NARUTO- CH-119. Tsunade's Disappointment

Mrs. Yamanaka approached the flower stand and began arranging the bouquet.

Shiki waited for two minutes before seeing Ino running out. She quickly handed the flowers to him and dashed back inside before he could react.

Shiki, who had taken a flower arrangement class, recognized the lilies and tulips. But raising them? Not his style.

After a moment of thought, an idea came to him.

He headed to his third home.

His first home was the Aburame residence.

His second was the former Senju estate.

And the third? The home of Chihori and Karin.

On his way, Shiki passed by the Konoha Bookstore and suddenly stopped.

'Should I go in and buy a copy of "Intimate Paradise"?'

After a brief hesitation, he walked in.

The layout reminded him of the bookstores from his previous life, with books neatly arranged by category.

"Children aren't allowed to visit the innermost shelves," a young woman said with a smile. "That's where the adult books are."

Shiki nodded.

When she wasn't looking, he used a transformation technique, grabbed a copy of Intimate Paradise, and paid for it.

"Transformation really is useful," he muttered as he flipped open the book.

He had been curious about its contents in his previous life, and now he finally had the chance to see it for real. In the original work, Intimate Paradise had two sequels, Intimate Violence and Intimate Tactics. They were so popular that they eventually became movies, filling cinemas to the brim.

He read two pages and couldn't help but gasp. It was indeed an adult masterpiece.

"Shiki? When did you come back?"

A familiar voice broke his concentration.

Looking up, he realized he had already arrived at his destination.

Chihori crouched down, her gaze falling on the book in his hands.

"Is that Intimate Paradise?"

Her eyes widened at the sight of the book, with its bold Restricted label on the cover.

"I… I found it!" Shiki stammered, hastily closing the book. For the first time, he felt genuinely embarrassed.

It was like someone discovering your secret stash—it made him want to move to another planet.

Chihori raised an eyebrow. The book looked far too new to have been "found."

After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Curiosity is normal, but you should wait until you're older before reading things like that."

Shiki opened his mouth to explain but couldn't find the words.

"Give it to me," Chihori said softly, holding out her hand. "You can ask for it back when you're grown up."

After a brief pause, Shiki handed her the book. He'd already read most of it, after all.

To be honest, Jiraiya had done a remarkable job. The romance parts weren't anything special, but everything else was strangely realistic—probably based on personal experience.

"This is for you," Shiki said suddenly, pulling a bouquet of lilies and tulips from his sealing scroll.

"For me?" Chihori asked, stunned.

"It'd be wasted if I kept it. Can you take care of it for me?"

Shiki's tone was casual, but Chihori hesitated, her gaze shifting between the flowers and Intimate Paradise.

A fleeting thought crossed her mind, making her cheeks flush. She quickly dismissed it.

'What am I even thinking? He's just a kid!'

"Shiki!"

The door burst open, and Karin rushed toward him, throwing her arms around him.

Her long hair brushed against his face, carrying a faint fragrance.

"Karin," Chihori called, her tone sharp.

Karin glanced back but didn't release her grip.

"Karin, did you finish the training schedule I gave you?" Shiki asked.

"Uh… well…" Karin loosened her hold, looking sheepish.

"She's learned the Substitution Technique but hasn't mastered the Clone or Transformation Techniques yet," Chihori interjected, carefully watching Shiki's reaction. She worried Karin's slow progress might disappoint him—or worse, lead to them being abandoned again.

"That's pretty good," Shiki said, nodding.

"Really?" Karin's eyes lit up with disbelief.

"You've made impressive progress for someone with no prior ninja training. Normally, it takes six years to master the Three Body Technique. Learning the Substitution Technique in a month is remarkable."

In the courtyard, Karin took a deep breath.

Under Shiki's watchful eyes, she performed the Substitution Technique.

With a puff of smoke, she swapped places with a wooden stake.

"How was that?" she asked eagerly, running up to him.

"Good," Shiki said, nodding slightly.

Karin beamed with excitement, practically jumping for joy. Chihori, standing nearby, let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Your turn, Chihori," Shiki said, turning his attention to her.

Chihori froze, her expression betraying her nerves.

"You learned Konoha fluid techniques, right?" Shiki asked. "Let's spar."

Chihori nodded hesitantly, stepping forward to face him.

"Come at me," Shiki said, standing perfectly still.

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