Swapping Lunches

Tsunade and Mito had also learned about Minato beforehand. He was cheerful and outgoing, and his skills were nothing to scoff at.

Although Tsunade wasn't happy with the old man's unilateral arrangement, Kushina did need friends. She had no problem with Minato himself, so she hadn't said much.

But from the looks of things, Minato was completely out of the running.

Don't blame me for not giving you a chance, old man Third Hokage.

Now that Kushina had accepted Ryuuzaki Eiji, Tsunade needed to act too.

He was skilled and knew Space-Time Ninjutsu. What if that old dog Danzo set his sights on him?

Should she just invite him to live at the Senju Ancestral Home?

Tsunade shook her head at the thought. Honestly, the two of them weren't even close to being a couple, and here she was thinking that far ahead.

She should keep watching for now. The higher-ups probably wouldn't move that quickly.

Just then, someone knocked on the door of the Senju Ancestral Home.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. She had a good idea who it was.

She walked over and opened the door. An Anbu Ninja wearing a Cat-Faced Mask crouched before her.

"An Anbu Ninja? Does that old man Third Hokage want something?"

"I don't know, Lady Tsunade. Please read the scroll."

The Anbu Ninja presented the Secret Scroll with both hands. Once Tsunade took it, he leaped away.

Tsunade unrolled the scroll. After reading it, she gave a look of understanding and casually tossed it to Kushina.

"Tsunade, that's an order from the Hokage. You should show him some respect. How can you disclose its contents?"

Mito Uzumaki reminded her.

"It's nothing, Grandma. The old man heard about Ryuuzaki Eiji, so he wants me to examine his eyes. If possible, he'd like me to take Eiji as my apprentice."

"Really!? That's wonderful!"

Kushina had only read halfway through when she heard Tsunade. She excitedly dropped the scroll and rushed over. If Eiji became Tsunade's apprentice, she could see him all the time.

"You... fell for him awfully fast, didn't you?"

Tsunade's mouth twitched. What was so great about that kid? He'd won Kushina over on their very first day.

Was he that good at this, or was Kushina just that easy to win over?

"I—I haven't fallen for him! I just want to be his friend!"

Kushina knew she'd been a little too eager. Her cheeks reddened, and she traced the ground with one toe as she stammered out her defense.

"All right. We don't even know if he's suited for it. I never said I'd definitely take him as an apprentice."

"Huh!? How can you say that..."

Kushina's face fell.

"Wow, that's mean."

Nawaki had barely finished speaking before Tsunade punched him on the head. He fell silent from the pain.

"Shut up! You've studied under me for so long and you're still only half-trained. Aren't you ashamed? Don't let him beat you on his first day here!"

"Tsunade! How can you say that? He has a Kekkei Genkai. Of course it makes sense if I can't beat him!"

"Like hell it does! So you can't beat him, and you've decided to give up? Get back to training!"

Konoha Ninja Academy

Ryuuzaki Eiji propped his cheek on one hand, boredom written all over his face.

He found it strange. He'd sent Shinji to Konoha Hospital with one punch yesterday, yet the Genin brother Shinji had mentioned still hadn't shown up.

And Eiji had been looking forward to seeing how much Fusion Value he'd get for defeating a Genin.

Instead, there'd been no grand confrontation where he could put the guy in his place. Even the trip to school that morning had been uneventful.

One thing worth mentioning was that the Uchiha and Hyuga Clan had apparently gotten into an argument in the village last night. In the end, even the Anbu had stepped in to stop them.

But according to an unreliable source, the two sides hadn't actually fought. Only an Unnamed Genin had been caught up in it and sent to Konoha Hospital.

After that, the Uchiha and Hyuga Clan members had scattered. The whole thing made no sense.

That's what you get for hanging around to watch the drama. I'd have stayed well away, Eiji thought.

But why did Fugaku and Hiashi keep making faces at him? What were those two up to?

Come to think of it, those two had been involved in last night's dispute too, hadn't they?

He hadn't thought those two pushovers had it in them to stand their ground. Maybe neither side would yield on which was the Strongest Dōjutsu Family.

Incidentally, Eiji had gone home yesterday and made a decision his ancestors would never forgive.

He'd eaten Daifuku again.

When he'd unlocked the system yesterday, he'd suspected that eating Daifuku might increase his unlock progress.

After all, the condition for unlocking the system had been eating Ten Thousand Daifuku. He hadn't eaten a single one since unlocking it, and Daifuku was Satoru Gojo's favorite food.

Sure enough, eating one had raised his Fusion Rate by 5%, bringing it to 15%. He'd also learned the Cursed Technique Azure.

Eiji felt a lot more confident now.

It was a move that worked for both offense and defense.

Azure represented absolute attraction.

At low power, it could rapidly pull an enemy toward him, much like Banshō Ten'in.

At full power, it created something like a small Black Hole. Anything caught in it would be torn to shreds. He could control it freely, making it a technique capable of widespread destruction.

He could also use Azure's pull to float in the air, or even compress space for high-speed movement comparable to Flying Thunder God.

Granted, he could only move within the Six Eyes' detection range of a few kilometers. In that respect, it fell short of Flying Thunder God.

But he didn't have to throw Flying Thunder God Kunai around to prepare the battlefield. Eiji could move anywhere he could detect, as long as no obstacles blocked the path.

At noon, everyone took out the lunches they'd brought from home and prepared to eat.

Eiji swept his Six Eyes around the room. Fugaku's and Hiashi's lunch boxes were packed with expensive ingredients. Those big clans certainly didn't skimp on food.

Choza's lunch was a little excessive, with rice piled into a small mountain. Everyone else's looked fairly normal... except for the guy whose box was full of assorted edible insects.

Eiji took out his own lunch, planning to make do with it, when Kushina, sitting beside him, gave him a poke.

"How about we swap lunches today?"

Kushina looked at Eiji earnestly and held out her lunch box with both hands.

Calling it a lunch box hardly seemed right to Eiji. It looked more like a treasure chest.

It had beautifully crafted patterns, the Uzumaki Clan crest painted in the center, and sparkling gems set around the sides.

She's loaded.

Then again, it made sense. After the Land of Whirlpools fell, Kushina and Mito Uzumaki had become the rightful heirs to its Treasury.

And Mito Uzumaki would pass that fortune on to Kushina someday. That made Kushina practically the richest person in the entire Shinobi World.

Though if events followed the original story, the Konoha F4 had probably divided up the money after Mito Uzumaki died, leaving Kushina only a street in Konoha as compensation.