I, Your Father, Carry a Big Stick

After promising he would be sticking around for the next year or two, Wu entered the estate alongside Tayuya. He could sense everyone waiting for him in the dining room, so he was unsurprised when one of them shouted, "It's about damn time you showed up...!"

As she had missed Wu during his previous return to Konoha, Ino was understandably upset by the eight months they had spent apart. She had even started living in the main house so that she could catch him upon his return, so the moment Wu stepped inside, the teary-eyed blonde jumped to her feet and tackled him.

Though he hadn't thought about their separation until that exact moment, Wu felt a strange feeling of 'unease' in his chest as he held Ino in his arms and softly replied, "Sorry I'm late..." before adding, "I won't be leaving like that again..." in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

Sniffling a few times, Ino raised her face from Wu's chest, a dazed look developing across her face as she remarked, "You've gotten a lot taller..."

Adopting a faint smile, Wu kissed Ino's forehead before responding, "And you've become even more beautiful. Longer hair suits you..."

As Ino was now sporting a ponytail that extended to the small of her back, Wu couldn't help commenting on it. Little did he know that the only reason she had grown it out was because she refused to cut it before his return.

Regaining her smile, Ino stood on the tips of her toes in order to give Wu a kiss. They were around the same height the last time she saw him, but he was now several centimeters taller. She didn't know his exact height, but she approximated it to be around 164-165cm since she was currently around 158.

Waiting until the kiss between Wu and Ino had ended, Tenten playfully remarked, "Don't forget about the rest of us..." despite remaining in her seat. There were 'a lot' of people present, and she didn't want to be the first in line if a queue were to form.

Sliding his hand down to Ino's waist, Wu continued holding her as he passed his gaze over everyone present. Hiruzen had enough foresight not to send any of the girls on long-distance missions around the time he was expected to return, so pretty much everyone was present except for Kaia and Sakura. It had been a while since they last saw their families, so they returned home shortly after separating from Fu.

After passing his eyes over Tenten, Hinata, Hanabi, Kagero, Shizune, Kuro, and Temari, Wu exchanged nods with Kankura and Gaara before fixing his gaze squarely on Tsunade's nearly spherical belly. As he did so, the busty blonde narrowed her eyes and revealed, "It should be pretty obvious, but that sake you gave me did jack all..."

Shaking his head, Wu's eyes turned fiery as he retorted, "It's not that the sake didn't have an effect. All the Natural Energy within it seems to have-"

Before Wu could finish speaking, Tsunade interjected, stating, "I am well aware of what happened. We'll talk about it later."

"Right..."

Deciding to change topics, Wu asked, "Should I have my clones prepare a feast? I imagine we have a lot of catching up to do, so we may as well do it over a meal."

Without waiting for a response, Wu plucked a few of his hairs and sent them off to the kitchen before taking a seat at the table with Tayuya and Ino flanking him. He wanted to explain his plans for the next year or two, but that could wait until he had caught up with the girls he hadn't seen in a while.

Fortunately, while it had been quite some time since he last encountered some of them, there was no notable sense of 'distance' present. Ino was more assertive than ever, and even Kuro seemed to have fully acclimated to life within the compound. She didn't seem nearly as bitchy as she used to be, mingling with just about everyone as if they were now good friends.

Among the people present, the only person that still oozed awkwardness was Kankuro. However, considering he was one of the only boys present among a massive group of girls, most of whom were already spoken for, that wasn't surprising. Gaara was much calmer, but Wu suspected that he might be asexual as he had never shown interest in a single woman since he began training within the compound.

Speaking of Gaara...the boy had matured considerably since the last time Wu saw him. He still had a long way to go before he could be called a man, but he was the person that had changed the most besides Tsunade and Hanabi. The latter was in the midst of her first major growth spurt and appeared to be on track to surpass most of the other girls in height as she was nearly as tall as Hinata and even taller than short stacks like Tayuya and Kagero.

Though her height had increased after intaking adequate nutrients, Kagero was only 146cm tall despite being one of the older girls present. Tayuya was a little taller at 151cm, but that was only around 4cm more than when Wu originally met her. As for Hanabi, she and Hinata were both around 156cm tall, with everyone else ranging between 158-163cm. That made Kankuro the tallest person present at 169cm, but Wu wasn't too far behind at 165.3.

Realizing he was now taller than all of his women, the smile on Wu's face became more prominent. His height had never really bothered him, but if he had to choose between being shorter and taller, he would choose the latter. Most girls preferred their men to be on the taller side, so with one of the largest harems in the Elemental Nations, Wu was hoping to reach at least 180cm in height. If he could surpass Jiraiya's height of 191cm, even better...

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After an impromptu celebration that continued well into the evening, Wu promised the other girls he would be spending a lot of time with them in the future before retiring to Tsunade's room to talk. There was less than a month until she was expected to deliver, so they 'really' needed to have a chat.

Before the conversation proper could get underway, Wu elicited a tired sigh from the busty Senju as he asked, "Can I touch it...?" with a genuinely curious, ostensibly eager look on his face. He didn't think he would care, but seeing Tsunade's spherical belly and knowing the child inside was his made Wu feel...peculiar.

As she didn't have the heart to refuse such an earnest request, Tsunade's expression and tone softened as she replied, "Be gentle..."

Nodding his head, Wu sat next to Tsunade before placing his right hand on her abdomen, feeling its incredible warmth through his palm. Then, as if the infant within could sense his presence, it abruptly kicked, deforming Tsunade's belly a lot more than Wu was anticipating.

"Whoa..."

With her expression softening even further, Tsunade softly asserted, "I need you to stay with me from now on, Wu...I've come to terms with the fact I'm going to be a mother, but I can't do this alone. I need you here, not traipsing about in foreign lands..."

Though she had 'a lot' of people who would be supporting her, Tsunade didn't want her first child to grow up with an absent father. She knew Wu loved to travel, but there came a time in everyone's life when they had to lay down roots and settle.

Catching the busty Senju by surprise, Wu didn't hesitate to answer, "No problem. I still need to visit Mei and Koyuki periodically, but I was already planning to stick around and focus on mine and the girls' training. I'm not ready to 'retire' just yet, but I can promise to be around more often..."

As she knew it was impossible to keep Wu in the compound indefinitely, Tsunade adopted a faint smile, resting her head against his shoulder as she teased, "Just don't miss the delivery or any birthdays...if you do, I'll track you down and beat you until you can't walk..."

Exhaling a chuckle, Wu allowed a comfortable silence to permeate the room before asking, "Have you confirmed the gender...?"

As it was one of the first things she had done once she realized giving birth was inevitable, Tsunade softly replied, "It's a girl..." without taking her head from Wu's shoulder.

Though he was a little disappointed that his first child wasn't a boy, Wu gave an approving nod as he remarked, "She's going to have a lot of big sisters to look up to..."

"Speaking of which..."

Raising her head from Wu's shoulder, Tsunade added, "You should go and spend time with Ino, Hinata, and Tenten. Eight months is a long time for a group of growing girls. If you're serious about preserving this little harem of yours, you'll need to work harder. You're lucky a few of those girls seem to swing both ways..."

Though he agreed with what Tsunade was trying to say, Wu continued to caress her abdomen as he softly replied, "Just a while longer..."

Nodding her head in approval, Tsunade placed her hand over Wu's, an affectionate smile spreading across her face as the two of them just sat in silence for the better half of an hour. She still didn't believe she was ready or even qualified to be a mother, but she intended to do her best...

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As most of the girls had gathered in Ino's room, Wu decided to drop in on them the moment he parted ways with Tsunade. What he found really put into perspective Tsunade's remark about some of the girls swinging both ways, as he discovered Ino and Tenten in the middle of eating each other out while the other girls watched. Each was holding onto a chopstick, so it was fairly easy to imagine what had occurred. What caught Wu a little off guard was the presence of Temari, Kuro, and the ever-watchful Hanabi...

Waiting until Ino had gotten Tenten to squirt a bit, Wu elicited a series of startled screams and yelps as he popped up next to Hinata and Temari, asking, "What did I miss...?" with a cheeky smile on his face.

Before any of the other girls could respond, Ino promptly pounced on him, shouting, "Wu-kun! I knew you would come~!" before initiating a long and passionate kiss. She even tried to undo the belt of his yukata, but Tenten gave her a firm smack on the behind, saying, "Control yourself, Ino..." with a half-lidded expression.

Though she stopped trying to disrobe him, Ino linked her arms around Wu's neck, staring into his eyes as she ground against him and replied, "It's been eight months since I last scratched my itch properly. I 'need' this..."

While she could empathize with what Ino was saying, Tenten looked at Temari and Kuro with an awkward, slightly apologetic smile on her face. They had yet to cross the line with Wu, so she was a little worried they might have an adverse reaction to Ino's behavior. Instead, Kuro had an eager look on her face, keen to see what all the fuss was about, while Temari returned an awkward smile and replied, "It's fine. I expected this might happen the moment Ino invited us to have a sleepover."

"Right..."

Realizing the direction things were headed, Tenten rose to her feet and fixed her yukata before saying, "I'm going to go grab a pitcher and some snacks. It's important to stay properly hydrated, and this is going to take a while..."

With Hinata offering to help, Tenten led the way to the kitchen, the two of them casually preparing tea and snacks with wry smiles on their faces as Ino's impassioned screams echoed in the background...

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(A/N: Gotta keep your women happy...)