After traveling for about a full day and night, Hoshiyomi and the other two returned to Konoha quietly under the dusk sky on the following midnight.
Although he wasn't afraid of being discovered by White Zetsu, Hoshiyomi had a bit of a mischievous desire to see what kind of expression Black Zetsu would make when he suddenly popped out at a critical moment.
Hoshiyomi's mind was still filled with thoughts of everything that had happened over the past three years.
On one side were the dreamlike experiences he had in the other world; on the other were all the behind-the-scenes tricks Black Zetsu had pulled during the three years he was gone.
Events from the two worlds overlapped in his mind, making Hoshiyomi strangely energetic. Despite the long journey back, when he finally lay on the bed, he didn't feel the slightest trace of fatigue.
While his thoughts were running wild, the bedroom door quietly creaked open. Tsunade walked in while towel-drying her still-damp hair. Seeing Hoshiyomi staring at her with wide-open eyes, she looked a bit surprised.
"What are you thinking about? Your eyes look like copper bells."
Looking at his beautiful, elegant wife, Hoshiyomi instantly tossed all his chaotic thoughts out of his head.
Like lightning, he reached out, grabbed Tsunade's wrist, pulled her gently into his arms, and inhaled the faint fragrance from her hair. His breathing grew heavier.
"Thinking about you, of course. Who else would I think about?"
Feeling Hoshiyomi's warm breath tickling her ear, Tsunade's delicate cheeks flushed slightly, though she tried her best to keep a stern face.
"How would I know who you were thinking about? You stayed in another world for three whole years—who knows how many girls you've flirted with there."
Her expression looked serious, but the subtle bitterness in her tone completely exposed her unsettled heart.
Hoshiyomi had almost never seen Tsunade with such a "grieving wife" demeanor. He instinctively stroked her smooth, pale, lotus-like arm and continued whispering by her ear:
"How could I? For those three years I was either training or missing you. I had no time for anything else."
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him, unexpectedly beautiful in a breathtaking way.
"As if I'd believe that."
Seeing her like this, Hoshiyomi could no longer restrain himself.
"They say a short parting is sweeter than a new marriage… it's been three years since we last saw each other. Tonight, we should properly relieve this sorrow of longing."
Tsunade, pinned beneath him, didn't struggle. Instead, she looked up at her man with a smile.
"Are you sure it's only relieving sorrow?"
"…How about relieving sorrow and releasing some pressure?"
"Pervert~"
...
Morning sunlight filtered softly through the curtains, illuminating two entwined figures on the large bed.
Hoshiyomi looked at his still-sleeping wife, feeling a peace he had never felt before. The other world, no matter how happy it was, would never feel as comfortable as this one.
He leaned down and gently kissed Tsunade's cherry-red lips. When he lifted his head, he found her already awake, wearing a faintly amused expression.
"Touching and grabbing me the moment you wake up… Seems like someone still isn't satisfied?"
Looking at Tsunade's seductive, half-lidded gaze, Hoshiyomi suddenly recalled the fear of once being left with trembling knees and an aching waist… Hmm, thinking about it this way, fighting Kimimaro every day didn't sound so bad.
After dawdling for quite a while, the two finally got out of bed.
They walked out of the room together and into the courtyard, where they saw Rie—Hoshiyomi's mother—slowly tending to the flowers and plants outside.
Hearing the sound behind her, Rie instinctively turned her head. Seeing her son and daughter-in-law smiling at her, her hand loosened unconsciously, and the watering can slipped from her grip and hit the ground with a thud—she didn't even notice.
Seeing her son and daughter-in-law whom she hadn't seen for three years, tears immediately welled up in Rie's eyes. But instead of rushing over to hug him, she picked up the watering can from the ground and threw it toward them.
"You brat—so you do remember how to come home! Where have you been showing off for the past three years? Did you forget you still have a mother in Konoha?!"
Tsunade naturally hadn't dared tell the old woman the truth about Hoshiyomi's disappearance, afraid it would shock her too much. So she simply said Hoshiyomi was out traveling.
Hearing his mother's angry yet trembling voice, Hoshiyomi felt a pang of guilt. He didn't dodge the watering can at all—it hit him squarely, not that it hurt.
"I… went somewhere these three years to break through a bottleneck. And now that I've broken through, I came back."
That wasn't exactly a lie—after all, in that other world, he had returned after a breakthrough.
Hearing the loud thud of the watering can hitting her son, Rie panicked and hurried over, checking him up and down. After confirming he was unharmed, she rose onto her tiptoes and tried to smack the back of his head.
"You idiot! Something gets thrown at you and you don't even dodge—what kind of breakthrough is that? You're just trying to worry your poor mother to death!"
Hoshiyomi wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. The older he grew, the more he cherished this kind of familial warmth. Seeing that his aging mother was still lively enough to scold and smack him, he felt nothing but joy.
He gently spread his arms and hugged his mother. His voice softened in a rare moment of tenderness.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm fine. Now that I'm back, I won't be wandering off anymore. For the next few years, I'll stay right here with you."
Rie stiffened for a moment when he hugged her, then patted his back softly. With a gratified look, she rubbed the corner of her eye… then said:
"What's the point of you keeping me company? If you really want to be filial, hurry up and give me a grandchild with Tsunade! Leaving an heir for the Gekko Clan—that's real filial piety!"
Now it was Hoshiyomi's turn to freeze. What could he say? His mother's goals had been unwavering for decades.
After repeatedly promising that this time he was serious—and even vowing she'd be holding a grandchild by next year—Rie finally let him off.
As she walked away, she muttered:
"I've said it so many years, and finally there's a firm answer! No, I need to go tell Moka—can't let her be so focused on her own grandson that she forgets about her grandchild."
Watching his mother's retreating figure, Hoshiyomi suddenly came to his senses and turned toward Tsunade.
"Nawaki… that brat had a kid?"
Tsunade nodded lightly.
"The child was born the year you disappeared. But back then I was waiting for news from Ryūmyaku every day, so I didn't pay much attention. Thinking about it now, we really are terrible as an aunt and uncle."
Hoshiyomi scratched the back of his head awkwardly. His mind drifted for a moment, recalling the middle-aged versions of Konoha 12 he had met in the other world.
Who would've thought… two days ago I was drinking with your thirty-year-old selves, and now I'm about to see you running around in split-crotch pants.
...
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