Saiki continued to pester Nono'u, hoping to push their intimacy even further, but Nono'u eventually managed to flee the room.
However, as a parting gift, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.
Looking at the wreckage of his clothes on the floor and the shredded skirt around his waist, Saiki shook his head with a wry smile.
He had to be much more careful with his cultivation from now on, especially the dual cultivation pathways.
Dressing himself for the next day was going to be a problem; his Transformation Jutsu wasn't perfect enough to fool every sensor in the village.
But Nono'u was as attentive as ever. A few minutes later, she returned with a fresh set of clothes and a clean sheet. However, as if terrified he would lunge at her again, she refused to actually step back into the room.
Once she was gone, Saiki sat cross-legged on the bed, meditating to check his internal state. He couldn't afford another "accident."
It wasn't his imagination: after the session with Nono'u, the liquid "lake" of Pre-natal Qi in his Dantian had grown significantly more stable and dense.
The "lake" was wider, the auspicious cloud was thicker, and the lunar and solar phantoms representing Yin and Yang were more distinct. The Golden Crow and Jade Rabbit within them seemed almost sentient.
He experimented with a shallow breath. Standard cultivation was fine, but the moment his thoughts strayed toward the dual cultivation imagery, his body began to react instantly. He cut the thought off immediately. There was no one here to "put out the fire" this time.
Having assessed his state, he turned his thoughts to Danzo.
For a piece of human trash like Danzo—a man whose greed and ego were responsible for almost every tragedy in the ninja world—death was the only appropriate sentence.
But his age was a limiting factor. Even augmented by Senjutsu Chakra, Saiki would have to risk his life to take Danzo down right now.
And Danzo wasn't alone; he had the entire Root organization at his beck and call.
Even if Saiki succeeded, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never let him get away with it.
Despite Hiruzen's "suppression" of Danzo, the two were bound by a toxic, lifelong "Bond."
In the original story, even after Danzo sent assassins to kill Hiruzen, the Hokage merely suspended him, only for Danzo to be reinstated shortly after.
Saiki sighed. It all came back to power.
If he were on Madara's level—or even just a stable Kage-level powerhouse—these political bugs wouldn't even be an issue.
For now, his only move was to leverage Hiruzen.
If that didn't work, he'd go to Danzo directly. And if that failed... he'd find a way to make the old man disappear permanently.
Saiki spent a restful night in the guest room, which still carried the faint, lingering scent of Nono'u's perfume.
The next morning, Saiki was jolted awake by the sound of children playing outside.
Ever since he arrived in this dangerous world, Saiki had lost the habit of sleeping in. However, after the back-to-back marathons with Tsunade and Nono'u, even he was feeling a bit drained. Those two mature women had nearly hollowed him out.
After washing up and eating breakfast, Saiki—unaware that deployment orders had been issued—spent the morning playing with the children in the courtyard.
Because of the Danzo threat, Saiki kept his sensory perception active, monitoring the perimeter of the orphanage.
Suddenly, he detected a familiar set of signatures. Saiki, who was currently drawing in the dirt with the kids, stood up.
"Big Brother Saiki, what is it?!"
The kids looked toward the gate. A moment later, a massive, furry head poked through the opening.
"Whoa! A dog!"
Kuromaru looked fierce, but children always loved big, fluffy animals. They cheered with excitement.
Kushina and Tsume Inuzuka appeared in the gateway immediately after.
"Sensei Kushina, Sensei Tsume? How did you find me here?" Saiki asked in confusion.
Tsume merely offered a small, knowing smirk.
Kushina, however, looked relieved for exactly one second before her face twisted into a mask of pure fury. A red aura began to seep from her body, and her crimson hair began to levitate like the tentacles of an octopus.
"Saiki... you little bastard...!"
Her voice was low, but the sheer, crushing pressure of her aura made the children stumble back in fear.
"Uh..." Saiki was bewildered. Why were they here, and why was Kushina this angry?
Just as Saiki braced himself for a "Habanero-style" beating, Kushina charged forward and swept him into a fierce, crushing hug.
Compared to Tsunade's legendary assets, Kushina couldn't compete. As a maiden, she was even smaller than Nono'u. But Saiki still felt the pleasant, firm elasticity of her chest.
He had expected a punch and received a hug instead. He genuinely wondered if his "luck with women" was peaking this week.
Kushina squeezed him tight before finally letting go to inspect him.
"Sensei, what's going on?" Saiki asked.
Once she confirmed he was unharmed, Kushina delivered a sharp smack to the top of his head. "What's going on?! Shizune and Sister Tsunade have left the village! I go to your house to find you, and the place is a complete wreck! What the hell were you doing?!"
Saiki had no choice but to offer a lame excuse. "It... it was an accident. They left, so I just figured I'd come stay here for a while."
Kushina, who had been worried sick all night and had dragged Tsume along at dawn to track him down, was about to let out another explosion of rage when a gentle voice intervened.
"Hello. May I help you with something?"
Nono'u had stepped out to see who had arrived.
Following the events of the previous night, Nono'u hadn't tried to distance herself from Saiki this morning, which had been a massive relief for him.
However, he was also a bit miffed. He had expected her to be shy or avoidant—anything that proved she cared about what happened. Instead, she acted perfectly normal.
Saiki deduced that she wasn't ignoring it; she was simply using her immense mental strength to bury it deep within her professional mask.