Fierce Battle (Part 1)

By the time Kushina arrived, she found the table already laden with food. Asuka and Mikoto were seated at opposite ends of the sofa, engrossed in the program playing on the television.

"You didn't have to wait for me!" Kushina said tiredly as she took off her shoes.

Mikoto stood up and lifted the lid off the pot. As she served the rice, she said, "Kushina, you've worked hard. You probably haven't had a hot meal in days, have you?"

Kushina froze slightly, then felt a warm current rise in her heart.

Lately, she had been guarding Naruto every day, her nerves constantly stretched taut. Her sleep had been cut drastically short as well. As for hot meals, she would take a few bites when she remembered, and skip them when she did not. How could she have cared whether the food was hot or not? Splash!

Kushina then pulled over a chair and sat down. She carefully examined the lavish spread before her. Though she had no appetite at all, she still pretended to be hungry and filled a large bowl to the brim with rice.

But after sitting back down, Kushina bit down on her chopsticks and had no idea what to eat. Or rather, there was nothing she felt like eating.

Sensing the gloom around the table, Mikoto picked up a piece of fish for her and asked softly, "Now that the war has begun, the village won't have enough people left to guard it. Are you being relocated?"

Kushina nodded lightly, then took a bite of fish before replying.

"Other than a small number of people staying behind, nearly every ninja in the village will be deploying. I'll probably head to the Land of Lightning with the main force, but the exact details are still unclear."