Chapter 5 – Dreams
"Minato, Minato!"
Hearing Kushina's voice from the living room, Minato—holding a wok in one hand and a spatula in the other—leaned out from the kitchen doorway.
"I'm here."
"Minato, several Uchiha clan ninjas came today to give their wedding blessings."
Flipping through the camera in her hands, Kushina's smile spread wider and wider as she watched the recorded clips. Each Uchiha was giving their congratulations with stiff smiles that looked… unnaturally strained.
Honestly, it looked like someone was standing behind the camera threatening them verbally during the filming.
"Ssshhh—sizzle—"
The sharp smell of cooking oil pulled Kushina from her thoughts. She looked up to find Minato suddenly beside her, staring curiously at the screen—wok spatula still dripping oil onto the brand-new sofa.
Kushina quickly patted the cushion.
"Minato! The sofa is new!"
"Huh—oh! Sorry!"
Minato scrambled back to the kitchen, dumped the spatula and apron, then returned to sit beside her, peeking again at the camera footage.
The blessings included messages from Konoha shinobi and ninjas from other villages. Even Kumogakure—despite still being in sporadic conflict with Konoha—had sent blessings.
Kushina gently rested one hand on Minato's shoulder and the other on her slightly swollen belly.
"Minato… Mikoto told me the Uchiha clan's internal disputes are getting worse. The clan is becoming harder to manage."
"At their last clan meeting, someone even suggested their clan head should divorce his wife and pursue the Senju clan leader."
"Hmm?" Minato blinked. He recalled Fugaku and Mikoto's affectionate appearance at the banquet and immediately asked—
"Why?"
Kushina rubbed her temple and sighed.
"All because of the Hokage position."
Ever since Mikoto married Fugaku, she had been driven half mad by those Uchiha elders constantly digging up history.
"For example:
—'The First Hokage told Madara he'd consider him for the next Hokage.'
—'The Second Hokage told Kagami that he was different from the other Uchiha and had a real chance of becoming Hokage.'
—'The Third told Fugaku that if he repelled the enemy attack, his name would appear among the Hokage candidates.'"
Kushina poked Minato in the forehead.
"As the Fourth, maintaining village stability is your responsibility. And the Uchiha are Konoha's biggest clan."
Minato stiffened as everything clicked.
Was Kushina trying to make him act as a mediator between Fugaku and Tsunade?
Tsunade… who would absolutely kill him?
Images flashed in his mind—his master Jiraiya being punched into the hospital by Tsunade, healed, then punched back in.
"No. Tsunade-sama will kill Jiraiya-sensei."
Kushina stared at him blankly.
None of what she said should have led to that conclusion.
"YOU IDIOT!"
She climbed into his lap, shook his collar aggressively, and growled—
"Why don't you just transfer the idiot who told Mikoto to divorce?
Then he can't join clan meetings and spread nonsense!"
"Transfer him?"
Seeing her hair beginning to float in Nine-Tails rage mode, Minato immediately surrendered.
"Okay, okay! A lot of ANBU members recently requested reassignment, so there are vacancies. ANBU will be inviting capable ninjas soon."
"And until then?" Kushina pressed.
"This… uh…"
Minato massaged her back with one hand while rubbing her chin to soothe her with the other.
"Several ninja academy students applied for early graduation recently. If that Uchiha ninja is mentally stable, he can be a temporary instructor."
Kushina tapped the camera.
"It's him—Uchiha Asuka. A Uchiha jōnin. Versatile, too. They say he already had jōnin-level combat skills as a chūnin."
"Oh… it's him."
Minato froze.
The name triggered memories.
Minato's expression slowly darkened.
Kushina nudged him.
"Is something wrong with him?"
"No, not exactly…"
Minato shook his head, recalling Asuka's war record.
"His experience is similar to Tsunade-sama's. He's one of the few combat ninjas proficient in medical ninjutsu."
"But during the Third Shinobi War, he lost all his comrades. The medical skills he spent years learning were useless except for letting him feel their life slipping away."
"He's rejected medical ninjutsu ever since."
Kushina's expression fell slightly. She hadn't participated in the war, but she remembered the white smoke rising from countless homes.
Minato stroked her belly gently.
"I'll assign him a squad tomorrow."
---
That evening, Asuka sat in his empty room, staring at the space around him.
"Granny Cat… you thief."
"When I bought this place, you gave me a 10% discount. And when I sold it, you took a 30% cut."
"I lost 30% of my assets… doing absolutely nothing."
He threw the chicken bone from his mouth to the floor and glanced at the fat orange cat sleeping on the table. He poked its round body.
"Hey. Wake up. Deliver my letter."
The cat stretched, then froze when it saw the envelope tied to its waist. With a depressed human-like sigh, it muttered in a soft, feminine voice—
"I don't want to deliver a letter to a widow. It's bad luck."
"And besides… the Senju clan are sworn enemies."
"Pah."
Asuka spat on the ground and pointed toward the Senju compound.
"They're wiped out. Only one woman is left. What sworn enemy?"
"When they were alive, we at least exchanged greetings. Now they're all gone—refusing to speak to the survivor is the worst kind of disrespect."
The cat reluctantly opened the letter, cleared its throat, and read dramatically:
"'To the Clan Head of the Senju—the Forest Princess, Tsunade Senju.
As the Third Shinobi World War nears its end, the shinobi world enters a brief peace. As the head of the Uchiha clan, I wish to discuss the future of our two thousand-year adversarial clans—'
—Uchiha Fugaku.'"
A slip of paper fell out—no, not a slip.
A money note.
The cat unfolded it and shrieked—
"ASUKA, ARE YOU RICH NOW?!
You put 100,000 ryō in the envelope?!"
"If I didn't, would Tsunade reply?"
"…Fair."
The cat squinted suspiciously.
"What are you planning?"
Asuka smacked its head lightly.
"I just want a peaceful life. Violence is dangerous. If something can be solved peacefully, why not?"