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A week passed in the blink of an eye. Shin and Konan had been in Kirigakure for seven days. By now, the Hyūga Clan had essentially taken control of the village.
Initially, Hiashi Hyūga had been moving slowly, but Shin, growing impatient, used a large-scale Genjutsu to hypnotize and subdue the remaining resistance, resolving the situation quickly.
This left Hiashi feeling somewhat unnerved whenever he saw Shin.
Hypnotizing and brainwashing thousands of people with Genjutsu… it was terrifying.
What level of mastery did one need to achieve such a feat?
If Shin knew Hiashi's thoughts, he'd likely laugh. Compared to Infinite Tsukuyomi, which can trap the entire world in an illusion, this is nothing.
"Didn't expect Kirigakure to have this kind of book."
Shin held a book in his hand. Konan, curious, glanced over.
As soon as she saw the cover, her face flushed red. Just from the title, she knew it wasn't wholesome literature.
Indeed, it wasn't. It was the famous Icha Icha Paradise, written by Jiraiya himself.
"Shopkeeper, I'll take this one. How much?" Shin asked the bookstall owner.
The book wasn't cheap—a hundred ryō. Shin was surprised. Jiraiya must be making a fortune.
Shin bought it anyway. He wasn't short on cash; the price didn't matter. He was genuinely curious about the contents of Icha Icha Paradise.
It was Kakashi Hatake's favorite book, Shin wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
"Shin-nii, why did you buy a book like that?" Konan looked at Shin, her image of him plummeting slightly.
"Ahem, just curious. Consider it a contribution to Jiraiya's royalties."
"You're saying this book was written by Jiraiya, one of the Sannin?" Konan's expression turned peculiar. Jiraiya, who shared the title of Sannin with Tsunade, wrote this kind of book? What a degenerate!
In fact, the Sannin were rather degenerate.
Tsunade was better now, having reformed. If Tsunade still gambled, Shin would likely be bankrupt, no matter how much money he had; he couldn't keep up with her spending habits. Tsunade's gambling was basically just giving money away; she almost never won. Of course, if she did win, it usually meant big trouble was brewing.
"Let's go. Time to return to the Land of Whirlpools."
The situation here was resolved. Shin didn't want to stay in Kirigakure any longer; the environment was unpleasant.
Staying for a week, Shin finally understood why it was called the Village Hidden in the Mist. Six out of seven days were foggy.
Though the fog usually only appeared in the morning and evening, it was still uncomfortable.
It wasn't smog from industrial pollution, but water vapor. While odorless, it left clothes damp and clingy.
In comparison, the Land of Whirlpools, also an island nation, rarely experienced heavy fog. Shin found it much more pleasant than Kirigakure.
"Shin-nii, do you think Kushina-neechan and the others will be angry when we get back?" Konan asked Shin.
"Don't worry. They probably won't be angry, but definitely annoyed." After being gone for so long, Kushina and the others would likely be a bit upset.
"Let's head back first and see."
Shin took Konan's hand, returning home. Space-Time Ninjutsu was truly convenient.
Hearing Shin's voice, Hinata immediately ran out, her face beaming with joy.
"Shin-nii!" Hinata relied heavily on Shin, perhaps because he spent the most time with her.
"You finally decided to come back! If you hadn't returned soon, we were going to Kirigakure to drag you back!" Kushina said, her voice laced with resentment.
Just as expected, Kushina was annoyed. And she wasn't the only one.
"It couldn't be helped—We were busy with important matters," Shin said, sitting down.
"Important matters? You've lost yourselves in—play, haven't you?" Tsunade said, glancing pointedly at Shin.
"Shin, if you really wanted to come back, you could have taken a moment to visit," Mikoto added quietly.
Shin rubbed his nose and decided not to explain further. Honestly, he and Konan had enjoyed their time in Kirigakure.
"Oh, by the way, Shin-nii bought…"
Before Konan could finish—Shin quickly covered her mouth. He knew she was about to mention Icha Icha Paradise. He absolutely couldn't let her say it. His image was already tarnished enough; revealing that would shatter it completely.
"Konan, don't say it. Or face the consequences," Shin whispered softly in her ear, ensuring only she could hear.
Konan looked at Shin with teary eyes, then nodded. Threatened, she couldn't reveal the truth.
"Why did you stop mid-sentence? Were you threatened?" Mei Terumī asked Konan. Mei was incredibly curious; she desperately wanted to know what Shin had bought.
"No," Konan glanced at Shin, then shook her head, her expression perfectly natural.
Seeing Konan's convincing performance, Shin nodded approvingly. Her acting skills had improved.
"There's definitely something going on! Konan, really, you can't tell us?"
Mei Terumī wasn't the only curious one—Kushina was too. Her curiosity was just as strong.
In fact, Tsunade and Mikoto were also curious, though they didn't show it as obviously as Kushina and Mei Terumī.
"Um, Shin-nii bought some special Kirigakure delicacies, but we ate them all on the way back, so it's a bit embarrassing to talk about," Konan quickly fabricated a reason, trying to placate them.
Whether Kushina and the others truly believed her, only they knew.
Shin breathed a sigh of relief, his image temporarily salvaged—He swore he'd only bought Jiraiya's Icha Icha Paradise out of pure curiosity.
He wanted to know what Jiraiya's writing level was like, simply to appreciate his literary skills. He had no other intentions.
After all, Shin had experienced all sorts of knowledge. He was mainly curious about the book—In the original story, even Kakashi treated it like a treasure, practically burying his nose in it. Shin couldn't help but be curious too.
Shin considered himself a top-tier connoisseur in 'that' department. He wanted to see what level Jiraiya's popular book truly reached. Though Shin suspected it probably wasn't anything special.
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