Chance Encounter

"Kushina... Katsuki!"

In the quiet room, Mito sat by the bed, stroking the papers in her hands. She had read through this thick stack of documents over and over several times during the past three days.

She was already old. The battles of her youth had drained her vitality time and again. If not for the Uzumaki Clan's formidable life force, she might have left this world long ago. Yet even this lingering existence had reached its end. She could feel her life slowly slipping away, and she would not be able to hold on much longer.

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

Mito beckoned to him.

"Huh? Grandma, the doctor said you should stay home and rest. You... you... you should stay at home. There are too many people outside, and the air is bad too. It's not good for your health." Nawaki panicked, his face flushing as he spread his arms and blocked the doorway like a mother hen.

"Haha!"

The old woman, well past eighty, was amused by her grandson's anxious appearance.

"It's all right, Nawaki. I know my own body best. I'm only going to take a few steps. I... I haven't left this estate in a very long time. I want to see for myself what Konoha looks like now."

"I do not have much time left, but there is still one very important matter that I cannot decide. I am hesitating. I want to take a walk outside."

Nawaki froze. He slowly lowered his outstretched arms and stood silently at the door for a moment before saying resolutely, "I'll make preparations."

"Is this Konoha now? It's changed so much... It's much livelier than before." Mito wore a straw hat and plain gray-white clothes. She stopped every few steps, studying the plants, trees, and passersby around her with rapt attention.

"If the Land of Rain weren't still at war, the village would be even livelier," Nawaki muttered.

Mito and Nawaki walked down the street, looking just like a grandmother and grandson out for a stroll.

Though she was over eighty, the Uzumaki Clan's strength was no exaggeration. The old woman did not walk quickly, but every step was steady. She looked nothing like an ordinary frail, trembling elder.

"Grandma, if you get tired, let's find somewhere to rest," Nawaki said worriedly.

Mito narrowed her eyes without replying. Standing beneath the shade of a tree, she watched two girls laughing and playing across the street.

"Big Sister Kushina, what do you think of this hair clip?" Uchiha Otome picked up a pink hair clip from a stall and held it up for Kushina to see.

"Mm, the design is really nice!"

Unlike the tortoise-like pace they had kept while escorting supplies, their return journey had been swift and decisive. Even the wounded gritted their teeth and endured, each one eager to return home. In just one day, they had made it back to the village. That was the efficiency of ninjas.

To ninjas, so-called war was merely another mission: kill a few people, wander the Land of Rain for two months, then return to the village to recuperate and wait for the next rotation.

Otome, who had not gone to the front lines with them, came calling and pestered Kushina with endless questions. As for her brother at home, there was no need to talk to a creature like a "cockroach." She could learn whatever she wanted from Kushina anyway, so the two of them had gone shopping together today.

As for Katsuki, he had shut himself away to train. His sister was not hanging around with some blond-haired guy, and he was also considering whether to make trouble for someone. In short, he was rather busy.

Kushina and Otome had been wandering the streets for quite a while. Kushina looked around, considering whether to go home and cook or have lunch outside with Otome, when she suddenly spotted a kind-looking old woman standing beneath a lush old tree by the roadside.

"Great Aunt Mito, why are you out here? It's so hot today." Kushina grabbed Otome and hurried over.

Otome obediently followed and offered a greeting, then stared at the old woman with her large dark eyes. No matter how clever she was, she was still young, and simply assumed this elder was one of Kushina's relatives.

"You girls go have fun. There's no need to follow an old woman like me around. Nawaki is with me." Mito lightly patted Kushina on the head.

"It's fine. Otome and I can come out to play whenever we want. It's rare for you to leave home, so we'll accompany you for a walk. Nawaki... Nawaki is a boy. He can't be as attentive as we are." Kushina's lips moved awkwardly. This boy was only two years older than her, and she truly could not bring herself to call him uncle.

Otome nodded repeatedly beside her. "Big Sister Kushina and I have already been playing all morning."

Mito did not mind, and Nawaki let out a sigh of relief. Being called uncle by girls only one or two years younger than him was something he could certainly do without.

"You little ones."

Mito shook her head, but she did not refuse their goodwill.

The group of four continued wandering aimlessly. Mito pointed in a direction, and the little group would stroll that way. They were enjoying themselves, but the ANBU protecting them in secret were in agony. A large number of ANBU followed closely behind, and because of their purposeless route, several commanders had no choice but to deploy more personnel along the way.

Even Hiruzen, sitting in the Hokage Building, began monitoring them the entire time. Four figures—one old and three young—appeared in the crystal ball.

Kushina seemed to sense something and glanced around. Instinctively, she wanted to form hand seals and find the one spying on them, but Mito grabbed her hands the moment they came together.

"It's all right. They mean no harm." A gentle, kindly smile rested on Mito's face. After stopping Kushina, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Kushina, have you already mastered the Mind's Eye of the Kagura?"

"Yeah, I learned it a few months ago, but I can still only sense targets within about one kilometer. Anything beyond that is impossible." Kushina lowered her head somewhat dejectedly.

Mito remained silent. Then she suddenly pointed toward a small park uphill. "Let's sit over there."

Ancient trees so thick that several people would be needed to encircle them stood tall, their lush emerald leaves casting a broad swath of shade that drove away the summer heat. A natural wood bench lay hidden in the cool shadow, and it still felt slightly cold to the touch. Noisy cicadas chirped incessantly from the trees.

The Land of Rain truly had no distinction between seasons. Wind and rain continued all year round, cold and damp. Only after Kushina and the others returned to the Land of Fire did she suddenly realize that summer had arrived without her noticing.

She was a little distracted. During the past two days since returning to the village, she would occasionally lose herself in thought. Before she knew it, every detail of the Land of Rain would rise in her mind: the overly humid air, the clammy tables and chairs she especially hated, corpses drenched in streaming blood. She had thought that once she left the Land of Rain, she would never think of such things again, but things had not gone as she wished...

"What are you thinking about?"

A gentle voice sounded by her ear. Kushina blinked. Outside the shade, the sunlight was glaringly bright, while the noisy cicadas echoed beside her. Shame immediately welled up within her. She had drifted off again, and this time in front of an elder.