Chapter 111: Three People Who Can't Scrape Together One Family Member
Hinata had been holding back at first, but now she was surrounded by girls, with Makoto encouraging her. Slowly, she began to eat with abandon.
Anko had been full of bravado at the beginning, but when she saw Hinata single-handedly eat more food than everyone else combined, her face completely lost all color. It looked like her savings were about to be completely wiped out. She would have to leave the village tomorrow to take a mission.
"Don't worry. If it's not enough, I'll help you cover the rest."
Kurenai was naturally sitting with Anko. Although it was fun to hang out with a group of young kids, in the end, she had more to talk about with people her own age.
"What's wrong with you? Did you get into another argument with... him?" Anko asked, moved by her friend's kindness, finally remembering to show some concern.
Kurenai shook her head, clearly not wanting to talk about it. But after a few seconds of silence, as if she couldn't stand it, she said, "He hasn't even successfully wooed me yet, and he's already trying to restrict my movements."
"I just wanted to come and check on my little brother for the New Year. I haven't even been in contact with Makoto-kun recently."
Anko grinned. "Right, right! You should show him who's boss. If you give in now, will you even be able to leave the house in the future?"
Kurenai shot her a look. "Stop worrying about me. What about you? How are things?"
Anko blushed slightly, scratching her hair as she glanced at Makoto, who was surrounded by the girls. A trace of gentleness flashed in her eyes.
"Not bad, I guess. At least he's truly forgiven me."
Kurenai helplessly covered her face. "You're not bothered at all by all those girls around him?"
"What should I be bothered about? Isn't it only natural that he's popular?" Anko asked, confused.
Kurenai could only lean in and whisper in her ear, "What I mean is, haven't you considered... turning that past mistake into a happy memory?"
Anko froze, then looked at Kurenai in disbelief, shaking her head like a rattle.
"I'm just happy that he's happy and safe! As for the rest, don't talk such nonsense, Kurenai!"
Kurenai didn't bother to say any more. She knew very well that Anko's reaction meant she had clearly fallen into it. And it wasn't like she had any right to talk. Weren't her own private affairs also a mess? She really didn't know how that guy, Makoto, had the guts to provoke so many girls at the same time.
The group played and laughed until nearly midnight before they finally said their goodbyes to him and left. Welcoming the New Year was, after all, something to be done with family.
Unless, of course, you didn't have one.
"You two aren't planning on going back?"
Makoto looked at Kurenai and Anko in surprise, then at the empty table in front of them. "Forget going back, you're not even going to have a drink?"
"Hahaha, I've quit drinking! Drinking too much causes trouble."
Kurenai also said, "From now on, I'll only drink when I'm alone."
But he pretended not to hear them. He ordered a bottle of sake and filled both of their cups.
"It's fine, go ahead and drink. I'll stay sober."
Anko was still a little hesitant, but Kurenai picked up her cup and said in a slightly playful tone, "It seems you've become very confident in your strength, little brother. But Anko is a Special Jōnin, you know. Her strength isn't something you can imagine."
"It's fine. I trust that from now on, Big Sister Anko will only use her strength to protect me."
Anko pursed her lips and took a small sip of sake, a drunken flush already appearing on her cheeks. Sometimes, drinking was like that: the wine doesn't make the person drunk, the person makes themselves drunk. Right now, all Anko had to do was look at him, and it was the equivalent of downing half a bottle.
"Only Big Sister Anko?"
Kurenai, seeing the warm atmosphere developing between him and Anko, couldn't help but say something. Although she had already drawn a line between them, seeing him about to become Anko's "little brother" instead of hers made her feel as if her great treasure was being snatched away.
Makoto naturally wouldn't neglect her. "As long as Big Sister Kurenai is willing to stand by my side, you will always be my dearest sister."
"That honeyed mouth of yours... no wonder so many girls flock to you. What do you plan to do in the future? Don't you know this is very dangerous?" Her expression became a little more serious. Taking advantage of the good mood, as his "big sister," she felt she had to guide him on his future path in life.
He smiled faintly. "Do you two sisters remember what I said before? I want to build a big family."
At first, they didn't understand what he meant. But seeing his fearless expression, Kurenai's jaw dropped. "You... you want to marry several people?"
Anko was also stunned. A series of expressions flashed across her face—shock, regret, hope—before she finally forced it into one of concern. "Little brother, if you do that, you'll probably be torn to shreds by angry kunoichi. Are you prepared?"
"If any of them can't accept this idea, I naturally won't walk with them to the end. After all, not forcing others is my own principle."
His casual attitude gave Kurenai a headache. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Makoto-kun, perhaps because you're an orphan, you don't understand the current situation in Konoha. The system in Konoha is almost entirely monogamous—although no one has stipulated it must be so."
"Even my generation and Anko's have grown accustomed to this. Do you really think these younger girls will agree to share you?"
He sighed. "Big Sisters, I know it's difficult. But as I just said, I won't force anyone."
"There will always be someone who agrees... probably? If not, I'll just have to become even more outstanding."
"This isn't a problem of you being outstanding or not! It's that relationships require focus!" Kurenai tapped the table. The anger that she had just suppressed seemed to be rising again.
He was not afraid. "Big Sister Kurenai, we haven't even reached the stage of talking about a relationship yet!"
"If that day truly comes, I won't hide my intentions."
Kurenai was speechless. What he said was true. Even with Tenten, with whom he was the closest, they were clearly not yet lovers despite their intimate behavior. And he hadn't done anything out of line to any of them—in fact, compared to them, it seemed the "out of line" acts he had committed had been directed more at her.
"In any case, you can't do that in Konoha! You'll be beaten to death."
He let out a soft sigh. "If it really doesn't work out, then I'll just have to leave Konoha. Perhaps I can try my luck in the capital?"
Kurenai froze. Only now did she remember that he was not a ninja. Even if he was strong, if he wanted to leave Konoha, the village had no authority to manage him. The Land of Fire, in the end, belonged to the Daimyō. Konoha was just its military fortress, responsible only for managing ninja and guarding national security. It had no power over civilians.
Of course, that was in theory. In practice, if a ninja used force on a civilian, as long as it didn't blow up, no one would care. But he, of all people, had the ability to blow things up. One had to remember that the people who came to buy his book even included the Daimyō's wife.
"Little brother, why do you have this kind of idea?" Kurenai, seeing that the hard approach wouldn't work, felt she had to try a soft one.
"Actually, happiness isn't about the number of people. Look at Hinata and Hanabi from before. They weren't happy, were they?"
In a rare move, he directly refuted her. "But if you have no one at all, you can't even speak of happiness. All three of us are the same in that regard."
Kurenai was speechless.
The truly happy people had all said their goodbyes and left to be with their families long ago. The three of them couldn't even scrape together a single family member between them, so what else could they do but drink in a small tavern?
"That's not the same thing! You can't just generalize—"
Just as she was about to say more, he turned his head and looked at Anko. He hadn't been trying to convince her, just to water the seed he had planted in her heart.
"Big Sister Anko, you'll support me, right?"
He poured her a cup of sake and gave her a charming smile.
Anko's eyes were practically glued to him. "Yes!" she said quickly. "Whatever you do, little brother, I'll support you!"
"Anko!" Kurenai cried, both angry and amused. Anko was showing her favoritism without even considering the situation.
But she hadn't expected Anko to start refuting her as well.
"Kurenai, he just wants more family! He wants to experience what a big family is like. If he only marries one wife, how can he build a big family?"
"Even if his future wife is willing to give him ten children, he can't support them all by himself working alone!"
"As long as everyone is willing, what's wrong with it?"
With that, Anko gave him a thumbs-up. "And in the future, if any of your children want to become ninja, how about I become their supervising teacher?"
"Don't worry, by that time, I'll definitely be a Jōnin!"
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 200 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you