Upon arriving at the gates of Konoha, Itachi skillfully took down the guards at the entrance. Coincidentally, the guards today were the same two that Senga had encountered before.
Kisame emerged from the shadows carrying Samehada. He glanced at the two men on the ground and raised his sword to strike.
Itachi suddenly turned his head and whispered,
"Stop!"
Samehada in mid-air. Kisame tilted his head and asked...
"Mr. Itachi, if they wake up, won't you be in danger?"
Itachi's Three-Tomoe Sharingan gleamed crimson in the night, and he said in a deep voice,
"They've fallen under my Genjutsu and won't wake up tonight. Besides, we're just here to gather intelligence; let's not cause any trouble!"
Kisame held Itachi in high esteem. He withdrew Samehada and slowly nodded.
"Alright, Mr. Itachi, please be careful. If you cause any trouble, I'll come in and help you immediately!"
A rare warmth welled up in Itachi's heart, and he said softly,
"Well, thank you then, Kisame."
Kisame grinned, revealing a row of jagged teeth that looked quite eerie.
Itachi nodded to him, then his body transformed into scattered crows and flew towards Konoha.
Minato's home,
Senga and the others were sitting together eating dinner. Naruto kept picking at the food in his bowl, while Minato smiled warmly and said softly,
"Naruto, eat slowly, I'll get you more when you're done!"
Senga glanced at Minato and thought to herself that this guy was becoming more and more effeminate, and he couldn't hide his submissive aura anymore!
Naruto's mouth was full of food, and he mumbled indistinctly.
"Mmm... Dad, your cooking is so delicious, it's almost as good as Ichiraku Ramen!"
Minato was taken Ichiraku Ramen, and it did taste good, but in Naruto's mind, it was actually better than the food he cooked?
He was very confident in his cooking skills. Previously, he was too busy with work Hokage, so Kushina cooked the meals at home.
Kakashi whispered from the side,
"Teacher, Naruto never ate anything good when he was little. The merchants never sold him fresh food. Only the owner of Ichiraku Ramen Shop didn't care about his background and often took care of him!"
"I see..."
Minato also recalled the scenes he had seen of Naruto when he was a child.
The ramen shop owner appears frequently in the photos, and every time he does, he has a kind expression, which contrasts sharply with the others.
Thinking of this, Minato's slight jealousy vanished instantly, replaced by gratitude for the ramen shop owner's Teuchi.
He patted Naruto's head and said...
"Naruto, how about Dad takes you to Ichiraku Ramen tomorrow?"
"What? Really? That's great! I still have lots of ramen coupons. Senga- senpai and Kakashi-sensei, do you want to come along?"
Kakashi waved his hand, deciding it was best not to disturb the father and son.
Senga put down her chopsticks and said,
"I won't go, but it wouldn't be good for just the two of you to go. Let's wait a bit longer."
Minato and Naruto exchanged a glance; neither of them understood what Senga meant.
Senga smiled and glanced at the photo hanging on the wall. It was a picture of Minato and Kushina, the two of them snuggling together, smiling brightly.
Minato was still somewhat unwilling to give up, and just as he was about to ask a question, a knock on the door suddenly sounded.
Naruto immediately raised his hand and shouted,
"I'll go open the door!"
When he lived alone, very few people would come to visit him, especially at dinner time, when people were having dinner with their families.
So Naruto was unusually excited. He ran out and flung open the door.
Upon seeing the person who arrived, Naruto was first stunned, then overjoyed.
"Sasuke!? What are you doing here? Come in quickly!"
Sasuke, however, showed no intention of going in. He simply asked a question.
"Senga... is Senpai here?"
Naruto's expression froze; he had thought Sasuke had come to see him, but he still nodded and said...
"Senga is inside. What do you need him for?"
Sasuke nodded and muttered to himself,
"It's good that he's here..."
A determined look appeared in his eyes as he walked straight into the house, ignoring Naruto.
Naruto quickly turned around and followed, whispering to Sasuke,
"You still dare to come looking for Senior Senga? Aren't you afraid he'll beat you up again?"
Sasuke paused, glared at Naruto, and cursed.
"Idiot!"
"What?! I kindly reminded you, and you call me an idiot?!"
Sasuke the urge to slap Naruto and followed the scent to the restaurant.
Kakashi was startled to see Sasuke, wondering why he was here. He had no connection with Sasuke -Minato-sensei!
Minato stood up abruptly, and said with a smile,
"You must be Sasuke? Naruto mentioned you to me, saying you're his best friend."
Naruto panicked as soon as he heard this, and he shouted,
"Dad, what are you saying?! I never said anything like that!"
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, a subtle smile playing on his lips. Only Senga noticed it, and he couldn't help but think to himself, "..."
"Why don't you two just get married right here!"
Minato looked at Naruto and said, feigning surprise,
"So this is what you said? You said you absolutely had to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, and now that he's back, why are you denying it? Are you just embarrassed?"
Naruto's face turned bright red, and you could even see steam rising from his head.
Sasuke was deeply moved once again. He pinched his thigh to calm himself down.
Then, staring at Senga, he knelt down with a thud amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd and shouted,
"Senior Senga! Please take me as your disciple!"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He was also Sasuke's teacher, so he felt like he was being openly NTR'd.
Naruto looked stunned, while Minato smiled as he looked at Senga.
Senga slowly rose from her chair, walked to Sasuke, and asked calmly,
Give me a reason.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan and spoke, word by word.
"For power!"
"What do you need power for? Do you still want to seek revenge on Itachi?"
"No! I just want to become stronger! I want Itachi to know that I no longer need his protection! I'm going to bring him back!"
Naruto blinked to himself, thinking to himself, "I know this stuff all too well!"
Senga looked into Sasuke's eyes and shook her head.
Sasuke's eyes immediately dimmed, thinking that Senga had rejected him.
He got up from the ground and said in a low voice,
"Excuse me."
After saying that, Sasuke was about to turn and leave when Senga suddenly spoke up.
"He's back."