"I'm back!"
"Welcome home!"
Minato had barely stepped through the door when Kushina rushed out of her room, her face beaming with enthusiasm.
"Minato, now that you're finally on vacation, we should go—"
Her words died on her lips as she noticed Nawaki standing beside Minato. Her smile vanished instantly. "Nawaki, what are you doing back here?"
"Hey, hey, hey! This is my house too, you know!" Nawaki's forehead developed a few dark lines. "Sorry, I guess I'm just being a too bright lightbulb."
"A... a lightbulb? No one calls it that..." Kushina looked away guiltily, her index fingers tapping against each other. "At most, I'm just a little in the way."
Nawaki's mouth twitched. "Did you just say what you really think?"
"Don't worry about the details..." Kushina chuckled sheepishly, then cast an anxious glance at Mikoto standing behind them. "By the way, who's this pretty lady?"
Mikoto nodded slightly, her voice gentle as she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Uchiha Mikoto, a disciple of Teacher Orochimaru. Please take care of me."
"Uzumaki Kushina! Please take care of me!"
Sensing the warm, sisterly aura emanating from Mikoto, a sense of crisis surged through Kushina.
Even Nawaki, who was usually oblivious to such subtleties, sensed the tension.
"Um... I'll head back to my room now. Call me when it's time to eat."
Nawaki kicked off his shoes and hurried back to his room, his retreating figure looking somewhat flustered.
"Teacher is on duty at the Jonin post this morning. Mikoto-nee, please come inside first."
The three entered the living room. Minato brought out fruits and snacks and poured drinks for everyone.
Kushina naturally settled beside Minato, her face tense and her gaze towards Mikoto filled with wariness.
Watching Kushina's protective stance, Mikoto couldn't help but smile.
She pointed at her hair and said, "Your hair... it's very beautiful."
"Huh? R-really?"
Kushina's cheeks flushed crimson, and she shyly turned her head away, her fingers brushing through her red hair. "Thank you... Minato said the same thing."
What an easy-to-read girl!
Seeing Kushina's reaction, Mikoto chuckled softly. "That just goes to show how good Minato-kun's taste is."
"Heh heh, right?" Kushina grinned. "By the way, Mikoto-nee, were you looking for Sister Tsunade?"
"I need to speak with the Teacher," Minato explained. "I'm planning to give Nawaki and Mikoto-nee special training, and I want to ask the Teacher to help me request Nawaki's withdrawal from the team."
"Special training?" Kushina's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "With Mikoto-nee?"
Nawaki, who had been eavesdropping by the door, froze.
Right now, I really want to burst into the living room and ask Kushina: Am I even human? Am I human at all?!
"I already told you, Nawaki is included," Minato said, unable to suppress a smile. Mikoto also covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.
"Then I want to join too!" Kushina clenched her small fists and pleaded with Minato, her eyes wide and hopeful. "Please?"
"Hmm... Alright, then."
Minato nodded. Whether it's one sheep or a flock, the effort to drive them is the same.
Although as a backup Jinchūriki, Kushina would likely never have to fight on the front lines, it was still better to be prepared and have some self-defense skills. That way, she wouldn't end up being inexplicably kidnapped by Kumogakure like in the original story.
Thanks to Minato's Clone-cultivating diligence, Nawaki and Kushina had been busy for the past two years.
While Nawaki had been focused on mastering the Rasengan, he had also cultivated many Dōjutsu techniques along the way.
Kushina, possessing the most outstanding cultivation talent in her generation of the Uzumaki Clan, had already mastered the Three Body Technique before even arriving in Konoha.
Over the past two years, she had progressively learned tree-climbing, water-walking, and many basic Uzumaki Clan Sealing Techniques. Even the sealing techniques Minato had learned came from her.
Now, although her age limited her physical prowess, Kushina's other abilities were on par with Nawaki's.
"In that case, we might as well graduate early," Minato suggested.
He had actually decided to graduate early long ago.
Once war broke out, Nawaki would undoubtedly be sent to the battlefield.
Even without the necklace incident, Minato would have requested early graduation anyway to form a team with Nawaki, preventing him from carelessly throwing his life away.
"Early graduation? Yes, yes!" Kushina's eyes lit up. "Can I form a team with Minato too?"
"Of course!" Minato nodded readily.
"Yay!" Kushina cheered, having secured Minato's agreement.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Nawaki, who had been lurking behind the door, eagerly anticipating a dramatic confrontation, burst into the living room. "What about me? You got me kicked off the team, Minato—you have to take responsibility, right?"
Don't make it sound like that...
Minato chuckled helplessly. "You'll join too, and Mikoto-nee as well?"
"Huh? Me? But Root..." Mikoto hesitated, instinctively wanting to refuse.
She couldn't abandon her position in Root—it was a hard-won concession from the clan, obtained by trading the Police Department's authority.
"I'll explain the situation to Senior Orochimaru and keep you on the roster," Minato assured her.
Minato explained, "Even though we're graduating early, the three of us are still Genin. By the rules, we need a Chūnin to lead us."
Nawaki asked, "Then why not ask Big Sis to lead us?"
Minato was speechless for a moment. "Teacher is constantly on standby, helping out at the hospital, and has to rush to the front lines immediately if war breaks out. Do you want to work her to death?"
"Haha, you're right~" Nawaki grinned awkwardly.
"Mikoto-nee, do you have any questions?" Minato turned to Mikoto.
"No, I don't," she replied, shaking her head.
The Uchiha Clan valued strength above all else, and even someone as gentle as Mikoto couldn't help but be influenced by this atmosphere.
Minato was four years younger than her, yet his strength far surpassed hers. She had long been convinced by the power he displayed.
Moreover, due to Orochimaru's arrangements, she subconsciously held Minato in high regard, even harboring a hint of admiration for him.
Minato nodded. "Then it's settled!"
Just as he finished speaking, the front door creaked open.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back!"
Tsunade entered the living room, her gaze sweeping across the faces of the group before finally settling on Mikoto.
As she looked at Mikoto's refined and elegant face, and felt the gentle aura radiating from her, Tsunade's eye twitched slightly.
This has nothing to do with Minato!
Tsunade silently prayed, then forced a friendly smile. "And this is..."
"Uchiha Mikoto, Senior Orochimaru's disciple," Minato introduced. "Senior Orochimaru has been quite busy lately, so he asked me to help teach her while she trains."
Damn that Orochimaru!
Tsunade roared inwardly.
But on the surface, she had to maintain her elder's demeanor: "Haha, I never thought that bastard Orochimaru would take on a disciple."
Disciple or not, Uchiha or not, she didn't care about any of that now. Her mind was solely focused on settling the score with Orochimaru.
Bullshit about "helping to teach"! That guy definitely had ulterior motives!
With Orochimaru's abilities, why would he need someone else to teach his student?
After all these years, who didn't know who was who?
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