Three-Color Dango, the Uchiha Clan's Rose

Nawaki walked out of the Ninja Academy gates, his pace neither hurried nor slow.

The classroom behind him was dead silent. It would probably stay that way until the dismissal bell rang.

He had just turned the corner when the system panel popped up from standby mode.

[Bond Mission Officially Issued—Steal the Uchiha Clan's Rose!]

[Target: Mikoto Uchiha. Current Status: Candidate for political marriage within the Uchiha Clan (Matched Partner: Fugaku Uchiha). Bloodline Rating: Exceptional.]

[Mission Rewards: Uchiha Bloodline Fragment ×1, Sharingan Ocular Power Adaptation Module ×1, significant increase in clan prosperity.]

[Hint: The target's current favorability toward the host is 15 (curious observation). It is recommended to improve favorability through natural social interaction. Forced contact will trigger hostility from the Uchiha Clan and would not be worth the loss.]

Nawaki glanced at the favorability value.

Fifteen.

A little higher than a roadside utility pole, and just a tiny bit better than a stranger.

But it was enough. She had not rejected him, which meant that half-second of eye contact had worked.

Nawaki closed the panel and headed toward the shopping street.

In the original story, Mikoto was Kushina's only close friend in Konoha. One was an outsider ostracized by her entire clan, while the other was a tool her family intended to marry off as a bargaining chip. Sharing the same hardships, they had grown close.

It was Kushina's third day at the Academy. According to the original timeline, they should have met today.

Nawaki did not need to deliberately arrange a chance encounter.

He only needed to appear in the right place at the right time, holding the right thing.

The shopping street.

A short line stood outside Sweet Chestnut Confectionery. Nawaki stood at the back, with a fat ninja haggling with the clerk in front of him.

"Boss, do you still have the limited-edition three-color dango today?"

"Six skewers left. Once they're sold out, they're gone."

Nawaki held up two fingers. "Two portions."

The fat ninja turned back and glared at him. Nawaki smiled at him, the kind of smile that sent a chill down one's spine.

The fat ninja turned back around and pretended not to see him.

Carrying two bamboo-leaf packages of three-color dango, Nawaki timed it perfectly and arrived at the school gate ten minutes early.

He leaned against the wall across from the gate, dango in his left hand and his right hand tucked into his pocket.

The dismissal bell rang.

Students streamed out of the gates in twos and threes. A few quickened their pace when passing Nawaki, taking a detour as though afraid of getting even half a step too close to him.

Nawaki waited expressionlessly.

Two minutes later.

"Nawaki—!"

A red-haired head squeezed out of the crowd. Kushina came running over at top speed, her schoolbag bouncing behind her, the smile on her face bright enough to reflect light.

She was dragging someone along behind her.

Long black hair, quiet as a drop of ink falling onto rice paper.

Kushina held Mikoto by the wrist. Mikoto's steps were visibly reluctant, but she did not pull free, following along with her head slightly lowered.

"Nawaki! This is Mikoto! She's the good friend I made today!"

Kushina released Mikoto's wrist and waved both hands in front of her, excited as though she had discovered a new continent.

"She's from the Uchiha Clan! She's amazing! In taijutsu class, she threw three boys to the ground. She's even fiercer than me!"

Mikoto pursed her lips. "...It was two."

"Three! Does the third one not count just because he fell by himself? His legs went weak the moment he saw you walking over!"

Nawaki looked at Mikoto.

This was the second time he had examined her up close. In the classroom, they had been seven or eight meters apart under dim lighting. Now, the setting sun shone across her profile, making her features far clearer.

She really was beautiful. But that was not the point.

The point was her eyes.

They were a pure black, without the arrogance commonly seen among the Uchiha Clan. In its place was a carefully maintained sense of distance.

She was assessing him.

Exactly like that morning in the classroom—she was not afraid of him, but neither had she lowered her guard.

Nawaki held out the bamboo-leaf package in his left hand.

"A genius of the Uchiha Clan? Thank you for looking after my Kushina at school."

Mikoto did not take it immediately.

Her gaze rested on the bamboo-leaf package for a moment before lifting to Nawaki's face.

"Nawaki Senju." Her voice was soft and her tone calm. "What happened in the classroom this morning has already spread through the whole school."

"Oh? What have they turned it into?"

"Some say you split Akiyama Tatsuhiko's desk in half with Wood Release. Some say you turned the entire classroom into a forest." Mikoto paused. "Others say a tree grew from the desk and hung Akiyama from it."

Nawaki laughed.

Rumors grew exponentially no matter what world one was in.

"And what actually happened?" Nawaki tilted his head.

"A flower," Mikoto said. "White."

She accepted the bamboo-leaf package.

"Thank you."

Kushina had already impatiently opened her own portion and stuffed the first dango skewer into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out like a hamster's.

"Delish!"

Mikoto opened the bamboo leaves and looked at the dango. Three colors—pink, white, and green. Sweet Chestnut Confectionery's signature limited edition. She hesitated for two seconds, then took a bite.

After chewing twice, her eyelashes trembled.

She did not say it was good. But she took the second bite very quickly.

Nawaki stepped back, giving the two of them some room.

"Mikoto, where do you live? If it's on the way, we can walk together."

Before Mikoto could answer, a voice cut in from the side.

"Not on the way."

All three turned toward the sound.

A tall, slender boy emerged from the street corner. He was around two years older than Nawaki, dressed in a dark blue high-collared shirt, with the Uchiha Clan's fan crest embroidered on his back. His features were proper, his jawline tightly set.

Fugaku Uchiha.

His stride as he approached was steady. His gaze swept over Nawaki before settling on Mikoto's face.

"There's a clan meeting. They've sent word twice already. Let's go."

Mikoto stopped biting the dango. The faint relaxation on her face vanished at once, replaced by the expression Nawaki had seen in the classroom—steady, distant, like a door closing.

"Got it."

She put away the remaining dango in the bamboo-leaf package. Before turning around, she glanced at Kushina.

"See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow!" Kushina waved, her mouth still full of dango.

Fugaku did not turn away immediately.

He looked at Nawaki.

Nawaki looked back at him.

The air between them suddenly felt off. It was not chakra suppression, nor was it killing intent. It was simply—sizing each other up.

Fugaku spoke first.

"Nawaki Senju." His tone was so polite that it bordered on coldness. "I heard you just returned from the front lines and awakened Wood Release. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Nawaki smiled brightly.

"However—" Fugaku took half a step forward and lowered his voice so only Nawaki could hear, "you're also on the roster for next week's joint suppression mission. The battlefield is different from a classroom. A flower won't solve every problem."

After saying that, he turned to the side and waited for Mikoto to follow.

Mikoto took two steps without looking back. But the fingers clutching the bamboo-leaf package tightened hard.

The two of them disappeared around the street corner.

Kushina leaned closer, still chewing. "Who was that? His face looked so sour."

"Fugaku Uchiha. Mikoto's fiancé. The clan arranged it."

Kushina stopped chewing.

"Mikoto told me about it." She swallowed the last bite of dango, her voice growing quieter. "She doesn't want to marry him."

Nawaki turned his head to look at her.

"What did she say?"

"She didn't say it outright. But when I asked whether she liked him, she changed the subject." Kushina frowned. "Not wanting to answer means she doesn't like him, right?"

Nawaki did not respond.

He watched the direction Fugaku had left in. The smile remained on his lips, but the warmth in his eyes had dropped several degrees.

A joint suppression mission.

Danzō had met secretly with Fugaku only last night, and today the mission information had already been leaked to him. What a fast blade.

Nawaki ruffled Kushina's red hair.

"Come on, let's go home."

"Don't mess it up! It'll get all tangled!"

The two headed toward the Senju Clan Compound. The sunset stretched long shadows behind them.

Nawaki slipped his hand back into his pocket, his fingertips lightly tapping the side of his thigh.

What occupied his mind was not Mikoto, but Fugaku's final words.

"The battlefield is different from a classroom."

What a Fugaku Uchiha. Danzō had even written his lines for him.

Nawaki looked up at the clouds overhead.

Joint suppression mission, Land of Fire border, Fugaku leading the team.

Fine.

The battlefield was much more interesting than a classroom.