Hyuga Bai became even more taciturn than when he first arrived among the Senju.
He offered no comment on Tsukuyo's recent actions, merely requesting to change back into his original clothes and asking for leave to depart. His excuse was reasonable: he wanted to report what he had seen and heard in the Senju Hot Spring Village to the Hyuga clan leader as soon as possible.
Tsukuyo wasn't foolish; she could see Hyuga Bai was "fleeing in panic."
The seemingly gentle and refined Hyuga Bai was actually quite timid deep down.
Tsukuyo had genuinely frightened him just now.
Both her lack of immediate refusal to his proposal and the subsequent 'iron fist of love' had terrified Hyuga Bai.
Since Hyuga Bai took the initiative to leave, Tsukuyo naturally saw him off gladly.
Hyuga Bai hastily retrieved the clothes he had changed out of earlier from Tsukuyo and quickly put them on.
As he reached the gate of the exclusive villa...
Bai even stopped Tsukuyo from enthusiastically escorting him further.
He insisted he could find his own way out and wouldn't trouble the Princess.
Watching Hyuga Bai's retreating back, which looked like he was escaping, Tsukuyo's face, hidden from the light, showed a practiced, commercial smile.
Only after Hyuga Bai's figure disappeared at the end of the road...
"...Presenting your most fatal advantage as a flaw. Can such a clumsy seduction truly be effective?"
A deep voice sounded from behind Tsukuyo.
"Couldn't it be that I was seriously considering his marriage proposal?" Tsukuyo turned towards the voice, only to see her second older brother, Tobirama, standing under the cherry blossom tree by the courtyard gate, having appeared there at some unknown time.
"Do you believe that yourself?" Tobirama's face, so similar to Tsukuyo's, was filled with cold indifference. He folded his arms, staring intently at Tsukuyo's pretty face.
Senju Tobirama knew clearly that he was undoubtedly the person in this world who understood his younger sister, Tsukuyo, the best.
They were like two sides of the same coin, deeply understanding each other's thoughts.
In Senju Tobirama's eyes, his sister Tsukuyo was rotten to the core; it was impossible for her to fall in love with anyone.
Compared to their immensely powerful elder brother, Hashirama, Tsukuyo was far more terrifying.
Their (Big Brother) Hashirama disliked effeminate schemes and plots; he was righteous to the core, always hoping to resolve problems peacefully, beating enemies into consensus.
Tsukuyo was different. If a goal could be achieved through scheming, she would absolutely avoid direct confrontation.
Tsukuyo chuckled lightly, "Tobirama, when did you get here?"
"Right when you started personally receiving that man from the other clan," Senju Tobirama stated truthfully.
"Were you afraid I'd be abducted?" Tsukuyo's smile held a hint of smugness.
Senju Tobirama's brow twitched. He turned his face away and retorted irritably, "You'd better take it easy. This Hyuga is an idiot. He lacks the strength to help you achieve your ambition of unifying the ninja clans."
Senju Tobirama was different from Senju Wakama. He valued Tsukuyo immensely and was also the brother most worried about her being snatched away by men from other clans.
For Senju Tobirama, his younger brother Wakama's love for chasing girls was utterly unimportant; as long as Wakama didn't get himself killed, Tobirama turned a blind eye.
But concerning his sister Tsukuyo, Senju Tobirama felt both concerned and powerless.
In Tobirama's view, Tsukuyo deliberately lured young men from other clans, using them to further her grand ambition of merging all ninja clans into hidden villages.
And Tsukuyo herself would only string these 'honest men' along, never actually marrying any of them.
As a woman, Tsukuyo could only choose one husband. Marrying any one of them meant losing all the others she kept on the hook.
Senju Tobirama leaned more towards the belief that Tsukuyo would never marry anyone, instead continuously giving these men hope, endlessly testing their limits, making them all believe they had a chance to tie the knot with her.
In reality, they never had a chance from the very beginning.
These despicable tactics made even Senju Tobirama shake his head.
But he didn't know that Tsukuyo was purely seeking amusement, and it just so happened to create the exact appearance Tobirama perceived.
"Second Brother, don't worry. I know my limits."
Tsukuyo looked at Senju Tobirama, simply smiling, her gaze drifting towards the gate next door.
She noticed that one of the indicators on the gatepost was displaying the color blue.
Seeing that sign, Tsukuyo smirked wickedly, "Ah, Wakama's back..."
Senju Tobirama snorted, "That fool Wakama brought a girl into his residence at least half an hour ago. The way he looked when he arrived... it was obvious what he intended to do."
The gatepost was specially made, a discreet device embedded within, jointly researched by Senju Tobirama and Tsukuyo.
As soon as anything with mass was added to the villa, the indicator on the gatepost would display a gradient color from 'Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Violet'.
By monitoring the change in the entire building's weight, one could instantly determine if someone was inside and roughly how many people.
Violet represented empty.
Blue represented an increase in mass of up to two hundred jin (approx. 100kg / 220lbs) compared to violet.
And so on; the lighter the color towards red, the heavier the added weight in the villa.
Right now, the pillar of Senju Wakama's exclusive hot spring residence displayed blue.
Tsukuyo roughly guessed what had happened.
Before today, Tsukuyo had been helping Senju Wakama "get bigger and longer."
Tsukuyo mused gossipily, hoping Wakama would get his wish. She planned to ask Wakama later tonight, after the girl left, how it felt to use his 'new tool'...
Beside her, Senju Tobirama glanced at Tsukuyo and said darkly, "You've been hammering away at that thing for him for six whole days. There's probably some effect, but not much."
"Eh?" Tsukuyo looked at Senju Tobirama with a strange expression.
Senju Tobirama remained expressionless, "You only changed its shape. You gave Wakama increased volume, but you didn't give him increased duration. The parts that weren't up to par before still aren't."
"Ah~ Second Brother's analysis is very insightful~" Tsukuyo's eyes flickered as if she'd thought of something, a benevolent smile spreading across her face.
Senju Tobirama was right. Just getting bigger and longer wasn't enough; endurance was also necessary.
Tsukuyo thought to herself that she should probably prepare some restorative medicine for Wakama.
Senju Tobirama silently watched the gentle smile reappear on his sister's face, knowing deep down that Tsukuyo was likely brewing some new mischief.
Ever since he realized Senju Wakama was constantly hanging around Tsukuyo...
Combined with Tsukuyo's shadow being present every time Senju Wakama wooed a girl, Senju Tobirama secretly pondered if Tsukuyo intended to control other ninja clans through Senju Wakama.
But... it was just some women. Senju Tobirama felt this wouldn't succeed.
Although the hope seemed slim, Senju Tobirama didn't intervene.
...
Meanwhile.
Inside Senju Wakama's exclusive villa.
Senju Wakama, currently enjoying himself, had no idea his older brother and younger sister were outside the courtyard gate, earnestly discussing his potential issues with premature performance.
Within the dim inner room, the air was filled with Uchiha Yuki's charming voice and an indescribably wonderful fragrance.
That scent melted into the atmosphere.
It was precisely the custom-made 'Soothing Fragrance' incense that Senju Wakama had previously persuaded nobles to buy.
Its aroma was rich and mellow, perfectly setting the mood.
As Senju Wakama and Uchiha Yuki were engaged in their 'exercise', he suddenly realized that, compared to before, there was some improvement, but only some.