Important People

By the time Nawaki got home in the evening, the room was already filled with an enticing aroma.

He rushed inside, unable to wait. In the kitchen, Minato was cooking while Tsunade cleaned up the food scraps nearby. The atmosphere was wonderfully harmonious.

For some reason, though, Nawaki got the strange feeling that he'd come home to find Mom and Dad making dinner. Startled, he quickly shook his head and banished the ridiculous thought.

Tsunade was one thing. An older sister was as good as a mother, and over the years, Tsunade had given him what little tenderness she had and taken good care of him.

But what was Minato's deal?!

He was two years younger than me!

"Hm? You're back, Nawaki?"

Noticing him, Tsunade looked him over. "Go wash your hands. Dinner's almost ready."

"Oh..."

Suppressing the ridiculous thought, Nawaki answered and then looked at Minato curiously. "What are you making? It smells so good."

"Chicken and mushroom stew."

Minato didn't turn around. He tilted his head as he watched the chicken in the pot. "It's a shame I couldn't find the right mushrooms. It might not taste quite as good..."

"How could it taste any better? It already smells amazing..."

Nawaki sniffed, and his stomach immediately rumbled.

Minato shook his head without saying anything. Chicken and mushroom stew was supposed to be made with nameko mushrooms, but he hadn't seen any for sale.

Most of those mushrooms grew in the northeast. They looked ordinary, but tasted incredible and were highly nutritious.

Maybe he could try cultivating some fungi with Wood Release later, along with vegetables and fruits. No wonder the First had recorded so many cultivation techniques in his scroll...

With Wood Release, he could grow whatever fruits and vegetables he wanted on the spot. He could even try cultivating new varieties!

In theory, he could complete dozens or even hundreds of generations of crossbreeding in a single day. He could grow rice several meters tall and pumpkins as big as washbasins. Watermelons that tasted like strawberries weren't impossible, either. He might even be able to end famine across the entire Shinobi World all by himself!

At the thought, Minato couldn't help laughing to himself.

Some things really were etched into the soul...

"What are you laughing about?"

Tsunade noticed the smile on Minato's face and asked curiously.

"I was thinking that I could cultivate some high-yield crops, or vegetables and fruit that taste even better."

The soup had thickened. Minato turned up the heat to reduce the liquid before taking the pot off the stove.

"Cultivate crops..."

Tsunade paused, a hint of tenderness in her eyes.

"You Wood Release users really do like that sort of thing. My grandfather preferred growing potted plants. Come to think of it, you two are a lot alike—both of you are gentle and sunny."

At that, Minato froze for two seconds. Then, as if something had occurred to him, he suddenly snorted with laughter.

Tsunade looked puzzled. "What are you laughing at?"

Minato quickly shook his head. "N-nothing..."

"Really?"

"Really!"

Watching Minato bob his head like a pecking chick, Tsunade sensed something was off.

She raised an eyebrow and clenched her fist, making her knuckles crack. "No, something's up. Out with it!"

"Uh..."

Noticing Tsunade's movements, Minato went a little pale. "I'll tell you, but you can't hit me!"

"I'll try..."

Tsunade stood with a stern expression and her arms crossed over her chest. One foot tapped impatiently against the floor, as if to say that if he didn't hurry up, he'd be in for it.

"Um... Teacher Tsunade."

Minato swallowed. Knowing the reckless thing he was about to do, he somehow felt an inexplicable thrill of anticipation.

"Do you think I look like your grandfather?"

Thud!

The moment he finished speaking, Tsunade punched Minato on the head.

Then, with a bang, the Minato standing in front of her turned into a wooden carving.

Wood Substitution Technique!

"You little brat..."

A vein bulged on Tsunade's forehead as she turned toward the kitchen doorway. Minato stood there holding the freshly cooked chicken soup, grinning sheepishly.

"Lucky for you, you ran fast!"

Tsunade snorted, served herself some rice, and sat down at the table.

Nawaki had finished washing his hands and sat beside Tsunade. He picked up his chopsticks and eagerly grabbed a piece of chicken.

"Delicious! Hoo, hoo..."

"Slow down. You'll burn yourself."

Tsunade picked up a piece of chicken and ate it unhurriedly.

"Minato, your cooking is amazing!"

Nawaki praised him as he ate.

"It's not bad."

Minato smiled. He was happy to hear that people liked his cooking.

The head chef at the hotel where he'd worked in his previous life had once told him that he had a natural knack for seasoning and controlling the heat. He'd said Minato was born for the job, but had never studied to become a chef.

Minato was somewhat interested in cooking, but only in making things he liked to eat.

His tastes overlapped somewhat with Tsunade and Nawaki's, but he actually preferred spicy food.

"I'm so jealous... You're talented at ninjutsu, and you're a great cook, too. And on top of that, you're handsome."

Nawaki sighed. "My sister was right. You really are the strongest rival on my path to becoming Hokage."

Seeing him act so maturely, as though he'd finally met his match, Tsunade couldn't help smiling.

Minato laughed, too. "Don't worry. I'm actually not interested in becoming Hokage."

"Huh—?"

Nawaki stared at him, looking as if he were thinking, "Seriously? I don't believe you!"

"But you'd be the Hokage!"

"Yeah... I know."

Minato nodded. "I don't really have any great ambitions in life, or any particular reason I have to become stronger."

Actually, he did: the future Obito, Madara Uchiha, Kaguya Otsutsuki, and even the Otsutsuki Clan. But he couldn't talk about any of that.

"Then what's your dream?"

Hearing that, Tsunade couldn't help growing curious, too.

In Konoha, boys who didn't want to become Hokage weren't unheard of, but they were definitely a rare breed.

"My dream..."

Minato thought for a few seconds. "Well... to live a peaceful, happy life and protect the people who matter to me?"

"Huh..."

Nawaki was at a loss. "That's so boring! And does that even count as a dream? Wood Release is wasted on you..."

"No, you're wrong, Nawaki. When my grandfather founded Konoha, he hoped that the children of the future could live that kind of life."

Tsunade smiled faintly and flicked Nawaki on the forehead. "There's nothing wrong with an ordinary life. Maybe Minato awakened Wood Release because he has a quality that ordinary people lack?"

"A quality..."

Did a cheat count?

Minato couldn't help grumbling inwardly.

"But now that you mention it... Protecting the people who matter to you? You haven't fallen for some girl, have you?"

Tsunade had just finished lecturing Nawaki. Now she turned to Minato and raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile in her eyes.

"No."

Minato shook his head. "Right now, the people I'm closest to are you, Teacher, and Nawaki. Doesn't that make you important to me?"

"Huh..."

The siblings both froze. Their faces flushed, and they exchanged a glance, each seeing the other's smile growing wider by the second.

"Ah, so that's how it is... Haha, I see..."

Tsunade gave an awkward laugh, though inside she was twisting like a worm.

That boy said such embarrassing things, but she loved it!