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"Kushina, give it up." Shin grinned at the bound Kushina.
"Hmph, I'll never surrender!"
Kushina had been tied up after refusing to apologize for attacking Shin.
"Kushina, it's dinner time. How are you going to eat if you're tied up? Do you want to starve? Just apologize to Shin." Mikoto said with a stern expression.
She was trying hard not to laugh.
"Mikoto, I don't have any proof, but I think you're laughing at me," Kushina said suspiciously.
"We're best friends. How could I laugh at you?"
"Mikoto, if you really are my best friend, then untie me."
"Sorry, Kushina, but Shin said if I untie you, he'll tie me up instead," Mikoto said, shaking her head.
Shin looked at them, confused. When had he said that? And Mikoto was lying right in front of him.
"Mikoto, you said we're best friends, right? Then can't you suffer a bit for me?" Kushina pleaded.
Mikoto thought for a moment, then said with a serious expression, "In that case, Kushina, we're not friends anymore."
She turned and walked away.
"Wow, that's your friendship?" Tsunade chuckled.
"Poor Kushina-neechan," Konan said sympathetically.
"I don't need your pity!" Kushina huffed.
Shin walked over and untied Kushina, who looked at him in surprise. Was he letting her go so easily? Did he have an ulterior motive?
"I just felt sorry for you," Shin said with a smile.
....
"I'm not pitiful! And Shin will always like me, right?" Kushina clung to Shin.
Tsunade, seeing this, pulled Kushina away.
"Kushina, stop fooling around. Let's eat before the food gets cold," Tsunade said.
"Right," Mikoto agreed.
Konan sat obediently beside Shin, waiting for dinner.
After dinner, Shin suddenly remembered something important: they didn't have a place to sleep.
They had forgotten to set up their tent.
"Looks like we'll have to stay at your place tonight, Tsunade," Shin said.
"Sure, I don't mind."
"It'll be a bit cramped, but we can manage," Kushina said.
Tsunade's tent was large, but it would still be crowded with all of them.
"Kushina, if you don't like it, you can sleep outside," Tsunade said.
"I'm not stupid." Kushina glared at her.
....
When it was time to sleep, a dispute arose.
"I want to sleep next to Shin," Kushina declared.
"This is my tent. Shouldn't I be the one making the arrangements?" Tsunade said.
"Let Shin decide," Mikoto said, looking at Shin.
"I want to sleep next to Shin-nii!" Konan clung to Shin's arm.
"Alas, the woes of being popular." Shin sighed dramatically, though inwardly, he was smug.
"Shin, make your choice."
Tsunade, Kushina, Mikoto, and even Konan stared at Shin expectantly. He was in a predicament.
Making a choice would be disastrous. So he came up with a solution: they would draw lots.
Kushina and Mikoto ended up sleeping next to Shin, while Konan, bending the rules, was practically on top of him. Tsunade was fuming.
"Ahem, Tsunade, how about you sleep under me?" Shin asked hopefully.
"Get lost. I'm annoyed, don't bother me." Tsunade turned away angrily.
....
The next morning, Shin woke up first. He looked at Konan, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms. He didn't disturb her.
Mikoto was on his left, and Kushina was on his right. It was a pleasant feeling.
Wait a minute...
Shin turned to his right. It wasn't Kushina; it was Tsunade. And Kushina was on the other side of Tsunade. When had they switched places?
Tsunade opened her eyes and met Shin's gaze.
"What are you looking at?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"I don't remember it being like this last night."
"Yeah, Kushina wanted to switch places with me in the middle of the night. So here I am," Tsunade said.
Shin didn't believe her for a second.
Mikoto and Konan also woke up and were surprised to see Tsunade next to Shin.
Tsunade shushed them and pointed at Kushina, signaling them not to wake her up.
She had switched places with Kushina while she was asleep. She couldn't let Kushina know, or she might start a fight.
She wasn't afraid of Kushina, but Kushina was persistent.
"I'll make breakfast." Mikoto got up and went to the kitchen.
Konan also got up and started refining Chakra.
....
"Konan is so hardworking," Tsunade said, watching her. With that kind of dedication, she would achieve great things.
"Yeah, if you were half as hardworking as Konan, you wouldn't be so weak," Shin said, glancing at Tsunade.
"Shin, you think I'm weak?"
She was probably the only one who thought she was weak.
"To me, you're not that strong. Average, I guess. You probably can't even defeat the Third Kazekage or Hanzō."
Tsunade was speechless. She wasn't confident she could defeat them, but were they weak? One was known as the strongest Kazekage, the other as "Kami." Shin seemed to be underestimating them.
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