What, They Actually Wanted to Die?

Kushina's guess was confirmed.

Having realized that Yamanaka Kei had stood up for her, she slowly stopped crying after a long while.

Satisfied, she hugged her knees and sat down in the corner of the sofa.

Perhaps because she had drunk too much, or perhaps because her emotions had swung so wildly that her body was overly exhausted.

Once she had calmed down, Kushina soon grew drowsy.

"I'll go heat up some bathwater for you. You can sleep in the guest room later."

When Yamanaka Kei saw Kushina close her eyes and give a slight nod, he got up and walked toward the bathroom.

By the time he had finished heating the bathwater and returned to the living room, Kushina had already curled up into a tiny ball and fallen asleep on the sofa.

He looked at Little Pepper. Even in sleep, her brows remained slightly furrowed, and tears still clung to her eyelashes.

Yamanaka Kei sighed softly, carried her into the guest room, and covered her with a blanket before turning around to wash up.

He half reclined in the bathtub.

He recalled everything that had happened at the Jonin Waiting Station that morning.

After confirming once again that he had not revealed anything suspicious, Yamanaka Kei finally relaxed a little.

In the original story, the only people explicitly recorded as being able to sense malice were Mito Uzumaki and Uzumaki Naruto, both Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki.

Otherwise, during the Fourth Shinobi World War, White Zetsu's Transformation Technique would not have left the entire Ninja Alliance helpless.

Kushina clearly had not yet reached the level of Mito Uzumaki, who could treat the Nine-Tails like a pet fox, casually squashing and kneading it however she pleased.

Nor had she reconciled with the Nine-Tails and become a perfect jinchuriki like Uzumaki Naruto.

Her vague ability to sense malice was purely because, after forcibly subduing the Nine-Tails with Adamantine Sealing Chains, she had seized a massive amount of Chakra from it.

In addition, although she had not awakened the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, her sensory ability was still extremely keen.

When facing Shimura Danzo, all the Chakra in her body had also been circulating at high speed.

It was only through the collision of several coincidences that she had happened to catch that fleeting, intense malice at the exact moment Yamanaka Kei attacked Danzo.

"I still need to be more careful from now on."

Yamanaka Kei secretly reflected on the matter.

As far as he knew, there were no other ways to sense malice in the Ninja World, but who knew what other bizarre methods might exist?

Just like the original story had never mentioned that Kushina could sense malice.

The plot was not omnipotent.

Being more cautious could never hurt.

After enjoying a comfortable bath, Yamanaka Kei dug out some notes on the plot that he had recorded with various code names, pinyin, and doodles right after crossing over.

He compared them with the many details of his memories that had resurfaced in his Memory Palace after the fusion of the two traits.

Bit by bit, he reorganized the information that was useful to him.

It was not until the moon hung high in the sky, when he began to feel tired, that he went to sleep fully clothed.

The moon was bright and the stars sparse. The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

When Yamanaka Kei woke up, Kushina had already slipped away.

Looking at the neatly folded bedding, he picked up the note pressed beneath the teacup.

I'm not messy at all, okay~ o(´^｀)o

Also, Kei-kun, you've gotten quite a bit bolder, haven't you~ You actually dared to secretly carry me~ (˘︶˘)...:*♡

The tiny smiling face and huge heart brought Yamanaka Kei a good mood for the day.

Just as Kushina had said, he really was much bolder now than before the System activated.

The old him would never have let a Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki stay the night.

Much less say that he wanted to knock Shimura Danzo over the head with a club.

During his nineteen years of living in Konoha, he had deeply understood how not to attract the attention of those schemers.

If he had been a little bolder back then...

"I would've been dragged away and warned by that bastard Shimura Danzo long ago!"

Yamanaka Kei curled his lips.

He knew his own identity very well, and he also knew what Kushina meant to Konoha.

If he had not deliberately maintained a neither-too-distant-nor-too-close relationship with her, that bastard Danzo would have come looking for him long ago.

But now...

He wanted to have a sweet romance with a fragrant and soft red-haired girl!

If those three old immortals—Shimura Danzo, Torifu Koharu, and Mitokado Homura—dared to cause trouble...

As it happened, he had been very interested in the so-called Ozaki Eight Items in his previous life.

And in this life, he had learned the Mind Body Switch Technique, a secret technique capable of controlling another person's body.

Hmm~

He could experience wingsuit flying in Hell Valley of the Land of Bears, speed down the Snow Mountain Summit in the Land of Snow on a snowboard, and go extreme surfing in the tsunamis of the Land of Sea...

If they thought those places were too far away, bungee jumping without a rope from Hokage Rock would also be a fine choice.

After all, he would not be the one dying even if they died. What, they actually wanted to die?

"Why am I kind of looking forward to them causing trouble sooner?"

Yamanaka Kei grinned and headed out in high spirits toward the Mission Assignment Office.

On Commercial Street, he casually ate two skewers of dumplings and two Onigiri to pad his stomach, which had started rebelling early that morning.

He wondered whether he should have the clan open a few breakfast shops in Konoha when he got back.

That would give the elderly and children in the clan a little extra income while also giving Konoha's villagers a small taste of culinary shock.

He did not dare make any other claims.

But Soy milk, Fried dough sticks, Tofu pudding, Buns, Sesame seed cake, Mutton soup, and the like...

With the memories stored in his Memory Palace during the fusion of the traits, he could still recreate them fairly well.

He arrived at the Mission Assignment Office.

He handed the duty Jonin, Nara Shikaku, the client's signed completion document for yesterday's mission.

Then he collected yesterday's mission payment.

Yamanaka Kei was just about to look for a suitable low-level mission.

But Nara Shikaku called out to him and led him into a small office on the side of the mission hall.

"Kei, are you used to being a Jonin leader?"

"Can I go back if I'm not?"

"No. I was just making a casual inquiry. Pretend you didn't hear me."

"Get to the point if there's something to say."

Yamanaka Kei and Nara Shikaku rolled their eyes at the same time.

The Ino-Shika-Cho clans had always been as close as family.

Only a year apart in age, they had also grown up together from childhood, running around in split-crotch pants. They understood each other's personalities far too well.

Beating around the bush and exchanging pleasantries simply did not suit them.

"The three subordinates under your command were carefully selected by Lord Hokage. Hmm... especially Yuhi Kurenai. You should preferably take her as a disciple and teach her properly."

Nara Shikaku considered his wording before offering the reminder.

"Yuhi Shinku?"

"Yes. The current situation in the Ninja World is unstable, and our Ino-Shika-Cho clans, as supporters of the Hokage faction..."

"Got it, got it. I'll teach them seriously."

Yamanaka Kei waved his hand with a bored expression.

When he had seen the team's lineup earlier, he had more or less guessed the purpose of Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Might Guy and Shiranui Genma both had spotless family backgrounds, and both were the sort who willingly sacrificed for their teammates.

Their specialties complemented each other, and none of them would feel uncomfortable getting along with the others.

As their Jonin leader, Yamanaka Kei naturally belonged to the Hokage faction because of his identity as a member of the Yamanaka Clan. He also excelled at Genjutsu and his clan's Yin Release Secret Technique, making him the most suitable person to teach Yuhi Kurenai.

Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly wanted to use Yuhi Kurenai to bind Yuhi Shinku to him, quickly win over the grassroots ninja, and prepare for the turmoil in the Ninja World.

As for Ebisu, who had been transferred to the Logistics and Teaching Department...

He was merely a pawn moved around at will under the pretext of making use of his strengths.

Although Yamanaka Kei disliked this sort of maneuvering, since he enjoyed the benefits brought by the Yamanaka Clan, there were some things he could not avoid.

All he could do was teach the three children properly and treat them as equally as possible.