A new day.
Aoba felt a somewhat heavy yet soft pressure, and then he woke up.
This feeling was very familiar, but logically it shouldn't have appeared at this time.
Aoba slightly raised his eyes, and then saw Karin, who had woken up before him and at some point had already sat up.
'This…'
The sudden scene made Aoba pause for a moment. His just-awakened brain didn't quite process it right away.
After he understood what was going on, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
All he could say was, 'Truly worthy of the Uzumaki clan.'
This recovery ability really wasn't simple. It felt far more effective than the Yin Seal.
She had ended up like that last night, yet after just one sleep, she was already full of life again.
"Aoba-nii…"
Karin noticed Aoba's gaze, and for what she was doing right now, her face flushed red with embarrassment.
"I… I saw you were already so energetic early in the morning, and I was worried it might be inconvenient for you to go to work, so I wanted to help you…"
She had actually woken up before him because he was too energetic.
After all, she had been sleeping just fine, and then suddenly…
No matter how you looked at it, it was hard to keep sleeping.
The others had either gotten used to it or were sleeping too deeply. Only Karin hadn't adapted to this situation yet, and combined with her overly abundant energy, she woke up directly.
And then her curiosity kicked in again.
After carefully observing and finding no sign of recovery at all, she could only take the initiative to use the techniques she had just learned to help treat it.
Having experienced it once, there was no way she would be scared anymore.
And then came the scene Aoba saw when he woke up.
"If you keep going like this, it won't get better anytime soon."
"Eh?"
Karin froze for a moment, then a look of anticipation appeared on her face.
Half an hour later, Aoba carried a fully dressed but limp Karin out of the room.
Rather than carrying her, it was more accurate to say Karin had her arms wrapped around his neck, hanging off him.
"You could actually stay home and rest for a day today."
Aoba tried to persuade her.
"Hmph! It's fine. I'm not some weakling like Ino."
Karin said rather proudly.
Compared to her, Ino really was a weakling.
Seeing how insistent she was, and that her condition still looked pretty good, Aoba said,
"Then don't overexert yourself. If you feel uncomfortable, tell me."
"Mm-hmm."
Karin nodded repeatedly.
Aoba brought Karin to the dining area and sat down. The few people who were already up showed surprised expressions, especially Temari.
Originally, after hearing Karin mock Ino as a weakling yesterday, they thought she'd get hit by the same boomerang today.
But unexpectedly, her condition was actually so good.
And judging by how flushed her face was, she even looked like she had just finished morning training.
'That impressive?'
"Aoba, Karin."
Uzumaki Kasui walked out of the kitchen carrying breakfast.
"Mom, you're here too?"
Karin had been focused entirely on Aoba just now and hadn't even noticed Uzumaki Kasui in the kitchen.
"..."
Uzumaki Kasui was a bit speechless as well. She didn't say anything, just placed a bowl of red bean rice in front of her.
"Red bean rice!"
Karin's eyes lit up. She knew what eating red bean rice meant.
"Today's breakfast was prepared together by Lady Kasui and us," Kin added helpfully.
"Really?"
Karin looked at her mother in surprise.
"No matter how good your physique is, you still need to learn moderation. Otherwise, it'll harm your body," Uzumaki Kasui tapped her on the head and reminded her again.
Even though it was just a fleeting glance last night, she had still seen a bit.
'No matter how good the Uzumaki clan's physique is, that proportion…'
'If it is too frequent, it isn't good either.'
"I got it."
Karin happily ate the red bean rice. Even though she agreed out loud, it was obvious she didn't take it to heart.
"..."
Uzumaki Kasui felt somewhat helpless about this.
But seeing her daughter looking so radiant today, the experience must not have been bad.
———
Early morning, Aoba's home was peaceful, calm, and serene.
But some people, still not fully awake, were forcefully roused and rebooted.
In a place with beautiful scenery and drifting mist, surrounded by towering ancient trees, unique giant mushrooms, and flowing waterfalls—
With a "bang," a puff of smoke rose from the ground, and a somewhat disheveled middle-aged man appeared, yawning.
"Hm? This is…"
Jiraiya looked a bit dazed as soon as he appeared.
After all, last night he had been discovered while gathering material and had spent the whole day running. He had only just fallen asleep not long ago before suddenly being summoned, so his mind wasn't fully clear yet.
Only when he saw two cloaked toads did he react.
"Great Sage Fukasaku, Great Sage Shima, why did you call me over so early in the morning?"
Jiraiya asked while yawning.
"Little Jiraiya, didn't you rest well yesterday?"
Seeing how sleepy he looked, Shima asked with concern.
"Ahaha! I went to bed a bit late because of work last night."
There was no way Jiraiya was going to tell them the truth.
"Let's talk about the important matter first."
Fukasaku, hearing him mention work and knowing Jiraiya's personality, went straight to business.
"The Great Lord wants to ask you about some recent events in the ninja world."
"The Great Lord? Did another prophecy appear?"
Jiraiya's expression grew more serious.
"Let's talk while we walk."
Fukasaku hopped forward.
"Alright."
Jiraiya followed behind.
"Little Jiraiya, are you hungry? Want to eat some breakfast first?"
Shima asked again.
"Ahaha! No need for that. The Great Lord's matter is more important."
Jiraiya declined awkwardly.
Mount Myoboku's breakfast… better not talk about it.
"Alright then, you can eat after meeting the Great Lord."
After saying that, Shima didn't nag anymore.
Jiraiya couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Fukasaku saw this and almost laughed, but kept a straight face and continued with the main topic.
"The Great Lord had another dream last night, a new prophecy. It said that a very terrifying existence will break free from its seal and descend upon the ninja world."
"A terrifying existence?"
Jiraiya no longer had the mind to think about the insect feast waiting later and quickly asked, "Will it bring disaster to the ninja world?"
"Well…"
Fukasaku paused, "You'll have to ask the Great Lord about that. It only said that when that existence descended, it showed an extremely fearful expression. But not long after, it turned into shock and disbelief, muttering things like 'this is impossible' and 'how could this be possible.'"
"And then it told us to call you over."
"Come to think of it, this is the first time we've seen such intense emotional fluctuations from the Great Lord."
Shima added from the side.
And Jiraiya was already completely confused.
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