"Sister Kushina, shall we continue then?"
"Alright, little Nobuhiko. Don't blame your sister for not warning you, though. If you don't go all out this time, you're going to get beaten very badly by your sister!"
A strong urge to play welled up inside Kushina, and she said to Nobuhiko with a hint of excitement.
Nobuhiko charged at Kushina once more, and upon rushing close to her, he suddenly lashed out with both fists.
Just as Kushina was about to reach out and parry, she saw Nobuhiko change his fists into palms.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm."
???
Caught completely off guard, Kushina was blown backward by the fierce gust of wind.
Now was the time. Nobuhiko exerted force through his feet and leaped into the air.
He prepared to first strike Kushina down toward the ground with a punch, and then catch her before she landed. That way, he could showcase his formidable strength while maxing out her favorability.
However, the ideal was plump, but the reality was skeletal.
Just as Nobuhiko was still daydreaming, Kushina formed Hand Seals mid-air.
Ribbon-like patterns began to continually emerge from Nobuhiko's arms, covering and spreading all over his entire body.
Then, Nobuhiko felt that he could no longer move, and he started falling toward the ground.
At the very moment before he landed, Nobuhiko instinctively closed his eyes.
Then he felt himself being caught in a warm embrace.
At this moment, Nobuhiko truly loved Tsunade to death.
Opening his eyes, he was just about to express his gratitude to Tsunade.
He discovered that Tsunade was standing beside the Third Hokage, her arms crossed over her chest, looking at him with a half-smile.
Ugh, no way!
Nobuhiko found it hard to believe his own eyes.
He wanted to turn his head to see if it was Tsunade's Shadow Clone holding him, only to find that he still couldn't move.
Well then, he simply wouldn't look.
The moment he thought about how he, a grown man with a mental age nearing thirty, was...
Nobuhiko went all-in, closed his eyes tight, and began playing dead.
Kushina was holding Nobuhiko in a bridal style and noticed that Nobuhiko hadn't moved at all, only to realize that she hadn't released her sealing jutsu yet.
After undoing it, she found that aside from his limbs hanging down naturally, Nobuhiko was still completely motionless, and she instantly panicked a little, thinking she had scared Nobuhiko unconscious.
Anxious, she held Nobuhiko and ran over to Tsunade and the Third Hokage. "Old man Third, Sister Tsunade, what do I do? I think I scared little Nobuhiko unconscious!"
The Third Hokage felt he hadn't encountered such an interesting matter in a long time, and he decided to stand on the sidelines and watch the show.
Tsunade knitted her brows tightly, feeling rather embarrassed.
To cover up his awkwardness, this brat actually chose to play dead.
"Hey, brat, stop pretending. Get down here right away!"
Listening to Tsunade's gnashing, grinding command, Nobuhiko indicated that he had already been scared unconscious and hadn't heard a thing.
"Sister Tsunade, little Nobuhiko really was scared unconscious! You're a medical ninja, hurry up and see what we should do!"
Kushina said with a bit of urgency.
Tsunade's fists truly hardened. Based on her understanding of him, since this brat chose to play dead, he definitely wouldn't expose himself easily.
No, she couldn't let this matter just slide. After she went to the front lines, Nobuhiko would definitely spend a lot of time with Kushina, so she had to let Kushina see his true colors.
Tsunade turned her head to look at the Third Hokage, who was watching the fun from the side. "Old man, you've watched Nobuhiko's battle too. There's nothing for you here anymore, go on back first."
"Ahem, very well then. Since you put it one way or another, Tsunade, old man I will head back first."
The Third Hokage left the training ground looking back every three steps, feeling somewhat regretful that he hadn't brought his crystal ball with him.
He was so curious how that child Nobuhiko would face this kind of situation!
After seeing the Third Hokage leave the training ground, Tsunade looked at Kushina, figuring Kushina wasn't an outsider either.
After she went to the front lines, Kushina would probably be the one who spent the most time by Nobuhiko's side.
Therefore, she had to let Kushina see through this perverted brat's true colors.
She had no choice but to make a sacrifice.
Tsunade hadn't expected that she had just decided to make a sacrifice last night to secure this perverted brat's good image in front of outsiders, only to end up using it today.
She felt as though she had embarked on a road of no return.
Yet there was no help for it.
On one side was her younger sister, and on the other was her younger brother; the palm of the hand and the back of the hand were both flesh.
She could only take a bit of a loss, let Nobuhiko take advantage of her a little, and then let Kushina see right through this perverted brat's true colors.
The two of them would win-win while she took the loss. Perhaps this was the responsibility of being an elder sister!
After comforting herself in her heart, Tsunade grabbed Nobuhiko from Kushina's embrace and pulled him into her own.
Nobuhiko, who had resolved to play dead until the end after the Third Hokage left, never expected Tsunade to pull this move.
That's right, this was that exact scent, this was that exact feeling.
This was Tsunade's embrace.
Even though he had just greeted them last night, after half a day apart, he still missed them terribly.
At this moment, Nobuhiko forgot everything and began involuntarily greeting them.
Watching her little Nobuhiko get pulled into Sister Tsunade's embrace, Kushina's tender little face flushed red as he began rubbing left and right, and she realized she had been tricked.
Seeing Kushina's complexion turn somewhat unsightly and knowing that she had already seen through Nobuhiko's true colors, Tsunade helplessly yanked Nobuhiko out of her arms.
Giving it some thought, she ultimately didn't have the heart to drop him straight onto the ground, but if she just set him down gently like that, the breath of frustration in her heart wouldn't release-so she simply dangled him by his collar instead.
Thus, Nobuhiko was left dangling in mid-air by Tsunade, pitifully making excuses to Kushina and Tsunade.
"Little Nobuhiko, Sister is really angry. Even though the two of us only met today for the very first time, you shouldn't lie to Sister!"
Following Kushina's roar, her cascade of vibrant red hair also began fluttering without any wind.
Maxing out his survival instinct, Nobuhiko decided to confess the majority of the truth.
"Sister Kushina, calm down. Listen to my explanation first."
"I really didn't mean to lie to you, I, I just."
Hearing Nobuhiko trail off with unsaid words, Kushina grew even angrier.
"Just what?"
"It's just that I felt like a grown man being held by a pretty girl like Sister Kushina... it's a bit, a bit embarrassing."
Seeing Nobuhiko dangling in mid-air, pale with fright at first, now blushing deeply with shyness, and praising her for being pretty, Kushina felt as though she wasn't quite as angry anymore.
After all, he was a grown man-a grown man under six years old.
She couldn't take it anymore. Kushina couldn't hold it in, clutching her stomach as she squatted on the ground and laughed.
A little brat not even six years old claiming to be a grown man, and even feeling embarrassed.
Hahahahaha, it was simply hilarious!
After squatting on the ground and laughing for a while, Kushina remembered that this matter wasn't over yet. She stood up, straightened her expression, and began comforting Nobuhiko.
"Alright, little Nobuhiko. Sister forgives you this time, but if anything comes up in the future, you must tell Sister. You are absolutely not allowed to lie to Sister again, okay? Sister promises she won't make fun of you."
"Mm-mm-mm, don't worry, Sister Kushina, I promise I will never lie to you again."
Nobuhiko nodded like a pounding pestle to give his guarantee.
Watching Kushina forgive Nobuhiko just like that, Tsunade felt something was amiss.
Did she make such a huge sacrifice just so Kushina could find out this perverted brat was playing dead, and then forgive this perverted brat?
Was that really it?