The Morning Under Currents of Conflict and Mikoto's Obedience

The air froze the instant Mikoto Uchiha appeared.

It was a sudden shift from boiling heat to freezing cold.

A moment ago, the scorching atmosphere had been filled with Kushina's violent Chakra and intense concern. Now, it was completely frozen by an invisible pressure carrying the coolness of morning dew.

Baishi could clearly feel the soft, burning body in his arms suddenly stiffen.

The arms Kushina had wrapped around his waist tensed in an instant, like a lioness licking her mate's wounds that had suddenly caught the scent of another female at the edge of her territory.

It was an instinctive reaction mixed with wariness, hostility, and absolute possessiveness.

"Hokage-sama... Kushina-sama..."

Mikoto's voice was as gentle and mild as ever, like a clear mountain stream. Yet in these ruined remains, it sounded especially distinct—and especially grating.

She simply stood quietly at the shattered doorway, her bearing elegant, as though the wreckage before her were not a battlefield but an ordinary Living Room waiting for its mistress to prepare breakfast.

The food box in her hands was made of fine cypress wood. It gave off a faint woody fragrance, mingling with the salty aromas of miso soup and grilled fish as it tried to dispel the dust and smell of blood permeating the air.

Yet this peaceful sense of everyday life only made the scene before them seem increasingly absurd and disjointed.

Kushina slowly, inch by inch, raised her head from Baishi's arms. Her violet eyes, which had just been filled with tenderness and heartache, had now narrowed into a dangerous arc.

Her gaze passed over Baishi's shoulder and shot straight toward Mikoto at the doorway like two ice-tempered blades.

"What are you doing here?"

Kushina's voice was cold. Her earlier fury was gone, replaced by an inspection and rejection that