"I really missed you, big idiot!"
In that moment, Tsunade didn't care what anyone around her might think.
There was only one thing on her mind right now—she wanted to see Shiki, the man she had missed so much.
"I missed you too."
Breathing in the familiar scent and feeling the warmth and softness in his arms, Shiki replied with a gentle smile. After being apart for so long, he had missed Tsunade just as much.
Their reunion interrupted Shikaku's conversation, but when Nara Shikaku and the others saw Shiki and Tsunade embracing, none of them felt awkward.
Instead, they smiled warmly, offering silent blessings. Many of those present shared the same expression.
Tsunade was the princess of the Senju clan.
And now Shiki—the Golden Lion and hero of Konoha—held a status just as high.
"That's right… something feels strange here."
Tsunade suddenly noticed something odd. Her gaze swept the area before settling on Kurenai, who stood quietly at the edge of her vision, just behind Shiki.
What surprised Tsunade was Kurenai's reaction—or rather, the lack of one. In the past, whenever Tsunade got too close to Shiki, Kurenai would jump between them, unable to hide her jealousy. But today, she didn't say a single word.
It left Tsunade genuinely astonished.
"You really think that little of me?"
Kurenai, clearly understanding Tsunade's thoughts, shrugged naturally and said,
"Long time no see, Tsunade-neechan."
"…Huh?"
In the past, Kurenai had never called her that. After staring at her in surprise for a moment, Tsunade seemed to realize something. Her eyes shifted from Kurenai to Shiki.
"Hehe."
Facing Tsunade's gaze, Shiki said nothing and simply smiled. He had never intended to hide anything from her.
Tsunade wasn't stupid. With things laid out this clearly, how could she not understand?
This girl, Kurenai, had already grown close to Shiki and earned his acceptance while Tsunade was away.
"You little…!"
In the end, Tsunade only rolled her eyes and said nothing more.
"Hahaha!" Shiki laughed at her reaction.
…
Some people were happy, and some were not.
Watching Shiki and Tsunade embrace from a distance, Jiraiya let out a quiet sigh.
Tsunade… she really belongs to someone else…
No matter how much time passed, it still felt unreal to him that someone like Tsunade had a boyfriend. If she knew what he was thinking, she would have smacked him without hesitation.
Fortunately, while Jiraiya could be an idiot, he wasn't foolish enough to say that out loud.
Most of the time, anyway.
But seeing Tsunade and Shiki openly showing affection in public stirred his jealousy enough to make him want to howl.
Unable to help himself, Jiraiya turned toward Orochimaru and said,
"Orochimaru! I feel miserable!"
"Get lost."
"…."
Orochimaru's reply was simple and merciless. He walked away without another word, ignoring Jiraiya's resentful stare.
Shaking his head, Jiraiya didn't dwell on it. Instead, he noticed Minato standing nearby, gazing quietly in Shiki and Tsunade's direction.
Jiraiya blinked in surprise.
"Hey… don't tell me you've fallen for Tsunade too?"
"Ahem!"
Caught off guard, Minato nearly choked.
"That's impossible!"
Tsunade was beautiful, yes—but she was Shiki's partner. Minato would never even think of coveting her.
"Then what are you staring at?"
"I'm looking at Lord Shiki," Minato replied helplessly. Sometimes his teacher's imagination was far too wild.
"…You're not telling me you have a crush on Shiki now, are you?"
"…."
Minato was completely speechless.
"Hahaha! I'm joking," Jiraiya laughed. Of course he knew that wasn't the case. Seeing his apprentice's exasperated expression simply amused him. "So why are you watching him? Want to ask him about strength? If that's it, I can—"
"No."
Minato quickly shook his head.
"I just… saw everyone cheering for Lord Shiki. And I…"
He trailed off, but the loneliness in his eyes said the rest.
Minato wasn't jealous of Shiki. Shiki's achievements were undeniable, and the gap in their strength was obvious. There was nothing to envy.
But ever since he'd been labeled Konoha's sinner, Minato had thrown himself fearlessly into every battle, trying to atone for past mistakes. Even so, the results were limited.
No matter how many enemies he defeated, the looks people gave him still lacked respect. They didn't openly accuse him only because Jiraiya stood behind him.
"Shiki-sama is Konoha's hero… and I'm Konoha's sinner. Jiraiya-sensei…"
"Sigh… Minato…"
Jiraiya wanted to comfort him, but after thinking for a long moment, he couldn't find the right words. In the end, he simply sighed and patted Minato's shoulder.
"You're still young. You have time to make things right. Keep working hard."
"…Yes."
…
The next day, under Shiki's leadership, the Konoha shinobi began their return home.
It wasn't Shiki who was in a hurry—it was the soldiers. The war was finally over. They were safe. Of course they wanted to return to their families as soon as possible.
There was no reason to delay.
Combined, the forces from the four battlefields totaled around seven to eight thousand shinobi. More than ten thousand had gone to war. Only this many remained.
It was a stark reminder of the war's cruelty.
While traveling back to Konoha, Shiki suddenly spotted Kakashi among the ranks.
At first, it meant nothing. But when Shiki noticed Kakashi's eyes were perfectly intact, he blurted out in surprise,
"Your eyes aren't blind?"
"…."
Kakashi blinked and stared at him.
Why is he insulting me? he wondered. From the way he said that, it's like my eyes were supposed to be gone—and he's disappointed they're not. What kind of greeting is that?
For a moment, Kakashi wondered if he'd offended Shiki somehow. If not for the vast gap in their strength, he might have been tempted to throw a punch.
Does this guy even know how to talk? If you can't say something properly, maybe don't say anything at all.
"Ah… ahem."
Shiki coughed lightly, clearly realizing his words had come out wrong. He cleared his throat, glanced beside Kakashi, and asked,
"What about that Uchiha kid with the goggles?"
"…Obito…"
Kakashi fell silent, sadness filling his eyes. The memory alone was enough to weigh heavily on his heart.
Author's Note
A new fanfic novel has been released: Naruto: The Kizaru Template.
If you enjoy lazy but terrifying protagonists, light-speed power, and a bit of trolling in the ninja world, then I'm sure you would come to like it.
At least give me some face and read the first chapter… being a little supportive isn't that troublesome, right? Tagged below 👇