"What? Aren't you good at teaching disciples?"
Slowly drawing the curtains over the window in Yukina's second-floor room that faced Chiba and Itachi's direction, Kushina's lips curved into a relieved, gratified smile.
Looks like I don't need to worry anymore.
Then, this thought passed through her mind, along with the look in Chiba's eyes when he first saw Itachi today.
Back then, when she saw the helplessness in Chiba's gaze, she, who knew him inside and out, understood that there might be some hidden reason behind his acceptance of Itachi. That was why she had doubted Chiba's explanations several times afterward.
As far as Kushina was concerned, there were some things Chiba might be able to hide from Hirohiko, from Yukina, perhaps even from all the truly formidable people—but he could not hide them from her.
She could tell that Chiba accepting Itachi as his disciple might not have been because of Fugaku's request at all. When he said that, he had clearly been concealing something, and he had been considering Itachi's feelings. The truth absolutely could not have been as he described it.
He might not have lied, but he had definitely hidden something.
As for what he had hidden, Kushina could not guess, nor did she want to ask him.
Still, she could not help worrying. Chiba seemed somewhat unwilling about this matter, and she feared that he would slack off and fail to teach Itachi properly.
To be honest, she truly liked Itachi, but she would not force Chiba to devote so much effort to teaching him. She could see that Chiba was already too busy to spare attention elsewhere. She understood that Chiba had no extra energy left. The things he had done during this period—let alone for an eleven-year-old child—even an outstanding young adult might