No...
Perhaps he was overthinking it.
Senju Wakama thought to himself, deciding it would be better to continue his studies at night from now on, lest Tsukuyo discover what he was learning.
Senju Wakama had gotten the textbooks from Brother Zetsu, not through Tsukuyo.
If Tsukuyo were to see those textbooks, she would definitely connect them to Zetsu. That was a close call...
Hyuga Miyu had no idea what Senju Wakama was thinking. She felt he had a point and nodded. "I understand. Perhaps I need to go and ask the princess."
Senju Wakama said insincerely, "You can give it a try."
Seeing that Senju Wakama didn't object, Hyuga Miyu gave a slight laugh. "Thank you, Wakama. Thank you for talking with me for so long. I'm so sorry for taking up so much of your time. I'll go visit the princess now."
"Alright. You know how to find her, right?" Senju Wakama nodded.
"Yes, after lunch, the princess goes to inspect the farming area. Shiro told me..."
Hyuga Miyu bid farewell to Senju Wakama.
As he watched Hyuga Miyu leave, Senju Wakama breathed a sigh of relief.
He still hadn't mentioned Uchiha Yuki, nor Tamayo Nara or Aburame Aoi.
Senju Wakama closed his eyes, recalling how Tsukuyo had treated the clan's animals from childhood to now.
Tsukuyo would give all the animals beautiful, unique names, like her pet mouse Murien, her pet cat Kuimugi, and even more names for the birds. Even when a bird passed away, a newborn one would receive a new name, never the same as the one before.
Senju Wakama silently pondered this pattern of behavior.
That was it...
Every animal is unique.
That's why Tsukuyo gave each animal a unique name, treating them as distinct individuals.
By treating them with such consideration, the animals would in turn give Tsukuyo their sincere loyalty.
So that's how it was...
Unique?
When he opened his eyes again, Senju Wakama gazed out once more at the bustling crowds of the hot spring village, and he seemed to have grasped a truth of life.
The boisterous people on the streets included nobles who had come to enjoy themselves, members of the Senju clan serving the guests, and people from other ninja clans willing to cooperate with the Senju.
Even among the nobles, there were many kinds—tall, short, fat, thin, all with different personalities.
Birds of a feather flock together.
People were already separated from one another by their status, personality, appearance, and values.
And so, Senju Wakama came to a profound understanding of the principle Tsukuyo had taught him.
Every girl is unique;
Every lover is unique;
They come from different ninja clans;
They possess different kinds of beauty;
They bear different responsibilities;
They have developed different personalities;
Different names, different appearances, different ways of thinking, different personalities.
Senju Wakama had to treat each of them differently, yet with sincerity.
How could he do that?
Senju Wakama thought long and hard.
He thought that perhaps he needed to completely compartmentalize each relationship.
Each lover is unique; they should exist on parallel lines.
When he was with Uchiha Yuki, Senju Wakama believed he should temporarily forget everyone else, dedicating his world solely to Uchiha Yuki for that time.
The same should apply when he was with Hyuga Miyu.
Just like when he had been with Hyuga Miyu moments ago.
Given their history, it was actually no small feat for the two of them to walk side-by-side and talk so amicably.
There was mutual resentment between them, and a relationship that had already died needed time to be mended.
During this period, it didn't matter whether they would end up together or go their separate ways.
What mattered was that in that moment, Senju Wakama belonged only to Hyuga Miyu.
Just as during their agreed-upon time every seven days, Senju Wakama belonged only to Uchiha Yuki.
If more girls were to enter his life in the future, the same should hold true.
At this thought, Senju Wakama smiled with relief.
What he didn't know was that in a dark alley not far away...
a tall and a short slender figure were lurking, staring intently at Senju Wakama's melancholic back.
These two were wearing the standard women's yukata of the hot spring village. One had long, flowing hair, while the other wore twin ponytails.
They were none other than Tamayo Nara and Aburame Aoi.
Tamayo Nara had previously rushed back to the Nara clan to report her intelligence findings to the leader, Nara Shikabane. Learning the truth, Nara Shikabane felt immense pressure and told Tamayo Nara not to act rashly, but to stay with the Senju clan for now, continue to observe, and wait for an opportunity to suggest an alliance.
In fact, as long as the Senju princess was alive, the Senju clan was invincible.
The Nara clan head understood this deeply, so he had to maintain a friendly relationship with the Senju clan.
At the same time, the Nara clan head didn't object to Tamayo Nara continuing to pursue Senju Wakama, but he demanded she no longer use extreme measures, as it could cause the Senju clan to resent them, leading to enmity.
Tamayo Nara, of course, agreed, but she hadn't completely given up.
Thus, using herbal cooperation as a pretext, Tamayo Nara returned to the Senju clan once more.
This quarter's herbs had already been supplied to the Senju clan, who were very generous and paid a large commission. In reality, Tamayo Nara had nothing to do.
The first thing Tamayo Nara did upon returning was to find Aburame Aoi.
And immediately, Tamayo Nara noticed something was wrong with Aburame Aoi.
Whenever Senju Wakama was mentioned, Aburame Aoi would instinctively start thinking about "roasted locusts."
Once she thought of roasted locusts, her mind would seem to go blank; she couldn't think of anything else.
This made Tamayo Nara realize there was a serious problem. She understood at once that something must have happened during her absence from the Senju clan, causing Aburame Aoi to become possessed by the thought of "roasted locusts" whenever she thought of the name "Senju Wakama."
When Aburame Aoi was by herself, she never realized how serious the problem was.
After countless attempts and prompts from Tamayo Nara, Aburame Aoi finally realized there was something wrong with her body.
They tried it many times.
Whenever "Senju Wakama" was mentioned, Aburame Aoi would immediately think of "roasted locusts."
Tamayo Nara thought of many solutions. Finally, she had Aburame Aoi write a diary, detailing everything that happened before the abnormality occurred, down to the last detail.
Without mentioning the name "Senju Wakama," using "a certain gentleman" instead.
By doing this, Aburame Aoi was able to avoid triggering the effect.
This filled both Tamayo Nara and Aburame Aoi with fear.
And now, Aburame Aoi and Tamayo Nara were watching Senju Wakama from a distance.
"...How are you feeling? Are you thinking about roasted locusts again?" Tamayo Nara asked cautiously.
She thought to herself that if Aburame Aoi went crazy and ran off to queue for roasted locusts again, she would knock her senses back into her with her fists.
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