Not a word was exchanged all night—just the good stuff!
The two of them had finally moved on from the virtual world to practicing in reality!
There was no denying it: the virtual version of her was just virtual. The feel was completely different, and the physical exertion was on an entirely different level. Still, strength made all the difference. As a ninja grew stronger, her stamina, physique, and mental abilities naturally improved too!
An ordinary ninja would be exhausted after fighting for a few hours! But Madara Uchiha and Senju Hashirama could battle for days and nights without a problem. That was what a boost in strength did for you!
Pakura was far weaker than he was! In the Tsukuyomi World, she could ignore the toll it took on her stamina, but that wasn't possible in reality! Looking at the room in disarray, Uchiha Gen picked up the sleepy Pakura and carried her off to wash up!
"Stop it. I'm so tired! Let me sleep a little longer!" Pakura mumbled weakly in Uchiha Gen's arms.
"It's already noon. You're still going to sleep? Good thing neither of us is currently assigned to a unit, so we don't have to worry about sudden missions. Otherwise, people would laugh themselves silly seeing us like this!" Uchiha Gen said helplessly. He helped her wash up despite her protests, but when he saw how exhausted she was, he stopped pushing and let her go back to sleep.
"I'm going out to get you lunch. Is there anything you want?" Uchiha Gen asked softly as he got dressed, glancing at Pakura on the bed.
"Anything's fine. I'll eat whatever." Pakura was probably still dreaming. Her answer was perfunctory.
All right, then. Everyone in every world says "anything's fine." What kind of cuisine is "anything," anyway? Why does everyone keep ordering it?
Konoha—bustling main street!
By midday, people from every line of work were streaming out to eat, and the streets were filled with the aromas of all kinds of delicious food. It was enough to make anyone's mouth water!
Fine. He'd bring Pakura one of everything. That way, he could figure out what she liked and avoid this "anything's fine" business next time. Besides, it wasn't as if he was short on money!
"Gen! Gen!" A voice suddenly called out from behind Uchiha Gen.
Yikes. Even as the strongest in Konoha, Uchiha Gen couldn't help shivering when he heard that voice. He'd only just gotten out of bed with Pakura, and now he'd run into Kurenai Yuhi as soon as he stepped outside? Good thing he'd taken a shower before leaving, or he would've been found out for sure!
"Oh, it's you, Kurenai! What a coincidence! I was just going to pick up some takeout and bring it over so we could eat together. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I bought a little extra." As a ninja renowned in Konoha for his strength, Uchiha Gen couldn't possibly pretend not to hear her from this distance. With no other choice, he turned around and improvised.
"You can just come over to my place. Why buy takeout? I'm not a bad cook, you know." Hearing that, Kurenai Yuhi naturally took the food he'd bought for Pakura and pulled Gen along toward her home.
Pakura, I'm sorry! I'll bring you more later. You're probably still asleep anyway, and a little extra rest will do you good!
Along the way, Uchiha Gen worked hard to steady himself and keep calm. He had to hand it to the people in his previous life who hid outside windows while sneaking around. That took nerves of steel!
He'd better hurry up and make things official with Kurenai Yuhi too. Otherwise, he'd keep living on tenterhooks like this!
"Gen, we're home. Sit down. I'll get you something to drink. Should I make soup too? I don't see any soup among the food you bought." Kurenai Yuhi opened the refrigerator as she made the suggestion.
"No need to go to the trouble. I figured soup would be hard to carry. There's so much food here, the two of us probably won't finish it. If we make soup too, we won't have room for it." Uchiha Gen waved her off. He was only half joking. Right now, he just wanted to finish eating as quickly as possible, then buy some more takeout to bring back to Pakura!
"Oh, I see. That's fine, then." Kurenai Yuhi seemed to be thinking about something. She stole a glance at Uchiha Gen as he arranged the food, blushing to herself as she replied.
"Come eat before it gets cold!" Uchiha Gen called to Kurenai Yuhi, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Why are you acting so strange? What are you thinking about?" Uchiha Gen asked curiously as he ate eel. Was this girl worried about something? Could it have to do with Danzo? No, that couldn't be right. Danzo was probably still sulking. How could he have bounced back so quickly? Unless he was queer! But from the way Danzo had acted yesterday, he seemed perfectly straight!
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Hurry up and eat! When you're done, do you have anything else to do, Gen?" Kurenai Yuhi asked, blushing slightly.
Well... how could he say he had plans? If he did, she'd probably ask what they were. Then, one question would lead to another, and what if she figured out what was going on?
"Oh, nothing. What's up, Kurenai?" Uchiha Gen said, pretending to be calm as he shoveled food into his mouth. His slightly trembling hand gave away how nervous he was.
"Um... it's nothing much. If you're free later, Gen, I was hoping you could help me practice Pokémon battles. I don't have much experience with that, after all, so I'll need you to teach me!" Sure enough, Gen was the best. Doing it by herself just wasn't the same!
"Pfft—cough, cough, cough! What? Pokémon battles?" Had this girl gotten hooked?
"Kurenai, take my advice. You're still young. You need to learn some self-control!" Uchiha Gen tried to turn her down. It wasn't that he couldn't handle Kurenai Yuhi. Even after last night, he could manage someone like her. But Pakura was waiting at home!
"I don't care! I want to play! You're the one who got me into this, Gen, so you have to help me!" Kurenai Yuhi pressed close to Uchiha Gen, her face flushed as she murmured.
Looking at the slightly girlish Kurenai Yuhi before him, what man could resist such a test?
"Kurenai, your father isn't going to come home unexpectedly, is he?" Uchiha Gen asked, licking his lips with a dry mouth.
"No. My father's already gone on a mission. And it'll only take a second, so don't worry too much, Gen!" Kurenai Yuhi's current state made her look like a shady old man trying to lure a little girl into going to see the goldfish.
"What? A second? Me? Foolish Kurenai! I guess I'll have to teach you a proper lesson today! Otherwise, if word gets out, won't I have to move to another world again?" Uchiha Gen said angrily.
Without another word, he abandoned the half-eaten meal, picked Kurenai Yuhi up, and carried her toward the bedroom. Her bedroom didn't have a girlish feel to it; instead, it was warm and cozy. Children from single-parent families probably wanted a complete home all the more.
"Wait... Gen! This isn't like last time. Aren't we supposed to use Genjutsu?" Kurenai Yuhi asked, a little flustered when she saw how he was acting. Actually, Genjutsu had been pretty nice...
"Genjutsu? That's just a parlor trick. Today, we're practicing for real!" Uchiha Gen said, his hands already busy!