I received some feedback before about how some people find Yujin "simp". Guys, being a simp is a behavior some men exhibit of humiliating themselves to gain a woman's attention/affection, and I assure you, Yujin has never done that.

The scenes in question always depict Yujin showing respect towards Tsunade or Mito, and for some reason, some readers see that as "simping". Respect and simping are entirely different things, let's be clear about that. Yujin doesn't just show respect towards women, and he does it because he was raised that way, as well as it being part of his personality. Yujin is kind, charitable, gentle, attentive, and fair. If you like characters who disrespect women, this is not the story for you.

***

Yujin had a good training session, making progress in wall walking. However, he decided to take a break from training to settle a score with someone suspected of a serious crime.

Tsunade and Yujin were in front of the bookstore.

"It's time to get some answers."

The two entered and observed people browsing books to buy. The manager seemed to be further inside the store. As they walked in, Yujin looked around and commented.

"These people don't know the danger they're in by buying books here."

Tsunade rolled her eyes at this. He had already told her about the origin of the book, so she knew that even if the manager hadn't warned him, he was still at risk by picking up a book from that immoral shelf.

At the back of the store, the manager seemed to be unpacking a box when he heard the sound of a knock on the counter. As he stood up, he was met with Yujin's cold gaze. Confused, the manager asked.

"Good morning, Yujin. Did you come to buy another book...?"

Suddenly, Yujin began to laugh out loud, startling the manager with his actions. Yujin had always been a polite and gentle person, so he didn't understand why he suddenly seemed aggressive, almost furious.

"Manager... I trusted you. After what you did to me, you still act clueless? The least I expected from you was respect, and now you're not even giving me that."

Yujin's gaze was as cold as the wind from the Land of Snow; capable of freezing a person quickly. Under this gaze, the manager, an ordinary person, was having trouble breathing. He quickly said.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything to you. What's going on?"

The manager's words quickly calmed Yujin, surprisingly. He could feel the manager's sincerity, confusing him.

"How do you not know? You sold me that..."

Just the thought of the content made Yujin uncomfortable.

"... that cursed book. Without any warning. How could you do this to me? I trusted you."

Yujin's words again left the manager confused.

"What's wrong with the book? It's just the way you like it, a romance between two people, and with... educational content."

Tsunade, who was silently standing behind Yujin observing the conversation, rolled her eyes at this. 'What can you learn from that kind of book?' she thought, but didn't say anything.

"It's not just a romance. Ten pages from the end of the book, something happens."

The manager looked even more confused, so he opened the box he was moving before and pulled out a book identical to the one Yujin had bought before. When he saw the unassuming and simple cover of the book in front of him, Yujin gritted his teeth, feeling an urge to set the book on fire.

'The person who wrote this book is not a good person,' he thought.

The manager flipped through the book to where Yujin had pointed earlier, and began to read attentively word by word. Gradually, the manager's confused expression changed to one of dismay, and then to fury. Finally, he looked at Yujin with pity and sighed.

"I apologize, Yujin, I didn't expect this..."

Yujin saw the manager's reactions, so he believed him when he said he didn't know, but that didn't calm him.

"You said you had read all the books in the store, what happened?"

The manager sighed deeply upon hearing this, and closed the book.

"I've read all the books, but some books that I don't like, I end up not reading to the end. This was one of them. As I said before, I'm not much of a fan of this type of content, so I read until after the halfway point, and thought I had read the most important part, so I stopped reading."

Yujin was speechless upon hearing this, but understood that it made sense. He didn't need to read a whole book to understand its content. Clearly, the author of this cursed book was malicious.

"He waited until the end to write this twist... The book has 312 pages, but it's only on page 301 that this twist happens. Clearly, the author is malicious. Who is he? I want a name."

Yujin's eyes gleamed; he needed to know the name of this author, and at least give him a good punch in the face. At the same time, in the future, every bookstore he entered, he would report its content to the owners, and not allow him to have any more sales.

"I don't know... He's an author from outside the village. I think even from another country, since I found this book in a bookstore in the Land of Earth."

Yujin looked at the book still in the manager's hand, and then commented.

"You know what to do, right?"

The manager looked at the book, and then at Yujin. Thinking about what he had to go through when he read the book without warning, the manager felt sorry for him, so he nodded.

"Leave it to me."

***

The two were leaving the bookstore, and Yujin took a deep breath and commented.

"One day I'll find this HentaiGodZ."

Tsunade rolled her eyes at this, finding Yujin's issue with the unknown author at least funny. It's just a book, what's the problem? Seeing his serious look, however, she commented.

"Let's have lunch. You go grab us a seat in the restaurant across the street, while I take the opportunity to buy a book to read."

Yujin nodded, and headed to the restaurant. After Tsunade bought the book she wanted, she stored it in a scroll and had lunch with him. The two sitting across from each other, they initially had a brief conversation about trivial things like Qi training, and a bit about Chakra.

However, he could see that her mind was elsewhere, so he brought up the topic she was avoiding.

"We're less than twenty-four hours away from the ritual. How are you dealing with it?"

Tsunade was surprised by the question, and remained silent for a few seconds. She didn't have an answer to that herself. Every passing second, her chest tightened. She could distract herself with Qi training, or with the book she bought, but with each passing second, she knew that the inevitable was coming; it didn't leave her mind.

Currently, the only glimmer of hope she felt was the signals she was receiving from Mito and Yujin. Although Mito had made an effort to conceal her strange actions, Tsunade could see that she was busy with something. Yujin's previous silence also hinted at this.

"Whatever she's doing, will it work?"

Instead of answering his question, Tsunade asked, hopeful, yet afraid of the answer. Yujin considered whether he should tell her, but in the end, decided to be ambiguous again, respecting Mito's wishes. Leaning in, he placed his hand on top of hers and spoke softly, calmly.

"It'll be alright, trust me."

Tsunade held her breath upon hearing this, and looked deeply into his eyes. She felt the sincerity and confidence in his eyes. It wasn't the eyes of someone resigned to the situation, but rather of someone who truly believed that everything would be fine.

The confidence in Yujin's gaze calmed Tsunade's anxiety, who nodded with a beautiful smile. She didn't expect that just a few words from him could calm her down, but upon further thought, she realized that's what it meant to love someone.