"I, I have to go back..."
Seeing that several hours had passed and dawn was approaching outside, Temari said with a trembling voice... At this moment, she was not only trembling in her voice but her whole body was shaking.
Forcing herself to stand up, Temari gently caressed her lower abdomen with some concern. After another few hours of intense activity, she couldn't help but recall Sakura's advice, feeling a little worried in her heart. Though she knew this child wasn't Shikamaru's, it was still her child...
Temari hadn't realized that she was compromising step by step, and the child in her womb was a major reason for it.
"Don't worry, how could I possibly hurt my own child; he's completely fine..."
Uchiha Yoichi consoled her, then handed her a Recovery Pill, otherwise, she wouldn't have the strength to walk back.
"But you've been doing a great job with your secrets; Nara Shikamaru, that fellow, hasn't discovered anything yet. Or is it that he hasn't touched you at all recently?"
Uchiha Yoichi clicked his tongue as he looked at Temari's body, almost covered with the tally marks.
Despite Temari's pregnancy, her charm seemed to increase incrementally — everything felt better and better, and Nara Shikamaru hadn't noticed a thing.
"...Shikamaru has been busy with village affairs; he's doing it to protect the village."
After taking the Recovery Pill, Temari couldn't help defending Nara Shikamaru with a sentence. She felt guilty towards Nara Shikamaru and didn't want to hear anything that disparaged him.
"Still thinking about family, Lady Temari... But do you think you have the right to return to the Nara Family now?"
Uchiha Yoichi pulled Temari over and pressed her down beneath him.
"Um... No, it's really time... I, I need to go back~ to make breakfast for Shikadai..."
Although Temari's tone conveyed resistance, her hands didn't show any signs of it...
xxxxxxxxxxx
"Finally made it back...."
When Temari quietly returned to her bedroom, she noticed Shikadai wasn't awake, and Shikamaru hadn't returned either, allowing her a sigh of relief; however, the sweat and intense scent lingering on her body urged her to take a shower quickly.
*Creak!*
The downstairs door suddenly made a noise. The sound of the door opening startled Temari; if someone returned at this time, it could only be Shikamaru.
Feeling a bit panicked, Temari quickly went to the bathroom, wet a towel, and wiped her body before spraying some perfume to mask the pungent scent. Only then did she start heading downstairs, pretending to have just woken up.
Seeing Nara Shikamaru getting ready to go upstairs, Temari tried to calm herself, feigning just waking up as she spoke to him: "Shikamaru? You're back, I'll start making breakfast; do you want to rest for a bit?"
"No need, I'll eat before leaving; there's quite a lot to do today.... But has Shikadai not gotten up yet?"
After speaking, Nara Shikamaru intended to call Nara Shikadai. He originally thought Temari hadn't woken up, so he was going upstairs to check... But why was Temari's scent so strong now? And a bit acrid?
However, Nara Shikamaru only complained about it in his mind. He didn't dare speak it out loud; otherwise, the way Temari argued with him might not end well.
Nara Shikamaru said, "No need to make breakfast, Temari; go wake up Shikadai. I'll go out and buy some... Just saw the Shin'no House opening when I came back; how about that?"
"Then... I'll leave it to you, Shikamaru."
Hoping to have Shikamaru leave, Temari readily agreed; her decisiveness was startling to Shikamaru, who was used to Temari disliking eating out, something that the lazy Shikamaru and Shikadai loved.
Never had he expected things to reverse today...
"I'll go change clothes first, Shikamaru."
With that, Temari turned and headed upstairs.
"Oh, uh, I'll go buy the food then..."
Nara Shikamaru paused for a second or two before responding, but by the time he replied, Temari was already back in the room, leaving him scratching his head and preparing to buy breakfast outside.
But just as he was about to leave, Nara Shikamaru noticed something white on the ground, feeling a little strange; had it fallen from Temari?
Just as Nara Shikamaru was about to lean closer to investigate, he heard Nara Shikadai's voice from behind: "Father? What are you doing?"
"Shikadai? You're awake."
Upon hearing his son, Nara Shikamaru turned around quickly, cleared his throat, and said, "Your mother woke up late today, so I'm about to go buy breakfast, want to come along?"
"Sure, I was hoping to eat something; Mom's cooking is too bland..."
"Shh, don't let your Mom hear you say that, or we won't get to eat anymore!"
Quickly rebutted Nara Shikamaru, but with Nara Shikadai's interruption, he forgot all about checking the stairs.
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After the Five Kage meeting, each Ninja Village began to act, assembling elite Ninja Squads to confront the Shell Organization, which might be related to the Otsutsuki.
This battle brought back memories of the Fourth Great Ninja War, because the Ten-Tails and the Shell Organization imprisoning it were clearly present.
The Five Great Ninja Villages needed to send some outstanding Ninja Squads, and Uzumaki Naruto had gone to contact other Tailed Beasts.
After the Fourth Great Ninja War ended, aside from the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails, the other Tailed Beasts returned to their habitats. This time, Uzumaki Naruto used Chakra to contact them, hoping to gain the support of the other seven Tailed Beasts.
The only ones confirmed to arrive within a week were the One-Tail, Four-Tails, and Five-Tails; the other Tailed Beasts were too far, requiring more time.
Moreover, not knowing the details about the Otsutsuki, the Tailed Beasts without Jinchuriki could only serve as a secondary force, despite their strength.
In case the Otsutsuki possessed abilities that restrained Tailed Beasts, letting them appear would be inadvisable; during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Uchiha Madara sealed all nine Tailed Beasts into the Gedo Statue in an instant. Uzumaki Naruto and his team were unsure if the Otsutsuki had such power and didn't want to risk it.
The Five Great Ninja Villages quickly began taking action, feeling as though they were back in the era of the Fourth Great Ninja War, especially when facing the unknown Shell Organization and the involvement of the Ten-Tails.
After the meeting in the Hokage Office, Uchiha Yoichi also learned of the situation.
The phone he developed could eavesdrop even when turned off unless completely drained of power, at which point the eavesdropping function ceased.
"Found the temporal space where Isshiki concealed the Ten-Tails, I didn't expect it to happen so soon...."
Uchiha Yoichi revealed a genuine smile upon hearing the news; it was his primary goal for crossing time and space, something he thought would take years to find, yet it was discovered so much earlier than expected.