"Unbelievable. I never thought the Third Hokage, who was always preaching the Will of Fire, could be this kind of person. It's disgusting!" Kurenai Yuhi said with a deep frown. When she thought about the Third Hokage's conduct over the years, she realized that the more she'd admired him before, the more disgusted she felt now!
"In that case, we'll have to cancel our plans to bathe in the hot springs. I need to tell all the women in Konoha about this! We can't let a pervert like the Third Hokage get away with this any longer. I'm sure the Fourth Hokage wouldn't want this old pervert spying on Sister Kushina while she's bathing, either! That's it—I have to report this to the Fourth Hokage!" As a woman, Kurenai had absolutely no tolerance for this kind of perverted behavior!
"Just be careful from now on. After all, this isn't the first or second time the Third Hokage's done something like this. Namikaze Minato probably knows a little about it, but it's not easy for him to intervene. His teacher, Jiraiya, is the same way. Have you ever seen him try to stop him? There's always a difference in how close people are. At most, Minato would just remind Kushina to be careful. Besides, Kushina has Uzumaki blood, and her sensory abilities are exceptionally strong. It's basically impossible for anyone to spy on her. Minato probably thinks it's none of his business and stays out of it for that reason," Uchiha Gen guessed.
After all, one was his teacher, and the other was his teacher's teacher! Besides, as Hokage, Minato still had to watch his teacher's teacher's mood. If Kurenai really reported the Third Hokage, Minato would probably just give him a couple of verbal reminders before letting the matter drop! In private, the Third Hokage would carry on just as before.
Don't end up offending everyone without accomplishing anything! Gen wasn't afraid of those people, but Kurenai was still an active-duty ninja. They had plenty of ways to make things difficult for her!
"Ah... How can it be like this?" Kurenai said dejectedly.
"There's nothing we can do. This is the real Konoha! Not even Namikaze Minato can change it. When all's said and done, he's just a puppet Hokage that the Third Hokage has propped up in public. Do you really expect him to stop the Third Hokage? That'd be like not knowing who's really in charge," Uchiha Gen explained reassuringly.
"Damn it!"
"Forget it. Let's not dwell on these upsetting things. Once we're ready, we'll head out. It's getting late, and I need to go home early. I've got things to do tomorrow." Besides, he still had to make a trip to Root later. After all, one good turn deserved another. With someone like Danzo, the more you gave in, the more he'd bully you and think you were a coward! This time, he'd make sure to teach him a proper lesson, so that for the rest of his life, he'd take a detour whenever he saw Gen!
"Mm, there's nothing else to pack! Let's go. I'm hungry, too!" Kurenai's moods came and went quickly. If she couldn't change anything, she'd just have to be more careful from now on. Right, she also needed to remind her friends to be careful—especially Anko, with her scatterbrained personality!
Konoha—Commercial Street
Kurenai affectionately linked her arm through Gen's, enjoying their time together.
"Uh?!!! Kurenai, what's this?"
A shocked male voice suddenly came from behind them!
Uchiha Gen looked back at the voice and saw that it was the cool, brooding Hatake Kakashi!
"Oh, it's Kakashi! What a coincidence. I was just about to go to an izakaya with Gen. They have great sake and snacks to go with it, so I thought I'd take him there to try them!" She'd been about to politely ask Kakashi if he wanted to come along, but then she thought, what if he didn't realize she was just being polite and actually joined them? Wouldn't that ruin her time alone with Gen? Since this was their first date, it was better to play it safe!
"Huh? It's not about the izakaya. Kurenai, what's going on between you and Gen? Weren't you and Asuma..." Kakashi was completely bewildered. Had Asuma given up? That didn't seem right. He'd been so persistent, practically glued to Kurenai's side every waking moment.
"Don't bring up Asuma. We're just ordinary friends. If anything he did before gave everyone the wrong idea, I may as well clear things up now. I already have a boyfriend." As she spoke, she happily squeezed her arm around Uchiha Gen's.
Watching Kurenai's behavior, Kakashi didn't know whether to be happy or feel sorry for Asuma! After all, nice guys finished last, and everyone loved to hate them! He hoped Asuma would be able to take the news.
"Mm, I see. I misunderstood, then. Sorry, Kurenai. Are you two going to an izakaya? Why don't I come with you?" Kakashi made no effort to keep his distance as he invited himself along!
"Um, no thanks. Gen and I have some private business to take care of, so it wouldn't be convenient," Kurenai quickly refused. Thank goodness she hadn't been polite just now! How could Kakashi have so little tact? She hated people who had no sense of boundaries!
Before Kakashi could respond, she hurriedly pulled Uchiha Gen away!
No wonder he was single. He'd actually wanted to get in the way of her and Gen! Hmph, she'd remember this!
Why would Kurenai fall for Uchiha Gen? It made no sense! Kakashi rubbed his white hair in frustration.
It wasn't that Gen was a bad person. The main issue was that he belonged to the Uchiha Clan, while Kurenai's father, Lord Yuhi Shinku, happened to be the head of the Anbu! Put those two things together, and Kakashi's teacher would probably have a headache. The Third Hokage's foot-dragging and refusal to hand over control of the Anbu had already been enough of a headache!
And now an Uchiha had gotten involved...
Hopefully the Uchiha Clan wasn't after the Anbu. Kurenai was one of the few classmates Kakashi had been close with, and he didn't want her to become a victim of political power struggles!
He'd meant to use the opportunity to sound out Uchiha Gen, but it seemed Kurenai had misunderstood him! He'd even ended up looking like the bad guy... Sigh, this was tough!
He'd leave this kind of thing to Minato-sensei to worry about. He was just a lowly Anbu squad leader. Why worry about the Hokage's problems when he was only getting paid a pittance? It would only give him more trouble!
"Gen, don't misunderstand. Kakashi was talking nonsense. Asuma's been pursuing me, but I never agreed to go out with him." Girls in love were always so sensitive! Lately, Kurenai had been plagued by an unsettling feeling that she might lose Gen, as if none of this were real.
"Relax. Konoha isn't that big, and I've heard about Asuma's behavior. Besides, you're my woman now. No one can take you away!" Uchiha Gen affectionately pinched Kurenai's cheek and laughed.
"Hmph, it's all Asuma's fault for clinging to me like glue. Hmph, I doubt he's any good, either. After all, his father, the Third Hokage, is that kind of person. What good could he possibly teach him? Ha! Now that I think about it, could Lord Jiraiya have been corrupted by that old pervert, the Third Hokage? Maybe we've all been blaming Lord Jiraiya unfairly all these years! Hmph! The evil Hiruzen Sarutobi!" Kurenai said indignantly.
"Come on, don't think about such mood-killing things anymore!"