Konoha.
Jiraiya had been traveling abroad for a long time and had recently obtained some intel on the Akatsuki. It was said that the Akatsuki leader's whereabouts were in the Hidden Rain Village, so Jiraiya prepared to secretly infiltrate the village to investigate the enemy.
When Tsunade learned that Jiraiya was going alone, she strongly disagreed. However, Jiraiya was stubborn, and Tsunade could only acquiesce to him going to the Hidden Rain Village by himself.
"Don't you always lose when gambling? Then bet this time that I won't come back! Goodbye!"
Under the setting sun, Jiraiya's retreating figure was reflected in Tsunade's eyes. Watching Jiraiya give a thumbs-up behind his back, Tsunade couldn't help but shed two streams of tears.
...
"Hey! Tobi, where did you run off to?"
"Ah, it's Deidara-senpai. I'm so sorry, I'm with Mr. Zetsu right now. After senpai used Garuda, I accidentally ran quite far. When I came back, there was no one at the scene anymore. I thought Deidara-senpai and Sasuke had perished together."
"You scoundrel! Are you looking for death! I'm with Li Xing and the others now. If nothing's wrong, hurry over. We're still within the Land of Fire, and Konoha ninjas are searching for us."
After resting for a few days, the first thing Deidara did upon waking was to contact Tobi. However, Tobi was already somewhere else, taking the opportunity to do some things.
"Never mind, Deidara, let Tobi rest for a while. You should go back and study your art properly. In that fight with Sasuke, although you won, you didn't completely win. You focused too much on form, which led to the bombs being less powerful."
Li Xing felt that Deidara's art still had flaws. Influenced by himself, Deidara had also started to play with flashy techniques. However, the infused chakra of changing attributes was too mixed and difficult to control, so only a small amount of chakra could be injected, which reduced the power of the bombs.
Without Li Xing's reminder, Deidara himself discovered the problem through this battle and was now preparing to find a place to study it thoroughly.
"Wanting to be resistant to lightning release while maintaining power is indeed a difficult matter. But I will definitely succeed. Then, you can bring your two women to admire my art again, hmm." Deidara formed a large bird with his hands, then jumped on it, preparing to part ways with Li Xing and go back for intense training.
"Li Xing-bro! Karin-sister! Hmm... and another beautiful sister, and a handsome brother, hello."
Just then, a green-haired girl suddenly ran out from the woods, her arms spread wide, rushing towards Li Xing, an irrepressible smile on her face.
However, Kurenai Yuhi, who had been accompanying Yuri, jumped in front of Yuri, blocking her from approaching Li Xing and the others.
Li Xing turned his head and saw it was the little girl Yuri, accompanied by a Jonin. Had Tsunade let her out to play?
Karin didn't think as much as Li Xing. Seeing Yuri, Karin also walked towards Yuri with a smile, but there was a woman blocking her way.
"A little girl? A Konoha ninja? Hey, Li Xing, is this another one of your women? What's so good about such a little girl? If you like women, I can introduce you to some. I had a junior sister, Kurotsuchi, the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage. She's very beautiful, want to go see her with me?"
Deidara was about to take off when he saw a girl suddenly appear looking for Li Xing. He immediately thought of Li Xing's nature, that he must have tricked another young girl from somewhere.
Li Xing shook his head and said, "You've misunderstood. This is supposed to be my sister. Regarding Kurotsuchi, I'll go see her with you if I have time."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yugito Nii pinched Li Xing's waist: "Lecherous brat, what sister are you talking about? You don't even let little girls go."
"Ouch, it hurts. Be gentle, she's really my sister. Ask Karin if you don't believe me."
Afterward, Li Xing introduced them to each other. Deidara had a good impression of the polite little girl and casually threw a puppet to Yuri as a gift.
"This is an old reconnaissance puppet from Elder Sasori. I'll give it to you today, hmm."
Yuri took it with both hands and held it to her chest. "Thank you, Deidara-bro!"
However, Kurenai Yuhi still stared intently at Li Xing and the others, not letting them get close. She had already inspected the puppet and, finding no issues, hadn't intervened.
After giving the gift, Deidara controlled his large bird and flew away. With Konoha ninjas around, there was nothing more to say.
"Isn't Kurenai Yuhi supposed to be recuperating at home? Why is she out and about? Li Yun, scan Kurenai Yuhi." Li Xing was somewhat confused. Logically, Kurenai Yuhi should have no role at this time; she wasn't even participating in the Fourth Great Ninja War.
"Kurenai Yuhi's body is unharmed, as perfect as the infant she gave birth to," Li Yun explained the situation in his mind.
Upon hearing this, Li Xing immediately understood. Like an infant, that meant she was healthy and flawless, a virgin in plain terms.
"So that's how it is. A deviation in the worldline. Kurenai Yuhi isn't in a relationship."
...
"Kurenai-sister, please let me pass. Li Xing-bro won't hurt me." Yuri saw that both sides were in a standoff and spoke up to break the deadlock.
Kurenai Yuhi also knew that she couldn't defeat the three of them alone and had no chance of winning in a fight. She had no choice but to trust Yuri and walk with her.
"Come, little Yuri, come to Karin-sister's embrace." Karin hadn't seen Yuri in a long time. Seeing Yuri today made her very happy. She could finally act like an older sister.
"Li Xing-bro, long time no see. Yuri missed you so much!" Yuri's first choice was naturally Li Xing, and she threw herself into his arms.
Karin, who was ignored, felt incredibly awkward. Yugito Nii next to her couldn't help but burst into laughter. Seeing Karin embarrassed always brought Yugito Nii great joy.
After hugging for a while, Yuri got out of Li Xing's embrace and turned to hug Karin. "I'm sorry, Karin-sister. You can hug me now."
Karin: "..."
After Yuri and Karin reminisced, Li Xing took Yuri's hand and prepared to return to the inn where they had stayed before, so the family could have a good reunion.
"You're called Kurenai Yuhi, right? How can you maintain such a gloomy face during a reunion? Let's go together, we'll go play in town." Li Xing turned to Kurenai Yuhi, indicating that she shouldn't be so cold.
"You guys have fun. The Hokage's mission to me is to protect Yuri." Kurenai Yuhi would not accept favors from enemies. As a Jonin of Konoha Village, her priority was always the mission.
At this moment, Yuri stepped forward and took Kurenai Yuhi's hand. "Kurenai-sister, it's okay. With Li Xing-bro here, no one can hurt me. Let's go together. I heard there's a fireworks festival at night."
Seeing that Yuri had said so, Kurenai Yuhi had no choice but to go with them. She couldn't help it; the protection mission required her to stay close to the person she was protecting.
...
Soon, Li Xing brought Yuri and Kurenai Yuhi to the town where they had been before. Along the way, Yuri and Yugito Nii chatted a lot. Yugito Nii was also very fond of this cute little girl, finding her much more pleasant than Karin.
"There's a fireworks festival in this town tonight. You guys take Yuri and Miss Kurenai to buy some things first. After dinner tonight, we'll wander through the temple fair together." Li Xing stopped, took out a scroll, and a box of money appeared on the ground, with everyone receiving a share.
"I don't need it, I have a mission." Kurenai Yuhi directly refused the money Li Xing offered.
However, Li Xing still forcefully stuffed the money into Kurenai Yuhi's hand. "There's no mission here. Everyone else is in casual wear, and your ninja attire is out of place. Hurry up and buy some clothes with Yuri."
Now it was Yuri's turn to step forward. As long as Kurenai Yuhi wanted to refuse something, Yuri would come forward and persuade her for a while, and then Kurenai Yuhi would agree. The main reason was that Yuri's angelic personality was very likable.
Watching the women walk towards the street together, Li Xing sighed inwardly, "Little Yuri is really a social butterfly."
(Thanks for the extra chapter gift.)
(Recently, work has been tiring, and I've also been playing games. My update frequency isn't good.)