A few days later, the old year gave way to the new. Except for the necessary personnel on duty, all other ninja were on holiday.
During the festival, Kageyama Kogetsu was quite busy. He had to visit his superiors and elders and socialize with his colleagues. Mostly, it was his subordinates who came to see him.
This was because in Konoha, only the Konoha F4 had a higher status than him. The Commander of the Anbu and the Jonin Commander usually had a slightly higher status than the Head of the Police Force, but that depended on the person.
After the work-related socializing was done, it was time for gatherings with family and friends.
Mikoto and her son, Kushina and her son, Karin and her daughter, Kageyama Kogetsu's family of three, plus Neji, all had a big get-together during the festival.
In the latter half of the holiday, Kageyama Kogetsu took some time to leave Konoha and spent a day with Pakura, leaving a shadow clone to be active in Konoha.
After the holiday, Kageyama Kogetsu would visit Kushina's house from time to time, sometimes with his girlfriends, sometimes without.
Sometimes Mikoto and her son were there, sometimes Karin and her daughter were there. Sometimes he would be handsy with Kushina, sometimes he would be serious.
Although he didn't get to eat the meat, their relationship became closer after the continuous pulling and tugging. It was a different kind of closeness than before, with a lot more ambiguity.
Kageyama Kogetsu really liked this little game. Sometimes, he felt it was no worse than eating the meat.
Although Kushina would either be stern, furious, or even hit him each time, she never broke off contact and would still warmly entertain him every time he visited.
Clearly, Kushina also liked this little game that made life more interesting, or at least, she wasn't resistant to it.
Although there was progress, Kageyama Kogetsu wanted to speed things up a bit, so he took advantage of his free time to go to the Konoha Hospital.
Amidst a chorus of enthusiastic greetings, Kageyama Kogetsu arrived at Uzumaki Karin's office.
As the number one medical ninja at the Konoha Hospital and with no lack of connections, Uzumaki Karin had already become the head of a department at the Konoha Hospital and had her own independent office.
"Lord Kogetsu."
Seeing Kageyama Kogetsu arrive, Uzumaki Karin, dressed in a white coat with her long red hair tied in a bun, her aura mature and capable, stood up from her office chair in pleasant surprise to greet him.
"Lord Kogetsu, please have a seat."
"Haha, alright," Kageyama Kogetsu laughed heartily, closed the door, and sat down in Uzumaki Karin's seat.
Uzumaki Karin went to make a cup of tea and served it to him, her face wreathed in smiles. "This is the first time Lord Kogetsu has come to the Konoha Hospital to see me. I'm so happy!"
"Heh heh... we see each other quite often, don't we?" Kageyama Kogetsu said with a light laugh, accepting the teacup.
"That's different. Is there anything you need me to do, Lord Kogetsu?" Uzumaki Karin said, unable to hide her excitement.
"It's nothing major. I just want you to put in a good word for me with Kushina more often."
"No problem. I'll go and nag her whenever I'm free from now on," Uzumaki Karin said without hesitation.
"I heard that some of the male ninja at the Konoha Hospital admire you. Do you have any thoughts on that?"
"No. I appreciate their admiration, but I'm not interested in them."
"Alas... your husband passed away the earliest. Are you really planning to live like this for the rest of your life?"
Uzumaki Karin clasped her hands together, tightening and loosening her grip, her expression hesitant, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"It seems you have other ideas. Speak. Whatever your thoughts are, I will support you," Kageyama Kogetsu said with a chuckle.
Uzumaki Karin mustered her courage, closed her eyes, and gritted her teeth. "Actually, I... I want to be with you, Lord Kogetsu."
"I know my background is not good, so I don't want any status. As long as I can be with you, Lord Kogetsu, that's enough."
In the past, Uzumaki Karin wouldn't have dared to have such thoughts, but after learning about Kushina and Mikoto, she started to have some ideas.
Today, she had mustered all her courage to take a leap of faith!
Kageyama Kogetsu was inwardly moved upon hearing this, a thoughtful look on his face...
Originally, he had no intention of taking Uzumaki Karin, but now he was actually having some thoughts.
First, Uzumaki Karin was very brave, and brave people should enjoy the world first.
Second, the three best friends, Mikoto, Kushina, and Karin, would be very interesting.
Third, a medical ninja is a doctor, and can also be a nurse, which is quite interesting.
"Alright, you can be with me from now on."
"Yay!"
Hearing Kageyama Kogetsu's answer, Uzumaki Karin felt as if she had heard the voice of heaven. She looked nothing like her usual mature and capable self, and jumped up with joy.
"Hahaha... is there a need to be so happy?" Kageyama Kogetsu teased.
"Of course there is! You don't know, Lord Kogetsu, but I've had you in my heart ever since I settled down in Konoha," Uzumaki Karin said, her face flushing as she lowered her head shyly.
Kageyama Kogetsu was quite happy to hear this. After all, he was liked by a woman who was not bad-looking and had a good temperament.
"I know. I'll come to your house tonight."
Seeing that Kageyama Kogetsu was about to leave, Uzumaki Karin quickly said, "Lord Kogetsu, please wait a moment."
"What else is there?" Kageyama Kogetsu sat back down in his seat.
Uzumaki Karin quickly walked to the shelf by the door and picked up a sign that said "Meeting in progress, please do not disturb." Then, she opened the door, hung the sign, and finally closed and locked the door.
"Karin, what are you..." Kageyama Kogetsu was inwardly moved, but his expression was a little dazed.
"I was afraid you would go back on your word, Lord Kogetsu, so... is there anything I can help you with, Lord Kogetsu?"
As Uzumaki Karin spoke, she mustered her courage and walked with a seductive cat-like gait behind the desk. Her face flushed as she sat on Kageyama Kogetsu's lap, shyly turning her head away.
"Ahem... I do have something I need your help with," Kageyama Kogetsu said with a straight face.
"Lord Kogetsu, please speak."
"I would like you to perform a software hardening and hardware softening procedure."
"I don't know how," Uzumaki Karin said, not understanding the code at all, her expression dejected, feeling that she was too useless.
"No, you do. And if you don't, you can learn."
Kageyama Kogetsu whispered in Uzumaki Karin's ear, making her face redder and redder, her ears flushed, her heart beating faster, and her eyes glistening with moisture.
"Lord Kogetsu, I will study hard," Uzumaki Karin said shyly yet seriously.
"Yoshi! I just happen to have some free time to guide you."
"Let's begin. I'm feeling very hot right now."
Kageyama Kogetsu nodded in satisfaction and encouraged her, then picked up the pen on the desk and threw it under the desk.
Picking up a pen was a small matter that naturally did not require Kageyama Kogetsu to do it himself. Uzumaki Karin stood up and nimbly crawled under the desk to pick it up.
However, the pen had fallen in a very tricky spot, stuck in the gap between the desk and the floor, and it was stuck very tightly. It took Uzumaki Karin a long time to pick it up.
An hour later, a flushed Uzumaki Karin put on and buttoned up her white coat again, her eyebrows raised, her spirits high, looking as if she had become several years younger.
The reason she looked less younger than Kushina and Mikoto was because Uzumaki Karin had already been taking the potion for some time.
"Karin, although your comprehension is not the best, you are the most hardworking. You must continue to work hard in the future," Kageyama Kogetsu, who had returned to his human-dog appearance, said with a straight face.
Uzumaki Karin, however, did not feel that anything was wrong. On the contrary, she was greatly encouraged and said with a serious expression, "Yes, Lord Kogetsu, I will definitely work hard!"
"Mm, I believe in you. Go and open the window a little."
"Yes."
Kageyama Kogetsu dispelled the soundproof barrier. With a wave of his right sleeve, a gentle breeze was generated out of thin air in the room, carrying all the smells out.
"I'll still come to your house tonight," Kageyama Kogetsu said, standing up.
"Yes, Lord Kogetsu."
"I'll be working overtime until very late tonight. I'll send someone to tell Karin to go to Kushina's house for dinner and to sleep tonight."
Although Uzumaki Karin was the most hardworking, her comprehension was not bad either.
"Alright, I'll be going now."
"It's not very convenient for me, so I won't see you out."
"Mm."
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