The ambiguous atmosphere, after Hyuga Suzuka suddenly pushed Yechuan away, was replaced by awkwardness.

“Hmph!”

Suzuka's face was red, and she turned her head away, her words still sharp.

“You took advantage of me, aren't you proud?”

...You were the one who leaned in.

Yechuan weakly retorted, rubbing his chest, which felt a bit sore from the impact.

Looking at this girl, who was outwardly cold but surprisingly innocent and sharp-tongued, Yechuan smiled and stopped bickering with her.

“Let’s go, didn’t you say you wanted to show me around?”

...Follow me!

...Over the next few hours, Yechuan found a rare sense of ease.

Hyuga Suzuka seemed to have completely adapted to life in Alabasta.

She took Yechuan sightseeing around Rainbase, this exotic desert casino city. In a way, she, the newcomer, seemed more like an insider than Yechuan, the pioneer.

What surprised Yechuan most was Suzuka’s astonishing extravagance when spending money.

Whether it was a gorgeous piece of jewelry Tsunade might like, a handmade doll Nami might like, or an expensive perfume suitable for Aunt Touka, she bought them all without batting an eye.

“I say…”

Yechuan looked at her seemingly endless Berries and finally couldn’t help but ask curiously:

“Did Crocodile… give you so much money?”

“Him?”

Hyuga Suzuka curled her lips in disdain.

“All of this, I won from the big casino at Rain Dinners two nights ago.”

“…”

Yechuan was instantly speechless.

It was then that he remembered, the Byakugan… in a casino, it was practically a bug among bugs!

X-ray vision! 360-degree unobstructed view! Any tricks with Dice or cards were completely transparent before her eyes!

“Poor Crocodile…”

Yechuan silently mourned for three seconds in his heart for the ambitious man who was working hard to expand the Senju Clan’s territory.

He probably never dreamed that his casino, which he used to accumulate wealth, had been turned into a personal ATM by his boss’s friend.

After shopping, upon returning to the luxurious villa, Suzuka distributed the purchased gifts one by one to Tsunade, Nami, and Kotone.

The girls quickly bonded over these exquisite gifts and developed a fondness for Suzuka, their new outwardly cold but inwardly warm companion.

After delivering the gifts and getting a little more familiar with everyone, Hyuga Suzuka finally made an important decision.

She walked up to Tsunade, Nami, and Kotone, and bowed deeply.

“Lady Tsunade, Miss Nami, Miss Kotone.”

Her voice shed all its coldness, leaving only a deep plea.

“Please… help me with something!”

“Please help me remove the Caged Bird Curse Seal on my forehead!”

Hearing this request, the smiles on Tsunade, Nami, and Kotone’s faces faded, replaced by grave expressions.

They had all heard from their respective clans about the Hyuga Clan’s cruel and almost inhumane branch family rule.

“We understand.”

Tsunade, representing the three, nodded solemnly.

“Suzuka, don’t worry, we will do our best to help you!”

...In a spacious and bright room in the villa.

Hyuga Suzuka lay uneasily on the bed, allowing the three girls, whom she considered geniuses in their respective fields, to gather around her, carefully studying the Cursed Bird Mark on her forehead.

Tsunade extended her hands, and medical Chakra, emitting a soft green glow, carefully probed the connection structure between the curse mark and Suzuka’s brain nerves.

Uchiha Kotone activated her Three-Tomoe Sharingan, meticulously observing the extremely complex Chakra flow and jutsu structure within the curse mark.

Meanwhile, Uzumaki Nami gently placed her hand on Suzuka’s forehead, closed her eyes, and used the Uzumaki Clan’s superior perception of Sealing Jutsu to analyze the core principles of the curse mark.

The three exchanged opinions from time to time, their expressions focused and solemn.

After a long while, they finally finished their investigation.

“How is it?”

Yechuan and Senju Touka, who were standing guard nearby, immediately stepped forward and asked.

“There’s a chance!”

Tsunade delivered an encouraging conclusion.

“Although this curse mark is extremely malicious and directly connected to the brain and optic nerves, it is not entirely unsolvable!”

“Its core is an explosive jutsu connected to the main family’s bloodline! As long as we can find a way to destroy the structure of the curse mark itself without triggering that explosive jutsu, it might be possible to successfully remove it!”

“However…”

She added:

“This requires an extremely large amount of calculation, and top-level operation of both Chakra and Sealing Jutsu! One wrong step, and the consequences would be unimaginable!”

“I understand.”

Yechuan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

“So, it just needs time to slowly research, right?”

He looked at Suzuka, who was still a bit uneasy, and comforted her:

“Don’t worry, we have plenty of time.”

“Everyone will be staying here for the next while; this is my villa.”

He pointed to the luxurious building.

Crocodile, that guy, probably misunderstood that Suzuka was his girlfriend, so he specifically arranged her accommodation here.

“Wow! That’s great!”

Hearing this, Tsunade immediately clapped her hands happily.

“Then I’ll come and stay often too! It’ll be perfect to be with Nami-chan and Suzuka! I’ll go tell Grandma later!”

Uzumaki Nami also secretly rejoiced upon hearing this.

Uchiha Kotone bowed gracefully to Yechuan in thanks.

Only Hyuga Suzuka’s pretty face flushed, and she shot a sharp-tongued remark at Yechuan in a voice only the two of them could hear:

“Hmph, I bet you just want to take advantage of the situation for your own benefit, you pervert.”

“Cough, cough…”

Yechuan awkwardly coughed twice and quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway… anyway, there are plenty of rooms here! Aunt Touka is staying here too!”

For convenience and safety, Yechuan had already arranged everything for everyone.

Uzumaki Mito was staying in another villa closest to them and most heavily guarded, just in case.

The remaining Senju Clan members were arranged by Crocodile in two other equally spacious villas, more than enough room, and everyone was incredibly happy with the living environment in this New World… That night.

Yechuan somewhat helplessly discovered that he had been excluded.

Tsunade, Nami, Kotone, Suzuka, and even Aunt Touka—these five women—had abandoned him and secretly held a girls’ night talk in Tsunade’s room, chatting about who knows what.

Yechuan could only stand alone on the villa’s spacious balcony with a glass of juice, feeling the dry night wind of Alabasta, and fell into deep thought.

“Konoha… it’s probably in chaos by now, isn’t it? How will the Third Hokage and Danzo make their next move?”

As he pondered, his habitually extended Observation Haki suddenly sensed a sneaky figure cautiously approaching below the villa.

It was one of Crocodile’s subordinates.

Yechuan’s figure instantly vanished from the balcony.

A moment later, he met the subordinate who had come to deliver a message in an deserted corner outside the villa.

“Boss.”

The subordinate, his face excited, lowered his voice and respectfully reported:

“Crocodile-sama asked me to give you a message.”

“He said… we caught a little mouse.”

“Please come and see.”

Yechuan raised an eyebrow at the words.

“Oh?”