Walking out of the room, Hyuga Ayako casually closed the door.
"Aunt Ayako," Standing outside the room, Aoba looked up at her and asked in confusion, "You're looking for me… is it because of Hinata?"
"Aoba-kun is really clever," Hyuga Ayako squatted down, bringing her line of sight level with Aoba's, avoiding the awkwardness of him needing to look up to talk to her.
At the same time, the smile on her face grew even gentler.
Maybe it was because they had different ways of thinking.
Although Hyuga Hiashi was a little displeased with Aoba, the yellow-haired kid who might steal his daughter away, Hyuga Ayako's impression of Aoba was actually quite good.
Not because of his identity as Tsunade's disciple, but because Aoba truly brought a great change to her daughter, helping her grow a lot.
Hinata in the past, not to mention how difficult it was to satisfy Hiashi during Gentle Fist training, even walking on the street she might get bullied by other children.
This made Hyuga Ayako feel distressed.
And Hiashi, in order to toughen Hinata's personality, rarely intervened.
Now with Aoba's appearance, Hinata's personality had started to change. She was really happy about that.
When Hinata attends the ninja academy later, she won't have to worry so much anymore.
"Hinata's personality, I'm sure you've come to understand by now. Although with your help, she's changed a lot recently, she's still a bit introverted."
"Sometimes, she might do something rude because she's shy. Auntie hopes you can be more forgiving and take more care of her."
"Sure," Aoba answered without hesitation, seriously.
Even without Hyuga Ayako's request, he would've done that anyway.
Hearing Aoba's response, Hyuga Ayako was naturally even more pleased, "Thank you, Aoba-kun."
Looking at Aoba's delicate and cute face, still wearing that serious expression.
Hyuga Ayako couldn't help it, she reached out and patted his head, saying, "When you bring Hinata home in the future, if you've got time, you can come in and sit for a while. Auntie will treat you well."
Her tone was extremely gentle.
But Aoba couldn't help the corner of his mouth twitching as he listened. He'd just listen to these words and not take them seriously. He wouldn't dare enter the Hyuga compound so casually.
'What if someone puts a sack over my head and beats me up?'
Hyuga Ayako seemed to notice Aoba's concerns and said with a smile, "You don't need to worry about Hiashi. I'll try to talk to him for you."
"Th-thank you, Aunt Ayako," Aoba hadn't expected her to guess what he was thinking.
"Then Auntie won't disturb you anymore," Hyuga Ayako stood up, but just as she turned around, she suddenly remembered something and turned back.
"What's wrong?", Aoba looked a bit puzzled.
"Almost forgot," Hyuga Ayako fumbled around the sash of her kimono for a bit and finally pulled out the very thing Aoba had been thinking about the most.
It was a stack of cash, ten-thousand yen bills.
'She came prepared!'
'Oof! She hit my weak spot directly!'
"I can't let you help for free. There's only a hundred thousand ryo here, but it's a little token of Auntie's appreciation for taking care of Hinata during this time," Hyuga Ayako handed the money in her hand to Aoba.
Aoba's eyes widened a bit. Logically speaking, he had his own reasons for taking care of Hinata.
And 100,000 yen wasn't a small amount for him. He had already accepted money from Hiashi once, he probably shouldn't take a second payment.
But since the other party was testing his resistance to temptation, he decided to challenge his own soft spot.
"Thank you, Aunt Ayako," Aoba took the money from Hyuga Ayako and bowed politely to express his gratitude.
Hyuga Ayako couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh a little. She discovered that Lord Tsunade's disciple really was a bit like her.
They even gave off a bit of a mother-and-son vibe.
"Well then, Auntie will leave first and won't bother you two," Hyuga Ayako patted Aoba's head again, then turned to go downstairs.
"I'll walk you out," After putting the money away, Aoba followed behind her.
He didn't mind her head-patting at all now. If getting his head patted earned him a hundred thousand ryo, she could pat him bald for all he cared.
After the two of them went downstairs, Tsunade also looked over.
She was in great spirits now, completely different from her previous slump.
Clearly, Hyuga Ayako had given her a lot of 'actual goods'.
"Lady Tsunade, congratulations on receiving such a good student."
Can only say, worthy of being from a prestigious family. Even without stepping out of the house, she handled interpersonal relationships flawlessly.
This line from Hyuga Ayako made both Tsunade and Aoba feel quite pleased.
"Not bad," Just having received a large amount of money, Tsunade was still in high spirits.
This time, she didn't put up as much of a tough front as before.
Hyuga Ayako gave Tsunade a slight bow, "Then Lady Tsunade, I've disturbed you today. I'll come visit again another time."
Tsunade nodded as well.
After sending Hyuga Ayako out of the ancestral home, Aoba returned to the house.
He found Tsunade looking at him with a big smile on her face, "Sensei… is there something you want?"
"Brat, are you feeling smug right now?"
"?"
'You shouldn't say something like that…'
"What do you mean?"
Aoba had a bad feeling.
"How much did Hyuga Ayako just give you?", Tsunade's hearing was terrifying, she'd caught most of the conversation from upstairs, just didn't hear the exact amount.
"Why are you asking that?", Aoba suddenly got cautious.
"You're still young. Carrying too much money isn't good. Sensei can hold onto it for you. When you get married, I'll give it back to you as your wedding gift," Tsunade clearly put herself in the guardian role, 'This won't do.'
"I'm worried you'll gamble my money away," Aoba said honestly.
"Nonsense!", Tsunade instantly blew up, "Brat! You think Sensei is that kind of person?"
'Kinda do. You are!'
"Sensei, what's Aunt Ayako's health condition?", Aoba changed the topic.
Based on what he knew about Tsunade, she didn't like thinking too much. Once you changed the topic, she'd forget about it quickly.
Tsunade returned to a calm state and spoke seriously, "It's a kekkei illness."
"Byakugan can get kekkei illnesses too?", Aoba was a little surprised. There weren't many kekkei illnesses shown in the original story.
"As long as it's a bloodline limit, there's a chance of kekkei illness. Other medical ninja might not be able to handle it, but for me, it's just average."
"Next time when I examine her again, I'll let you come along and learn a bit."
"So how much did Aunt Ayako give you as a medical fee?", Aoba was curious. Treating the clan leader's wife, this payment definitely wasn't low.
Tsunade's mouth twitched a little, but she didn't answer, "Don't poke into adult matters—go cook!"
.
.
.
.
After lunch—
Tsunade hurried out of the house. One guess where? Probably to the casino to give people money again.
Aoba also couldn't help complaining inwardly, 'Rather than giving the money away, won't it be better to just give it to me?'
After Tsunade left, Aoba took Sakura and Hinata out as well.
Sasuke had been beaten up just yesterday, so today he was super well-behaved. After handing over the money to Aoba, he got entangled by Naruto.
Aoba, as usual, gave some more guidance to Tenten and the other four girls.
Just like that, time passed quickly and it was evening.
After having dinner at Tsunade's place, under the strange gazes of Tsunade and Shizune, he rushed back home.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he impatiently opened the system interface.
'One hundred and ten rolls—all in!'
[A/N: Here's a joke for everyone: someone got hooked on gacha and sunk in FGO, Azur Lane, Zenless Zone Zero, and Arknights. Guess who?]
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