Big Brother, I Can't Use Shadow Clone Jutsu

"Huh? I didn't expect him to come back to the village."

"I'll head back to my lodgings first. If you can't find anywhere to stay... well, come to my place."

Out of the corner of her eye, Konan spotted Jiraiya appearing around the corner. She tossed Shirozumi a parting remark, then left on her own.

It wasn't that she couldn't reveal her identity. She just couldn't reveal it too soon.

Otherwise, it would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.

The lodgings Konan mentioned were rooms Konoha prepared for visitors with a certain status.

These people had somewhere to stay as soon as they arrived; they didn't need to fight for a spot at an inn.

Just as Shirozumi had refused to bully children, the people from Sunagakure arrived in Konoha.

Konohamaru, the Hokage's eight-year-old grandson, crashed into Kankuro, setting off a chain of events.

In the end, Gaara and Sasuke appeared, exchanged some threats, and brought the whole farce to a close.

Naruto and Konohamaru walked along the streets of Konoha.

"Naruto, that guy with the painted face was awful! Starting tomorrow, I'm going to train hard. Next time I see him, I'll show him!"

Little Konohamaru pumped his fist, full of fighting spirit.

"Konohamaru, as long as you train hard in the secret technique I taught you, taking that guy down won't be a problem. As it happens, I'm free today, so let's go somewhere and—huh?"

Naruto was about to take Konohamaru somewhere to "improve" his skills with a certain jutsu when he suddenly spotted a familiar figure.

Shirozumi?!

Why was he back in Konoha again?

Was he here on another mission, or to take part in the Chunin Ninja Exams?

Naruto froze for a moment, then shook his head.

He couldn't be bothered to think about it.

"Heh heh heh."

A strange grin slowly spread across Naruto's face. He put an arm around Konohamaru and began whispering instructions in his ear.

"Konohamaru, you know my secret technique works better the stronger the ninja is, right?"

"Yeah, of course! You beat my grandpa and Ebisu-sensei with no trouble!"

"See that big brother over there?"

"Yeah."

"He's a real strong ninja I met on A-rank and S-rank missions. Even Kakashi-sensei respects him a lot. Anyway, you get what I mean, right, Konohamaru?"

Naruto spoke with a perfectly serious expression.

Get it? Get what?

Konohamaru stood there, baffled.

What was with all the riddles?

Fortunately, Konohamaru was capable of learning the Rasengan just by going "puchi-pa," and managed to figure out what Naruto meant.

"Naruto, you mean we should use that big brother as a target for practicing our jutsu, to test how powerful they are, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, exactly."

Then the two of them snuck off to a corner and used the Transformation Jutsu.

Jiraiya saw the whole thing.

"That kid's Minato's son, isn't he? Honestly... huh?—Huh?!"

The moment Jiraiya saw Naruto and Konohamaru's jutsu, his eyes went wide.

"That's incredible talent! He's a genius!"

Jiraiya drew in a sharp breath.

Meanwhile...

Shirozumi ran into Kurotsuchi and Mei Terumi, who were out shopping together.

Since Shirozumi had helped bring them together through the Inter-mutual Alliance, the two were undoubtedly allies. Today was their first proper meeting.

Mei Terumi was also seeing Shirozumi for the second time.

"I'd only ever heard that the prettier a woman was, the better she was at lying. I didn't realize men were the same."

"Those people from the Land of Waves—you've got Zabuza with his Kubikiribōchō, Kisame with Samehada, and the one with Ice Release...

"If they weren't cooperating with us, if they weren't our allies, I'd definitely have invited them back to Kirigakure."

Mei Terumi traced a finger across Shirozumi's lips, though there was no real complaint in her voice.

"Did you find the Six-Tails?"

Shirozumi didn't argue that she wouldn't have become Mizukage without their cooperation. He just smiled and asked.

"We found him. We set him up in a quiet little garden outside the village."

"...I got a little hurt fighting him before I could convince him."

Mei Terumi's tone suddenly shifted. She lifted one corner of the shawl over her shoulders and showed Shirozumi the bandages wrapped around her back, then covered them again.

"...You both got hurt?"

Shirozumi didn't answer Mei Terumi directly. When he saw the bandages, his eyes instinctively flicked to Kurotsuchi beside him.

Kurotsuchi's outfit was noticeably different from before. It wasn't the high-slit qipao from the photo, but it was still an improvement over the classic Iwagakure Ninja garb that made it hard to tell men and women apart.

That was why the bandages peeking out at her waist caught Shirozumi's attention.

"I went to see the Jinchuriki too. That old stubborn fool Rōshi was just like Grandpa. He insisted I couldn't make the decisions and that the village was still run by the old man."

Kurotsuchi pouted, clearly unhappy as she recalled Rōshi's attitude.

"Don't keep looking. He just burned my waist with his Lava Release."

"What? You're not thinking of helping us put ointment on our injuries, are you? Forget it. Do you think the Mizukage and I don't know Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

Kurotsuchi's expression suddenly changed. She grinned mischievously and teased Shirozumi, nudging him with her elbow.

"..."

Shirozumi was about to complain that Kurotsuchi was making a scene for no reason when two figures suddenly appeared behind him and squeezed in front of the three of them.

"Big brother, I can't use Shadow Clone Jutsu, and I'm hurt too. Could you help me put some ointment on it?"

A "woman" with long blond hair, but unmistakable whisker marks on her face, struck a coquettish pose in front of Shirozumi.

"Me too. A scorpion just bit me on the butt. Dear big brother, could you suck the poison out for me?"

Another woman swayed as she tried to move closer to Shirozumi.

It had to be said, Naruto was the biggest giveaway.

Konohamaru's Transformation Jutsu hadn't left him with any obvious distinguishing features.

Shirozumi watched their performance without the slightest reaction. If anything, he felt a little sick.

"No!"

Kurotsuchi's expression darkened. She stepped in front of Shirozumi with her hands on her hips. "You're Konoha Ninja, right? If you're hurt, go to your medical center. Don't come asking ninja from other villages for help!"

"It costs too much to go to the medical center."

"That's right. We're poor kids."

"That big brother looks like such a kind, helpful person. Please, help us."

Naruko and Momo-ko chimed in one after another, still disguised.

Smack.

Kurotsuchi slapped a wad of money into Naruko's hand, then turned sideways to show off the hat hanging at her waist.

"See that? I'm the Tsuchikage, and she's the Mizukage. We've claimed this man... uh, requisitioned him. Our injuries are extremely important, so take the money and deal with it yourselves at the medical center. Understand?"

After that, Kurotsuchi gave Mei Terumi a look, and the two of them dragged Shirozumi away, one on each side.

"Konoha's terrifying. Are all the girls here this thirsty?"

Kurotsuchi muttered under her breath as they left.