The door was pushed open.
Hinata walked in carrying two huge insulated lunch boxes. Behind her were Boruto, Kawaki who had just returned, and the timid gray-haired girl.
"Why are you all standing here?" Hinata broke the deadlock with a smile, "No one has eaten, right? I made sukiyaki, let's eat it here."
"In this office?" Shikamaru was stunned for a moment, "Isn't this against the rules..."
"What does it matter?" Naruto smelled the fragrance and his stomach immediately growled unsatisfactorily. He immediately pushed all the documents on the table aside to make a large space, "Come on, come on, let's eat the most!"
Kiyomi stood at the door, afraid to go in. The brightness, warmth, and the atmosphere called "family" here made her feel dizzy.
"Come in." Boruto pulled her in, "My mother's sukiyaki is Shinobi World's best! Especially the beef, I'm so slow!"
"I want to eat meat." Kawaki unceremoniously squeezed Boruto away and sat down on Naruto's Hokage chair.
"Hey! That's dad's seat!"
"It belongs to whoever sits on it."
Seeing the two teenagers fighting for position, Kiyomi stood there at a loss.
A warm hand gently placed on her shoulder.
Hinata crouched down and his eyes were level with hers. The pair of Byakugan were not as sharp as in battle, but full of gentleness.
"Kiyomi, right?" Hinata took out a pair of clean chopsticks and handed them to her, "Welcome to Leaf. I am the mother of Boruto and Kawaki."
"Mom... Mom?" Kiyomi repeated this unfamiliar word.
"Yeah." Hinata touched her head, "Eat first. Once you're full, you won't be cold anymore."
Kiyomi took the chopsticks. In the steaming hot pot, the beef was tumbling in the soup, and the tofu was filled with juice.
She carefully picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth.
Hot.
But, it's delicious.
Tears suddenly fell down and dripped into the bowl.
"What's wrong? Is it too spicy?" Boruto asked vaguely with his mouth full of meat.
"No..." Kiyomi shook his head and ate with big mouthfuls, tears flowing more and more fiercely, "Yes... it's so delicious."
Naruto looked at this scene and showed his trademark silly smile. He turned to Shikamaru and said, "Did you see that? This is called resettlement."
"It's so troublesome." Although Shikamaru complained, he still walked over and picked up the bowl, "Forget it, you are Hokage anyway, you have the final say. But the meal will be deducted from your salary."
"Eh?! No Shikamaru!"
Outside the window, the Leaf night sky is dotted with stars.
And in the distant gap in the alien space, a pair of golden eyes were watching all of this coldly.
"Hmph... Is this the so-called Bond?" Code held a white chess piece in his hand and crushed it into powder, "It's really disgusting. Just wait, Leaf. The game has just begun."
Kiyomi's life in Leaf started in the hospital.
Although Naruto has decided to take her in, physical examination and isolation observation are essential procedures. Especially the old guy Amado has shown great "scientific research interest" in Kiyomi's current physical condition. If Sakura hadn't threatened to dissect him with a scalpel, Kiyomi would have had half a pound of blood drained every day.
The ward is a special care single room, with flowers sent by Ino on the window sill, and snacks brought by Boruto on the bedside table - mostly hamburgers and potato chips.
"I said..." Sarada was peeling an apple and looking at Kiyomi who was stuffing potato chips into his mouth, "You will have unbalanced nutrition if you eat like this. And these are all junk food."
"But it's delicious." Kiyomi puffed out her cheeks like a hamster. Her complexion was much better than when she first arrived. Her originally pale skin had a little blood color, and her silver-gray hair was washed clean and draped smoothly on her shoulders.
"Don't listen to her." Boruto sat on the window frame and swung his legs, "Ninjas need to replenish high calories! Right, Kawaki?"
Kawaki leaned against the door, holding a comic book in his hand, without raising his head. "Only an idiot would treat fried food as a staple food. Also, take your feet off the window sill to block the light."
"Are you looking for trouble?"
"You are too annoying."
Kiyomi watched the two bickering, with a slight curve at the corner of her mouth. She was used to this kind of noise. In Laboratory, silence means death, but here, noisy means alive.
At this moment, the door to the ward was pushed open.
The people who came in made the air in the room freeze instantly.
Wearing a white coat, holding a thick medical record folder in his hand, he had an unpredictable smile on his face.
Amado.
Kawaki almost subconsciously crumpled the comic book in his hand, tensed his body, and entered a fighting state. Boruto also jumped down from the window sill and blocked Kiyomi's bed.
"Don't be so nervous." Amado pushed up his glasses and said in a relaxed tone, "I'm just here for a routine checkup. After all, she is my... work."
"Previous work." Sarada corrected, "She is now a citizen of Leaf, Uchiha Kiyomi."
"Oh? Have you even decided on a last name?" Amado raised his eyebrows, "Sasuke-kun is really generous. However, no matter what her name is, her body structure is still Kara Organization's masterpiece. You can't change this."
He walked to the bed, ignored Boruto's hostile eyes, and took out a stethoscope.
"Have you felt uncomfortable in any way recently? For example... hearing hallucinations? Or seeing some non-existent geometric figures?"
Kiyomi shrank his neck and shook his head. Facing Amado, the fear engraved in his bones still existed.
"That's good." Amado put away the stethoscope, "It seems that the effect of Physical Plugin is more stable than expected. However, there is bad news."
"Have you ever had good news?" Kawaki asked coldly.
"It depends on how you define "good"." Amado took out a small transparent bottle from his pocket, which contained a few blue pills. "Her cell division rate is three times that of ordinary people. This means that her life span will be very short. Without intervention, she will probably only live to be twenty years old."
There was dead silence in the room.
Kiyomi's hand holding the potato chips stopped in mid-air.
"Are you kidding?" Boruto grabbed Amado's collar, "Didn't you say you have cured her?"
"I have only solved the problems of self-destruction and control." Amado let Boruto hold on, looking calm, "This is a flaw at the genetic level, the price of being "Rapid-Growth Vessel". If you want to extend your life, you need to continue to take this inhibitor. And..."
He paused and glanced at everyone present.
"Only I can prepare this medicine."
This is a naked bargaining chip.
Boruto gritted his teeth, clenched his fists loudly, and finally let go.
"Give me the medicine."