Aoba struggled a bit as he pushed his upper body up out of the hot spring pool, lifting his head above the water.
No matter what, staying underwater like that, he was about to run out of breath.
But Terumi Mei was still clinging to his neck, firmly blocking the mouth that was trying to say something.
Feeling the heavy pressure from the huge softness pressed against his chest to the point it was already misshapen, Aoba could only feel helpless.
Sure, his intentions weren't exactly pure. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen a hot spring as the location.
But he hadn't expected Terumi Mei to be even more impatient than him.
And at this moment, it was obvious that she wasn't the only one having improper thoughts.
"Then I'll help you scrub your back, Aoba-kun."
Temari, like a newlywed little wife, swam over to Aoba's back with a bit of excitement and started skillfully scrubbing him with her towel.
They were already like an old married couple. This kind of tacit understanding came naturally.
Of course, Temari wouldn't be as bold as Terumi Mei, directly pouncing on Aoba in the hot spring.
It was just that… the feeling of this back scrubbing was a bit hard to describe.
Though, things like this were relative.
Compared to Terumi Mei, Temari's actions weren't that bold, but in Kurotsuchi's stunned eyes, it was already shocking enough.
She had never expected that Temari, who usually looked so gentle and virtuous, like a perfect wife and mother, would at a time like this… be this gentle and virtuous.
'She must have been led astray by Aoba!'
Because even she herself had already been led astray by this guy in private.
'What kind of proper person would even think up so many strange ways to mess with people?'
But faced with the current situation, Kurotsuchi didn't know what to say for a moment. She could only cover her eyes with both hands, then peek through her fingers in a self-deceiving way.
However, things weren't going to stop there.
Samui and Mabui, who had been slightly affected earlier by some uncontrollable factors, now moved closer together again.
The two exchanged a glance, then quietly conspired for a moment before swimming over to Aoba's sides.
They were clearly more reserved than Temari, though. They just sat on either side, hugging Aoba's arms.
After all, neither of them had bold personalities.
Normally, at most, they only faced each other.
When other girls were around, they still felt a bit shy.
Especially Samui, whose expression was particularly cold.
But under the water, Aoba could still feel her calf pressing against him, and the tightening grip on his arms wasn't fake either.
"I…"
In short, even if Aoba wanted to say something or do something right now, it was basically impossible. But somehow, he couldn't even get any words out.
If Aoba didn't know what to say, that was one thing. Kurotsuchi, standing nearby, was already completely dumbfounded.
She didn't know whether she should leave or stay.
She felt like if she stayed any longer, she might end up seeing something rather strange.
Even though she and Aoba were already a couple and had done quite a lot together, if it went straight to the final step, it still felt a bit too fast.
And with so many people together at that.
But if she just left, it felt like she would be admitting defeat.
This left Kurotsuchi deeply conflicted.
"You all… sigh! We haven't even started talking about the actual business yet. Can't you at least show a bit of restraint?"
Shizune looked at the group suddenly crowding around and felt somewhat helpless.
Even if the setting wasn't exactly proper, this was still supposed to be a serious Five Kage Summit.
She had even prepared quite a lot of materials.
Originally, she thought Aoba had ulterior motives, but looking at it now, it seemed like the others had even more ulterior motives.
She didn't even know what to say anymore.
"Shi… Shizune-nee?"
"Hmm?"
Just as Shizune was feeling helpless about the situation, someone poked her arm.
She turned her head and, as expected, it was Kurotsuchi.
"Kurotsuchi?"
"Shi… Shizune-nee, what should we do now?"
Kurotsuchi, who had been conflicted before, saw that Shizune not only didn't join in but instead looked helpless while talking about the Five Kage Summit.
Naturally, she subconsciously treated her as someone to rely on and moved closer.
"This…"
Shizune definitely couldn't just leave now. She had only been complaining. After all, she was the one who chose this place…
But seeing Kurotsuchi's flushed face, she couldn't just ignore her either.
"We definitely can't talk about business anymore. But I've already reserved this entire hot spring for today. Kurotsuchi, you can go soak over there for now. With Aoba's abilities, it shouldn't take too long."
"Eh?"
Kurotsuchi froze for a moment.
Then, right in front of her stunned gaze, Shizune, whom she had just relied on, also swam toward Aoba.
"…"
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