Chapter 343   - Ch343. The Family Gathering 2

"We came together to discuss the Chunin Exams." Rei reminded his women and instantly noticed how the room quieted down as Pakura, Ringo, Tsunade, and Konan started looking at each other warily, measuring each other's reaction.

They each had a village under their thumb, even Konan who was sending a team from the Village on the Other Side in the guise of Uzushiogakure team, and apparently, this Chunin Exam was a prime opportunity for a gentlewomanly dick-measuring contest.

Rei wryly smiled and his eyes briefly met Kaguya's, 'They are really into it.' He suddenly heard her unbothered voice through their mental connection as she munched on a sandwich.

'Well, they have quite high stakes in the event.' Rei chuckled. He found it quite amusing. His wives, some of the strongest people in the Elemental Nations, couldn't settle their differences by fighting because it would cause too much collateral damage and so, they decided to simply use their villages' teams for the Chunin Exams.

'Bets?' Kaguya cutely tilted her head.

'Yeah, foot massages, back rubs, a coupon that could be used to force the one who issued it to do your paperwork for you. Stuff like that.' Rei shrugged, not really caring. His wives did fight sometimes but it was never serious. This betting was more to amuse themselves than an actual conflict in the house.

Rei was actually more worried his wives would succumb to Tsunade's bad gambling habit. Even now, the woman still visited a casino at least once a month and utterly squandered her monthly gambling limit.

If Rei wasn't so rich thanks to the Biri-Biri Company and the Uzushio Trading Company, he would be unable to even afford mashed potatoes with Tsunade as his wife.

'Sounds dumb.' Kaguya deadpanned. She didn't see any point in betting on such insignificant events.

'It's just a game.' Rei rolled his eyes at her. There was no real concept of gambling in her era. In fact, there were many things Kaguya simply did not understand, concepts that felt foreign to her, and sometimes even concepts she named differently after Rei explained what he meant. It was frankly an interesting clash of cultures. Rei had a perfect way to show Kaguya why this gambling was so interesting to his girls, 'Wouldn't you join if Konan's special cookies were one of the prices?'

'Oh...' Kaguya momentarily stopped eating and frowned, her lavender eyes slightly widening and gaining an interested glint for a second before they again turned into impassivity as she realized that, 'Meh, I can get them for free anyway.' She sent Rei a mental message that almost made him do a spit-take.

'What a picture-perfect freeloader.' He thought with a twitching eyebrow, not sending this to Kaguya through their connection.

Suddenly, Rei noticed he and Kaguya were the center of attention from his four wives who watched them with keen interest.

"What?" He asked, feeling quite awkward from the undue attention.

"Well... you are having a silent conversation with Kaguya as if you were a long-married couple. We are just wondering if we should start teaching her some harsh realities of our sisterhood." Konan quipped, her eyes secretly giving Kaguya a pondering look.

Rei knew that look well. He didn't even need to get a bad premonition. He instantly knew she was about to say something utterly embarrassing.

"Then again, our little stalker rabbit seems to learn well by observing." She jokingly added, hinting at all the time Kaguya used her mental connection to watch Rei's intimate moments with his girls.

Kaguya became crimson red, silently averting her eyes and staying quiet while pretending she didn't hear Konan's teasing. She only slightly huffed and focused on munching on her carrot.

'And just like that, Konan again safeguarded her dominance.' Rei thought in disbelief. With just a few words, Kaguya accepted her defeat. Rei was aware the Rabbit Goddess had yet no idea what that would mean for the future relationship dynamics but he could already predict it. He saw the same thing happen with his other wives.

What good was all that overwhelming power for Kaguya when a few words managed to cow her into, to her yet unknown, submission?

Rei exasperatedly gave Konan a meaningful look. It was far too soon for these kinds of games when it came to Kaguya.

Or... was it?

Rei had no idea. Maybe him thinking along those lines already meant that the time was just right. And wasn't that an incredible revelation for Rei? He indeed felt something for her.

'Did I really unknowingly develop an attachment to Kaguya?' Rei furrowed his brows as his eyes subtly glanced at the white-haired woman. Only now did he realize that sharing a mental connection twenty-four-seven might have had some unexpected consequences.

Understanding the meaning behind Rei's look, Konan's lips mirthfully twitched before she turned back to the other girls, "Well, since our esteemed freeloader is embarrassed enough, let's return to the original topic, shall we? I'd say my team will win the Chunin Exams quite easily. I really have to thank you, Ringo, for bringing me the Uzumaki kid."

Ringo blankly blinked, the gears in her mind slowly turning before her eyes widened as she understood what Konan meant. "Fuck you! You can't do that! That's basically cheating!" She incredulously protested.

"Wait, you are seriously making Tayuya the part of your genin team? That's ridiculous! The girl is almost low S-rank with her sound shockwaves!" Even Tsunade was exasperated.

Konan smirked, "We are ninjas. We don't play fair. So what if I am going to send Karin, Kimimaro, and Tayuya." She shamelessly said with a wide innocent smile stretched on her lips that proclaimed to the world her victory.

Ringo, Pakura, and Tsunade became instantly quiet, capable of only staring in deadpan at Konan. They had a hard time believing what the woman just uttered.

"You do realize it is going to be the Chunin Exams, don't you? It is meant for genins." Tsunade exasperatedly pointed out.

"They are still genins according to the village ranks." Konan sincerely nodded and Tsunade's eye twitched.

'Karin Uzumaki, the most talented Uzumaki of this generation who inherited not only Mind's Eye of Kagura but also Uzumaki Chains and Uzumaki healing chakra. The second she meets Uzumaki Naruto...' Tsunade couldn't help but wince at that. The boy would surely annoy the hell out of Karin with her being an Uzumaki and whatnot and while he was a beast with his jinchuuriki chakra cloak, Karin had her Uzumaki chains. 'Rest in piec-, ahem, I mean in peace, Naruto. At least Kimimaro is a level-headed one.'

"Oh don't look at me like that!" Konan exclaimed after she felt five sets of eyes boring into her, "You, Pakura, have no right to judge me for this! You might have forgotten but I am the spymaster here and I am fully aware you intend to send your apprentice as part of the main Suna team."

"You are sending Temari!? She is one of your best ANBU! How can you send her as a genin to these exams, you sand-eating bitch!?" Ringo barely refrained from shouting in hysteria. She had high stakes in their little betting competition but her sister-wives seemed to be hell-bent on cheating!

"As Konan-senpai so nicely put it... She is technically still a genin in the village ranks." Pakura smugly shrugged. "Not my problem your head is filled only with forging and swords. You should have taken an apprentice too, fish-head."

Ringo huffed and petulantly crossed her arms on her chest. 'At the time it seemed such a good idea to decline. To think it would come to bite me in the ass! How are Haku, Chojuro, and Utakata supposed to win now?'

Frankly, Utakata should be already jonin with his current skills and Haku was not far off either. Ringo thought they would be enough for a measly Chunin Exam. Now she could only pray their opponents would slip in the middle of the match and fall on their faces, knocking themselves out. Quite improbable.

Or... was it?

The gears in Ringo's head started turning, plans and schemes forming. If her sister-wives want to cheat, then so be it!

"You are planning to send all three Sabaku siblings as one team, aren't you?" Rei mirthfully asked Pakura, already knowing the answer. Now that was overkill if he ever saw one.

"Well, if I want to beat Konan at her own game, I have to do my best to cheat my way through." Pakura smirked with satisfaction and snuggled closer to Rei again. Inwardly, she was not as reassured of her own victory. Konan really pulled all stops on shamelessness in this one but Pakura liked to think her kids had a decent chance. They grew exponentially during these past years, and she would be damned if she didn't show them off.

As she looked at the depressed Ringo, Tsunade couldn't help but feel a small measure of pity for her. The redhead was never one for scheming but Tsunade didn't think this was where Ringo would bow out. Far from it. Ringo was too stubborn for that.

'I am so glad I didn't bet on Team Seven...' Tsunade felt smug about her own ingenuity.

Why bet on a team from her own village when she is fully aware of Konan's personality? She knew the bluenette would play dirty from the start. She led the Biri-Biri company alongside her for more than a decade now and as they say, old habits die hard.

For Tsunade, betting on Konan's team was an obvious choice.. She was actually highly curious if she would still lose the bet anyway, no longer really caring for victory or loss.