The Three Sannin Gather

Nara Yamanaka clutched her heart in pain and curled up in her husband's arms, weeping. There was nothing she could do.

It was his warmth and selflessness that had deeply attracted her when she was young.

For his sake, she had become his wife all these years, kept their home in perfect order, and even used her own wits to open a flower shop. She had only hoped to ease her husband's work pressure and keep him from exhausting himself so much.

She was deeply conflicted. This burning heart had once merged into his own, yet now she wanted to extinguish its passion.

"It's okay, honey."

Uchiha Uzumaki gently placed a hand on his wife's back.

Her back was soft, yet she was trembling violently. His hand trembled along with her, though he did not know whether it was voluntary or not.

"Honey, I have to go, because our promise is that I love you, and I will protect you.

"And I will definitely come back, because my strength comes from you loving me and protecting me."

The pallor gradually faded from Nara Yamanaka's face, and her breathing was clearly no longer as rapid as before.

She placed a hand around her husband's waist and gently pinched him, making Uchiha Uzumaki's lips curl upward slightly.

His wife really was easy to placate.

It was time to resolve the next conflict.

"Honey, listen carefully to Xuanhui's opinion. This child is already an adult capable of standing on his own."

[Is it my turn?]

Xuanhui swallowed. No man could face his mother's scrutiny without feeling afraid.

"Xuanhui... your father is going to the battlefield to protect Konoha... You're still so young... Why are you joining in this mess?"

"I..."

He had wanted to say that he hoped to grow stronger through real combat and gain the power to change the world.

But the words stopped at his lips... That was way too cringe! Even though that was exactly what he planned to do...

"I want to learn knowledge and experience from Teacher Orochimaru. I want to become a powerful shinobi and protect my family..."

"You silly child... It's still far too early for you. Why do you have to take such a huge risk and go to the battlefield?

"If you're gone too, then you father and son will leave me alone in an empty house. How lonely would I be!"

"Uh..."

Seeing little pearls begin to fall from his mother's eyes again, Xuanhui immediately bit his finger and formed hand seals once more.

His fingers were nearly covered in bite marks.

An ancient wooden door appeared before the three of them. Xuanhui pushed it open, while Uchiha Uzumaki scooped his wife up in a princess carry and followed Xuanhui through it.

Under the watchful gazes of the two of them, Xuanhui walked around the door and pulled out two identical contracts from a thick stack of papers.

[If I remembered correctly, the Second Shinobi World War lasted four or five years...]

He walked to the table, picked up Orochimaru's usual ballpoint pen, and quickly scribbled across the paper.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Uzumaki was still carrying his wife in his arms as he explained the things here to her.

They were the things Xuanhui had just told him about, and Uchiha Uzumaki repeated them for her.

Xuanhui hastily wrote out some words nearby. After pausing his pen, he handed the two contracts to them.

The couple took the contracts and looked them over.

Radiant Library Limited-Time Access Contract

Below were some precautions regarding the library, along with a brief introduction.

Besides borrowing books, its other function was the Summoning Wooden Door.

At the very bottom, several lines of elegant writing caught their attention.

"Party A Signature: Librarian, Xuanhui

Party B Signature: (Please enter text)"

"Once you two sign these, you'll temporarily have permission to use the Summoning Wooden Door for five years.

"From then on, we'll place letters inside the Summoning Wooden Door every night between eight and nine.

"When placing letters, make sure you don't step through the door. Otherwise, someone else's Summoning Wooden Door might summon you away along with it, and you won't be able to come back."

Nara Yamanaka wiped away her tears, jumped straight out of her husband's arms, and twisted Xuanhui's ear.

"You brat! You knew your mother was softhearted, so you arranged everything on your own! Why didn't you ask what I thought?"

Xuanhui could only smile awkwardly.

Fortunately, Nara Yamanaka did not make things too difficult for him. After having a good cry, her mood improved considerably.

The couple took the contracts, signed their names, and pressed down their fingerprints.

The contracts instantly transformed into countless motes of light that swirled around them before burrowing into their wrists.

"You brat, before you go looking for that Teacher Orochimaru of yours, you need to spend more time with me in Konoha. Understand?"

"Okay, okay, don't worry, Mom!"

How could Xuanhui dare resist? He could only agree without hesitation.

Akimichi Auntie was close with his mother anyway, and both sets of grandparents were around. No one could bully her.

As long as everything was properly arranged, he could focus on training...

Knock, knock, knock.

"Who is it at this hour?"

Tsunade, dressed in casual clothes, had just finished clearing the dishes. Her two low ponytails were simply tied beside her ears, hanging before her shoulders.

"Coming!"

She shook her hands dry and jogged barefoot to open the door.

When she opened it, a tall figure she had not seen in a long time stood before her.

"Yo! Tsunade! Long time no see!"

"Jiraiya? You're back so soon! I thought you wouldn't return until tomorrow before we set off."

Tsunade was immediately delighted. Seeing an old friend again always brought a bit of excitement.

"I wanted to hurry back and see you! Beautiful lady, could you..."

Before he could finish, Jiraiya was struck hard on the head.

"You wouldn't come looking for me this late at night unless you were up to no good! I won't agree to anything from a pervert like you!"

Jiraiya was just about to protest his innocence when Tsunade saw Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru standing behind him.

"Huh? Teacher? Orochimaru? Why are you here too?

"Are we leaving already?"

"No. Jiraiya wanted to get together, so he specifically came to invite you."

Orochimaru's words made Tsunade blush slightly.

"Sorry... Jiraiya..."

"It's fine... I like this violent side of you..."

"Then I guess I hit you right."

Tsunade helped Jiraiya up and let him lean against the doorframe.

"Honestly, why didn't you say so earlier? I've already finished dinner."

"We only just got back too. Xuanhui and I went out to take an A-rank mission, and we ran into Jiraiya on the way.

"We hadn't been back in the village long before we rushed straight here."

Orochimaru explained why they had come visiting so late at night.

"It's fine, Tsunade. We're just having a small gathering and a little drink."

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke, casting a concerned glance at Jiraiya, whose eyes were spinning with stars.

"Sure. It's not like I have anything better to do."

"Great, Tsunade! Let's go!"

Jiraiya shouted excitedly, grabbed Tsunade and Orochimaru by the wrists, and charged outside.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled with satisfaction, shook his head, and followed after them.

"Wait! I haven't closed my door yet!"