Morning Bustle, the Sunny Boy Touches Down

Morning came earlier at the Senju Clan Compound than elsewhere in Konoha.

The wooden remains left behind by the Wood Buddha last night had mostly been cleared away by Nawaki under the moonlight. The remaining roots had burrowed into the soil on their own, sprouting new buds overnight. The corridor pillars were alive, moisture seeping through their grain, while fresh vines had already covered the roof.

Cooking fumes billowed from the kitchen.

Nawaki had a pink floral apron tied around his waist—Tsunade's. He had searched the entire kitchen and found only this one. After hesitating for two seconds, he put it on anyway.

Survival came first. A man could not be defeated by an apron.

Five fried eggs were lined up in the pan. The first was perfect, the second yolk was slightly off-center, the third had burnt edges, and the fourth—Nawaki stared at the fifth egg as its white steadily and irreversibly turned dark brown against the bottom of the pan.

"Pssh—"

A drop of hot oil splattered onto his chin.

Nawaki cursed, wiped it with the back of his hand, then started laughing. He flipped the fifth egg over and muttered to himself, "Crispy charred texture. Limited edition."

A Sage Body could withstand explosive tags, but not a frying pan. No one would believe that if he told them.

As he used the spatula to push the eggs toward the edge of the plate, he shouted down the corridor, "Breakfast is ready! Get up, all of you—"

No one answered.

He shouted again, "You think cooking's free or something?!"

A muffled thud came from the backyard—the sound of Tsunade shoving open her bedroom door. Given her strength, two chips of wood fell from the doorframe.

Tsunade wore loose pajamas, her hair a bird's nest, her face still carrying the irritation of being awakened. Barefoot, she took three steps down the corridor toward the kitchen.

Then she stopped.

In the kitchen doorway, a twelve-year-old boy wearing a pink floral apron held a pan in one hand and used a spatula with the other to scoop eggs onto a plate, humming a completely off-key tune.

Tsunade rubbed her eyes.

Last night, this person had sat atop a hundred-meter Wood Buddha and crushed Danzō's Root elites into pieces as casually as swatting flies.

Now he was frying eggs.

Wearing her apron.

The apron strings had wrapped around him twice before they could be tied, and the bow at the back was crooked.

"...Why are you wearing my apron?"

"It's the only one in the compound." Nawaki did not turn around. "Sis, sit down first. The miso soup will be ready in two minutes."

Tsunade opened her mouth, but swallowed the words that had reached her lips. She stared at the back of her brother's head for several seconds.

That brat's shoulders had relaxed.

Ever since returning from the Land of Rain nearly a month ago, this was the first time she had seen Nawaki stand without looking like a drawn bow. Not the loose stance of someone ready to draw a blade at any moment, but truly relaxed.

As though this was how he was supposed to be.

Tsunade said nothing more and pulled out a chair to sit down.

Across the dining table, Orochimaru had somehow already taken his seat. A stack of handwritten notes lay spread before him, and his index finger repeatedly traced a certain line of equations. He was still wearing last night's black robe. One look was enough to tell he had not slept all night.

"Nawaki-kun."

"Hmm?"

"The eggs are burnt."

Nawaki slapped the plate of fried eggs down in front of Orochimaru. "The burnt ones are yours. More gelatinized starch helps the brain work better. I just made that up."

Orochimaru lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. His slit pupils did not stir, but he did pick up the most burnt egg with his chopsticks.

Two sets of footsteps came from the corridor.

Kushina Uzumaki had finished washing up, her red hair still damp, a towel draped over her shoulders. Half a step behind her was Mikoto, her long hair tied into a ponytail. Her expression was normal, but the dark circles beneath her eyes showed that she had not slept much either.

The moment Nawaki saw them emerge, he turned from the stove and pointed his spatula at the table. "Sit down, both of you. The miso soup's ready. There are tofu and seaweed today. Kushina, yours has chopped scallions. Mikoto, you said you don't like scallions. I remembered."

Mikoto paused slightly.

She had indeed mentioned once that she disliked scallions. It had been a casual remark while they were eating dry rations during a mission half a month ago.

"Mm." Mikoto sat down and took a sip from her bowl. No scallions.

Nawaki had already turned to serve Kushina some rice. It was a heaping bowl, packed down firmly, with two slices of fried egg laid on top.

"Hey... when did you learn to cook?" Kushina held the bowl and leaned close to smell it.

"Natural talent." Nawaki handed her chopsticks. "I used to live alone in the compound. Starving to death wouldn't have looked good."

He said it lightly, smiling as though he were talking about something completely ordinary.

The dining table fell silent for a moment.

Tsunade lowered her head and took a bite of rice. Her grip on the chopsticks tightened, then loosened.

Kushina did not respond either. She lowered her head to eat, her red hair falling over half her face.

Nawaki did not notice those few seconds of silence at all. He was already placing a perfectly fried egg onto Mikoto's plate. "You used a lot of chakra last night. Eat more protein. And eat your vegetables too."

Mikoto's chopsticks paused.

She had eaten at the Uchiha Clan Compound for ten years, and no one had ever cared what she ate.

"...Mm."

Nawaki turned toward Kushina's bowl again. "Where are your vegetables?"

"Don't want them."

"Eat."

"No—"

"Eat." Nawaki used the spatula to lift a chopstickful of spinach and pressed it precisely into Kushina's bowl. "The Uzumaki Clan constitution needs iron supplements. That's science."

"You're the one who needs iron, hey!"

"I have a Sage Body. I don't need it. You eat."

"..."

Kushina glared at him for three seconds, then lowered her head and shoved the spinach into her mouth, chewing with an utterly unwilling expression.

Satisfied, Nawaki sat down and picked up his own bowl. Only a little rice and half a piece of pickles remained in it—all the good food had been divided out.

Orochimaru glanced at him from the side without saying anything, then silently pushed the intact fried egg from his own plate toward Nawaki.

Nawaki froze for a moment.

"Sensei, you eat—"

"I don't eat eggs." Orochimaru lowered his head to his notes again. "I have other ways to consume protein. Don't waste it."

Nawaki looked at him for two seconds, then grinned.

He picked up the egg with his chopsticks and bit off half in one mouthful. With egg still in his mouth, he mumbled, "Sensei can cook too. Your turn tomorrow?"

"No."

"Then the day after tomorrow?"

"No."

"Then—"

"Shut up and eat."

Nawaki shut up. But the corners of his mouth stayed stretched nearly to his ears.

Sunlight slanted in through the window and fell across the dining table. The shadows of the five people overlapped. The spatula rested beside the stove, and the miso soup still bubbled softly over a low flame. Outside the corridor, wind stirred the leaves of two new trees, making them rustle.

The meal lasted twenty minutes.

When it was over, Nawaki gathered the bowls and chopsticks beside the sink, untied the apron, and hung it on a hook. He rolled his shoulders twice, walked to the center of the courtyard, and took a deep breath of the morning air scented with grass.

The panel in his mind lit up.

[Detected: The core members around the host have remained safe for over 12 hours. Family Daily Prosperity +5.]

[Current Family Prosperity: B (82/100)]

[Special Trigger—Crisis Cleared Reward! Farming Gift Pack unlocked: Senju Clan Compound · Basic Infrastructure Blueprints ×3]

[Unlocked: Clinic Blueprint (can increase core members' recovery speed by 30%) / Training Ground Blueprint (can increase core members' cultivation efficiency by 20%) / Greenhouse Blueprint (can automatically cultivate rare medicinal herbs)]

[Reminder: After materializing the blueprints with Wood Release, Prosperity will gain an additional +3. Please plan the clan compound space appropriately.]

Nawaki narrowed his eyes as he scanned the panel, pressing his tongue against his cheek.

Three blueprints. A clinic, a training ground, and a greenhouse.

He was already dividing up the land in his head.

The clinic would go in the east courtyard near Tsunade's residence, so she could oversee it whenever needed. The training ground would expand westward, where an open space had conveniently been flattened by the Wood Buddha last night, saving them the trouble of leveling it. The greenhouse would be on the south side, where sunlight was strongest—

"What are you spacing out for?"

Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, leaning against a corridor pillar as she watched him.

Nawaki turned back and smiled at her. "Sis, the compound needs expanding. I'm planning to build a clinic. You'll be in charge."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"And a training ground." Nawaki counted on his fingers. "A greenhouse too. We need to grow our own medicinal herbs instead of always buying them outside. Funds are tight."

"You're a twelve-year-old brat, and you're talking infrastructure with me?"

"What's wrong with being twelve? Twelve-year-olds can't build things?" Nawaki put his hands on his hips, entirely justified. "We start work today. Building houses with Wood Release will take half a day."

After saying that, he turned to go measure the land. He took two steps, abruptly stopped, then turned back to look at Tsunade. "Oh, right, sis. Where should we build Kakashi's room? Closer to the training ground, or closer to you?"

Tsunade's expression changed slightly.

"...Closer to me." Her voice dropped half a beat. "That kid has nightmares at night."

Nawaki nodded, his smile unchanged.

Then three very proper knocks sounded from outside the courtyard gate.

Neither hurried nor slow, each one evenly measured. As if the visitor had taken several deep breaths before raising a hand.

Nawaki's busy hands stopped. He tilted his head, and his Sage Body's senses swept across the chakra fluctuations outside the gate in half a second.

A familiar presence. Gentle, clean, strictly restrained to the lowest output—but there was still a faint stagnation lingering in the underlying chakra pathways from being bound by Wood Release three days ago.

Nawaki's smile did not fade. It even grew wider.

Without explaining anything to Tsunade, he headed straight for the courtyard gate, taking two steps at a time before yanking open the gates of the Senju Clan Compound.

Minato Namikaze stood outside.

His golden hair shone brightly in the morning sun. His right shoulder was still wrapped in its final layer of thin bandages. In his left hand, he carried a box of three-colored dango.

The two faced each other, separated by half a meter.

Minato opened his mouth, but the greeting he had prepared stuck in his throat.

Nawaki spoke first.

Pointing at the box of dango in Minato's hand, he raised an eyebrow. "Have you eaten breakfast?"