Ninja Village

Uzumaki Ashina was relieved to see Qiancao return safely and said to him, "Wuming must be waiting for you anxiously; hurry back to the village."

Qiancao gave a wry smile. "She and I have been at odds lately; I suspect she doesn't want to see me right now."

The usually stern Ashina offered a rare, warm smile. "I'm an old hand at this, lad. The conflicts you youngsters have will blow over in a day."

Qiancao shook his head. He had recently received intelligence from a spy in the Land of Water that a samurai and his subordinates there were planning to turn pirate.

Coincidentally, a new village to the north was lacking labor, so he had set out to capture this batch of budding pirates and bring them back.

However, because the opponents were too weak, Qiancao had weighed his options and decided to handle it alone, which had left Wuming, who remained in the ninja village, quite sullen.

Five days had passed since he set out, and Qiancao found himself missing Wuming, so he exchanged a few polite words with Ashina and embarked on the road home.

Watching Qiancao's rapidly receding back, Ashina shook his head and muttered to himself, "If those two could just be a bit more honest with each other, I would have had a nephew by now."

Given Qiancao's current speed, it took him only two hours to cross the territory of the Land of Whirlpools and reach Ushio Hidden Village.

The scale of the ninja village had expanded significantly compared to three years ago; the entire spiral-shaped complex of houses had more than tripled in size.

Buildings taller than the Sealing Tower had appeared in the village, yet the people's reverence for the tower remained undiminished, and it stood as the most iconic structure in all of Ushio Hidden Village.

Qiancao pushed open the heavy doors of the Sealing Tower and slipped inside. The candles along the walls burned tirelessly, and combined with the sunlight streaming in from the windows, the entire ground floor hall was much brighter than before.

Even the menacing statue of the Three-Tails looked a bit cuter under the illumination.

Wuming was kneeling on a cushion in front of the Three-Tails statue, her cloud-like black hair cascading down to her hips, concealing her proud curves.

Three years had passed, and Wuming's face had gained a woman's allure, which, combined with the "keep away" aura she constantly radiated, gave her a mysterious, magnetic attraction.

Wuming kept her eyes closed, facing the Three-Tails statue as if she were deaf to everything in the outside world.

Yet, Qiancao knew that the entire Sealing Tower was under her perception, and nothing could escape her notice.

After helping Qiancao complete his introductory ninja training, the idle Wuming had simply taken Ayako as her master, learning various ninjutsu alongside him.

As a genius of the Uchiha Clan, Wuming's talent for learning various sealing arts was no less than that of the Uzumaki clansmen.

In just three short years, she had taken over Ayako's work regarding the seals, keeping a low profile and staying within the Sealing Tower to maintain the integrity of the seals.

Over these three years, in order to cultivate his combat experience and gather copyable materials for his Mangekyo Sharingan, Qiancao had frequently gone out on missions or sought out others for sparring.

Although Wuming understood that this was the training a man should undergo, she couldn't help but complain about it.

Qiancao could only offer verbal comfort, but when it was time to leave, he still had to go.

Seeing that Wuming clearly knew he had returned yet was still pretending not to see him, Qiancao found it amusing.

He couldn't resist reaching out and pulling gently on her soft cheeks from both sides.

She stubbornly kept her eyes closed, causing her entire face to distort, which made Qiancao burst into laughter.

Wuming finally couldn't keep up the act. No longer ignoring him, she opened her eyes and glared at the laughing Qiancao, unable to stop herself from lightly swatting his head with a touch of feigned anger.

"So, you finally decided to come back!"

Her teeth-gritting expression had no intimidation factor; instead, it looked rather adorable.

Qiancao couldn't help but pull her into his arms, looking her up and down before saying with a soulful expression, "Alright, alright, didn't I tell you? No matter where I am, my heart is always with you."

Wuming loved hearing these cheesy lines, and though she never showed it on her face, she had already forgiven him nine-tenths in her heart.

Smelling the faint scent of the sea on him, Wuming couldn't help but worry. "Did you go out to sea again this time? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

Qiancao said confidently, "Don't worry. With my current strength, even if I encounter someone I can't beat in the vicinity of the Land of Whirlpools, escaping is never a problem."

Wuming, like a virtuous little wife, helped him straighten his messy collar, still uneasy. "Next time you go out to fight, I'm coming with you."

Qiancao rubbed her cheeks again. "With a bodyguard as formidable as you, where would the training effect be?"

Wuming stopped speaking. Looking at Qiancao before her, she couldn't help but tilt her head slightly and close her eyes.

Gazing at her delicate lips, Qiancao leaned down and kissed her, their shadows overlapping on the floor.

Senju Arashi had occasionally visited the Land of Whirlpools over the past three years, bringing Wuming many novels and comics popular among young girls, which had served as her initiation into gender education.

Wuming no longer let Qiancao take advantage of her as easily as she had three years ago, but when the mood was right, kisses and caresses were inevitable.

I don't know how much time passed before the Three-Tails statue in front of them suddenly trembled slightly, startling the two lovebirds.

Two years ago, Qiancao had accidentally discovered that his Sharingan could penetrate the Four Symbols Seal to communicate with the Three-Tails inside.

After many exchanges, the man and the beast had become good friends.

The Three-Tails was using the vibration to remind them: "I'm still watching, mind your influence."

Qiancao didn't think much of it; it was just kissing in front of a friend, a way of showing affection, and no one else was taking advantage of Wuming.

Wuming, however, was thin-skinned. She quickly broke free from Qiancao's embrace, released her arms from around his neck, and said, "Master said that when you returned, you were to see her first; she has something to tell you."

"Understood, Junior Sister!" Qiancao agreed with a grin, earning a flurry of soft punches from Wuming.

In terms of age, Wuming was two years older than Qiancao, so he had always used the title of "Junior Sister" to tease her.

The two bickered for a while longer before Qiancao headed upstairs.

Based on his experience, at this time of the morning, his master would certainly not be awake yet.

Sure enough, when he arrived at Ayako's room, the door was ajar, and a faint smell of alcohol drifted out.

Qiancao pushed the door open and saw Ayako at a glance, wearing a loose white robe and slumped behind a desk, one bare foot propped up on the table, nearly dipping into a plate of snacks.

On the floor, Ayako had one hand tucked into the collar of her robe, revealing a fair amount of alluring scenery, while the other hand clutched a wine bottle as she snored away.