Meeting the Family

"Burp. Wuye, why is Uncle Torifu so good to you?" Kushina asked after letting out a full belch.

"Stuffed?"

Hyuga Wuye instinctively reached out and rubbed her stomach.

Only when the warm, soft little belly rested beneath his palm did he realize what he was doing and hastily pull his hand back.

By then, Kushina had already turned her head away in embarrassment, her little face flushed as she dared not look at him.

"Cough." Wuye covered his mouth and coughed softly. "You could tell too, right? Uncle Torifu asked me to do business with him, but he was really just trying to give me money. I don't know why he treats me so well either..."

"I once suspected he was my biological father," he said with a self-mocking smile. "Unfortunately, he isn't."

It really was unfortunate, because Akimichi Torifu had truly treated him incredibly well.

"The first time I met Uncle Torifu was when I was three, I think," Hyuga Wuye recalled. "Konoha had springlike weather all year round, and it rarely snowed as heavily as it did that year. Maybe because of that, no one from the clan brought me food for an entire day. I was so hungry that I had no choice but to go out alone to find something to eat..."

"S-so pitiful..." Kushina murmured.

Wuye shook his head with a faint smile. "But the moment I stepped outside, I ran into Uncle Torifu. Then he fed me until I was stuffed, probably just like you are now."

He looked up at the endless stream of passersby around them and spoke softly. "Even now, I can't figure out why he happened to be waiting outside, as if he had been waiting specifically for me."

"Maybe it was fate," Kushina said quietly. "Just like... just like us..."

We definitely weren't brought together by fate... Hyuga Wuye thought to himself, but he still nodded. "Mm. Just like us. It was fate!"

Kushina quietly slipped her little hand into his, her gaze darting to the side. "What are we doing this afternoon?"

Hyuga Wuye squeezed her soft hand, threading his fingers through hers and interlocking them.

"How about... we spar at the training grounds?" he suggested after pondering for a moment.

That way, he could analyze more of the ninjutsu Kushina knew... Cough, that seemed a little inhuman. With such a perfect opportunity, he ought to lure her back home, do this first, then that, and finally... Mm!

"What?! Who goes fighting on a date?!"

Kushina's red hair seemed to burst into flames.

"Dating is for fighting, isn't it? The only difference is where you fight," Wuye said with a low laugh.

Kushina clenched her little fists.

Warning, warning! The little pepper's fiery temper was about to explode!

"I was joking," Hyuga Wuye said gently. "We can do whatever you want and go wherever you want."

"Really?"

Kushina lifted her head, her eyes shimmering.

Wuye sensed that something was off, but the words had already left his mouth, so he could only nod. "Mm."

"Then come home with me. I'm taking you to meet Grandma." Kushina grabbed his hand and ran.

"Huh?" Hyuga Wuye blurted out. "Meet the parents?!"

"I-it's not exactly meeting the parents..."

Kushina's little face was bright red, but her grip on his hand did not loosen in the slightest as she swiftly darted through streets and alleys.

"Grandma Mito!"

Passively dragged along by her, Wuye rushed with her into a Japanese-style mansion spanning at least a thousand square meters.

As the First Hokage's widow and the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, Mito Uzumaki's status and treatment were comparable to those of a nation's mother.

"Huh? Where's Grandma?"

Kushina stared blankly at the empty bedroom.

"Look over there."

Standing in the doorway, Hyuga Wuye pointed at the five-story pavilion to the right.

Kushina ran outside and looked up, only to see Mito Uzumaki sitting atop the pavilion, smiling kindly at her.

Two Anbu ninja wearing fox and bear masks stood behind her, carefully guarding her.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

No one knew what Mito Uzumaki said, but the two Anbu supported her as they used the Body Flicker Technique to descend, helping her into a prepared wheelchair before disappearing from sight again.

"Grandma, why did you go up to the pavilion?" Kushina hurriedly released Wuye's hand and walked behind the wheelchair to hold it.

"Grandma wanted one last look at Hashirama's life's work. That way, I can tell him what Konoha is like now," Mito Uzumaki said with a smile.

"Grandma..." Kushina's eyes reddened.

Mito Uzumaki reached out and patted her little hand, then looked up at Hyuga Wuye. "Is he the boy you fancy?"

"Greetings, Lady Mito!" Wuye hurriedly bowed.

He held more than enough respect for this woman, who had stood by the First Hokage's side since the Warring States era and had suppressed the fully unleashed Nine-Tails all by herself.

"Come, give me your hand," Mito Uzumaki suddenly said.

Though Wuye found it strange, he still did as instructed and held out his hand, which was grasped by her aged palm.

A flicker of dark red chakra seemed to flash through her clouded eyes. Soon, she released Wuye's hand again.

"You're young, little one, but your thoughts run deep. You harbor quite a bit of malice," Mito Uzumaki said slowly.

Hyuga Wuye's heart jolted... Was this the ability of a Nine-Tails jinchuriki to sense malice?

But where did he have any malice in his heart? Was it toward that old Third Hokage?

Actually, it was not that bad, because he knew that Kushina, a living nuclear weapon, had to be kept away from major clans. Whoever became Hokage would instinctively want to control her.

"Grandma..."

Kushina called out worriedly.

"Don't be nervous." The wrinkles between Mito Uzumaki's brows relaxed. "Everyone has malice in their heart. It is only a matter of more or less."

"Kushina, once you gain control of the Nine-Tails' power, you will find that the people around you all give off malicious intent. You must learn to be tolerant of it, because that is simply how people are," she said kindly.

"Yes, I understand."

Kushina relaxed.

After pausing for a moment, Mito Uzumaki looked at Wuye again. "This child's chakra is like a flame: blazing and warm. Kushina, you have good taste."

"If you like each other, leave room for one another. Don't leave yourselves with regrets in the future," she advised.

In the Naruto World, plenty of thirteen- or fourteen-year-olds discussed marriage. It was perfectly normal for children to fall in love at eight or nine.

Therefore, Mito Uzumaki's attitude did not surprise Hyuga Wuye.

He nodded solemnly. "Yes, Lady Mito."

"Don't call me Lady anymore. Call me Grandma, like Kushina does." Mito Uzumaki smiled faintly.

Hyuga Wuye froze. "Grand... Grandma?"

Did that make him Tsunade's peer? Was Grandma Mito being a little too considerate...?

"Good child." Mito Uzumaki nodded kindly, then turned to Kushina. "How is your training in Adamantine Sealing Chains going?"

"I..."

Kushina secretly glanced at Hyuga Wuye, her little face slightly flushed. "I can only produce one chakra chain."

"One..." Mito Uzumaki pondered for a moment. "That should be enough. Show Grandma."

Hyuga Wuye's ears immediately perked up.

It was the Uzumaki clan's unique sealing technique. He wondered if he could analyze it.

If he could analyze even this...

Then the mysterious innate talent in his body would be ridiculously powerful!