Spendthrift Woman

Nawaki defended Tsunade. "For example, during the first few days, she stayed up late every night thinking up a training plan for you."

"She was just thinking about how to get me to work for her for free, wasn't she?" Feng Xun said without the slightest appreciation.

"..."

After thinking for a moment, Nawaki added, "And for your sake, she's been going to the casino much less often."

"That's only because she has no money. And the last few times she went to the casino, didn't she get the money from me every time? Isn't that excessive?"

Feng Xun raised another objection.

"..."

"Little Brother Xun, your prejudice against my sister is too deep."

Feng Xun shrugged. "I'm just telling the truth."

Nawaki took a deep breath. Unable to bear seeing his sister misunderstood any longer, he spoke again. "Originally, my sister told me not to tell you about this, but I think it's better if you know."

"?"

Feng Xun turned to look at him, unsure what could possibly need to be kept secret from him.

"Whew... Little Brother Xun, you might not know this, but the medicinal herbs in every medicinal bath you take are worth nearly a million."

"A... a million?" Feng Xun froze.

Seeing Feng Xun's shocked expression, Nawaki thought he had finally been moved and continued, "Not only that, but even the wooden tub you're using now was bought by my sister from an herbal merchant for over three million. They say it can speed up the absorption of the herbs."

"Three million?" Feng Xun was stunned once again.

Feng Xun silently worked it out in his head with his elementary-school-level math skills.

At one million per tub, I've soaked in eighteen tubs altogether, making eighteen million. The wooden tub cost three million, bringing the total to twenty-one million. Even rounding down, that's still a full twenty million.

If those twenty million were exchanged for two hundred thousand points, I could even buy an A-rank skill from the system.

What a spendthrift woman. They say the women in the Naruto World are more wasteful than the last. Looks like that saying is absolutely true.

Still, thoughts were one thing. Feng Xun was not so ungrateful that he failed to recognize kindness. However, he still asked Nawaki, "I understand the value of these medicinal baths, but why doesn't that lun... Master use medicinal meals to nourish my body instead? Why go through the more troublesome method of medicinal baths?"

"I heard my sister mention this before. It seems that, Little Brother Xun, you've already passed the best age for using medicinal meals to condition your body, so one or two medicinal meals definitely wouldn't be enough."

After a pause, Nawaki continued, "And medicinal meals have a drawback: they leave behind a trace of residual toxins in your body. After all, every medicine has some toxicity. My sister said that if you took medicinal meals for a long time, that trace of toxin could very likely limit what you achieve in the future."

I didn't expect that crazy woman to be so thoughtful. No wonder she's Lady Tsunade, known as the Medical Saint.

Catching the lingering medicinal fragrance on his arm, Feng Xun's lips unconsciously curled upward.

"Little Brother Xun, you finally smiled."

Nawaki was delighted when he saw the smile appear on Feng Xun's face.

"It was just a smile. Can you not get so excited? It's disgusting to watch." Feng Xun wiped the smile from his face, feeling helpless.

Nawaki did not take offense. Instead, he smiled and said, "That's because you always have such a bitter expression, Little Brother Xun. Honestly, this is the first time I've ever seen you smile."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah!" Nawaki jumped down from the steps beside Feng Xun and patted his chest as he declared loudly, "My greatest wish is to become Hokage like Grandpa and Second Grandpa. I want everyone to be able to smile from the bottom of their hearts."

"So that's what you think?" Feng Xun suddenly fell silent. He knew that, according to the original story, the boy's wish could never come true.

After a long while, he hesitated before saying, "Nawaki, can you stop taking missions for the time being?"

Nawaki was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Little Brother Xun, you're joking again. I'm a ninja. How can a ninja not carry out missions? Besides, Master and my sister have both been very good to me. I can't let down their expectations."

"But... but this could very well cost you your life." Feng Xun opened his mouth, but in the end, those were the only weak and hollow words he could say.

Seeing that Feng Xun did not seem to be joking, Nawaki fell silent for a moment. After some thought, he sighed. "Come to think of it, Little Brother Xun's parents died in the war, right?"

Feng Xun's body suddenly stiffened. Then he nodded weakly. "That's right!"

"So that's how it was." Nawaki sighed and sat back down beside Feng Xun. "Little Brother Xun, I think every life is precious. No one wants to leave this world early. Your parents included—they definitely didn't want to leave you so soon... But!"

Nawaki changed the subject and continued, "I think Little Brother Xun's parents had long since prepared themselves for sacrifice. After all, we're ninjas! Behind us are not only our own families, but also countless civilians. Most of them have no strength to even defend themselves. They can only survive under our protection."

"So from the day I became a ninja, I swore that if my death could have value, if my death could save more lives and protect this village, then I could even give up my own dream and willingly die."

After a long time...

Feng Xun sighed softly. "It seems you aren't afraid of death, Nawaki."

"No, Little Brother Xun, you're wrong about that." Nawaki shook his head. "To be honest, I'm very afraid of dying, but I'm even more afraid of no longer being able to be a ninja.

If I feared missions and gave them up, I would no longer be qualified to be a ninja. So thank you for your concern, Little Brother Xun, but I won't give up missions."

Nawaki's words left Feng Xun unable to refute him, but he still asked unwillingly, "Even if I clearly tell you right now that you'll die on this mission?"

"Huh??? Really? Are you sure? What evidence do you have?" Nawaki grabbed Feng Xun's shoulders and shook him from side to side.

Feng Xun was speechless at Nawaki's sudden display of nervousness. "You're overreacting. And didn't you already prepare yourself for death?"

"Being prepared is one thing. Actually making me die is another." Nawaki pursed his lips awkwardly, then added, "How exactly do you know? Did you discover someone's plot against me? Or do you have some kind of prophecy technique that can foresee the future?"

After breaking free of Nawaki's hands, Feng Xun thought for a moment and said with complete seriousness, "That's right. I know a prophecy technique, and my predictions are extremely accurate. You will definitely die on this mission."

"Pfft..." Nawaki suddenly clutched his stomach and laughed. "Hahaha, Little Brother Xun, you really are a child! A prophecy technique? That's hilarious."