The kunai shot toward Naruto's forehead at extreme speed.
At that moment, Naruto was still shocked that his Wind Release: Rasenshuriken had been neutralized so easily. His mind hadn't even caught up yet.
By the time he reacted, the kunai had already reached his forehead—
—but it suddenly stopped midair.
Shizuka was holding the back end of the kunai.
She spoke calmly,
"Let's stop here, Naruto. Your Nine-Tails Chakra Mode is indeed very impressive."
"Is that so… I understand."
Before the fight began, Naruto had been full of confidence, yet he had ended up being completely defeated like this. He felt deeply frustrated.
If he had lost to Nagi, he wouldn't have had much to complain about.
But losing to Shizuka was a heavy blow.
Nagi could only smile helplessly.
After all, the technique Naruto had used was merely Naruko's Wind Release Rasenshuriken. Defeating someone like Shizuka—who regularly sparred against Naruko's Rasenshuriken variants of more than a dozen different chakra natures—was practically impossible.
Shizuka also noticed Naruto's disappointment and comforted him.
"Alright, Naruto. You're already very strong. With your current strength, even ordinary Kage-level shinobi probably wouldn't be your match."
"Besides, you haven't fully mastered this mode yet, right? Once you've truly mastered it, we can have another match."
Hearing her encouragement made Naruto feel much better.
He quickly regained his spirit.
"I understand, Sister Shizuka. When I've fully mastered it next time, I'll challenge you again."
"Alright."
At that moment, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the others walked over.
Jiraiya laughed.
"Hahaha! I didn't expect that after just a few years, your strength would grow this much, Shizuka. Your master must be very proud."
Shizuka nodded.
"Yes. Also, Lord Jiraiya, when will you visit our village again? My master has been mentioning you quite often these past two years."
"Uh… well… this…"
Jiraiya suddenly felt a surge of killing intent from Tsunade beside him. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
"Move aside."
Tsunade shoved Jiraiya out of the way and turned to Shizuka with a gentle smile.
"Ahem… Shizuka, right? When are you planning to get engaged to Nagi?"
In Tsunade's mind, someone with such formidable strength absolutely could not be let go so easily, so she decided to be completely straightforward.
Hearing this, Shizuka's face instantly turned red.
Shyly, she tugged on Nagi's sleeve.
Tsunade smiled at the scene, thinking to herself,
Nagi… quite capable, aren't you.
Nagi himself was stunned for a moment before coughing awkwardly.
"Ahem… now isn't really the time to discuss that. Besides, I'd still need to discuss this matter with my teacher."
Faced with sudden marriage pressure, Nagi immediately used the Second Hokage as a convenient excuse.
"Tsk."
Tsunade looked at Shizuka again, slightly surprised.
She had expected Nagi's answer to make Shizuka feel somewhat disappointed.
But to her surprise, Shizuka still looked just as shy as before.
Hmm? What's going on?
In reality, Shizuka had already expected this answer.
Back when they were in the International Class, she, Uino, and Samui had analyzed this together.
They believed that Nagi was probably carrying an extremely heavy burden—so heavy that he simply couldn't afford to focus on romance.
They didn't know the exact reason.
But after spending so many years with him, they all had the same feeling.
So they chose to quietly stay by Nagi's side, never adding emotional pressure on him.
Instead, they often took the initiative to help him with whatever tasks they could manage.
As long as they could share even a small part of his burden and lighten his pressure, they were already satisfied.
Chat Discussion
Kakashi Hatake:
Sigh… the gap really isn't small.
Ebisu:
Yeah. Now I finally understand what Lord Izuna meant earlier.
Jiraiya:
So that's what Izuna-senpai was referring to.
Madara Uchiha:
?
Izuna Uchiha:
That's right. Hahaha, it's actually become quite the joke.
Madara Uchiha:
Izuna… what exactly do you mean?
Izuna Uchiha:
Brother, haven't you noticed that Nagi's future wives share a common trait?
Madara Uchiha:
A common trait…
Hashirama Senju:
Hahaha! Madara, I know! They're all women!
Madara:
…
Izuna:
…
Tobirama Senju:
…
Mito Uzumaki:
Dear! What kind of nonsense are you saying?!
Hashirama:
Isn't that right?
Izuna:
Sigh… forget it. I'll just say it directly.
Haven't you noticed where they're from?
Tsunade:
Where they're from? Aren't they all… wait… this…
Tobirama Senju:
Samui is from Kumogakure.
Shizuka is from Nadeshiko Village.
Uino is from Sunagakure.
Naruko, Sayuki, and Hinata are all from Konohagakure in that other world.
Jiraiya:
In other words, not a single one of Nagi's future wives is from our Konohagakure.
Hashirama:
Uh… nephew, why are they all foreigners or from another world?
Izuna:
Pfft—HAHAHAHA!
Isn't the reason obvious?
From the video we can see that the girls in Konoha around Nagi's age are living far too comfortably. All they think about all day is romance.
They're basically all love-brained.
Choosing them would just mean adding extra burdens to life.
Tsunade:
You—!!
Sakura Haruno:
What nonsense are you talking about?!
Ino Yamanaka:
Exactly! Romance is an important part of life! Someone single like you wouldn't understand!
Karin Uzumaki:
That's right! We're all working hard for Sasuke!
Naruto Uzumaki:
Yeah! Romance is really important!
The girls in the Konoha classroom immediately began arguing back, insisting that love was extremely important.
Some of the boys acting as simps also started cheering them on.
However, the more rational boys—Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Sasuke, Nagi, and Shino—exchanged glances.
They silently communicated with their eyes.
Kiba:
Nagi actually has good taste. These girls really do put romance first.
Shikamaru:
Women… what a drag.
Choji:
If my future girlfriend could cook delicious food, that'd be great.
Sasuke:
Tsk. These people are so noisy.
Kiba:
By the way, Nagi—what kind of personality do you actually like in a girl?
After watching so many daily interactions with them on the screen, Nagi's thoughts had subtly changed.
Nagi:
Uh… someone with Shino's personality.
Shino:
!!!
Kiba:
Whoa. Good thing the Shino in that world didn't have his gender reversed, otherwise Naruko and the others wouldn't stand a chance.
Shino:
…
Izuna Uchiha:
Alright, alright. What do you little girls know?
Back in the day, my father and I even stayed up all night studying relationship advice just to help my brother find a wife.
Tajima Uchiha:
Too bad this brat just wouldn't get the hint.
Madara Uchiha:
…
Kakashi Hatake:
If we're talking about progress in winning Nagi's heart, Samui is clearly in first place.
Shizuka and Uino are tied for second.
As for Naruko, Sayuki, and Hinata… honestly, I'm sorry to say this, but they've probably just barely passed the starting line.
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