I'm Very Fickle, Please Stay Away From Me.

"This proposal? I can't help but feel it aligns perfectly with some ideas I've had in mind." Tsunade looked at the papers, somewhat surprised. She hadn't proposed these theories herself, yet the same concepts had already taken root in her mind.

Bai Lin smiled; of course they aligned, as they were modeled directly after her own line of thought.

He grabbed Tsunade's hand and said with a solemn expression, "You know, when I saw you yesterday, a thought crossed my mind: I want you to be my woman."

"The reason I acted so poorly yesterday was that I didn't want you to treat me like a child, nor did I want you to treat me like a mere disciple."

"You can reject my feelings, but I won't give up. As for the third gift..."

Bai Lin picked up the final item from the table—a cheap necklace he had found at the market for 1,000 ryo, chosen simply because it looked decent enough.

He hadn't had much money to begin with; after buying Shuriken for his assessment, 1,000 ryo was all he had left.

The pendant was a small, delicate cherry blossom. Though the material was common and lacked any gemstones, giving it the appearance of a cheap trinket, one could still feel that it wasn't exactly valuable.

"This is a necklace I bought with my entire fortune. They say it protects the wearer, ensuring peace, prosperity, and turning misfortune into good luck."

As for who "they" were, that didn't matter; whatever he said would become the legend passed down later.

Bai Lin spoke with genuine sincerity, showing no signs of lying, for he truly had spent his entire fortune on it.

"Peace, prosperity, turning misfortune into good luck... why does that phrase sound so familiar, yet I can't place where it comes from?" Tsunade touched her neck, feeling a sudden flutter of panic at the sight of Bai Lin's earnest expression.

"You little brat..." She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, "You are truly boundless in your arrogance."

"Brother Lin, you like Sister Tsunade, but what about me?" Kushina's eyes turned red, her voice choked with grievance: "Brother Lin, you only have eyes for Sister Tsunade, what about me? I like you, don't you like me?"

Kushina had been watching from the side for so long—what with the Mahjong and the medical proposal—that she had assumed he was just trying to get on good terms with Sister Tsunade. She had even intended to speak up for Bai Lin.

She hadn't expected that in the next second, Bai Lin would confess his love to Tsunade and present a gift. He hadn't given her anything; he clearly didn't like her.

Sob.

Kushina covered her eyes, ready to leave.

Bai Lin hurriedly shoved the cheap necklace into Tsunade's hand and turned to chase after Kushina, his figure vanishing from the spot in an instant: "Kushina, don't go!"

He grabbed the girl's wrist and pulled her straight into his arms.

Kushina covered her face, her shoulders trembling violently as tears slipped through her fingers. She choked out, "Let me go... you don't even like me, why keep me here... you haven't even given me a gift..."

"Kushina, listen to my sophistry—no, listen to my explanation. I have my reasons," Bai Lin said, stroking her soft red hair.

"I won't listen, I won't listen! Let me go!" Kushina struggled violently in his arms, her tears falling like broken beads, soaking his collar, her voice sobbing and nearly incoherent.

"I have already planned a gift for you, but the timing isn't right yet. When the time comes, this gift will definitely make you happy," Bai Lin said with a sincere tone.

"No gift can make me forgive your philandering! You're a scumbag, I won't like you anymore!" Kushina's struggle did not cease at his explanation.

"Really? If I told you that, besides you, other members of the Uzumaki Clan are still alive, would you still hate me?"

Kushina's struggle came to an abrupt halt. Tears still streamed through her fingers, but she couldn't help but lift her reddened eyes to look at him: "Re-really? Don't lie to me..."

Her voice was thick with nasal congestion, her eyes filled with grievance and a trace of imperceptible anticipation.

Bai Lin wiped away her tears and said helplessly, "Kushina, you can ask around about my reputation in Konoha. I swear by the Will of Fire that I never lie."

"There are indeed other members of the Uzumaki Clan alive. As for why I didn't tell you until now, I was afraid that I might affect reality and cause an accident. I planned to bring them back to Konoha as a gift for you the next time I passed through that area."

"If an accident were to happen and I broke my word, I don't think I could forgive myself for lying to you."

Kushina's body went completely rigid, tears hanging on her lashes, forgotten.

She stared blankly at Bai Lin, the grievance in her eyes replaced by incredulous shock, her voice trembling and hoarse: "Yo-you're telling the truth? There are... there are still my clansmen alive?"

"Absolutely! And you're right, I am a philanderer. I don't want to hurt you, Kushina; it would be better for you to stay away from me." Bai Lin put on a heartbroken expression and continued:

"Whether for the sake of Konoha's ally, Uzushio Village, or for your sake, I swear by my Will of Fire that I will bring those surviving Uzumaki Clan members back to Konoha."

Bai Lin pushed Kushina away, seemingly wanting to cut ties to avoid hurting her.

"Brother Lin, as long as you aren't lying to me, and there really are Uzumaki Clan members alive, even if you could only let me see their corpses, I would forgive you."

Seeing Bai Lin trying to cut ties, Kushina panicked instantly and reached out to grab his sleeve.

Only she and Grandma Mito were left of the Uzumaki Clan. She knew Grandma Mito couldn't stay with her much longer, and eventually, she would truly be the only one left in the world.

Now, hearing the news that there were still clansmen alive, Kushina gripped Bai Lin's sleeve even tighter.

"I am a philanderer, please stay away from me," Bai Lin said coldly.

"No, I don't want to."

"I don't want to hurt you!" "No!"

"Kushina!" "Brother Lin!"

Kushina happily threw herself into Bai Lin's arms, a sense of relief at having regained something lost welling up within her.

Tsunade stood to the side, watching the scene with an expressionless face, though her clenched fists betrayed that she was not calm inside.

It seemed she had encountered a scumbag even worse than Jiraiya's lecherous nature.

As for the other girl with black hair and black eyes, she watched the scene of Bai Lin and Kushina embracing, a single tear falling from her eye. Her black pupils began to shift, gradually forming the shape of three Tomoe.

"Lin, it seems I have arrived at a bad time!" The girl was none other than Uchiha Mikoto.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, in order to deepen Bai Lin's belief in the Will of Fire, had looked into his interpersonal relationships.

He had unexpectedly discovered that Bai Lin had a close relationship with Uchiha Mikoto of the Uchiha Clan.

The core philosophy of the Will of Fire was the bonds between people; as long as there were bonds, the other party would have something they wanted to protect, and that was the true power of Konoha.

Thus, Hiruzen Sarutobi did the unprecedented and broke up Uchiha Mikoto's original squad, assigning her to Tsunade's team instead.