The next day at the Ninja Academy...
Before class, Umino Ikkaku informed the students about Kota, Tetsuo, and Seo's suspensions, but no one seemed to care.
The three had been unpopular. Kota bullied his classmates, Tetsuo acted like a lapdog for bullies, and Seo was full of mischief.
Apart from Shinnosuke, the Hokage's son, everyone in the class had been harassed by these three at some point. The fact that no one cheered their departure was already quite considerate of Ikkaku.
"Finally, those annoying guys are gone. It's such a relief~" Kushina chuckled mischievously, slumping lazily onto her desk and glancing sideways at Minato. "Minato's here in his true form too."
"I have no choice, really. After what happened..." Minato said with a helpless smile.
The truth was, he was currently focusing all his energy on cultivating Nature Transformation.
The Light Release cultivation had been an excuse all along. The Devil Fruit's power and physique were directly linked, and although it was his primary combat method, it wasn't something he should be focusing on at this stage.
Most importantly, if he didn't come to school, he'd be alone at home during the day.
Nawaki and Kushina were at school, and Tsunade, though not on missions lately, wasn't exactly idle.
Besides helping at the hospital, Tsunade also visited Mito every few days.
As a Jonin, even without missions, she had to report to the Jonin standby room daily to be ready for emergencies. (Officially, this was the same place where Kakashi, Asuma, and others chatted during the written portion of the Chunin Exams.)
On top of that, she had to pick up Minato from school and go grocery shopping with him. It had been a while since she'd last visited the gambling hall.
It was as if Tsunade had forgotten about her old hobby; Minato hadn't heard her mention it in ages.
"Ah, this is so nice. If only every day could be like this..." Kushina drawled lazily, basking in the sunlight streaming into the classroom.
"Kushina, repeat what I just explained," Umino Ikkaku's voice snapped her back to attention.
"Huh? Right..."
Kushina scrambled to her feet, casting a pleading glance at Minato.
Minato subtly nudged his notebook toward her, keeping his arm pressed down to conceal the gesture.
Kushina instinctively read aloud from the notebook: "During class... you should pay attention, okay?"
"Hahaha..."
Hearing Kushina's words, the class erupted in laughter.
Realizing what she'd said, Kushina's cheeks flushed crimson, and she glared at Minato with puffed-up cheeks.
Umino Ikkaku's lips twitched. "Forget it. As long as you know, sit down."
"Seriously, Minato, you're so mean!" Kushina sat down, waving her tiny fist at him.
Minato watched her with a smile, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He thought, If only every day could be like this.
And for the next few weeks, life was exactly as they'd hoped: peaceful and warm.
Minato went to school, cooked, and trained every day.
Kushina followed him around like a little shadow, showing up wherever her "big brother" went.
But this unchanging routine began to make some unseen figures restless.
Take Danzo, for example. He was desperate to get his hands on Kushina, but the girl was glued to Minato's side, and Tsunade picked her up and dropped her off for school, leaving him no opportunity.
Then there was Fugaku, who still hadn't found a way to approach Minato.
Amidst this calm, two months slipped by in the blink of an eye.
Sparse snowflakes drifted silently through the sky, then, under the cover of night, blanketed the village in a thick layer of glistening white.
"It's snowing!"
It was the weekend, and early that morning, Kushina eagerly rushed into the courtyard, scooped up a handful of snow, and scattered it into the air.
"It's snowing, huh..."
Minato sipped his tea, his legs tucked comfortably under the kotatsu table, feeling utterly relaxed. (Also known as a kotatsu, it's a low table with a heated underside and a quilt draped over it, commonly seen in anime.)
Tsunade lay sprawled across the table opposite Minato, most of her body tucked under the quilt.
Nawaki tried to squeeze under the quilt as well, but space was limited. Tsunade kicked him out, leaving him with no choice but to cover his legs like Minato.
Minato glanced at Nawaki. "I have another kotatsu at home. Should I bring it over?"
"No need!" Tsunade interjected before Nawaki could speak.
The current kotatsu was just the right size, and the reason why...
Tsunade shifted slightly, her delicate foot casually resting on Minato's crossed legs.
Minato paused mid-sip. From his angle, he couldn't see Tsunade's expression, and he couldn't tell if it was intentional. He left the foot where it was.
Yet, a subtle, indescribable flutter stirred in his heart.
"This weather calls for tea and enjoying the snow view," Tsunade said lazily. "If you're cold, just go back to your room."
Nawaki turned to Minato. "Minato, aren't you cold?"
"No, I'm not."
Minato smiled. He was Light, after all!
This was the advantage of being a natural-type. As long as the environment wasn't specifically suppressive, he remained unaffected by external conditions.
This was especially true for abilities inherently possessing extreme cold or heat, such as Freeze-Freeze, Snow-Snow, Burn-Burn, Magma, Glimmer-Glimmer, and Thunder-Thunder.
Minato wasn't bothered by the cold because Light inherently possessed immense heat, making him impervious to the chill.
But Nawaki was, indeed, mortal...
"It's snowing. How about we have something warm for dinner today? Like hot pot?" Minato suggested after a moment's thought.
"Sounds great! What's on the menu?" Hearing this, Nawaki forgot about the cold entirely, eagerly awaiting Minato's answer.
"How about... a hot pot you've probably never tried before? What do you say?" Minato asked.
"Wait a minute! I'll grab a pen and paper!" Upon hearing it was something new, Nawaki hurried off to fetch writing materials. "Go ahead."
"Shrimp, scallops, crab, seaweed..."
Minato listed all the ingredients needed.
These were the dried seafood ingredients commonly used in northern hot pot dishes from his previous life. Their rich, savory flavors made them perfect for cooking with lamb.
"Wait a minute, are you guys used to sesame paste?" Minato suddenly asked.
Sesame paste existed in the Shinobi World, but it was primarily used as a seasoning, with slight variations in flavor that required adjustments with other ingredients.
"If you're making it, Minato, I'll definitely eat it!" Nawaki declared, pounding his chest.
"Great! Let's get three more pounds of lamb. That should be about it."
"Then I'm heading out!"
Nawaki rushed out of the house in eager anticipation.
The soft, delicate feet nestled against Minato's chest suddenly wriggled, toes curling slightly as they gently rubbed against his belly.
"Minato, come build a snowman with me!" Kushina called from the yard.
Minato was about to respond when Tsunade suddenly gripped his sleep shirt with her toes and gave it a gentle tug.
"I'll pass. I'll warm up with some tea. We have to prepare the hot pot for lunch, so how about sending a clone to keep you company?"
Minato set down his teacup, subtly reaching under the heated table with his left hand to pat the little mischief-maker clinging to his clothes. Only then did the playful child release him.
"Alright..."
Kushina didn't press the matter, knowing Minato had to prepare the meal. She turned to find her clone to play with instead.
Under the heated table, Tsunade shifted slightly, glancing in the direction Kushina had left.
For some reason, she felt a strange thrill in her heart at that moment...
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