Naruto: Imitation Ninja

Xing Liu gently brushed through Xiao Xiang's soft fur, indulging her with his "soothing service." The fluffy creature, not to be outdone, affectionately nuzzled her furry head against his firm chest with a hint of coquettishness.

"Still sleepy? If you are, how about we go back and sleep for a while longer?" Xing Liu asked softly, gazing at the adorable being in his arms.

"Hmm... Not really sleepy, but if you insist on napping together, I wouldn't say no~" Xiao Xiang replied playfully, her tone teasing.

"Then what are we waiting for? That banging on the door earlier ruined my sleep. Let's make up for it now." Without hesitation, Xing Liu carried her back to the bedroom for a well-deserved nap.

As for Kushina's earlier request for him to report to the Hokage Office, well… that could wait until after he was fully rested.

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In the Hokage Office of Konoha, Minato sifted through the intelligence reports brought in by his subordinates.

"Who would've thought the Akatsuki members still refuse to give up?"

Originally, Minato believed that thwarting their plans to collect the tailed beasts would deter them, but not only had they not backed down—they had grown even more aggressive.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration, Minato suddenly remembered something and asked his assistant, "By the way, has Xing Liu arrived?"

Hearing this, the assistant could only grimace. "Lord Hokage, you know his temperament better than anyone. If he wanted to come, there wouldn't be a need to send someone to inform him, right?

"Besides, do you really think he'll show up just because you ask him to?"

Speaking of Minato's adoptive brother, the assistant had never met someone who lived with such carefree abandon—so much so that even the Hokage's requests were casually ignored.

"At first, I thought he was a kind and gentle person…" the assistant muttered under her breath.

Of course, Minato already knew Xing Liu wasn't likely to appear. It was far too early in the day for anyone but office workers like him to be at their desks. His lazy brother? He was probably still lying in bed.

"Why is it that some people have incredible talent but insist on slacking off?" Minato sighed. His feelings toward his brother were a mix of love and exasperation.

He loved how Xing Liu always pointed him in the right direction during moments of doubt.

But he hated how, after offering guidance, Xing Liu would leave all the follow-up work to him while resuming his life as a self-proclaimed "slacker."

"Well, why don't you ask him directly?" the assistant suggested awkwardly, her gaze flicking nervously to the doorway.

Why was she nervous? Because the person they were discussing had been standing there for a while, grinning as he listened to their conversation.

"If I had the chance to ask him, I wouldn't be asking you," Minato grumbled. "I even sent Kushina to call him over this morning, but he's still not here—what do you want me to do?"

"Oh? So that's how you see me, huh, big brother?"

A familiar voice interrupted. Minato froze. No way. There was no way Xing Liu was actually here.

"Xiao Jing," Minato said to his assistant, turning to her with a bewildered look, "I think I just heard Xing Liu's voice. But that's impossible, right? He'd never come here voluntarily…"

The assistant glanced at the grinning Xing Liu at the door, then back at her oblivious boss. She sighed internally.

Why did these two always drag her into their shenanigans? Couldn't they just resolve their brotherly drama without involving her?

"Well, since you clearly think so highly of me, I'll just head home and continue napping," Xing Liu said breezily. "Honestly, if Xiao Xiang hadn't convinced me to come, I wouldn't have bothered.

"Now that I'm here, only to hear my big brother badmouthing me, I think I'll take my leave."

"W-wait!" Minato finally snapped out of his stupor. There was no mistaking it now—the only person in the entire village who dared speak to him like this was his little brother.

"What are you waiting for? I'm leaving~" Xing Liu smirked as a swirling spatial distortion appeared in front of him. Glancing back at Minato, he added, "You handle whatever's going on yourself. I'm just a lazy bum, after all~"

"See you."

Watching Xing Liu prepare to step into the spatial rift, Minato abandoned all pretense of dignity and lunged at him, sliding across the floor in a desperate attempt to stop him.

"I told you to wait!"

"What the hell?!" Startled by the unexpected move, Xing Liu couldn't react in time.

BANG!

And just like that, Xing Liu ended up sprawled on top of Minato. The two froze, one on top of the other, for several awkward seconds.

The assistant, meanwhile, stood there, slack-jawed.

Wow. I never knew Lord Minato and Xing Liu had that kind of relationship…

No wonder Minato always seemed like a sulky housewife whenever he mentioned Xing Liu. Turns out he was just upset that Xing Liu ignored him so much!

Feeling that she'd just witnessed the ultimate gossip-worthy moment, the assistant decided to forgive their earlier antics. After all, this scene alone more than made up for the trouble they'd caused her.

Back to Xing Liu and Minato, the two finally snapped out of their stupor.

With a faint "biu" sound, Xing Liu quickly jumped off Minato and retreated to a corner, his expression conflicted.

He had just… straddled a man?

And not just any man—his adoptive brother?!

What the hell?! I didn't sign up for a yaoi universe! Why, oh why, was the God of Reincarnation doing this to me?!

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