A Whole Lot of Trouble

"Speaking of which, Otoha, how did you know I went to spar with Minato?"

With clothes on, you can talk at length without worrying about the occasional stares from passersby on the street.

"Hey? Don't you realize that going to Root challenge them so openly is bound to be known? Almost everyone in the village with a bit of information knows about it. Although Minato has managed Root like an iron Minato, he won't interfere unless it involves classified information."

The two walked to the water tower and stood in the shadows, avoiding the large fireball in the sky that was radiating light and heat.

"I didn't think too much at the time, I just charged forward based on my momentum."

"Hey, that's such a boring answer! You could at least come up with a more impressive and grand excuse!"

Otoha leaned against the cold exterior of the water tower, a chill ran down her spine, and she shivered.

"Hey! What's the point of thinking about that kind of thing? Anyway, not many people dare to ask me why I did it. Besides, even if I come up with a good excuse, people will probably still guess. So, I'm too lazy to bother. I have important things to do." He gently touched the water tower with his fingers, and the cool air flowed into his fingertips, dispelling the heat from his body.

"Is the important thing... the Nine-Tails?"

Otoha suddenly spoke.

"Hmm... How did you know?" Katsuki looked at Otoha in surprise.

"It's not that hard to guess." Otoha leaned against the water tower, her expression indifferent. "I can tell from your attitude towards the Five-Tails Jinchuriki. Also, don't forget we're childhood friends, so I know a bit about your thoughts. Kushina's matter is something you're obsessed with."

"Childhood sweethearts... I really don't want to hear that word from your mouth. It makes my heart ache and I feel a little disgusted!"

Katsuki clicked her tongue, looking utterly disgusted.

"Hmph! Changing the subject? If you don't want to talk about it, fine. But what are you going to do about Otome's matter? I only found out when I got home that many other family members from various branches of the clan have come to Father to ask him to arrange marriages for my sister, although she has rejected them all." Otoha stared at Katsuki.

The Uchiha follows the rule of endogamy to ensure the purity of the clan's bloodline and to prevent the Sharingan from being lost to outsiders.

If a large family is divided into many branches, the branches can form marriage alliances based on their bloodline.

Of course, this doesn't mean the Uchiha won't absorb bloodlines from outside the clan. As long as it's not the main branch, other branches won't care too much about it. It's just that the girls won't marry out; they'll only take in male relatives.

"······I see."

She responded with a muffled sound, Katsuki mouth opening and closing like Toad's, but she couldn't utter any more words.

"Hey! What do you mean by 'I know'? You're so weak and powerless, can't you react more aggressively?" Otoha questioned her sharply, grabbing Katsuki's collar.

Luckily, I gave this guy my jacket beforehand, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to grab his collar.

This thought suddenly popped into my mind.

Otoha shook his head sharply, banishing the distracting thoughts, and continued to glare fiercely at Katsuki.

"Let go! I'll count to three, if you don't let go, I guarantee I'll beat you until your face is covered in bruises."

"Stop babbling, you idiot..."

Otoha didn't utter any harsh words because Katsuki had started the countdown.

When the count reached 'one, 'Otoha swiftly released her grip and stepped back a short distance, still maintaining her provocative gaze.

"I won't forget this even if you don't tell me, it's impossible for me to forget. I have my own plans." Katsuki let out a heavy sigh, smoothing out her crumpled collar. "Is there anything else? If not, get out of the way. I've been quite busy lately."

There are indeed many things to do.

Persuading Kushina was one thing, starting research on the Bloodline Disease of the Kaguya Clan was another, and Otome's matter was yet another.

Don't rush, do it one thing at a time, in order of importance, and then do them one by one.

"Tch! I hope you really remember that."

After offering a jacket and uttering a few harsh words, Otoha left.

"What's going on! How come everything is happening all at once? I was so free just a while ago."

After Otoha left, Katsuki slapped her head in annoyance and muttered a complaint under her breath.

"Alright, let's... go and deal with Otome's matter first! We need my older sister's help anyway, so we can find an opportunity to get Otome to help persuade her. Next, we'll research the Bloodline Disease and extract the Nine-Tails... The order should be good. Sorry, Rokuro, I'll have to be patient for a while!"

Nineteen members of the Kaguya clan have contracted Bloodline Disease, all of whom are Jonin. Among them, Rokuro Kaguya was the last to develop the disease, but his condition is the most precarious.

However, this also means that as long as a treatment method can be developed within two years, it will be able to catch up, which is relatively easy compared to other options.

"...Let's ask Lady Tsunade for help in a couple of days! With her abilities, as long as my theory is correct, she might be able to develop a treatment method without me even having to lift a finger... But wait, if that happens, the Kaguya Clan will essentially be saved by the Senju Clan ... Let's wait a bit!"

Thoughts of shame, darkness, and filth swirled in her mind as Katsuki walked back, stepping onto the scorching rooftop.

At the same time.

Minato was not spared either.

Before he could even settle in at the Root building, the Lord Hokage's direct Anbu came knocking on his door. With no other option, he had to go back to the Hokage Building again.

To save time, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to a large tree outside the Hokage Building and then went inside.

"Minato, you've arrived. Please have a seat!"

Orochimaru smiled kindly and pointed to the sofa.

Once Minato was seated and sipping his hot tea, Orochimaru asked with a curious expression, "Minato, how did your match with Katsuki- kun go?"

Everyone is asking this question.

Minato's lips twitched slightly as he put down his teacup.

"We only exchanged a couple of simple blows. I'm confident I can escape. As for winning with the Flying Thunder God Technique... the chances are very, very small, practically zero. That guy Katsuki is really like a monster now, with extremely high stamina. It's hard to imagine anyone being able to defeat him in a head-on confrontation."

"Invincible in a head-on confrontation?"

"More or less, at least that's my assessment."

Minato nodded in affirmation.

"Have you heard anything about Kushina from Katsuki- kun?" Orochimaru asked casually.

"They told me. To be honest, I was quite startled. That Katsuki guy always likes to do things that are completely unexpected."

"So how confident do you think he is in persuading Kushina?"

Minato remained silent for a moment upon hearing this. Orochimaru, however, was not in a hurry. He gently flipped through the report in his hand, occasionally adding a few comments.

Finally, after two minutes, the Minato opened.

"Katsuki asked me a similar question before." (To be continued)