Uchiha

That woman was quite beautiful, and she looked very gentle at a glance.

"Little friend, who are you looking for?"

"Hello, big sister. May I ask..."

"Mikoto~ Who is it?!" A familiar voice came from inside the room.

"It's a little friend from the Hyuga Clan," the woman called Mikoto answered gently.

"Is little Bai Yue here?" Kushina immediately appeared.

"Hello, Master's Wife!" Damn! That scared me to death. I thought my memory had failed me and I'd come to the wrong place!

But this woman—Mikoto? Could she be Uchiha Mikoto, the mother of the Ninja World's second-greatest filial son?!

I'd heard that Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto were best friends. I hadn't expected it to be true?!

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and someone from the Uchiha Clan were best friends?! What the hell were Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others so guarded against?!

It was downright ridiculous!

"So it really is you, little Bai Yue!" Kushina was delighted to see Bai Yue after several months apart. "Have you been unbanned?"

"Yes. The dust has settled, so I presumably won't encounter any more attacks." Bai Yue answered helplessly.

"The dust has settled? What do you mean?" Kushina was a little curious.

"Nothing~" Feeling that he shouldn't taint this cheerful woman with Konoha's darkness, Bai Yue changed the subject directly. "Master's Wife, I came bearing gifts today!"

"Gifts? What's there to give?!" Kushina rolled her eyes. "People have been constantly coming to visit Minato these past few days. Minato's been so troubled by it!"

"It can't be helped. After all, Teacher Minato is about to become the Fourth Hokage." Bai Yue smiled helplessly. "That's why I came to bring a gift too."

"You kid! Minato will be troubled, you know!" She slapped Bai Yue on the shoulder. It was a good thing Bai Yue had trained, or he would have been grimacing in pain.

"Actually, this is perfectly normal! It's not about currying favor with the future Fourth Hokage, but about building a closer relationship with the future Fourth Hokage-sama." Bai Yue said with a grin. "I don't know what the others gave, but the gift from our Hyuga Clan isn't particularly valuable."

"As they say, gifts should be reciprocated. Teacher Minato might as well accept it," Bai Yue continued. "Then, when the opportunity is right, he can return the favor. Only through mutual exchange can relationships improve, right?"

"Go tell your Teacher Minato that yourself." Kushina rolled her eyes again. Social niceties were far too troublesome!

"Oh, right, Master's Wife! Among my family's gifts is something from me as well!"

"Really? Then I have to see it!" Bai Yue's words immediately piqued Kushina's curiosity, and she moved to open the gift box at once.

"No!" Bai Yue immediately stopped her. "My gift will be more meaningful if Master's Wife and Teacher Minato look at it together."

"Fine then~" She forcibly suppressed her curiosity.

"Then I won't disturb Master's Wife and her friend's gathering any longer!" With that, Bai Yue got up and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Kushina immediately called Bai Yue back, planting her hands on her hips. "Master's Wife is going to test your studies."

Hearing that, Bai Yue formed the Boar Seal with one hand. In an instant, several Chakra Chains appeared around him.

Like venomous snakes, Ready to Strike!

"!!!" She was stunned!

My disciple! How was he this amazing?! No, I can't let him get too full of himself!

"Ahem, ahem~" After coughing twice and composing herself, Kushina said solemnly, "Not bad, not bad. Being able to learn Adamantine Sealing Chains at your age does indeed qualify you as a genius, but you still need to work hard! Understand?"

"Okay~" Suppressing a laugh, Bai Yue slowly nodded.

I can't laugh~ Otherwise, she might beat me up out of embarrassment!

"Go on, go on!" Having maintained her "teacherly dignity," Kushina waved him off grandly.

"Goodbye, Master's Wife!" After waving, Bai Yue left even more grandly!

"Kushina, your disciple is really incredible. He's clearly still so young—not even old enough to enter the Ninja Academy—yet he's already learned such advanced Sealing Jutsu!"

"Right, right! My disciple is a genius!" Kushina's pride nearly soared into the sky!

"I'm so jealous. I hope Itachi can be just as much of a genius!"

"That kid Itachi is definitely a genius too!" Kushina immediately declared.

"..."

After leaving Minato's home, Bai Yue wandered around leisurely.

Having not gone out to relax in a long time, he now felt that the bustle of everyday life was the finest scenery.

"As expected~ Humans are social creatures!" Bai Yue stretched comfortably and decided to relax a little today.

Dumplings?

They seemed to be a fairly famous Naruto snack, right?!

He should try some.

After paying, he received a small paper box containing three skewers of tri-colored sweet rice dumplings.

He took a bite~

Mm... how should I put it? Sweets! Soft and chewy. For someone like Bai Yue, who didn't particularly like sweet food, having a little now and then was fine, but too much would only become cloying.

Overall, it wasn't bad.

"Those familiar figure-eight nasolabial folds! Heh heh~" Bai Yue clicked his tongue in amazement. "And that slightly older Uchiha boy beside him—he must be Uchiha Shisui, the Ninja World's Most Innocent, right?!"

He had only just run into Uchiha Mikoto, and then immediately encountered the Ninja World's Number One Filial Son and the Ninja World's Most Innocent.

Seriously, the Uchiha Clan really did produce talent after talent!

All he could say was that acquaintances tended to show up in clusters!

Looking at that immature little fellow, Bai Yue saw that despite his deep demeanor, he still showed delight upon tasting food he liked.

After giving them a brief glance, Bai Yue turned and left.

He had no desire to deal with those two.

One had stupidity written all over his face, while the other was rational to the point of inhumanity. They were both fucking lunatics!

One was a Ninja, yet exposed all his trump cards, only to be killed and have his eyes taken by Danzō Shimura, who feared his abilities.

The other had fallen into a trolley problem: either total annihilation, or leave only his younger brother alive. His choice had been correct, but it was simply too rational!

So rational that it was inhuman!

All he could say was that the Uchiha, that emotionally rich "Clan of Love," truly were all fucking lunatics!

If it had been Bai Yue, his first thought would only have been to run. Only if he truly couldn't escape would he consider fighting for his life. Even if he died, he would find a way to tear a chunk of flesh from his enemy.

Rather than weighing the pros and cons and becoming a living beast that slaughtered his parents just to preserve his younger brother's life.

Being moved by your own actions wasn't the same as being moving.

This had directly caused Sasuke Uchiha, the only one who could be considered normal, to be forcibly driven insane by his own brother.

After distancing himself from the Uchiha Clan's two great gods, Bai Yue continued wandering around.

"Was that an illusion?!" Although Bai Yue's scrutinizing gaze had not lingered for long, it still caught Uchiha Shisui's attention.

All that could be said was that a Ninja's sixth sense was incredibly sharp! Just one glance was enough to make him wary.

"What is it, Brother Shisui?"

"Nothing. Maybe it was just my imagination."