Mito Uzumaki's Adoption Offer

Tsunade was fighting Hoshiryu Uchiha over food. When she heard Mito's words, she was clearly a little slow to react.

She was still young, so naturally she did not understand the significance behind Mito Uzumaki's actions.

But when she thought of how she had just misunderstood Hoshiryu Uchiha's words, as well as the kindness he had shown—

She turned to look at Hoshiryu Uchiha's delicate features and bright, sunny smile.

As if she had misunderstood something again, Tsunade's face reddened. She put down the grilled meat she had just fought so hard to grab.

She immediately sat back down, her face red as she murmured:

"I... I don't really have any objections, but shouldn't we ask the person involved about this?"

Mito Uzumaki had lived this long; there was nothing she had not seen. One look at Tsunade's behavior told her that Tsunade had misunderstood.

Her words just now had probably made Tsunade think of Hoshiryu Uchiha as a child husband, which was why she had reacted that way.

It made her sigh inwardly. Did children these days understand so much even at such a young age?

Still, she did not expose Tsunade's little thoughts. Instead, she looked at Hoshiryu Uchiha and said:

"Little Tsunade is right. I neglected the opinion of the person involved."

"So, Little Xingliu, would you be willing to come with me?"

Mito Uzumaki's sudden invitation surprised Hoshiryu Uchiha. Then he realized that her invitation was not merely because she liked the look of him; she might have had other intentions.

They had only just met. Why would they adopt him for no reason? There was undoubtedly a deeper meaning behind this gesture.

Although Hoshiryu Uchiha was lazy at times, that did not mean he was stupid.

The original plot did not describe this period in much detail, so he could not be sure whether there had originally been someone else this lucky.

But now that such a good thing had fallen right into his lap, he might as well agree.

As long as he accepted Mito Uzumaki's invitation, it would do nothing but benefit his future ideals and plans.

So although Mito Uzumaki's invitation had come suddenly, Hoshiryu Uchiha considered it for a moment before giving his answer.

"But we only just met. We don't even know each other's names."

Mito Uzumaki spoke with a hint of apology:

"It's all right. I like you very much, and it's not too late to introduce ourselves now. My name is Senju Mito, and the one beside me is my granddaughter."

"What is your name?"

After speaking, Mito Uzumaki looked at Hoshiryu Uchiha expectantly, waiting for his final answer.

"My name is Hoshiryu Uchiha. I'm an Uchiha, you know. Can you really adopt me?"

Mito Uzumaki looked at the faint expectation in Hoshiryu Uchiha's eyes and nodded with a smile.

Seeing Mito Uzumaki nod, Hoshiryu Uchiha happily called out to the still-blushing Tsunade.

"That's great! Then let's get along well from now on!"

Tsunade stared blankly at the boy before her, who seemed to be shining. Still so young, she did not quite understand what affection was.

But looking at Hoshiryu Uchiha's happy smile, she felt happy as well.

"Mm!"

Tsunade flashed a wide smile and gave him an affirmative reply.

Beside them, Mito Uzumaki watched the two children interact with an indulgent smile.

It reminded her of her relationship with Hashirama Senju. Although they had met through an arranged match, and were already quite old when they met—

Hashirama Senju had been foolishly blank like a child, and she had taken the initiative in everything.

She had been the one to suggest both dates and marriage. Hashirama Senju had been as dumb as a block of wood.

Today, Mito Uzumaki kept recalling the past. When people grew old, they always reminisced about the beautiful memories of their youth. Even Mito Uzumaki was no exception.

She touched the two children's foreheads and gently scolded them in an affectionate tone:

"All right, this is a public place. Don't make such a fuss."

Even Hoshiryu Uchiha blushed at that. After all, his soul was not that of a child.

It was understandable for Tsunade to be so childish, but he had actually joined her in fooling around.

However, Hoshiryu Uchiha soon blamed it on his body. It had to be the hormones in this body affecting him and making him somewhat childish.

To regain a little dignity—or rather, so he would not be the only one embarrassed—he asked with an innocent expression:

"By the way, Sister said just now that she's Tsunade's grandmother. How old are you this year, Sister?"

The moment he finished speaking, Hoshiryu Uchiha felt a chill brush across his skin, raising goosebumps all over his body.

He stiffly looked toward Mito Uzumaki, who had been smiling moments ago. She was still smiling, but it sent chills down his spine.

She seemed to be shrouded in shadow, and boundless killing intent showed in her eyes.

The moment Hoshiryu Uchiha said those words, Tsunade used going to the bathroom as an excuse and slipped away.

Now completely isolated and without help, Hoshiryu Uchiha could only force himself to stay calm. He swallowed and said:

"I misspoke just now. I meant to ask whether I could call you Sister Mito from now on."

Only then did Mito Uzumaki's stormy expression clear, and she returned to her kind appearance from before.

The killing intent and shadows vanished like an illusion. For a moment, Hoshiryu Uchiha felt as though even the sunlight had become brighter.

"You can call me Sister Mito. You and Tsunade can each call me whatever you like."

"And be more careful with what you say from now on!"

Hoshiryu Uchiha let out a long breath, knowing he had escaped disaster.

It seemed that in any world, a woman's age was taboo.

Just then, Tsunade came running back from who knew where. After glancing at Mito Uzumaki's current state, she also let out a breath of relief.

Then she casually resumed eating grilled meat. Hoshiryu Uchiha, sitting beside her, was so angry his teeth itched.

He had not expected Tsunade to be so slippery. The moment something happened, she vanished, and he had not even seen how she escaped.

And she had done it so smoothly. It was obvious this was not the first time something like this had happened.

That gave him a bad feeling about the days ahead, living together with Mito Uzumaki.

But he could not afford to offend Mito Uzumaki. Could a mere Tsunade really turn the world upside down?

His stomach happened to be quite hungry too, so Hoshiryu Uchiha began retaliating by fighting Tsunade for food.

For a time, chopsticks blurred across the table as the grilled meat rapidly dwindled, the two evenly matched in battle.

But neither dared touch the grilled meat in front of Mito Uzumaki. They had not completely lost their heads in play and offended the big boss.

Time gradually passed amid the playful atmosphere. As more and more people left Barbecue Q, the "war" between Tsunade and Hoshiryu Uchiha also came to an end.

By then, Tsunade's belly was bulging. Clearly, she had forced herself to eat because she refused to accept losing to Hoshiryu Uchiha.

She looked at Hoshiryu Uchiha's completely flat stomach with an unwilling expression. Although she had expected it, losing to Hoshiryu Uchiha at eating still left her rather dejected.