Genjutsu? Wait Until I've Had My Fun!

They finished lunch in a cheerful atmosphere.

Kushina washed the dishes while Yamanaka Kei sat at the dining table, propping his cheek up with one hand as he watched her busy back.

The scene was not particularly romantic.

Yet for the first time in over a decade, he felt like he had a home in this strange yet familiar world.

"Kushina?"

"Hm?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to call your name."

"Then... Kei?"

"Kushina."

"Kei."

"Kushina."

"Kei... Pfft—honk honk honk honk honk!"

Kushina, who had no idea how many times she had burst into goose-like laughter that afternoon, clutched her stomach and started laughing again.

She did not know why doing something so childish made her this happy.

But whenever she heard Yamanaka Kei call her name, she simply could not help feeling happy!

After putting the washed bowls and chopsticks away in the cabinet,

Kushina dried her hands and hung her apron on a hook beside the kitchen.

When she turned around, Yamanaka Kei was no longer at the dining table.

???

Hearing the sound of drawers being rummaged through in the study, Kushina curiously walked over to its door.

Seeing the open drawers, the bankbooks tossed aside, the secret technique scrolls casually thrown onto the floor, and Yamanaka Kei still searching for something, she asked in confusion.

"Did you lose something?"

"...Probably my heart?"

"Huh? Ugh, what a cheesy line! But it was pretty good. I like hearing it."

"Hahahaha!"

Yamanaka Kei put down the assorted junk he had collected over the years and could not help laughing as well.

After laughing, he looked at the girl leaning against the study doorway. Though she was dressed casually at home, her beauty could not be concealed. He spoke softly.

"I was originally trying to find something worthy of you, then confess and ask you to be my girlfriend."

"...A-and then?"

Kushina froze for a moment. Once she realized what was about to happen, she became both nervous and expectant.

She had always felt that simply being able to stay with Kei-kun was already enough to make her happy.

But like every other girl, she also hoped for a proper confession, something that would confirm their relationship.

"But I realized nothing was worthy of you, so... I'm giving my own happiness to you. Kushina, be my girlfriend."

"Okay!"

Kushina nodded hard. She was clearly happier than she had ever been, yet tears kept spilling from her eyes.

Nara Shikaku had told her before that Kei-kun cherished every bond deeply and treated them with great care.

That cherishing nature made him seem somewhat distant at first, whether he was facing family, friendship, or love.

Perhaps he feared lies, perhaps he feared loss, or perhaps he feared being betrayed.

So when faced with a Yamanaka Kei like this, he might retreat when you took the first step, and be at a loss when you took the second.

But when you took the third and fourth steps, he would cast aside all his concerns and run toward you.

Big Brother Shikaku, I did it. Kei-kun is running toward me...

Yamanaka Kei pulled Kushina into his arms, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, and spun her around.

"Woohoo! Kushina, congratulations on no longer being single!"

"Pfft! At a moment this touching, you still have to make me laugh."

"You look the prettiest when you smile!"

"Hehe~ Then congratulations to you too, for no longer being single."

"Hahaha! Same to you, same to you!"

"Honk honk honk honk honk!"

"If you keep laughing like that, our home is going to turn into a zoo."

"You jerk! I'm not a goose!"

Kushina lightly punched Yamanaka Kei's chest. Beneath the sparkling tears at the corners of her eyes was a satisfaction and happiness unlike anything she had ever felt.

She rose onto her tiptoes and looped her arms around Yamanaka Kei's neck.

How could Yamanaka Kei not understand what that posture meant?

Without the slightest hesitation, he leaned down and kissed her.

Kushina had never understood why those lovey-dovey couples at the movies never seemed able to kiss enough.

Now, she seemed to understand a little.

It was the most direct expression of blazing love, the equivalent of countless words saying, I want to stay with you forever.

"Blackjack! I win them all! I win them all! Hahahaha! Pay up, pay up! Spit out every last cent you won from me! Hahahaha!"

Tsunade-sama's crazed, excited voice came from outside the room.

Kushina, rousing from her daze of passion, belatedly noticed that two buttons at her collar had been undone, and even the waistband of her pants had been loosened halfway.

"T-Tsunade-sama is still outside."

"Then shall we wait until she leaves?"

Grinning, Yamanaka Kei pulled Kushina, who was hurriedly straightening her clothes, back into his arms.

After she lightly punched him twice, he played with her smooth long hair, which carried a faint fragrance, and asked the question he had forgotten to ask before.

"Kushina, how did Big Brother Shikaku and Big Brother Inoichi convince you not to lose your temper after hearing those rumors?"

"...Is my temper really that bad? Hmph hmph~ Go ask Big Brother Inoichi yourself. I'm not telling you."

Pouting, Kushina recalled what had happened and buried her face in Yamanaka Kei's chest.

What was there for Big Brother Shikaku to convince her of regarding those rumors?

It was she who had noticed the change in Yamanaka Kei. Unable to suppress her feelings any longer, and worried that they would encounter all sorts of obstacles, she had taken the initiative to seek help from Big Brother Inoichi, the head of the Yamanaka Clan.

And Big Brother Inoichi had taken her directly to see Big Brother Shikaku.

That was how all those rumors, as well as the series of "solid proof" backing them up, came about.

"Alright, alright, you have the best temper. Hahaha..."

Yamanaka Kei did not dwell on it. If Kushina was too embarrassed to say it, he could just ask Yamanaka Inoichi.

"You sarcastic jerk."

Kushina muttered, then hugged the lover she had worked so hard to win even tighter.

"By the way, why is Tsunade at our house?"

"Tsunade-sama came back to the village a few days ago and asked to borrow money from me again. Hehe~ So I said what you taught me last time~ Then she insisted on dragging me along to wait for you, so we came here."

"Should I thank her for dragging you over, then? By the way, did you bring your clothes and daily necessities over?"

"N-No."

"Then should I go back with you now and pack together?"

"Okay."

Kushina's cheeks turned red once again.

She had always been bold, but she was still a girl. When it really came to this point, she could not help feeling shy.

They were both the sort to act as soon as they decided.

After putting on their shoes and leaving the room,

Kushina looked at Tsunade-sama, whose face alternated between a savage grimace and flushed excitement, and asked with some concern.

"Kei, won't something happen to Tsunade-sama if she keeps going like this?"

"No. This Genjutsu may be A-rank, but Tsunade quickly realized it was a Genjutsu after the Chakra leaking from her Mitotic Regeneration disrupted it."

"Huh? Then why..."

"At first, she probably realized that forcibly breaking the Genjutsu would cause a mental backlash. Later, she simply did not want to wake up. It's a Gambling City—an absolute kill shot for a compulsive gambler."

"A Gambling City? Like Tanzaku Street?"

"More or less the same kind of place. It's a setting I built with Genjutsu..."

Yamanaka Kei roughly described what the Gambling City looked like.

Though he had never visited any of the world's four great gambling cities in his previous life, he had watched movies and played Penguin games!

The haphazard movie scenes in his Memory Palace, combined with all kinds of games from various gaming platforms—

Blackjack, Baccarat, Russian Roulette, Horse Racing, Zha Jinhua, Mahjong, Shengji, Guandan, Niuniu, Fish Hunter...

With that dazzling array of games, it would be strange if Tsunade-sama could resist.

And in the Genjutsu space, Tsunade-sama was not affected by the Reverse Gambling Saint trait.

She would not lose every time, nor would accidents happen whenever she won money.

For a compulsive gambler with luck as terrible as hers, even losing more often than she won was already heaven.

Genjutsu?

Heh heh~

Even if she had to die, she would wait until she had had her fun first!