Shisui looked at him in confusion.
Genya spoke, looking a little embarrassed.
"Um... sorry for the trouble, but could you use the Body Flicker Technique to go back to that larger town we passed earlier?"
"Help me buy some presents... for Naruto and Sasuke. Clothes? Ninja tools? Or something else boys would like... just get whatever you think is suitable. Two sets, and don't make them too different."
After hearing him out, Shisui's lips twitched, and a resigned look of "I knew it" crossed his handsome face.
He sighed and shook his head.
"Oh, Genya, Genya. You really do have eyes only for those ladies of yours... Fine, I'll be right back."
Before he had finished speaking, his figure blurred into an afterimage and vanished down the road they had come from.
The carriage continued onward.
As the night deepened, Genya finally succumbed to exhaustion from the aftereffects of the Mangekyo, lulled by the carriage's steady rocking and the faint fragrance drifting from Chinatsu.
Without realizing it, he lay down, rested his head on Chinatsu's lap, and fell fast asleep.
Chinatsu gently adjusted her position to make him more comfortable, idly stroking his hair as she gazed at the boy in her lap with boundless tenderness.
By the time Genya was awakened, it was already noon the next day.
The convoy stopped to rest in a sizable town, then set off again after lunch.
By their estimate, they would reach Konoha's gates after a little over half a day's travel.
However, they had no idea that Konoha was already in an uproar over news rapidly arriving from the Capital through all sorts of channels.
Merchants, travelers, and even certain covert intelligence networks had carried the reports back at astonishing speed!
The news spread like wildfire, with countless versions and exaggerated