At the Hokage's residence.
After Anko brought the two children back, she gave all the women in the house quite a scare.
Ayari hurriedly reached into Naruto and Sasuke's collars and found a red magatama necklace on each of them. Only after confirming that neither was damaged did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
These had been specially made for the children. Once they detected hostile Chakra, they would activate automatically and connect to the Sunlight Tower, which would immediately fire a beam of light capable of protecting and transporting them away.
Ayari repeatedly thanked Anko, but Anko merely waved it off with an unconcerned look.
Mikoto and Kushina were both sternly scolding the children for daring to run outside during such a dangerous time. Kushina in particular reacted intensely, gripping Naruto's shoulders with both hands.
After being scolded by his mother, Sasuke behaved himself. Naruto, however, looked completely unconvinced.
"We went to help Dad beat up the bad guys!"
Kushina's eyes instantly reddened. She was angry and disappointed, yet she did not continue scolding Naruto. Instead, she silently returned to her bedroom.
Anko had no interest in watching their family drama and took her leave. She did not mention whom Naruto and Sasuke had encountered; she had merely brought them home.
Mikoto began coaxing Naruto, saying that Kushina was only worried something might happen to him, that it was truly dangerous outside, and so on.
Seeing his mother's reaction, little Naruto seemed to realize that he had been wrong. He lowered his head and remained silent.
"Go apologize to your mother."
Watching Naruto obediently head to Kushina's bedroom, Mikoto let out a sigh as well.
"Kushina, she..."
"It's fine," Ayari simply said.
Kushina sometimes acted like a single mother in this household. Her once carefree personality had become