In the forest, Saiki—who had dispatched his clones to gather firewood—wasn't harboring nearly as many complicated thoughts as Tsume.
Tsume, however, was a mature, straightforward woman. After a brief internal struggle, she quickly made her decision.
Acting coy and awkward wasn't her style. She decisively unrolled both of their sleeping bags side-by-side on the earthen bed. As for the "dual cultivation" elephant in the room, she couldn't just let it hang over them forever; she needed to lay her cards on the table and clear the air with Saiki.
Besides, pretending it never happened wasn't an option either. Trying to bury a secret like that would only lead to worse misunderstandings down the road.
Having made her decision, Tsume finished setting up the sleeping bags just as Saiki returned. She resolved to have the talk with him right after dinner.
With a roaring fire and a windproof cabin, the two of them felt almost as cozy as if they were back home. Saiki pulled out the ingredients he'd purchased in town and began prepping a massive, hearty stew.
Saiki often found the grueling, spartan lifestyle of ninja in the wild utterly baffling. With access to sealing scrolls capable of storing massive amounts of supplies, and Earth Style jutsu perfectly suited for civil engineering, why did they all insist on roughing it? Was it just some macho performance to prove how "hard" the ninja life was?
These thoughts were a classic case of Saiki projecting his own privileged viewpoint onto the average shinobi. Not everyone possessed his monstrous talent or the bottomless resources Tsunade had provided him. He didn't realize it, but in the eyes of an ordinary ninja, Saiki was essentially a brilliant, obscenely wealthy "trust-fund kid."
Take his earthen cabin jutsu, for example. He had picked it up casually after a little tinkering. But for the vast majority of ninja—who would spend their entire lives as Genin—even if they managed to acquire the scroll for such a jutsu, did they have the chakra reserves to actually cast it?
Whether on a mission or on a battlefield where combat could erupt at any second, a normal ninja's primary concern was chakra conservation. Every drop of energy had to be hoarded for life-or-death situations.
Even in the heat of battle, their first instinct was to throw kunai and shuriken, saving Ninjutsu as an absolute last resort.
Comparisons are odious. After all, the amount of chakra Saiki regenerated in the time it took to take a single breath was equivalent to a Genin's entire reserve.
It's impossible for the poor to truly comprehend the lifestyle of the rich. In his past life, Saiki had been just like those Genin—no, he had been even worse off than the lowest-ranking shinobi.
Of course, this didn't stop the current Saiki from being obscenely extravagant. He used top-tier sealing scrolls—normally reserved for critical military supplies—to hoard fresh groceries and luxury living items. He used chakra—a ninja's lifeblood—to build heated cabins just to get a good night's sleep. Even in the freezing wilderness, he was sipping hot drinks and dining on freshly cooked, gourmet meals.
Tsume couldn't help but marvel at Saiki's luxury. If she had possessed his abilities, she wouldn't have been forced to huddle in a freezing, wind-swept cave while Saiki was suffering his Qi Deviation.
Outside, the blizzard screamed. Inside, the hotpot bubbled on the stove, filling the cabin with a rich, mouth-watering aroma that soon had them both sweating.
Sated and full of meat, Saiki patted his slightly rounded stomach. He looked over at Tsume, whose cheeks were flushed from the heat and the hearty meal, her vitality practically glowing. "Did you get enough to eat, Sensei?"
"Mm, I'm stuffed!" Tsume nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed by how much she had put away.
They cleared the dishes. It was still early. They sat by the stove, listening to the embers pop and crackle, both thoroughly enjoying the radiant heat.
Even though Saiki was immune to the cold, the cozy, enveloping warmth was still a wonderful sensation.
They chatted casually, shifting from discussions on Ninjutsu theory and application to analyzing the situation at the front lines.
The duel with Mifune hadn't been entirely without benefit. Aside from the martial exchange, Saiki had earned Mifune's respect, which had led to a valuable intel dump regarding the war.
The Land of Iron shared a border with the Land of Fire, while the main battlefield between Konoha and the Cloud was concentrated in the neighboring Land of Sound and Land of Hot Water.
The intel was limited, but Mifune had shared what he knew.
During the two days Saiki and Tsume had been recovering in the Land of Iron, the Cloud—having suffered a catastrophic failure during their night raid—had pulled back significantly. The pressure on the front lines had eased considerably.
As they discussed their disappearance and how worried Genhai and Kurenai must be, Tsume suddenly shifted gears. "Saiki... is your body completely fine now?"
"My body? Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Why, Sensei?" Saiki looked at her with genuine confusion.
Whether it was from the heat of the fire or sheer embarrassment, a deep blush crept across Tsume's cheeks. Meeting Saiki's gaze, her eyes instinctively darted away.
However, she gathered her courage. "It's just..." She paused, taking a breath before continuing, "About the dual cultivation. Are you sure there are no lingering issues?"
Saiki felt a spike of awkwardness. Sleeping with a mature, married woman was undeniably thrilling, but breaking apart someone's home crossed a moral line he wasn't entirely comfortable with.
But his mind raced. She hadn't mentioned it for two days. Now, alone in a secluded cabin, she was suddenly bringing it up. Saiki's heart began to hammer against his ribs.
He looked into her eyes, testing the waters carefully. "I should be fine. But if there is a problem... what then, Sensei?"
Tsume instantly recognized the hungry, predatory glint in his eyes. She knew exactly what he was implying, and her face burned even hotter.
When he had only cultivated his singular Pre-natal Qi, Saiki had possessed the pure, upright mindset of a true gentleman. But after his Qi bifurcated into Yin and Yang, something shifted. He had begun to embrace his primal desires without hesitation, and his "shamelessness" had grown exponentially.
Human perspectives can change in the blink of an eye. Like a devoted "simp" who worships a goddess for years, only to walk into a massage parlor one night and see that same arrogant goddess kneeling to wash his feet—he grows up very quickly.
Saiki's psychological shift wasn't quite that dramatic, but he had evolved from actively avoiding "those kinds of situations" to ruthlessly capitalizing on any opportunity that presented itself.
"What the hell are you thinking about?! Your head is full of nothing but dirty thoughts! I really misjudged you!" Tsume, who was usually incredibly lenient with him, flared with sudden anger and gave his head a sharp smack.
It didn't hurt, but Saiki still let out an exaggerated "Ow!" and clutched his head.
Unfortunately, Tsume didn't fall for his "pitiful act" this time, nor did she let the subject drop. She looked at him with absolute seriousness. "Saiki, listen to me very carefully. What happened that night... I only did it to save your life. You cannot read anything more into it. It's partly my fault. You're at an age where you're naturally curious about women. After that time you treated my wounds, I should have sat you down and set firm boundaries so you wouldn't get any wild ideas."
Hearing this, Saiki dropped the act. He stared at her with a heavy, serious gaze. Tsume let out a long sigh and continued. "I am an old woman, Saiki. I am a married woman. You cannot harbor these thoughts; it will only ruin your life. You are young, brilliant, and you have so many wonderful girls who already adore you. You won't have any trouble finding a wife. So stop overthinking this. What happened that night was an emergency medical procedure, nothing more. Forget it ever happened."
If she had been talking to an average child, her words might have sunk in. Though, given how fast kids mature these days, even that was debatable.
But Saiki only looked like a child; his soul was that of a fully grown man. He understood every word Tsume said, but the primal, possessive instinct of a man refused to let her go so easily.
However, he didn't argue. He simply nodded and replied with quiet resignation, "I understand, Sensei."