"Mm, work hard. Promotions and raises will come."
Seeing that Ajisai still looked tense, Aoba simply painted her a big rosy picture and wrapped up the topic.
"Ah?"
But unexpectedly, Ajisai froze when she heard that.
It was as if she didn't understand what Aoba meant.
When she came to Konoha, all she wanted was to stay by Lady Konan's side, witness the peace in her eyes, and have food and lodging in the future.
'I can even get promoted and a raise?'
'Wait… do I even have a salary?'
"…"
Seeing her expression, Aoba didn't know what to say for a moment.
No matter what, he couldn't just not pay salaries, right?
What if one day his subordinates turned on him?
But this was the ninja world. With his strength, unless that one from the moon came out, it seemed like no one could casually turn on him anyway.
"Mm?"
Aoba was about to say something else when Tenten, standing beside him, started poking his waist with wide eyes.
That look was clearly urging him to hurry up.
"…"
"Konan-nee, we'll be heading off first."
Aoba greeted Konan.
Konan gave him a faint look. There was at least some compensation on Shizune's side, but when it came to her, he was just going to brush her off with a single sentence?
She glanced silently at Ajisai and Tenten beside her.
But there were quite a few people on her side, so it really wasn't very convenient, she could only remind him, "Be careful. Don't go too far."
Tenten was, after all, half her disciple.
She was worried that if this bad guy treated Tenten like someone with Karin's kind of physique, something might go wrong.
"Ahem! I know."
Aoba could only give an awkward laugh.
Tenten also realized what Konan meant, and her face instantly turned red.
Her fair cheeks and neck were dyed with a layer of rosy blush, extremely cute.
Because she was wearing a white buttoned outfit, she looked like a strawberry wrapped in cream.
Seeing her like this, Aoba couldn't help but smile, then pulled her along and walked out of the office.
As the two of them left, Ajisai, who had been tense the whole time, finally relaxed.
"…"
Seeing her like this, Konan didn't have much to say, only hoping she would adjust over time.
But at this moment, Ajisai grew curious first, "Lady Konan, are Tenten and the Hokage going on a date?"
Konan paused for a moment, then nodded, "Something like that."
There was nothing to hide.
"Then… Lady Konan, won't you get jealous?", Ajisai asked, a bit gossipy.
"…"
Konan pressed her lips together, only giving her a faint glance, "Do your work. Stop thinking about nonsense."
"Oh."
Ajisai quickly lowered her head again.
'So she really is jealous after all.'
———
"What do you want to eat for lunch?"
Aoba brought Tenten outside. It was close to noon, so he decided to settle lunch first.
"Ichiraku Ramen!"
Tenten answered without hesitation.
"Alright."
Aoba agreed just as quickly.
Thinking about it, he had been eating Ichiraku Ramen for more than ten years, yet he still hadn't gotten tired of it. That was practically a miracle.
Maybe it was also because they only went to eat it once in a while now.
Holding his hand, Tenten also brought up something she had just learned.
"Konan-nee just told me, you're planning to marry all of us. Is that true?"
There was a sparkle in the girl's eyes, mixed with unease and a bit of nervousness, afraid it might just be Konan joking.
Aoba paused. No wonder he felt that after returning from the Daimyo's residence, Tenten seemed to be in a better mood.
'So Konan already told her?'
"I originally planned to tell you as a surprise. Didn't expect Konan-nee to tell you in advance."
Tenten's expression turned both surprised and delighted.
Even though she had already heard it, hearing it directly from Aoba felt completely different.
Aoba tightened his hold on her small hand and asked, "But it'll be a wedding with everyone together. Do you mind?"
Tenten's delighted expression slowly turned a bit resentful, "Of course I mind. So later, you have to come with me to a place."
Her original plan had been to go to the target range on the back mountain where they used to practice throwing techniques.
That was where their connection began, so she wanted to go there together again.
But now that she knew they were getting married, she had a better place in mind.
Aoba smiled and said seriously, "Even if you want to go to the moon today, I'll take you there."
"What would we do on the moon? It's probably just barren, nothing there," Tenten asked curiously.
"Not necessarily. What if there is something?", Aoba looked mysterious.
"Really?", Tenten was a bit surprised.
"Who knows? When there's a chance, I'll take all of you up there to have a look. Treat it like a trip."
Aoba suddenly thought that he should also take Hinata to the moon sometime and see if she could awaken the Tenseigan.
He didn't need to find any teleportation array. He could just fly there directly.
———
The two arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.
Over the past year or two, the surrounding area had changed rapidly, but Ichiraku Ramen remained the same as always.
Although it was no longer the old wooden street-side stall and had been renovated, the shop itself was still the same size.
It wasn't because business was bad. As "the ramen shop most frequently visited by the current Hokage," Ichiraku Ramen had long lines every mealtime.
Ayame had even suggested tearing it down and rebuilding it, expanding the space, and hiring more staff.
As for permits and such, Ichiraku Ramen was one of the most well-connected shops in all of Konoha, so it wasn't an issue at all.
But Teuchi felt that he was nearing retirement. He didn't want to tear down or relocate the old shop that had been with him for decades, so he planned to leave things as they were for now. After he retired, Ayame could do whatever she wanted with it.
Maybe this was what made him a ramen sage.
Fortunately, Aoba and Tenten had come early, so it wasn't crowded yet.
"Ayame-nee!"
In a good mood, Tenten happily greeted Ayame, who was busy preparing for the upcoming lunch rush.
"Tenten, Aoba?"
Ayame was a bit surprised to see them and said with a smile, "It's been a while since I've seen just the two of you come by."
After all, every time they came before, it was always a whole group. So many girls chatting and laughing that talking with them made her feel younger.
Though she wasn't that old to begin with.
"You could say we slipped out on leave."
Aoba pulled Tenten to sit in their familiar corner spot.
With just the two of them, it did feel much more spacious.
"Is that so? Then this counts as sneaking off, right? Aren't you afraid Ino and Sakura will make a fuss?", Ayame teased.
But Tenten blinked instead, "Ayame-nee, how did you know Aoba and I are getting married?"
Ayame: "?"
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