Chapter 266: Of Course, Refusing

Keito's gaze suddenly sharpened, but it was overshadowed by deep exhaustion—like someone carrying a secret that had been buried too long at the bottom of their chest.

"I really can't lie to you, can I..." Keito murmured bitterly.

A fleeting sour smile appeared on Keito's face, yet it couldn't penetrate the murky depths of his eyes.

"So, what's going on, Uncle Keito?" Reiji asked again, his voice more steady this time.

Reiji's small shoulders seemed to tense, as if his young body was bracing itself to withstand the blow of the truth, no matter how sharp it might be.

Keito took a deep breath, as if stealing time.

Then Keito's head bowed, his shoulders drooping slightly, and slowly he began to speak.

"You know, right, that the Konoha ninjas came today?"

Reiji nodded, his brow furrowing. "I know. So what?"

Keito looked at Reiji for a moment, as if weighing how many wounds he was about to open.

"Tsunade Senju," Keito said softly.

"Granddaughter of the First Hokage."

"A direct descendant of Hashirama Senju and Lady Mito Uzumaki."

"The Uzumaki blood flows within Tsunade."

The evening wind slipped through the window gap, caressing the paper lantern above their heads.

The shadow of the lamp swayed on the wooden wall, dancing slowly like a ghost from the past that refused to leave.

"That's why I accepted their arrival," Keito continued.

Keito's voice began to sound heavy. "Tsunade asked us not to sever ties with the Village of Konoha."

"I, of course, refused."

"But then Tsunade asked... if there was still a way to maintain that relationship?"

Keito stared intently at Reiji.

Keito's sharp gaze pierced Reiji's chest like a cold nail.

"I told Tsunade... that the Uzumaki Clan once helped Konoha because of blood ties and marriage."

"When Mito Uzumaki—my father's sister—was married to Hashirama Senju."

"We were once brothers."

"But that bond has shattered."

"When we needed help, Konoha turned a blind eye."

Keito clenched his fingers, his knuckles turning white.

In the creases at the corners of Keito's eyes, there was a bitterness that refused to fade.

"Then I asked Tsunade: 'What can Konoha offer now?' And Tsunade said..." Keito held his breath, his voice trembling in his throat.

"That Tsunade was willing to be a second wife."

Reiji's chest tightened, his eyes widened, as if that voice was something his ears couldn't process.

"I said... my children are girls."

"But Tsunade replied that she was willing to be the second wife of Karina's fiancé—my daughter."

"And the person Tsunade meant... is you, Reiji."

Time seemed to choke in that room.

Reiji was frozen, staring at Keito without truly seeing.

Reiji's heart raced, but the beat sounded distant, drowned out by the buzzing in his ears.

Keito concluded his explanation like someone whispering a death vow. "If Karina agrees. And you also agree. Then Tsunade... will become your second wife."

There was no other sound except the wind.

Reiji remained frozen.

Reiji's gaze was vacant, as if his soul had been left somewhere else.

Beside Reiji, Karina still had her head down.

Karina's shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly, then a single tear fell, wetting the fabric of her kimono in her lap.

Reiji immediately caught that signal—Karina's slightly tensed shoulders, her fingers moving as if nervously dancing on her knees.

Sitting just a few inches beside her allowed Reiji to hear Karina's breaths, soft yet heavy, as if a lump of words was stuck in her throat.

For Reiji, missing such a small signal would make him look foolish.

Where Reiji had long learned to read the expressions of others—even before he was reborn in this Shinobi world.

Living in a world full of intrigue, deception, and betrayal forced Reiji to be sensitive, even to the vibrations of breaths that were just a bit faster than usual.

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