Mitsuki spread his hands in resignation. "Alright then. I'm actually pretty curious about how Yugakure holds a fireworks festival."
"Yay!" Seeing Mitsuki agree, Obito jumped up excitedly. "Then let's head out right now!"
Under his mask, the corner of Kakashi's mouth lifted slightly. He could finally go buy the latest volume of Icha Icha.
"Got it." "Have fun."
After saying goodbye to the people in the room, the three kids prepared to head toward the Land of Hot Water. "Wait," Mitsuki suddenly spoke up. "I'm going to invite a few more people." "Huh?" Kakashi and Obito looked at him in confusion.
In front of an old stone building inside the Konoha camp. "You two wait here. I'll go buy some tangerines and come right back… ah, no, I mean I'll go call a few people and return."
After giving a few instructions, Mitsuki walked over to the outer wall of the building. The guards here were an Uchiha clan ninja and a Yamanaka clan ninja. When Yuta Uchiha saw who it was, he quickly stepped forward.
"Vice Commander Mitsuki."
The overly enthusiastic attitude gave Yuriko Yamanaka goosebumps. She kept complaining internally that this iceberg faced man could actually make such an expression. But then again, facing someone as overwhelmingly strong as Mitsuki, even an Uchiha acting like this was understandable.
The scene of him slicing away dozens of Tailed Beast Balls with a single slash was just too cool. In the eyes of the ninja on the Yugakure battlefield, the name Mitsuki was already a legend, just like the First Hokage. The only difference was that Mitsuki was still alive.
Mitsuki had grown increasingly used to the respect shown by the Konoha ninja around him. He waved his hand to signal they did not need to be so formal. "Are Ruri and Shisui inside?"
This time, Yuriko rushed to answer. "Both captains are inside, watching over the three Kumogakure high value prisoners."
"I see. I'll go take a look. You've both worked hard."
"Yes, yes!" Yuriko bounced excitedly in place. Mitsuki had told her she worked hard. She really wanted to touch Mitsuki's white hair.
Mitsuki pushed open the outer wooden gate and walked inside. The interior space was fairly large. After all, it had previously held many Kumogakure prisoners. With the war now paused, most of them had already been exchanged back. Only the final trio of high value prisoners remained, temporarily held in a prison formed with Earth Release.
Of course, the prison itself was mostly symbolic. What truly prevented them from escaping were the sealing techniques and curse marks personally set up by Mitsuki. On top of that, two top tier Uchiha were leading a round the clock guard. A jailbreak was basically impossible.
"Hm?" Shisui heard movement at the door and turned around. "Oh, it's Mitsuki."
Ruri also looked over curiously. "You came over at this time. Is something wrong? Did someone from Kumogakure come to break them out?"
If that were the case, it would be great. She had not fought enough last time. Mitsuki could tell what she was thinking just by her expression and got straight to the point.
"No one's breaking them out, Ruri. Yugakure is holding a fireworks festival to celebrate the end of the war. Want to go take a look together?"
"What?!" Ruri did not expect Mitsuki to suddenly invite her to watch fireworks. The usually cool expression on her face instantly flushed red.
"Ohhh!" Several ordinary Konoha ninja nearby immediately let out teasing noises. A few Uchiha ninja showed expressions of sudden realization. No wonder Ruri had scolded those clan members who spoke disrespectfully about Mitsuki during the clan meeting. So that was how it was. That explained everything.
"Huh?" Mitsuki had no idea why everyone suddenly looked like they were shipping them.
Shisui patted Mitsuki on the shoulder like an older brother. "I'll support you, Mitsuki. Do your best!"
Killer B, who was lying inside the cell, instantly found inspiration. With a sudden kip up, he started freestyle rapping. "Yo, yo, boy and girl, feelings heating up, friends or lovers, plot so confusing, shipping so hard, can't stop, happiness through the roof, baby! Bakayaro, konoyaro!"
"Damn it." Hearing Killer B's teasing, Ruri formed hand seals in embarrassment and anger, activating the curse mark and putting him into full physical mute mode. Even so, she could not stop Killer B from giving Mitsuki a thumbs up.
At this point, Mitsuki finally understood what was going on. His wording earlier had caused a misunderstanding, making it sound like he had come specifically to ask Ruri out. Did this not turn into him asking Ruri on a date?!
Mitsuki was just about to explain that he had intended to invite both Shisui and Ruri, when he suddenly felt someone lightly tug at his clothes. He followed the pull and saw Ruri, her gaze shifting slightly as she spoke softly.
"Fireworks are something only kids like. Of course I'm not interested." As she said this, she forcibly suppressed the slight upward curve of her lips and continued in her usual cool tone. "But if you really want to go that badly, I suppose I can reluctantly accompany you."
Looking at Ruri's faintly red cheeks and the way she kept fiddling with the loose strands of hair at her forehead, Mitsuki felt like he had entered some special route of a dating sim. He shook his head hard, tossing those strange thoughts out of his mind.
Shisui immediately sensed something was off from Mitsuki's expression. He realized he might have said the wrong thing. Without hesitation, he placed one hand on Mitsuki's shoulder and the other on Ruri's, pushing them both toward the exit.
"That's great. I really want to go too, but we can't have both main forces leave the prisoner watch." Without giving Mitsuki a chance to speak, Shisui ushered the two of them outside. "Have fun!"
Then he smoothly shut the door. Bang.
Looking at the closed door, A snorted. "Hmph. On the battlefield he's decisive, but in daily life he's so wishy washy. How can a man be like that?"
Hearing this, Yugito felt a bit speechless. Even though it was not great to criticize her own boss, she could not help thinking: Then why didn't you say that when Shimizu Mitsuki was still here?
Outside, Mitsuki shrugged helplessly after being shoved out by Shisui. "Does Shisui really have to be that serious? Work never ends. You have to know how to slack off."
"Not everyone is like you." Ruri lightly tapped the ground with her toes, her tone carrying a hint of urging. "Let's go. We're not the only ones going together, right?"
Mitsuki raised an eyebrow slightly, a trace of confusion in his voice. "How did you know there were others…"
Before he could finish, Ruri cut him off, a confident glint flashing in her eyes. "Of course I know. Because it's you."