Shikigami Summoning in Konoha

Chapter 50: Big Sister!

"It's nothing!"

Katsuragi hurriedly explained, "Hanabi was just asking where you went, I just told her."

"Oh!" Hinata nodded, then looked at Hanabi, who was blushing slightly, and asked gently, "Hanabi, did you need something from me?"

"It's nothing, just asking!" Hanabi said, glaring at Katsuragi, seemingly blaming him for speaking out of turn, then turned and announced, "I'm going back to training."

"Hanabi..."

Watching Hanabi punching the big tree with determination, Hinata called out worriedly. From the bandages on her fists, it was clear that Hanabi had been training for a long time, and continuing like this could harm her young body.

Seeing Hinata's concerned expression, Katsuragi couldn't bear to see her distressed. He sighed, walked up to Hanabi, caught her swinging fists, and said with a smile, "You've been training for so long, aren't you tired?"

"Let me go!" Hanabi responded sharply, ignoring Katsuragi's question.

"Hanabi, Katsuragi!"

Hinata, seeing their interaction, called out worriedly with her hands clasped in front of her.

Katsuragi first gave Hinata a reassuring look, then stood in front of the tree and released Hanabi's fists, saying with a smile, "If you want to become stronger, just training against a tree isn't enough."

"How should I do it, then?" Hanabi asked after a moment of silence, having secretly watched Katsuragi and Hinata spar before and admiring Katsuragi's strength.

"You know Neji, right?"

"Neji brother?" Hanabi nodded, puzzled.

"Do you know why he has always been the top of his class?"

"Why?"

Katsuragi, seeing that he had successfully piqued Hanabi's curiosity, chuckled inwardly and said mysteriously, "That's all because of me!"

"Because of you!?" Hanabi's interest deepened, her eyes widening as she asked, "Why?"

"Want to know?" Seeing Hanabi nodding eagerly, Katsuragi grinned mischievously and said, "Go wash up and change your clothes first, then I'll tell you."

"Eh! You…" Hanabi paused, a slightly angry expression crossing her face. Though she wanted to ignore Katsuragi's words, her curiosity got the better of her, and she begrudgingly said, "If you don't tell me after that, I'll…"

Seeing Hanabi struggling to find a threat, Katsuragi found her quite endearing. He ruffled her hair and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll definitely tell you. I'm waiting here with your sister."

"Hmph!" Even though she felt the warmth and comfort of Katsuragi's hand on her head pleasant, Hanabi still huffed, shook off his hand, and ran back to her room to wash and change.

After Hanabi left, Hinata approached Katsuragi, thanking him with a grateful expression, "Thank you, Katsuragi."

"What are you thanking me for? Hanabi is like my little sister too!" Katsuragi chuckled, then looked in the direction Hanabi had gone and said thoughtfully, "Hinata, actually Hanabi really likes you, it's just that..."

Katsuragi didn't know how to continue, realizing this was still Hinata's family matter. He couldn't just say that the elders had spoiled Hanabi, so he sighed and changed the subject, "Anyway, Neji is about to graduate, huh?"

Katsuragi envied Neji a little; he still had a year to go himself, and in the courtyard, he had already saved up one million gold coins. With the fifty thousand from the end of this school term plus another fifty thousand when he graduated next year, that would be a total of two hundred thousand gold coins.

As for why he could save so much, it was mainly because he had upgraded Enenra to five stars but hadn't awakened her and Yuki Onna, considering the heavy gold cost seen with the three-tailed fox's awakening.

The two of them would cost a total of one hundred sixty thousand gold coins. To prepare for acquiring an SSR Shikigami after becoming a Genin, Katsuragi had chosen to save the gold coins.

"Yeah! He's about to become a Genin, and I heard from my father that the village has arranged a very impressive team leader for him!" Hinata said somewhat enviously.

"Very impressive..."

Katsuragi thought of the iconic watermelon head and bushy eyebrows from the original story, always talking about 'youth' – Guy, a man who nearly kicked his way to the final chapter of the story, and agreed, "Yes, very impressive!"

"Do you know who it is?" Listening to Katsuragi's emotional tone, Hinata asked curiously.

"How would I know? I'm just guessing!" Katsuragi suddenly realized his slip and hurriedly waved his hands. As he grew older and the plot drew nearer, his familiarity with the storyline sometimes made it hard to hide his knowledge.

Nodding, Hinata was about to say more when Hanabi, who had changed clothes, came running back, gasping, "Okay… I'm ready. Can… can you… tell me… now?"

Seeing Hanabi out of breath, Katsuragi and Hinata exchanged a look, both noticing the amusement in each other's eyes. Then, Katsuragi pulled Hanabi aside and said, "Alright, sit down and rest first, I'll definitely tell you."

After sitting and resting for a while, Hanabi urged again, "Hurry up and tell me!"

"Really want to know?" Katsuragi, seeing her eager face, decided to tease her a bit more and said solemnly, "This is a very, very secret matter, known only to your sister and almost no one else."

Hearing Katsuragi's words, Hanabi's curiosity intensified, and she nodded vigorously, appearing utterly convinced.

"Then call me 'brother' first!" Katsuragi grinned.

"Eh!" Hanabi was stunned. Looking at Katsuragi's smiling face, she gritted her teeth, seemingly about to explode with anger but worried that doing so might prevent her from getting the answer. Reluctantly staring at Katsuragi, she squeezed out a "Brother."

"Good girl!" Katsuragi patted Hanabi's head, seeing her reluctantly shy away, then said with a smile, "The reason is because he often battles me, and that's why he can be the best in his year."

"That's it?" Hanabi was stunned. After all that, the answer was just that? She clenched her small fists, furious, and without thinking, swung at Katsuragi's grinning face, unleashing more strength than she ever had in training.

"Hey! Hey! Why the violence!" Katsuragi dodged easily, no matter how furiously Hanabi attacked. The disparity in their abilities was too great, and while defending himself, he explained, "I'm not lying! It's true!"

Hanabi didn't respond but kept attacking Katsuragi until she was sweaty and out of breath. Tears welling up, she finally collapsed into Hinata's arms, crying out, "Big sister!"

"Katsuragi!!!" In this world, where she clearly adored her little sister more than anyone, even the usually gentle Hinata couldn't help but shout at Katsuragi in anger.

"Ahem!" Seeing Hanabi sobbing in Hinata's arms, Katsuragi felt a bit awkward, realizing he might have gone too far. He quickly approached to apologize, "Hanabi, I was just kidding!"

"Actually, I wasn't lying. The best way to get stronger is to find someone stronger than you and aim to surpass them. You'll improve for sure, it's just that Neji hasn't managed to surpass me yet."

End of Chapter 50