"Yūto, you actually used the Uchiha's treasured weapon for something this weird!"
Yūto rubbed his stomach where he had been punched, taking a moment to recover before straightening up.
Yet a teasing smile hung on his face as he hefted the Gunbai and said, "What's weird about it? This is an in-depth exploration of a treasured weapon's functions! Look, it absorbs ninjutsu and blows out powerful gusts. Blowing up skirts is just a side effect. It's still very practical. Who knows..."
He spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face. "Maybe this function was exactly what the Uchiha ancestor intended when he designed it. An ancestral treasure specifically for lifting skirts."
"Th-that's nonsense!" Tsukimi was left speechless with anger at his twisted reasoning. She simply stamped her foot hard and turned her head away. "Like anyone would believe you! I'm not talking to you anymore!"
With that, she turned on her heel and strode away, leaving Yūto with nothing but the sight of her indignant back.
Watching Tsukimi run off, Yūto shrugged and casually slung the Gunbai onto his back, in quite a good mood.
The next day, Yūto left his room and found Yahiko sorting supplies inside the base.
"Yahiko," Yūto said as he approached, "how's that kid Nagato doing now?"
He was asking about his physical condition. Those last few blows yesterday had shown little mercy.
Yahiko stopped what he was doing, a trace of worry appearing on his face as he shook his head. "Mr. Yūto, Nagato's body should recover after a few days of rest. But..."
He hesitated, his brows tightly furrowed. "It's his condition-his mental state isn't very good. He's very down, completely listless."
After yesterday's enormous plunge from brimming confidence to being mercilessly crushed by reality, the illusory hopes Nagato had always held of being