Kushina's Graduation

"Don't worry about Kushina, just let her be. Nanami, has Tsunade been in the village recently?"

"Lady Tsunade does not seem to have left the village; I saw her around here the day before yesterday."

Nanami replied, though inwardly she was still wondering about what Kushina had just done. Did "let her be" mean she should intervene or not? Did it mean casually leaking news about her own boss?

Karn nodded and said, "Help me contact Tsunade. If she has time, I'd like to treat her to a drink in the second-floor private room of the Karn Izakaya."

"I understand."

Afterwards, Nanami spoke with Karn about a few other matters. Business at the thirteen shops within Konoha was doing quite well. Aside from the pharmacy being a bit quiet, the revenue of the other stores was steadily rising. The game store, dessert shop, and izakaya in particular were practically becoming hallmarks of Konoha.

The convergence of crowds naturally brought a steady boost in fame. What was more, this street was filled entirely with consumers, which naturally drew others to come here. Besides, at this time in Konoha, Karn's area was the only commercial street gathered in one place; even people from the Uchiha clan would come here to spend, and quite a few of them seemed to have a sweet tooth.

The sponsorship of the orphanage had also been going on for over a year. By now, Karn had quite a bit of fame within Konoha, and many people knew that every month Karn sponsored the orphanage with two million one hundred thousand ryo, allowing those wandering orphans left homeless by the war to be well-fed and warmly clothed.

Because the number of children taken in by the orphanage had increased quite a bit, the sponsored amount had changed from five hundred thousand ryo to seven hundred thousand ryo half a year ago. Now, the war orphans taken in by the three orphanages exceeded three hundred. If not for Karn's sponsorship, Konoha would hardly have wanted to shoulder such a huge expense.

Doing this was also effective. Among the children taken in by the three orphanages, thirteen had been sent by Karn to the Ninja Academy. Yakushi Nonō was the smartest among them; she was in the same year as Kushina, and her last exam put her fourth in her grade.

Her practical combat scores dragged her down a bit, but her theoretical scores were undisputed first place.

Moreover, Yakushi Nonō also occasionally told Karn some information she had gathered inside the Ninja Academy. Although this wasn't Karn's instruction, Nonō took the initiative to do it. Her presence in daily life was relatively low, and when listening to small cliques in the school discuss things, she could get quite a bit of news from their mouths about the elders in each other's families.

Yakushi Nonō didn't know which of those things were useful and which were useless, but Karn was still quite satisfied with her performance, only that sometimes it was too obvious.

After Nanami left, Karn waited in the room for the evening to arrive.

Even if Tsunade hadn't left the village, she was likely busy with medical reforms now. Over the past year and more, Tsunade's fame had grown greater and greater, though it had little to do with the Sannin; her reputation resounded because of Medical Ninjutsu.

Although Karn didn't live in Konoha much, his room was kept very clean, and Karn had even set up a few cameras inside. Every time he came back, he would check them, though currently he hadn't found anyone breaking in uninvited, aside from those who came to clean.

Before long, a familiar voice suddenly drifted in from outside, followed by the sound of pattering footsteps. Having learned her lesson from the last time over one hundred thousand ryo, Kushina had developed the habit of knocking over the past year and more.

"Come in."

As Karn finished speaking, the door was pulled open, and a small red-haired head poked in. Seeing Karn sitting before the tea table, Kushina walked in with a smile.

"Boss, I didn't expect you to be back so soon."

While speaking, Kushina skillfully poured herself a cup of tea, then sat down on the other side of the tea table.

"What you shouldn't have expected is that I'd run into you coming to find me the moment I got back. It really is quite a coincidence, it seems. You graduated from the Ninja Academy? Congratulations, Kushina."

Karn's first half-sentence instantly made Kushina beam, but upon hearing the second half, she proudly swept back her flame-like red hair, fully exposing her Forehead Protector.

"How about it, this Forehead Protector is cool, right? I was third in the whole school, you know."

"Truly impressive. This is your graduation gift."

As soon as Karn finished speaking, he pulled a piece of chocolate out of the pastry box beside him and placed it in front of Kushina. This perfunctory action of his instantly made Kushina's good mood vanish. She puffed out her cheeks and looked at Karn with dissatisfaction.

"Too stingy, Boss! And besides, these pastries are the ones that didn't get put away last time..."

"Is that so?" Karn chuckled twice, then stood up and walked toward the room. "Wait a moment, I'll go get another gift."

Seeing this action, the dissatisfied lumps on Kushina's face dissipated. She sat in her spot, waiting with a little bit of expectation in her heart. Karn had gone back into the room to see what was in his Spatial Backpack; young girls were still quite easy to fool.

Before long, seeing Karn walk out of the room, she immediately opened her mouth in surprise.

Although she had eaten cake twice before, Kushina was seeing a cake nearly a meter tall for the first time. In the past, she had only ever eaten single-layer ones.

"Boss, is-is this for me?"

Kushina asked, her eyes fixed on the cake without moving. Her small hands under the table kept tugging and twisting left and right as she looked at Karn with great anticipation, waiting for his answer.

"That's right, it's for you. Remember to eat it tonight; if you leave it until tomorrow, it might go bad."

With that, Karn placed the cake on the table, motioning that Kushina could take it away whenever she liked.

Kushina stared unblinkingly at the cake before her, licked her lips, and said, "Then I'm going to call my squadmates to eat it together. Boss, won't you come too?"

"Count me out. I have things to do tonight; go celebrate."

Karn refused, as he certainly didn't want to go to the Senju Clan Compound.

Afterwards, Kushina stayed at Karn's place for a little longer before preparing to leave in order to notify her squadmates.

"I'll walk you out."

Karn stood up along with her and then saw Kushina out the door. The current Kushina looked rather comical, hugging a cake that blocked her face, which made walking on the street quite difficult for her. She had to stretch her neck out just to ensure she didn't collide with others.

As she stepped out of the dessert shop, Karn suddenly felt as though someone was watching their direction. He then scanned the surroundings and spotted what looked like a person hiding behind the utility pole at the corner of the street.

Karn motioned to Kushina and then asked, "Kushina, do you know that person over there?"

"That guy? I know him, but we're not very close."

Seeing Minato Namikaze walking past while pretending to be nonchalant, Kushina frowned and pouted as she said, "A classmate from the Ninja Academy, but he talks all girly, and he even mocked me once. What is this guy doing here?"

"Probably here to celebrate with you?"

"I don't want to celebrate with someone who mocked me. Boss, I'm heading back first."

With that, Kushina walked cautiously toward home with her neck stretched out. If she bumped the cake and ruined it, her heart would ache for half a month.