Before long, a plainly dressed woman was led up.
Teizawa glanced sideways.
Not because she was especially pretty.
But because she looked familiar.
The woman in front of him wasn't that old, maybe about Temari's age.
Yet her figure was far fuller than Temari's.
That precarious, overwhelming "scale" was at least twice Temari's.
…Damn.
Teizawa even suspected she could go toe-to-toe with Tsunade.
A white sash cinched her slim waist, making her curves look even more pronounced.
And those long, shapely legs, smooth and rounded like a wineglass, were impossible to ignore.
Teizawa couldn't help staring a little too long.
In his head, he muttered, How is this even fair?
Who is she?
Why does she feel so familiar, but I can't place her?
Was there someone like this in the Land of Wind?
"Ahem," the young daimyo said, face full of ingratiating smiles. "Kazekage-sama, do you remember her?"
"Hm?" Teizawa blinked. "Should I?"
"Hey, don't tell me she's a lover you kept outside," Kankuro teased from the side.
Teizawa shot him a glare. "Don't talk nonsense. I've always been clean-living!"
The young daimyo looked awkward. "My lord… you truly don't remember?"
"The way you're saying it, she does seem familiar…" Teizawa racked his brain for any "brief encounters" since transmigrating.
No, that wasn't right. He hadn't even been to any pleasure houses.
He'd only slept with Kurenai and Temari.
So this girl was…
"You really did forget me."
The woman clenched her teeth and glared at Teizawa, tears trembling at the corners of her eyes.
"You said you'd take me away from the daimyo's residence. You said you'd bring me to Sunagakure."
"Uh…" Teizawa froze.
Put like that, something clicked.
"Y-you," Teizawa said, stunned. "You're the previous daimyo's… concubine?"
"I'm not his concubine. My name is—"
Halfway through, she lowered her gaze, her expression going dim.
"Forget it. You never cared about my name. To you, I was just a bargaining chip to cash in."
Kankuro finally got it and muttered under his breath, "So this is the girl who wanted to elope with you?"
"Seems like it," Teizawa said with a bitter smile.
Because of this girl, the daimyo had sent envoys to Sunagakure to put him on trial.
Forcing him to revolt.
Now that he'd confirmed who she was, Teizawa looked to the young daimyo.
"Where did you find her?"
Teizawa remembered that after everything blew up, he'd specifically sent someone to get her out of the country.
So she wouldn't suffer the daimyo's retaliation.
"I came on my own," the girl said softly. "I heard you were at the daimyo's residence, so I wanted… I wanted to see you."
Oh?
Still devoted, huh?
Kankuro watched with bright, entertained eyes.
He was already thinking: Let's see how you explain this to Temari when you get back.
Teizawa rubbed his brow. "I think I told you before. I'm not interested in ordinary women."
"I know…" The girl suddenly smiled. "I'm a shinobi now. I can use Suiton (Water Release). I've even studied medical ninjutsu."
"I'm… I'm not an ordinary woman anymore. I'm a shinobi."
"Heh. You've learned quite a bit," Teizawa said, mouth twitching.
He was trying to figure out how to send her away cleanly.
He had principles. Unless it was a girl with a name and role in the original plotline, he couldn't be bothered to "shatter someone's whole world."
The ninja world had too many pretty girls.
If he slept with every one he met…
How was he any different from a serial womanizer?
Teizawa had ambitions.
He wanted romance, and he wanted flirting…
[Ding! The host's charm is truly astonishing. Now you have two choices…]
[1. Refuse Ameno, tell her you already have Sunagakure's most beautiful woman. Reward: Fūton (Wind Release) "Tornado Hurricane"][]
[2. Shatter Ameno's whole world right now. Reward: medical Suiton (Water Release) "Water Jellyfish" (autonomous healing)]
Hold up.
Ameno?
Teizawa froze.
He knew Ameno.
She was a Sunagakure character who showed up during the second Chūnin Exams.
His only real impression of her…
Was that pale, soft-looking "snowy" vibe.
But now you were telling him the girl in front of him was that future Sunagakure genin Ameno?
…Actually, if she changed into white clothes and cut her hair short…
Yeah. She really did look similar.
"Damn it, you're Ameno and you didn't say so earlier?" Teizawa blurted out, half-irritated, half-stunned.
Ameno's eyes widened, then she ground her teeth. "I told you my name. You said I wasn't worth remembering."
"When did I ever say that?"
"When you pinched my butt."
Teizawa: "…"
So she held grudges, too.
And then Teizawa's attention shifted to the system reward for "taking Ameno," namely the medical ninjutsu Suiton (Water Release) "Water Jellyfish," and he felt… interested.
Everyone knew that self-healing techniques were rare in the ninja world.
Aside from Hashirama's Mokuton (Wood Release), Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred…
And the insane vitality of jinchūriki…
There really weren't many others.
But Ameno's medical Suiton (Water Release) supposedly had that kind of autonomous recovery.
Honestly, Teizawa couldn't deny it.
Who wouldn't want a healing skill?
Having something like that basically meant an extra life.
That's right. I'm only doing this to get stronger.
Absolutely not because I'm thirsty for her body.
"Ahem…" Teizawa cleared his throat twice. "It's late. Everyone should go rest."
The young daimyo gave a knowing, ambiguous smile.
He immediately excused himself and left.
Then…
Teizawa looked at Kankuro, who was still standing there with that blazing, curious stare, and said helplessly, "What are you looking at? Go sleep."
"Hmph." Kankuro crossed his arms. "The moment I leave, you're going to betray Temari, aren't you?"
"Little brother, stay out of your brother-in-law's business."
"Pfft. And you think what you're doing is worthy of Temari?"
"Fine," Teizawa said with a cold laugh. "You forced my hand."
"Cut it out. This woman's only got Temari beat in… certain places. Just endure it. When we go back, you'll see Temari—"
Before Kankuro could finish, Teizawa turned and called to the five or six dancers in the hall.
"My little brother-in-law has lived this long and he's still a virgin chick. Whoever teaches him what a woman is… I'll reward one hundred ryō."
The dancers serving in the daimyo's residence were almost all from poor families.
Just like those massage shops in the real world.
Every worker had a broken home behind them.
The moment Teizawa spoke, the dancers' eyes lit up with a distinctly predatory gleam as they all looked at Kankuro.
"The hell, you're not setting me up!" Kankuro jolted.
But he wasn't panicking yet.
He was a shinobi. How could ordinary people bully him?
But then…
Kankuro saw Teizawa casually lift a hand and flick it in front of him.
"What are you doing?" Kankuro flinched and dodged on reflex.
Nothing seemed to happen.
Teizawa looked at him, voice low and eerie. "You know… Magnet Release can control extremely fine Satetsu (Iron Sand). It can enter a person's body. And when necessary…" He made a small explosive gesture with his fingers. "Boom."
"Hey, hey, hey, that's too far! I'm your brother-in-law!" Kankuro's face went pale.
"Relax." Teizawa's tone turned light. "For Temari's sake, I won't do that to you."
Then his tone sharpened again. "But I can send Satetsu (Iron Sand) into your body, seal your meridians and tenketsu, and leave you unable to use chakra. Weak. Limp. Helpless."
"Y-you—" Kankuro's eyes bulged.
A bad feeling surged up.
Because he really couldn't feel his chakra anymore.
His body was already going soft.
Realizing the danger, Kankuro surrendered instantly.
"Aniki, I'm sorry! I swear when we go back I won't say a word!"
"Too late." Teizawa looked toward the dancers, who were practically vibrating with excitement. "Ladies, what are you waiting for?"
"Teizawa, you bastard—!"
Amid his furious shouting, Kankuro was swallowed by a swarm of five or six dancers in an instant…
"Don't take off my clothes… damn you… hey, don't touch there… what the hell—!"
"Um…" Ameno, watching with her jaw slack, couldn't help asking, "Is this… really okay?"
"Why are you worrying about him?" Teizawa said.
He bent slightly, wrapped an arm around Ameno's waist, and lifted her up.
"You should worry about yourself first."
And with Ameno's startled cry, Teizawa carried her, still stunned and unable to react, toward the sleeping chambers deeper inside the hall.
(End of Chapter)
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