Kushina: I'm Lying

Hideki rushed into the room, his expression immediately darkening.

He quickly moved away from the door—hiding behind it would only make him look suspicious.

Hideki refilled the burned-dry kettle with cold water and lit the stove to boil it.

During that time, he never heard another knock, but he also did not hear the Root operative's departing footsteps.

First Orochimaru, and now Danzo. This is getting a little serious.

Hideki muttered.

It was not thieves breaking in that he feared, but thieves watching him. Orochimaru had at least approached him peacefully, but Danzo was different.

Honestly, Hideki had already prepared to resist. If that Root operative tried to use force, he would make sure to cause a commotion nearby.

In broad daylight, he refused to believe Root would dare abduct someone in full public view.

What, were they going to call him a spy?

Creak—

The water came to a boil.

Yet there was still no movement outside.

Remaining vigilant, Hideki took out cup after cup of instant noodles and poured in the water. But by the time he had unknowingly finished every last one, the knocking had still not resumed.

Just as Hideki let out a breath, thinking the Root operative had gone far away, faint footsteps suddenly sounded overhead again.

Without another word, Hideki formed two Rasengan!

His ears perked up and his head tilted slightly. Root truly was not so easily shaken off. But if they dared use force today, Senju Hideki would turn hostile!

Come to think of it, Hideki had become increasingly proficient with the Rasengan, especially after last night.

The Senju Clan possessed a special constitution, as well as a special method of refining chakra.

Until now, Hideki had always used the standard "civilian" version.

According to the old man, ordinary chakra refinement techniques could not fully awaken the Senju Clan's special constitution. The Senju Clan's chakra reserves were not even on the same level as ordinary people's.

Hideki understood it too. This was the difference between a Sage Body and an ordinary mortal body.

Naruto had to suppress the Nine-Tails, yet he still possessed more than twice the chakra of an adult Kakashi.

After gaining Kurama's acknowledgment, his chakra would be more than a hundred times Kakashi's.

The chakra pool of a Sage Body was always trustworthy.

And the Senju Clan's Sage Body was not merely remarkable because of its vast quantity.

After Hideki began correcting his methods, he could mobilize chakra noticeably faster than before.

Hashirama could clap his hands and use whatever jutsu he wanted, while Tobirama could raise a finger and enter instant-kill mode. Both benefited from this.

At that moment, Hideki held a Rasengan in each hand, his gaze cold and his ears pricked as he tightly locked onto the person on the roof.

The footsteps gradually moved from the rooftop to the eaves. Hideki fixed his gaze on the window, bending his knees slightly as he prepared to spring!

Hideki knew his own strength.

Genin might not have been enough to measure all of his abilities, but compared to those Root people who killed without blinking, the gap was still enormous.

His Sage Body offered no advantage before such absolute strength.

So he needed to strike first, cause a disturbance, and flee amid the chaos!

Hideki had already mapped out an escape route in his mind.

From here, the nearest Konoha Police Force outpost was only three intersections and two streets away. With his clones as disguises, shaking off Root would not be a problem!

But he had to cause this Root operative some trouble right from the start. Otherwise, no number of clones would be enough to keep them occupied.

Then, a bare foot suddenly appeared by the window. The size was not large—bigger than Obito's or Kakashi's, but smaller than old man Minato's.

But why would Hideki care about that? What did the size of a Root operative's foot have to do with him!

Now!

With his nerves stretched taut, Hideki charged forward. His Rasengan had not yet reached the level of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, but its power certainly could not have been much weaker than the Copy Ninja's practice Rasengan.

Yet it was in the midst of that charge—

That figure finally landed on the windowsill, meeting Hideki's eyes.

And Hideki finally saw the visitor's face clearly.

She was a woman with red hair and a pretty face. Her expression was somewhat blank, and she had a skewer of dumplings in her mouth, making her look not particularly bright.

Not Root.

Of course she was not Root. Hideki had even shared a bowl of ramen with this woman. Was she not Little Pepper Kushina!?

Damn! Why was it Kushina!?

That was Hideki's first reaction. His second was that he could not stop!

Then...

Bang!!!

Five minutes later.

"Sorry. I thought you were taking an afternoon nap, and I was afraid knocking would disturb you, so..."

Kushina spoke with an apologetic look. Hideki sat obediently to the side, staring at the two large holes in the wall that were nearly connected, feeling as though life had lost all meaning.

He had been unable to stop in time, so he could only make a sharp turn. The price was that his cozy little home now had better lighting.

"So... what did you need, Sister Kushina?" Hideki asked through gritted teeth.

Kushina coming over was not entirely a bad thing.

At least it proved Root had not continued pursuing him—or perhaps they had been scared off by Kushina.

Still, Hideki was curious. Why had Kushina sneaked over here?

"Actually... actually, it's because of Minato!" Kushina's gaze darted about as she scratched her head with forced casualness, looking somewhat guilty.

"He had something come up this afternoon, so your original... assessment, um, was entrusted to me."

"Really?" Hideki looked deeply suspicious. Kushina practically had the words "I'm lying" written across her face. Only a ghost would believe her.

But then again, how did Kushina know where he lived?

"Of course it's true. He begged me for ages before I agreed." For some reason, Kushina suddenly gained confidence, but quickly realized something was wrong. Her eyes narrowed. "Wait... little Hideki, are you doubting me?"

"No." Hideki spread his hands. "I'm just wondering why you weren't waiting for us at the agreed location."

"Obviously, if I knew where you—eh?" Having let something slip, Little Pepper felt that something was off. When she looked at Hideki again, she saw his faintly amused expression.

For some reason, Kushina felt that this little brat was absolutely detestable!

"My apologies, Lord Hokage."

"Kushina, she..."

Inside the Hokage's Office, Minato wore an apologetic, guilty expression.

"It is no great matter, Minato." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand tolerantly. "Although you are Team 7's supervising Jonin, you will inevitably have to carry out certain special missions in the future. Having Kushina take your place occasionally is also a good thing."

Minato secretly sighed in relief.

During the previous graduation assessment, Minato had returned in too much of a hurry and had not told Kushina.

This directly led to Kushina's outburst after Minato announced Team 7's debut over lunch.

"Why didn't you ask me to do something as fun as being a supervising Jonin!?"

Whenever Minato recalled the sight of Kushina's red hair flying wildly, his head began to ache. At the same time, he silently sympathized with the three little ones.

I hope Kushina doesn't do anything reckless...

Minato wore a bitter smile as he muttered inwardly.

Hideki: So this was why you sold my home address to your girlfriend? Pay up, you bastard!