An Encounter

"Kushina... Katsuki!"

In the quiet room, Mito sat by the bedside, stroking the papers in her hand. She had read this thick stack of documents over and over again for the past three days.

She was old now. The battles of her youth had drained her vitality. If not for the Uzumaki clan's powerful life force, she might have left this world long ago. Yet, even her prolonged existence was coming to an end. She could feel her life slowly slipping away and wouldn't last much longer.

"Nawaki, come with me for a walk outside."

Mito beckoned.

"Huh? Grandma, the doctor said you should stay home and rest. You... you... it's better if you stay home. There are too many people outside, and the air is bad. It's not good for your health." Nawaki was anxious, his face flushed red. He spread his arms like a mother hen, blocking the doorway.

"Haha!"

The old woman, over eighty years old, was amused by her grandson's worried expression.

"It's alright, Nawaki. I know my own body best. I'm just going for a short walk. I... I haven't left this mansion in a long time. I want to see what Konoha is like now with my own eyes."

"My time is short, but there's still one very important matter I can't decide on. I'm hesitant, and I want to go out for a walk."

Nawaki froze. He slowly lowered his outstretched hands and stood silently at the doorway for a moment before resolutely saying, "I'll go prepare."

"Is this Konoha now? It's changed so much... It's much livelier than before." Mito wore a straw hat and a simple gray and white outfit. She stopped every few steps, gazing intently at the plants, trees, and passersby around her.

"If it weren't for the war still going on in the Land of Rain, the village would be even livelier," Nawaki muttered.

Mito and Nawaki walked through the streets, looking like a grandmother and grandson out for a stroll.

Despite being over eighty, the Uzumaki clan's strength was not a myth. The old woman's steps were not fast, but they were steady, unlike ordinary trembling elders.

"Grandma, if you're tired, we can find a place to rest," Nawaki asked worriedly.

Mito squinted, remaining silent, standing under the shade of a tree, watching two girls laughing across the street.

"Sister Kushina, how's this hairpin?" Uchiha Otome picked up a pink hairpin from a stall and showed it to Kushina.

"Mmm, this style is really nice!"

Unlike the snail's pace when escorting supplies, their return was swift and efficient. Even the wounded gritted their teeth and endured, all eager to get back to the village. In just one day, they had returned, such was the efficiency of ninja.

For ninja, war was merely a mission: kill a person or two, wander in the Land of Rain for two months, and then return to the village for rest, awaiting the next rotation.

Otome, who couldn't go to the front lines with them, came looking for Kushina and pestered her with questions. As for her brother at home, there was no need to talk to such a "cockroach"-like creature; she could find out what she wanted from Kushina anyway. Thus, the two of them went out shopping together today.

As for Katsuki, he was shut away, training hard. Anyway, his older sister wasn't hanging out with that blonde guy, and he was contemplating whether to find trouble with someone. In short, he was a bit busy.

Kushina and Otome had been wandering the streets for quite some time. Kushina looked around, considering whether to go home and cook or have lunch with Otome outside. Suddenly, she saw a kind old woman standing under a large, leafy old tree by the roadside.

"Great Aunt Mito, why are you out? The weather is very hot today." Kushina, pulling Otome along, hurried over.

Otome, a little dazed, followed suit and bowed, then looked at the old woman with her big, bright eyes. No matter how smart she was, she was still young. She simply thought this elder was a relative of Kushina's.

"You girls go play. Don't bother with an old woman like me. Nawaki is with me." Mito gently patted Kushina's head.

"It's okay. Otome and I can go play anytime. Since you've finally come out, we'll accompany you. Nawaki... Nawaki is a boy, he's not as considerate as we are." Kushina mumbled, finding it hard to call the boy, who was only a couple of years older than her, "uncle."

Otome nodded vigorously beside her, adding, "Kushina and I have already been playing all morning."

Mito didn't mind. Nawaki was relieved. Being called "uncle" by a girl only a year or two younger than him was something he gladly accepted.

"You kids..."

Mito shook her head but didn't refuse the youngsters' kind offer.

The group of four continued to wander aimlessly. Mito would point in a direction, and the small group would go explore. They were having fun wandering like this, but it was a headache for the Anbu guards secretly watching them. Large numbers of Anbu were closely following the group, and their aimless route forced the leaders to dispatch more personnel to set up defenses along the way.

Even Hiruzen, sitting in the Hokage Building, began monitoring the entire situation. The crystal ball showed the figures of one elder and three youngsters.

Kushina seemed to sense something and glanced around. She instinctively started to form hand seals to find the intruder, but Mito immediately grabbed her clasped hands.

"It's alright, they mean no harm." Mito stopped Kushina with a kind and gentle smile before squinting and asking, "Kushina, have you mastered the Mind's Eye of the Kagura yet?"

"Yes, I learned it a few months ago, but I can still only sense targets within a kilometer. Beyond that range, it doesn't work," Kushina replied, lowering her head slightly in frustration.

Mito remained silent for a moment, then suddenly pointed to a small park above them. "Let's go sit there."

Ancient trees, requiring several people to embrace, cast a large patch of shade with their lush green leaves, dispelling the summer heat. Wooden benches were hidden in the cool shade, feeling slightly cold to the touch. Cicadas chirped noisily from the trees.

Speaking of which, the Land of Rain was truly a place with no distinct seasons. It was constantly cold and damp with wind and rain all year round. It wasn't until Kushina and the others returned to the Land of Fire that they realized it had suddenly become summer.

She drifted off for a moment. In the two days since returning to the village, she had found herself spacing out from time to time. Suddenly, details of the Land of Rain would surface in her mind: the overly humid air, the disgustingly sticky tables and chairs, the bodies covered in blood. She thought she would never recall such things after leaving the Land of Rain, but it was to no avail...

"What are you thinking about?"

A gentle voice sounded in her ear. Kushina blinked. Outside the shade was the blinding sunlight, and the noisy cicadas echoed in her ears. She immediately felt ashamed. She had spaced out again, and this time in front of an elder.