tradition of plural marriage.
It was infuriating!
How could someone be so shameless?
And among the women Seiryū cared about was Tsunade-sensei.
Kurenai could still remember how stunned she had been when she first learned about it.
It had been completely beyond anything she had imagined.
No wonder Seiryū had always refused to acknowledge himself as Tsunade's disciple.
More importantly, during the more than two years Seiryū had been trapped, Kurenai had been frightened and constantly worried about him.
Tsunade had been the one who explained many things to her, comforted her, and gave her hope.
That support had helped Kurenai endure those two years.
How could she possibly turn against Tsunade now?
Not even for Seiryū.
They were all on the same side now, and Tsunade was the one holding everyone together.
"Uh..."
Seiryū gave a dry laugh.
Apparently, Kurenai already knew quite a lot.
Feeling slightly guilty himself, he suddenly found it difficult to argue.
He could only curl his lips.
"That troublesome woman really took advantage of my absence to win all of you over."
"What a scheme."
"I won't let you talk about Tsunade-sensei like that!"
Kurenai glared at him before becoming serious.
"While you were gone, Sensei was under enormous pressure."
"And if it weren't for her... we probably wouldn't have been able to keep believing."
"We might have thought... thought that you were already..."
Her voice faltered.
"It was Sensei who kept telling us that you would come back."
Before Seiryū was rescued, Tsunade had carried more pressure than anyone as Hokage.
She had not only been dealing with the threat posed by Madara.
She had also been constantly worried about Seiryū's safety.
Anyone could imagine the burden she had carried during that period.
It was not something that could be explained in a few simple sentences.
Yet despite everything, Tsunade had endured.
Others could show weakness.
Tsunade could not.
She was the Hokage.
She had to give everyone else confidence.
She had to make them believe that Seiryū would return alive.
Kurenai had never forgotten that.
She genuinely admired everything Tsunade had done.
Looking at Kurenai's serious expression, Seiryū was briefly stunned before smiling.
He rubbed her head.
"All right, all right. I won't argue about this anymore."
"Otherwise, my life is going to become very difficult."
Seiryū had always been perceptive.
Of course he understood how much pressure Tsunade had carried during those two years.
This was simply how the two of them interacted.
They were constantly competing, teasing each other, and trying to gain the upper hand.
It would hardly feel normal otherwise.
That did not mean Seiryū was unaware of everything Tsunade had endured while he was gone.
Kurenai turned her head with a small snort.
"It's good that you understand."
"Anyway, betraying Sensei is impossible."
"No matter what you threaten me with, it won't work."
"We're all on the same side now!"
Seiryū sighed dramatically.
"Where did my adorable little sister go?"
"Now she's openly opposing me."
"It's over. Sage Seiryū has finally been defeated."
Kurenai did not fall for it.
Seiryū could no longer fool her so easily.
"Tch. I'm not a child anymore."
"That trick doesn't work on me!"
Seiryū sighed again.
"Sigh..."
"Um... stop pretending!"
Kurenai puffed out her cheeks.
She knew perfectly well that Seiryū was acting, but for some reason, she still felt slightly guilty.
After hesitating, her cheeks suddenly reddened again.
She pointed behind him with an exaggeratedly surprised expression.
"Hey, look! What's that?"
"Huh?"
Seiryū turned toward where she was pointing.
There was nothing there.
Confused, he turned back.
Before he could speak, Kurenai quickly leaned forward and kissed him.
It lasted only an instant.
Kurenai immediately pulled away, her face bright red, but a radiant smile appeared on her lips.
"Don't misunderstand."
"That was just revenge."
"You kissed me several times, so I had to get you back!"
She quickly stood up.
"I'm going to cook. What do you want to eat today?"
"Anything you make is fine."
"Hehe, got it!"
Kurenai walked toward the kitchen with a smile.
Her pace was noticeably quicker than usual.
Apparently, taking the initiative had embarrassed her far more than she wanted to admit.
Still, Kurenai felt incredibly happy.
Seiryū had finally made his feelings clear.
That kiss had confirmed what had existed between them for years.
They had always been family.
Now, however, their relationship had taken on another meaning as well.
She had waited a long time for this day.
It had finally arrived.
"This girl..."
Watching Kurenai disappear into the kitchen, Seiryū smiled as well.
He looked up at the blue sky and white clouds outside and murmured quietly.
"I suppose it really is time to lay all my cards on the table."
"After disappearing for more than two years, I owe everyone that much."
People in the shinobi world were forced to mature quickly.
There were plenty of cases where relationships and marriages were decided at comparatively young ages.
The Hyūga Clan, for example, often arranged marriages within the clan long before the people involved reached adulthood.
Such customs were hardly unusual in the shinobi world.
More importantly, the modified Rōran Forbidden Jutsu, Divine Transference, genuinely required direct physical contact through a kiss to activate.
If Seiryū wanted to give the people he cared about an additional means of protecting themselves, then it was something he would have to deal with.
In a way, that was not much different from finally making his feelings clear to them.
"I don't need to worry about that troublesome woman anymore."
"Kurenai now has some protection as well."
"That leaves Rin, Hina, and Sāra..."
After several days of experimentation, Seiryū had already deciphered most of the principles behind the Rōran Forbidden Jutsu: Divine Transference.
The technique allowed him to separate a portion of his own power and share it with another person.
Seiryū had not yet reached the level of the Sage of Six Paths, and his control over Yang Power was still inferior to Hagoromo's.
Therefore, he could not casually divide Yang Power and grant it to others.
For now, Divine Transference provided a method of accomplishing something similar.
Yang Power was not comparable to ordinary Tailed Beast Chakra.
The difference in the nature and level of the power meant that dividing it was far more difficult.
Divine Transference was one method through which another person could obtain part of Seiryū's Yang Power.
There was technically another possibility.
Transplanting Seiryū's cells.
Hashirama had possessed extraordinary vitality and a body saturated with powerful Yang Release.
Those who successfully received Hashirama cells could inherit a portion of those characteristics and, in rare circumstances, gain access to Wood Release.
Similarly, combining Hashirama cells with the ocular power of the Uchiha could contribute to the awakening of the Rinnegan.
That alone demonstrated how extraordinary the power contained within Hashirama's cells truly was.
Of course, Seiryū's situation was somewhat different from Hashirama's.
Even if someone transplanted Seiryū's cells right now, there was no guarantee they would obtain Yang Power.
Seiryū's body had not yet permanently become a true Sage Body.
At present, that state only fully manifested when he activated Quincy Vollständig.
His body still needed time to adapt completely to Yang Power.
After all, Hashirama and Seiryū had reached their respective states through entirely different paths.
Hashirama had been born with Asura's Chakra and naturally possessed extraordinary vitality.
Seiryū had developed his Yang Power through his own training.
That difference mattered.
Given enough time, once Seiryū's body fully adapted to Yang Power and permanently developed the characteristics of a Sage Body even in his normal state, transplanting his cells might allow another person to inherit a fraction of his Yang Power.
Seiryū even suspected that anyone who successfully transplanted his cells might gain limited access to some of his unique abilities.
It would be similar to how Hashirama cells could sometimes grant Wood Release.
However, Seiryū had absolutely no interest in allowing his cells to be transplanted into other people.
It was not because he feared someone obtaining weakened versions of his abilities.
That did not concern him very much.
He simply found the idea deeply unpleasant.
Therefore, he had consciously taken precautions to ensure that none of his flesh or blood remained outside his control for extended periods.
His body had already been unusual before.
Now it was even more so.
After awakening Quincy Vollständig, Seiryū had gained an extraordinary regenerative ability.
More importantly, if any piece of his flesh remained somewhere in the world, he could sense its existence in a way somewhat similar to detecting one of his Flying Raijin marks.
Fortunately, Seiryū had not sensed any traces of his biological tissue anywhere else in the shinobi world.
That meant one thing.
No one was secretly researching his cells.
For Seiryū, that was very good news.
Otherwise, the thought alone would have disgusted him.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)