Leaf Village Daily Life

Inside the barbecue restaurant, Rin pulled Kakashi and Lu Yan to sit on either side of her, waving happily at the owner.

"Uncle Sasaki, we're back! Ten plates of barbecue to start, please."

Standing near the register, Sasaki looked at the trio and let out a hearty laugh. His body rippled with every movement—a physique truly worthy of being Konoha's number one barbecue master.

"Rin, since it's a holiday, I'll give you all a fifty percent discount."

"Thank you so much, Uncle Sasaki! Otherwise, I'd be bankrupt today."

Minato Namikaze, who had just walked in, heard about the discount and immediately thanked Sasaki with a look of relief, as if his wallet had just been saved.

"Minato, you and Kushina are getting married soon, right? You can't keep eating out like this; you need to save some private funds."

Sasaki, clearly well-acquainted with Minato and Kushina, teased them with a grin before heading to the kitchen to prepare their meal himself.

Minato stood there looking awkward, while Kushina beside him blushed, staring down at her own toes.

"Teacher, over here!"

Lu Yan, watching the scene, felt speechless at how shy these people in their twenties still were, so he called out to break the tension.

"Little Obito, you're doing well. I'll teach you a new sealing jutsu later."

Hearing Obito call out, Kushina let out a sigh of relief. Ignoring the regulars who were watching the spectacle with amused smiles, she pulled Minato over.

"Mistress, I've already learned everything you've shown me. Don't tell me you were hiding some secret techniques all this time?"

Lu Yan was puzzled. You said you had nothing left last time, and now there's more? I didn't expect you, with your big, honest eyes, to play games like this.

"No, it's just that a few sealing jutsus are quite dangerous. They're powerful, but they consume a lot of chakra and can even drain one's life force."

Kushina felt a bit embarrassed and quickly explained.

"So, they aren't dangerous now?"

Lu Yan looked at Kushina with an expression of profound disappointment.

Flustered and annoyed by his gaze, Kushina punched Lu Yan right on the head.

"I just spoke without thinking, okay? Forget it, don't learn them."

"I'll learn, I'll learn! You're truly too good to me, Mistress."

After receiving that punch of affection, Lu Yan immediately straightened his attitude, thinking to himself, Mistress, since you're so good to me, I'll be sure to educate your son with the same 'affectionate' punches in the future. No need to thank me.

Minato watched the two bickering with a faint smile, his heart suddenly filled with warmth. Isn't this simple, peaceful moment exactly what I want to protect?

"Kakashi, come on, eat more. Don't just sit there in a daze."

Minato looked at Kakashi's gloomy, vacant expression and felt a pang of heartache. It seemed his father's death had truly left a deep mark on him that he hadn't yet overcome.

"That's right, Kakashi, we're all here for you," Rin added, placing a piece of meat on his plate to comfort him.

Watching this, a sudden surge of jealousy rose in Lu Yan's heart, though he didn't dwell on it, instead falling into deep thought.

It seems Obito's influence on me is truly significant.

Lu Yan realized this without surprise. When Obito had voluntarily dissipated his soul and merged it with Lu Yan, his emotions and personality had begun to subtly influence Lu Yan, even though Lu Yan remained in control.

I'm jealous myself, yet I'm supposed to play matchmaker? Isn't that just cuckolding myself?

The thought made Lu Yan's teeth ache. Influenced by Obito, he had a high opinion of Rin, but it wasn't romantic—he was very clear on that.

But how was he supposed to play matchmaker? Looking at Kakashi's dead-fish expression, the guy was a hopeless case of terminal "straight-man syndrome."

"Obito, you eat too."

Seeing Lu Yan staring blankly, Rin placed a piece of meat on his plate with a radiant smile.

What a simple, good girl. Obito, your fashion sense might be terrible, but your taste in girls is decent—even if she doesn't like you at all.

Lu Yan looked at her bright smile and sighed internally, once again pondering how to play the matchmaker.

By the time they finished eating and headed home, he still hadn't figured it out.

I'm a serial bachelor who was a loner in my past life and a loner in the life before that, and you want me to play Cupid? Obito, you really are a piece of work.

Lu Yan gave up on the idea. Rin seemed proactive enough; as long as he protected her and prevented the future tragedy, maybe Kakashi would be won over by her on his own.

"Experiments are more important."

Rolling off his bed, Lu Yan decided to give it one last push and successfully refine the enhancement serum.

Walking into the lab and looking at the crude environment, Lu Yan sighed.

"Almost there."

He touched the stone bead hanging around his neck, took out a new batch of materials, and began the refinement process.

A short while later, Lu Yan, who was channeling his spiritual energy through his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, saw his expression shift. The tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, transforming into the Mangekyo Sharingan as he activated Kamui.

"Bang!"

The test tube on the table shattered instantly. The resulting shockwave passed right through the intangible Lu Yan, not even wrinkling his clothes.

"I refuse to believe this."

Lu Yan watched the scattered materials with a pained heart; this was all money, money he had painstakingly "borrowed" from Danzo by keeping Kamui open.

"These substitute materials differ from the original recipe, and I don't have time for slow experimentation. I'll have to try using the Mangekyo directly, though I'm not sure if my mental energy can hold up."

After quickly jotting down his experimental notes, Lu Yan took out the final two sets of materials, preparing to refine the strengthening potion while keeping his Mangekyo active.

Holding the test tube, Lu Yan widened his Mangekyo eyes, carefully using his own spirituality to control the balance between the materials before slowly fusing them together.

Through the perspective of the Mangekyo, the Senju Tree sap radiated a verdant glow, brimming with the brilliance of life, while the Soul-Bright Flower and Star-Leaf Grass were red and blue, entwined with one another. The Ninja Hawk's heart blood emitted a crimson glare, searing and oppressive. The other three were maintaining a delicate balance within the Senju Tree sap, slowly merging and combining.

Finally, their spiritualities fused completely, and a crystalline purple light shot out from the test tube, resembling the most precious of gemstones.

"It's done."

Lu Yan said with a hint of excitement, closing his Mangekyo with a sense of exhaustion; refining medicine while simultaneously using the Mangekyo was truly too taxing on his mental energy.