Naruto: Wooing Tsunade from Day One!-Chapter 436: Morning Meeting

After days of travel and exhaustion, Nawaki eventually drifted off to sleep.

He wasn't sure how long he had slept when the sound of footsteps approached, followed by familiar voices.

"Uncle, Uncle."

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother."

A boy and a girl, both around their early teens, gathered around him, gently trying to wake him up.

"If you're not sleeping, why are you bothering me?"

Nawaki cracked one eye open and saw Ginji and Satsuki staring at him, and for a moment, he wondered just how tangled their family hierarchy had become.

"We couldn't sleep, so we came to play with you."

Too considerate to wake their other friends, the two kids had come to disturb Nawaki instead.

"If you two don't sleep, does that mean I don't get to either?"

Nawaki gave them a half-hearted glare but still sat up lazily.

"Uncle, today was hilarious!"

"That old man came to welcome us, and even though he was smiling, something about it felt off."

"Did you piss him off? Heh heh."

Ginji kicked off his shoes and plopped onto the bed, while Satsuki sat beside him, both eagerly waiting for gossip.

"What are you talking about? Do I seem like the type to disrespect my elders?"

"I was simply hoping to learn a thing or two from him as a junior."

Nawaki put on his most serious expression, feigning innocence.

"Senior Brother, you're shameless."

"The Light-Weight Rock Technique was already stolen by Uncle Kawakaze, and now you're trying to learn more from him?"

Satsuki burst into laughter. It wasn't wrong to say Nawaki was taking full advantage of the situation.

"You shouldn't talk to your uncle like that!"

Ginji, frowning, scolded Satsuki, which made Nawaki feel a warm sense of familial pride.

Blood was thicker than water—nephews really were the best.

"Then again... you have met him before."

Ginji's next words sent a chill down Nawaki's spine.

"Hahahaha!"

Satsuki couldn't hold it in anymore, clutching her stomach as she laughed.

"You two little brats—don't even think about getting anything out of me in the future!"

Nawaki smacked each of them on the head. Did they really think he had no temper?

"Oww! Uncle, don't be mad!"

"It was our fault!"

Ginji quickly covered his head, his apology swift—probably a family trait.

"Yeah, yeah."

Satsuki pouted, trying to look cute.

Nawaki sighed.

"Fine, but neither of you are any good."

Looking at the two troublemakers, Nawaki couldn't stay mad, even if he wanted to.

"Senior Brother, I heard from Uncle Kawakaze that the Third Raikage is ridiculously strong."

"You'd better not take any unnecessary risks."

Satsuki's concern was genuine. She knew Nawaki's personality well. freewёbnoνel.com

Part of the reason she came tonight was to make sure he wouldn't do anything reckless.

"You think I need you to tell me that?"

"It's not even my village—why would I risk my life?"

Nawaki rolled his eyes. Did this little girl really think he needed a reminder?

Still, it was kind of nice to hear.

"Uncle, you should just stick close to the old man and learn as much as you can."

"I'll just follow behind you and pick up the scraps."

Ginji declared generously, as if he wasn't being greedy at all.

As a Wood Release user, his Earth Release talent was even greater than Nawaki's.

"Scraps? You can drink plain water instead."

"Weren't you the one laughing at me just now?"

Nawaki flicked Ginji's forehead.

This kid really was his brother-in-law's son—always chasing after the next big opportunity.

"Heh heh."

Ginji smirked, raising his brows mischievously. Satsuki, looking disgusted, shifted further away from him.

"This isn't like Minato's battlefield. Be careful out there."

"Your main goal is experience—don't just rush in blindly."

"Stay where I can see you."

"Got it?"

After their usual teasing, Nawaki got serious.

Personal relationships aside, these kids were Konoha's future.

If something happened to them under his watch, he wouldn't know how to face anyone back home.

What kind of situation had his brother-in-law dumped on him?

"Got it! We promise!"

Ginji and Satsuki responded in unison.

Despite their young age, they weren't reckless.

"Good. The situation is still unclear."

"Once the meeting's over tomorrow, I'll figure things out."

Nawaki didn't treat them entirely like kids—he still gave them a little insight into what was going on.

"Alright."

Ginji and Satsuki nodded, saying no more.

"Now go back to sleep. I'm exhausted."

Nawaki waved them off.

"Goodnight, Senior Brother (Uncle)!"

Watching them leave, Nawaki chuckled to himself.

"Those two little rascals..."

He shook his head and lay back down.

Maybe now he understood a little of what his brother-in-law had felt when raising them.

...

The night passed peacefully, and the sun rose quietly in the east.

After a solid sleep, Nawaki and the Konoha shinobi had breakfast before returning to their quarters, waiting for Iwa to call for them.

They didn't have to wait long—less than half an hour later, an Iwa-nin arrived, inviting Nawaki to the meeting.

Following his guide, Nawaki entered the conference room alone.

As soon as he stepped inside, he noticed the room was already full—only one seat remained.

"Good morning, everyone. I am Nawaki Senju from Konoha."

Noting that all eyes were on him, Nawaki remained unfazed, confidently introducing himself before taking the empty seat near Ōnoki.

"Alright, now that we're all here,"

"On behalf of the Land of Earth, I'd like to express my gratitude for Konoha's assistance."

Ōnoki started with a diplomatic gesture, hoping to ease some of the tension among his subordinates.

After all, just as Konoha harbored grudges against Iwa, the feeling was mutual.

"Since Nawaki is still unfamiliar with the current situation, today's meeting will serve as a summary of recent battles."

"Keiko."

Ōnoki called out a name, and a middle-aged man with a sturdy build stood up.

This was the newly appointed intelligence officer who had replaced Daisuke Nakano.

"Since Kumo's invasion, we've engaged them five times."

"In the first battle, our Five-Tails Jinchūriki, Han, was ambushed and killed by the Third Raikage's son and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki."

"Losing such a high-level combatant has left us at a disadvantage in every battle since."

Nawaki listened without much reaction, though the two Kumo-nin who took down the Five-Tails caught his attention.

As for the whole ambushed excuse, he ignored it.

He'd sat through enough war meetings to recognize when people were just putting on a front.

Han had fought against both his sister and brother-in-law before, so Nawaki knew the guy wasn't weak.

"..."

"Under Lord Tsuchikage's wise leadership, we've managed to hold our ground against Kumo."

Keiko finished with some blatant flattery—no doubt the reason he got promoted.

Nawaki nearly scoffed.

If they were really holding their ground, why had they come begging Konoha for reinforcements?

Still, Keiko hadn't sugarcoated the war itself.

Filtering out the nonsense, Nawaki summed up the situation in a few words:

Iwa was critically lacking in top-tier fighters.

They were losing every battle.

And now, they were desperate for someone to fill the gap.

With that in mind, Nawaki had a much clearer idea of his role here.

And he was even more confident about wringing some benefits out of Ōnoki.