Beyond the thirty-meter radius of the central light pillar, the area was shrouded in a watery light curtain, making it impossible to see what lay beyond.
Nawaki had not fully unlocked the potential of the Reincarnation Space all at once. Instead, he deliberately left ample room for future expansion.
Only Reincarnators who had completed at least one Ascension Mission were allowed access to the Reincarnation Space. With each additional Ascension Mission completed, a Reincarnator's access level would increase, unlocking new functions and expanding usable features.
More areas within the Reincarnation Space would also become accessible over time.
For instance, Nawaki already had plans for zones like the Time Domain, Rebirth Zone, and Creation Sector.
However, the specifics of these areas would have to wait until more people joined the reincarnator missions and there were enough points to begin development.
After completing the initial construction of the Reincarnation Space, nearly 120,000 points had been spent, leaving Nawaki with just over 15,000.
He planned to keep those remaining points as reserves for now and didn't intend to touch them immediately.
Speaking of which—how was Madara doing?
When he returned to the Naruto world, it was already evening.
Nawaki glanced at Madara's status via the mental screen and saw that he had already covered about seventy to eighty percent of the distance. It wouldn't be long before he reached his destination.
At this moment, if someone were to look at the sky with a telescope, they would see a giant figure resembling a Tengu rapidly approaching the moon.
"Looks like Madara still has a bit of flying left," Nawaki couldn't help but chuckle.
Since it was already evening, Nawaki left the tea room and headed to the kitchen, where he deftly prepared dinner.
For the past few years, cooking had always been Nawaki's responsibility, while Tsunade was in charge of eating.
The reason? Despite Tsunade's outstanding talent in ninjutsu, her cooking ability was average at best. While her food wasn't completely inedible, it was, at most, bland.
In contrast, Nawaki's culinary skills were quite impressive. He frequently made dishes that whetted the appetite and left people craving more.
After tasting her younger brother's cooking, Tsunade had once struggled with her pride—but in the end, she succumbed to the allure of good food and shamelessly handed over the kitchen duties to Nawaki, taking only the role of diner.
Once dinner was ready, Nawaki made his way to the small hot spring courtyard and knocked gently on the doorframe.
"Sis, dinner's ready. Come eat."
"…"
The room was silent. There was no reply from Tsunade.
But as the breeze drifted past, a strong scent of alcohol wafted through the doorway and into Nawaki's nose.
She didn't fall asleep in the hot spring again, did she?
With a weary sigh, Nawaki brushed aside the curtain and stepped into the courtyard. Crossing the wooden plank walkway, he saw a delicate, pale figure slumped by the edge of the steaming spring. Empty porcelain bottles lay scattered around her, the scent of sake thick in the air.
Just as he suspected—Tsunade had once again gotten drunk while soaking in the hot spring and passed out by the edge.
This wasn't the first time it had happened.
Even for a Kage-level ninja, soaking this long could still lead to catching a cold!
Helpless, Nawaki picked up a towel and walked over. Seeing her bare, smooth back made his heart skip a beat.
No! Nawaki, don't be an animal!
Suppressing certain impulses, he gently draped the towel over Tsunade's body, covering her alluring figure, and finally let out a sigh of relief.
Even though she was already in her twenties, Tsunade's body still seemed to be developing—her figure had been getting more and more stunning recently.
If his own body weren't that of a twelve-year-old brat, he might not have been able to hold back…
"Mm…"
Just as Nawaki was wiping the sweat off his forehead, a soft moan broke the silence.
Tsunade sat up, and the towel he had just placed on her fell away. Her damp golden hair cascaded down her front, veiling just enough to obscure what lay beneath, making her seem all the more enticing.
Drowsy from alcohol, her face flushed red from the combined effects of liquor and the hot spring, Tsunade blinked at Nawaki, her gaze hazy.
"Huh? Nawaki, why are you here?"
Gulp. Nawaki swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down his spine.
Good thing she hadn't fully woken up—if she realized what had happened, he'd be a goner.
"I just finished cooking. Want to eat something?" Nawaki said as calmly as he could manage.
"Okay… I'm coming."
Tsunade replied vaguely and stood up.
The loosely draped towel slipped to the floor completely. As a gust of cool air hit her skin, the mix of alcohol and sleepiness lifted slightly.
Her eyes sharpened in an instant, and she suddenly looked up.
By that point, Nawaki had already taken advantage of the moment and bolted out of the hot spring courtyard.
With no one to vent her frustration on, Tsunade's forehead twitched as a vein popped. She slammed her fist into a nearby artificial rock formation.
Boom!
A blackish glow flickered over her knuckles. With just one light punch, the decorative boulder shattered into rubble, and flying debris even pelted holes in the distant courtyard wall.
"Nawaki…! Damn it, this is all Jiraiya's fault! If it weren't for that perverted idiot, Nawaki wouldn't be learning such bad habits!"
"Achoo!"
Far away at Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya suddenly sneezed.
He rubbed his nose and thought longingly about his three adorable students.
"Guess I'll go visit them tomorrow…"
Back in the living room, Nawaki wiped a nervous sweat from his brow after hearing the crash from the backyard.
Thank goodness he ran fast—any slower and he might've lost half his life… Who would've thought she'd wake up all of a sudden?
Maybe it was because of his sis-con tendencies, but every time Nawaki faced Tsunade, his resistance seemed to crumble.
Otherwise, with all the women he'd seen—Tsunade, Madara's missions, Minato's, Yahiko's… there were no shortage of beautiful women during their reincarnator quests—he'd never once reacted this way.
Only Tsunade was different.
Some time passed before Tsunade returned to the living room. She had changed into fresh clothes, though her face still carried a faint blush.
Whether it was lingering alcohol or something else, it was hard to say.
At the dining table, she flicked Nawaki on the forehead and snapped, "Stay away from Jiraiya from now on!"
"Y-Yes!"
Nawaki nodded immediately.
Sorry, big bro Jiraiya—you're taking the fall for this one.
Tsunade's expression softened, and she soon brushed off the incident.
She devoured the entire table of food like a whirlwind, leaving Nawaki helplessly watching her eat.
"Sis, slow down. No one's going to steal it from you."
"It's your fault for cooking so well! Here, hurry up and eat too." Tsunade tore off a juicy drumstick and tossed it into Nawaki's bowl before diving back into her meal.
A while later, she leaned back on the sofa, clearly satisfied, wiping her mouth.
To most people, she looked like her usual self.
But Nawaki noticed a slight difference.
It was subtle, but today… Tsunade seemed more anxious than usual. There was a faint crease between her brows, a trace of worry she couldn't quite hide.
It was a feeling so faint that anyone unfamiliar with her wouldn't have noticed.
But Nawaki did.
~~~~~
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Remove the parentheses btw