第31章 小姑娘脸上“唰”地红了

Looking at little Tsunade's expression and recalling the way Hashirama behaved, he could only shake his head helplessly. "You were an accomplice this time, manipulated by a 'bad guy,' so I'll let it slide. But if you dare do it again, I really will spank you!"

"I won't do it again!" Little Tsunade nodded quickly, her expression incredibly earnest.

"Good. If you really need pocket money in the future, just come and ask me directly," Hibari cautioned. "Don't do such embarrassing things again, understand?"

"I understand, brother Hibari," little Tsunade replied obediently.

While Hibari was busy lecturing little Tsunade, things were not going well for the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, Senju Hashirama.

The man known as the "God of Shinobi" was currently kneeling obediently on a cushion in Uzumaki Mito's room. The high-spirited energy he had shown while taking little Tsunade out that morning was long gone, replaced by a pitiful expression.

On the other side of the room, Uzumaki Mito was brewing tea at a leisurely pace, then gently pushed a filled cup toward Tobirama, who sat nearby.

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Tobirama took the teacup, his tone respectful.

Uzumaki Mito offered only a faint smile and said nothing. Senju Hashirama licked his lips from the side, unable to stop himself from interjecting, "I've been here for ages, and I haven't even had a drop of water..."

It would have been better if he had stayed silent. The moment he spoke, the slight smile on Mito's face froze instantly. She furrowed her brows, her voice dropping a few degrees. "Water? You walked out with over a million ryo, and that wasn't enough to buy yourself a drink?"

Scolded by his own wife, Hashirama immediately wilted and muttered under his breath, "I can't take all the blame for that... Tobirama didn't pay out the commission, so my pockets were empty."

"What kind of excuse is that?" Mito glared at him, furious.

Without giving Hashirama a chance to defend himself, she launched into a relentless lecture, scolding the Hokage until he couldn't even lift his head.

Seeing that the situation had reached its peak and that further scolding would truly damage his dignity, Tobirama slowly set down his teacup. "Sister-in-law, I believe my brother knows he was wrong."

"Yes, yes, exactly!" Hashirama scrambled to climb down the ladder provided. "I was just muddled for a moment. I absolutely won't do it again!"

He thought happily to himself: He really is my own brother; he knows how to speak up for me when it counts.

But before the thought could fully form, Tobirama's next words made his vision go dark, and he nearly fainted.

"The one point five million ryo my brother took from Hibari," Tobirama said unhurriedly, "will be deducted from his future salary month by month. It will be restored to the original amount only once it is fully repaid."

Hashirama finally caught his breath and argued frantically, "There wasn't one point five million! That kid secretly spent fourteen thousand himself; I only took about one point three million, not that much!"

"You think just because you say you didn't take it, you didn't?" Mito glared at him. "Who in the village doesn't know that Hibari worked himself to the bone to save that money? Since you took it, you have to pay it back in full!"

"I was just worried he was young and would spend it recklessly! Look, he already spent fourteen thousand in just two or three days..." Hashirama cried out, feeling wronged.

"Even if he spends it fast, can he spend it as fast as you?" Mito poked him hard in the forehead. "You weren't even out for a day, and over a million was gone! You have the nerve to talk about others?"

Tobirama added a calm, final blow from the side: "Hibari spent those fourteen thousand ryo on precious books for the village children, not losing it in a gambling den."

Once those words were out, Hashirama went completely silent, sitting there with his head hanging low.

Seeing this, Mito's tone softened slightly. "You are the Hokage, yet your awareness isn't even as good as a child's. If you had used the money for proper business, I wouldn't have said anything, don't you agree?"

"I agree..." Hashirama muttered, nodding.

"So, about that one point five million ryo?" Mito eyed him sideways.

"I'll pay it... we'll do as Tobirama says..." Hashirama said, his heart bleeding.

However, thinking about how Hibari used the money for the children's education, a sense of relief washed over him. He felt that he really hadn't been a very competent grandfather, and his actions had been a bit dishonorable.

After all that commotion, the Senju family's "grand larceny case" was finally settled.

Early the next morning, while Hibari was still groggy with sleep, little Tsunade came thumping into his room. Without caring whether he was awake, she launched herself onto his quilt.

"Ugh!" Hibari let out a muffled grunt as he was tackled, and upon opening his eyes, he saw that little face. "Princess Tsunade, are you trying to murder me?"

"Brother Hibari!" Little Tsunade grabbed his arm and shook it. "Let's go to the back mountain and catch a bear to eat, shall we?"

"Who eats bear first thing in the morning?" Hibari peeled her off the quilt and sat up. "It's all greasy. Aren't you afraid of turning into a little fat pig?"

"It'll be noon by the time we catch it, just in time for lunch!" little Tsunade said, feeling perfectly justified.

Before Hibari could reply, she grabbed his arm and shook it hard again. "Let's go, let's go! You're always cooped up at home, brother Hibari, how boring..."

"I'm already this old, I have to make time to improve my strength and knowledge, where would I find the time..." Before Hibari could finish, he felt his sleeve being tugged. He looked down to see little Tsunade clutching his arm, her eyes wide and round, tears welling up in them.

Hibari was immediately defeated. He waved his hand and said, "Fine, fine, we'll go. Wait by the door, I'll be there once I'm dressed."

Little Tsunade, who had just been looking so aggrieved, immediately jumped up and shouted happily, "Then hurry up, brother Hibari!" With that, she darted out of the room.

Hibari got up, folded his bedding, and reached for his Black Layered Armor from the rack to put it on.

He then took his sword from the stand and hung it at his waist. As for the large scrolls, he didn't bring them; after all, they were just going to catch a bear in the back mountain, not going on a mission, so there was no need to be too serious.

Once he was ready, he figured that Tobirama should be in his room researching sealing jutsu by now, and he really ought to show his face. Since he was going to accompany Princess Tsunade up the mountain, he might as well send a shadow clone over, just to see if the second master could spot the flaw.

If even Tobirama couldn't tell the difference, then this clone technique could truly be called flawless.

Thinking of this, Hibari performed the hand seals with crisp, clean movements. A second later, a shadow clone appeared beside him, while he himself swayed slightly on his feet.

Fortunately, he had been prepared this time and managed to steady himself without the clone's help. Since they were one and the same, the shadow clone naturally knew what he was thinking, and before Hibari could speak, it complained, "Why can't I be the one to accompany Princess Tsunade up the mountain while you stay here to do homework?"

"Cut the chatter, I'm the original, I make the decisions." Hibari rolled his eyes at it. "This is a test, and reading more books will be good for you."

The shadow clone wanted to argue, but Hibari's eyes darted around, and he suddenly laughed. "We're going to be dealing with each other a lot in the future, I have to give you a name..."

"Can you talk normally?" the shadow clone interrupted irritably. "Stop saying things that are easily misunderstood. Are you planning on marrying yourself?"

"Hahaha, as long as you get the meaning." Hibari said cheerfully. "My name is Hibari, so I think you should be called..."

"Ying? Or Hayabusa?" The shadow clone raised an eyebrow, its tone filled with anticipation.

"Let's just go with Yaoji," Hibari said nonchalantly.

"I'll emphasize this again, we are one and the same!" The shadow clone stomped its feet in anger. "Can't you be nicer to me? That name is too ridiculous. Do you have a self-abusive streak?"

"A name is just a label, why be so picky?" Hibari waved his hand impatiently. "The name Yaoji sounds like someone who's easy to raise."

"Don't call me Yaoji!"

"Alright Yaoji, I've got it, Yaoji."

Hibari couldn't be bothered to nag any further. He pulled the door open and left, leaving the shadow clone in the room to glare at him. But what could it do? The original was Hibari after all, so it had to resign itself to being "Yaoji."

After walking a few steps, he saw little Tsunade already waiting in the courtyard. As soon as the little girl saw him, she ran over and grabbed his hand. "Brother Hibari, who were you talking to in the room just now?"

"It was my shadow clone. I sent him to learn something from the second master," Hibari replied with a smile.

"Then why did I hear something about 'marrying yourself'..." little Tsunade shook his arm. "Is brother Hibari going to marry someone else? Didn't we agree that I would marry you when I grow up?"

"Hahaha, when you're actually grown up, you won't think that way anymore," Hibari laughed loudly.

"I will too! I like brother Hibari the best!" little Tsunade wrinkled her small nose, sounding perfectly justified.

"But I heard you say you wanted to marry Hashirama just two days ago..." Hibari teased her on purpose.

The little girl's face turned bright red, and she stomped her feet indignantly. "Brother Hibari!!!"

While Hibari took little Tsunade out to "hunt bears," Yaoji wandered over to the door of Tobirama's room. He calmed himself down, knocked twice, and pushed the door open without waiting for a response.

Just as Hibari had expected, Tobirama was sitting at his desk writing and drawing. Without even lifting his head, he said, "You're early today."

Yaoji grinned. "It's that little girl Tsunade. She had me stirred up before the sun was even up."

Tobirama didn't even stop his brush. "Find a book to read first. I'll finish these strokes, then I'll test your data."

Logically, these physical examinations weren't done every day; they usually happened every few days. Yaoji was wondering to himself, why the sudden need for a test today?

Even though he was a bit special, he was still just a shadow clone; how could his data be exactly the same as the original's?

"Second master," he coughed twice, "why the sudden thought to test this today? Don't we usually only do it every few days?"

"There's no set rule for this kind of thing," Tobirama said, still not looking up. "I test when I need to. Is there a problem?"

"Cough, cough... oh, my throat." Yaoji rubbed his neck in a showy manner. "I might have caught a chill last night; I'm feeling all out of sorts. How about we test another day? I don't want the data to be inaccurate."

This actually made Tobirama lift his eyes. He scrutinized Yaoji for two seconds. "You can catch a chill? I've never seen you get sick since you were a child." He became even more interested. "Perfect, this is a new situation; it should be tested even more!"

"I'm just worried about tiring you out!" Yaoji quickly replied. "It can wait, we've made it this many years, there's no rush for this moment..."

Tobirama furrowed his brows, stared at Yaoji for a moment, and suddenly reached out to poke him in the chest. The force was not small, and it sent Yaoji back two steps. He clutched his chest and glared. "Second master, what are you doing?"

Seeing Yaoji's reaction, Tobirama's brows relaxed slightly. "I thought you had learned the shadow clone technique and were using a clone to fool me." He stood up and grabbed Yaoji by the shoulder. "What are you stalling for? I just feel like you're acting strange today. No more nonsense, lie down."

"Second master! Listen to my explanation!" Yaoji was pressed onto the bench, struggling with all his might.

"I don't need your explanation." Tobirama applied force to his hand. "I'll understand once I finish the test."