Aoba had no intention of going to find Sara at this time.
Seramu had already been using Sara as the acting queen of Roran, so Sara was basically overwhelmed with work every day.
At this hour, she would already be resting.
And if he went to see her at this time and brought up marriage, it just didn't feel like the right moment.
Looking at it this way, the best approach was to let Seramu do some groundwork first, then he would step in afterward.
So after playing another round of the "king and mount" game, Aoba left Roran.
———
After leaving Roran, he went to the Hidden Cloud Village to check on Samui and Mabui. On the large bed in the bedroom, the two of them were leaning against each other, sleeping soundly.
Seeing the way they slept, completely different from their usual mature, composed demeanor, Aoba couldn't help but walk over and gently pinch their slightly round cheeks.
However, in response to his actions, the two of them only lightly rubbed their heads against him and pursed their lips, showing no signs of waking up.
It seemed that because of their earlier competition with each other, both of them were quite exhausted and had fallen into a deep sleep.
But even before coming here, he had already expected they'd be in this state. He mainly came to check on how they were doing.
If they had been awake, he could've stayed to keep them company for a while, then leave after they fell asleep.
Tonight wasn't just Karin's, it was also Mabui's.
But looking at the current situation, it didn't seem like there was any room for him to step in.
Just earlier when they were awake, they insisted on competing, neither willing to back down, like needle against wheat, completely at odds.
Who would've thought that once asleep, they'd become so harmonious instead.
Looking at it this way, after watching their sleeping faces for a while longer, Aoba used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave.
There was no need to wake them up now. He could come back tomorrow and talk then.
———
After making a full round, Aoba finally returned to his own room.
He didn't go straight to bed. Instead, he took a shower first and changed into clean sleepwear.
But when he pushed the door open, he found that Karin, who had originally been asleep, had somehow woken up.
Her fiery red long hair draped softly over her shoulders, and her face still carried a bit of the dazed look of someone who had just woken up.
It took her a moment to react, then she called out in a slightly aggrieved tone,
"Aoba-nii…"
"Did I wake you up just now?"
Aoba walked over and held her in his arms.
Although he had traveled through many places just now, and in total it had been nearly over ten hours, because he had been using his eye technique the whole time, the actual time he had been gone wasn't long, probably less than half an hour.
He had originally thought Karin would sleep deeply, but unexpectedly she woke up again.
"It's because Aoba-nii wasn't here. I wanted to be held by Aoba-nii while sleeping."
Held in Aoba's arms, Karin's face finally showed a smile again.
All he could say was, truly worthy of the Uzumaki clan. Not only full of stamina, but their recovery was fast too.
Seeing that after just a short rest, the fatigue on Karin's face had already eased quite a bit, and she had even regained a lot of her energy, Aoba couldn't help but sigh.
Perhaps once Karin fully mastered the Yin Seal, she would leap to become the strongest among all the girls, enough to rival Tsunade.
After all, before he obtained the Sage Body, he had relied on the Yin Seal and Uzumaki bloodline to remain undefeated.
"Aoba-nii, what are you thinking about?"
Seeing him zone out, Karin couldn't help but poke his cheek.
But after poking him, it seemed she didn't feel satisfied, so she used both hands to start kneading his face.
Normally, she wouldn't do something like this. Maybe today she was just too happy.
The two of them were finally completely close, without any distance between them.
Aoba came back to his senses. He didn't mind Karin's little actions and also pinched her face.
Then, thinking of what might happen tomorrow, he asked, "You all should've already gone to check on Ino this afternoon, right?"
"Mm."
Karin rubbed against his palm like a little cat. Her originally content expression turned into slight dissatisfaction as she said, "That Ino actually snuck off during a mission without telling us. And not only that, Aoba-nii, you didn't even tell us either."
"But didn't you all find out anyway?", Aoba said a bit innocently.
"But we found out ourselves. You didn't tell us."
Karin spoke as if it was only natural.
"..."
Aoba didn't explain further. To show his apology, he stroked Karin's smooth, soft red hair like petting a cat for a while.
After she showed a comfortable expression, he asked again, "So what are your plans after this? Don't tell me you're all going to be like you, sneaking into my room to sleep?"
"Well… hehe."
Karin's face showed a sly smile, and she said proudly, "Actually, I snuck off too."
"Hm?"
Aoba was taken aback.
Karin explained, "After we discussed it, the plan was to take turns, one person per day. But if we really followed the order, I'd be last. I didn't want to be last, so I asked Yugao-nee and the others to give me this chance."
"..."
Aoba couldn't help but twitch his mouth, "If we calculate it like that, then tomorrow the first one is Tenten, right?"
"Mm."
Karin nodded.
This was basically arranged in order of who came first.
She was last among the remaining people, so she ended up at the end.
But Karin didn't accept that arrangement, so she chose to sneak ahead.
After hearing Karin's explanation, Aoba showed a look of understanding and finally patted her head, "Then let's sleep first. You still have work tomorrow."
"Eh? We're going to sleep already?"
Karin blinked her big eyes, her crimson pupils shimmering with moisture.
"..."
Feeling Karin's little movements, Aoba couldn't help but click his tongue, "You really aren't afraid of pushing yourself, huh?"
"Ehehe!"
Karin just stuck out her tongue playfully, looking completely fearless.
"..."
Karin got her wish once again.
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