Mirai Served Kushina and Zhili Food at the Same Time

The group arrived at a nearby town and entered a lodging house.

They casually ordered some grilled skewers and tempura.

"Tell me! What happened with your mission this time?" Jiraiya's expression was unusually serious.

Orochimaru fell into thought as well. After a moment, his hoarse voice sounded. "Nawaki and I completed the mission quickly. On our way back, we passed through here and noticed something was wrong..."

Orochimaru then recounted, in full detail, how he had encountered what seemed to be a Hidden Rock unit.

Mirai listened from the side, a string of suspicions surfacing in his mind.

The younger Orochimaru hadn't fallen into darkness yet, so his intelligence should have been trustworthy.

But that was precisely what made it even stranger!

First, Orochimaru's mission route had been top secret. Even Tsunade had only known that their final destination was the Northern Border. Claiming they had run into Hidden Rock by coincidence was far too far-fetched.

Second, this was the heartland of the Land of Fire, only around a hundred kilometers from Konoha Village.

What Hidden Rock unit would be bold enough to infiltrate a place like this and launch an attack? Were they not afraid of starting a war?

Although the old Third Hokage was weak and soft toward outsiders, Hidden Rock should not have experienced that yet. They couldn't possibly know.

So, they all came to the same conclusion—

Jiraiya's face darkened as he gave his verdict. "The Hidden Rock unit was probably disguised by someone else!"

The atmosphere immediately grew even more silent.

The answer was actually simple. A ninja attack in the heartland of the Land of Fire, and one carried out by a sizable, capable force...

Then it was impossible for Konoha Village to have nothing to do with it!

Only Konoha could gather enough people to ambush Orochimaru!

But precisely because of that, the three known as the Sannin fell silent, not daring to think too deeply.

Only Tsunade's gaze became sharp. Old man... could it really have been you?

They nearly got Nawaki killed. He's my only blood relative in this world!

Why would you do this?

Of course it was to study the Senju Bloodline! If Mirai Uzumaki had known what Tsunade was wondering, he definitely would have blurted that out.

That old bastard Danzo had coveted the power of the Senju Clan for far more than a day or two.

Did they think all those Senju Clan ninja who had shed their names and become civilians had simply vanished?

Still, those questions had nothing to do with him for the moment.

Kushina Uzumaki tightly clung to Mirai Uzumaki's arm, letting him faintly experience the soft sensation of a budding curve.

He sighed inwardly. Sigh! It's nowhere near as good as Tsunade's!

Kushina, when are you going to grow up?

Across from Kushina sat Izumi Uchiha.

The two girls stared at each other. Zhili's expression was calm, as though she hadn't been the one who had shed tears of blood for Mirai Uzumaki earlier.

Kushina, meanwhile, glared at Zhili through gritted teeth, unconsciously tightening her grip on Mirai's arm.

Minato Namikaze sat beside them, sipping tea in small mouthfuls. He felt like there was something off about the atmosphere.

Whatever. This tempura was really delicious!

Delicious! Chomp, chomp, chomp!

And this show was great too.

Feeling Kushina's grip grow tighter and tighter, Mirai Uzumaki sighed inwardly and placed a piece of grilled eel onto Kushina's plate.

"You two have been staring at each other since you came in and sat down. Are you practicing Dojutsu? Eat something first!"

"Hmph!" Having received food from Mirai Uzumaki, Kushina was satisfied.

She picked it up and put it in her mouth, then shot Izumi Uchiha an smug glance across the table as she deliberately said loudly, "It's so good! Thanks, Mirai."

Izumi Uchiha's expression remained calm and unruffled. She picked up a piece of tempura and placed it onto Mirai's plate as well.

"This tastes pretty good. Mirai, try it. You worked hard saving people earlier."

Bang!

Kushina exploded!

What does this mere Zhili mean by serving food to my boyfriend? Is she trying to challenge me?

Ah! Get away from me!

In her mind, Izumi Uchiha had already been beaten to death by Lady Kushina thousands of times.

But in reality, Kushina meekly didn't dare make a move, because over the past three years, it wasn't as if she had never challenged Zhili.

Unfortunately, she had never won even once.

"Mirai, don't eat the food she served you, okay?" Unable to fight back, the puffed-up Kushina could only act cute toward Mirai Uzumaki.

This was also something she had figured out over the past three years: how to deal with Mirai Uzumaki.

All she had to do was soften up a little and act cute, and Mirai would treat her gently. It was just too easy.

Sure enough, this time was no exception.

"Alright, alright. You can have this one." Mirai Uzumaki moved the tempura onto Kushina's bowl. "You two should stop being so hostile. Eat Zhili's food and make up!"

"Hmph!"

Kushina picked up the tempura and took a vicious bite, saying nothing more.

Izumi Uchiha's eyes dimmed slightly. She lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking.

After a while, a piece of grilled eel was placed onto Zhili's plate.

She hurriedly looked up and met Mirai Uzumaki's gentle smile. He gestured for her to hurry up and eat.

Meanwhile, Kushina Uzumaki was busy stuffing her face, completely unaware of it.

Izumi Uchiha's eyes immediately lit up.

They shone brightly!

She took a bite of the grilled eel, feeling delighted inside. Delicious!

Jiraiya, who had long since finished discussing matters, saw this scene.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly!

That brat Mirai Uzumaki was actually eating from his bowl while eyeing the pot?

Had he planned to embrace both girls from such a young age?

What a... damn it!

Lord Jiraiya was still single to this day!

Whenever he went out on missions, he could only visit taverns or dance halls to find pretty girls to comfort his lonely heart.

And pick up some inspiration for writing books while he was at it.

Though he hadn't started writing one yet.

But that brat Mirai was just too infuriating!

Thinking of this, Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade, whose face was gloomy but who remained outrageously beautiful.

He sighed inwardly. Sigh! I don't dare!

He didn't even dare look at her too much, afraid Tsunade would beat him half to death.

After finishing their meal, everyone returned to the village together.

The attack on Nawaki and Orochimaru seemed to have ended without resolution.

But Orochimaru and Tsunade both intended to investigate in secret. If they discovered that Konoha's higher-ups were involved...

No one knew what the consequences would be.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, told Mirai Uzumaki and Izumi Uchiha to go home first, while keeping Minato Namikaze behind alone.

Kushina Uzumaki happily left hand in hand with Mirai Uzumaki, while Zhili's retreating figure looked somewhat lonely.

Still, having eaten the grilled eel Mirai Uzumaki had served her, she was equally delighted inside.

"Jiraiya-sensei, I wonder why you kept me behind?" Minato Namikaze wore a peaceful smile, looking somewhat puzzled.

Jiraiya gave Minato Namikaze a complicated look. He always felt that this child was a lot like him.

In terms of their circumstances.

Both were civilians. At Minato's side were the genius Mirai Uzumaki and Izumi Uchiha, the daughter of Konoha's currently largest clan.

Back then, he had been the same. He was a civilian, Orochimaru was that genius, and Tsunade was a member of the Senju Clan!

Minato! To keep up with those geniuses, you must have suffered terribly and worked desperately hard to chase after them, right?

But if Minato Namikaze had known that this was what Jiraiya's meaningful gaze meant,

Then he definitely would have retorted—

No, Jiraiya-sensei, I'm actually doing fine.

Who says I'm not a genius too?