Stamping Her Mark

Qianye Lan looked at Kushina and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Kushina?"

Kushina sat on the bed as she usually did and said, "Help me dry my hair. I can't get it dry by myself."

Qianye Lan said somewhat hesitantly, "I'm not very good at it..."

"Can't you learn?" Kushina rolled her eyes at him and handed him a clean towel.

Qianye Lan took the towel and tried rubbing her hair a few times.

He accidentally tugged on her hair, hurting her.

Kushina hissed.

Qianye Lan immediately stopped.

Kushina puffed out her cheeks and said, "Why are you so clumsy?"

But the way she looked now, she seemed to be acting cute, without any bite at all.

Kushina sighed softly, took Qianye Lan's hand, and said, "I'll teach you how to dry it..."

After giving Qianye Lan some instructions, Kushina tilted her head up to look at him and said, "Got it now?"

Qianye Lan tentatively dried her hair the way she had taught him.

Kushina narrowed her eyes, enjoying Qianye Lan's service.

A while later, after Qianye Lan had dried her hair.

Kushina opened her narrowed eyes, turned around, and gently kissed Qianye Lan on the cheek.

"Stamping my mark on you."

With that, she fled with a flushed face.

Qianye Lan touched the lingering warmth on his cheek, then looked in confusion at Kushina's retreating figure and muttered to himself.

"What's gotten into her today?"

Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and said, "I lost out! I should've returned it."

Kushina fled back to her room and buried her little head in her cushion.

She felt she had just gone crazy.

Just then, Mito Uzumaki entered her room. Seeing Kushina like this, she sat beside her bed and asked, despite knowing the answer, "Little Kushina, what's wrong?"

Kushina covered her bright red face without responding.

Mito Uzumaki smiled and said, "Looks like Qianye Lan bullied you. I'll throw him out, then."

With that, she stood up.

Hearing this, Kushina forgot her earlier embarrassment and quickly raised her head. "Grandma, don't..."

Mito Uzumaki sat back down and stroked Kushina's long red hair. "Then tell Grandma what exactly happened just now."

After hesitating for a moment, Kushina told her, bracing herself for Mito Uzumaki's scolding.

To her surprise, rather than scolding her, Mito Uzumaki encouraged her. "That's exactly what you should do, little Kushina. When you meet someone you like, you should pursue him."

"Huh?" Kushina looked at Mito Uzumaki in confusion.

What Mito Uzumaki said next made her jaw drop.

"Back in our day, people your age were already married."

Kushina looked utterly shocked at Mito Uzumaki's words.

She stammered, "That young?"

Mito Uzumaki didn't answer directly, merely saying, "If you like him, go for it. Don't leave yourself any regrets. After all, boys like Qianye Lan are very popular."

Kushina lowered her head with a blush and murmured, "Mm."

Mito Uzumaki patted her head and said, "Get some rest."

Then she left Kushina's room, closing the door behind her.

Mito Uzumaki then went to Qianye Lan's door and knocked. "Little Qianye Lan, are you asleep?"

Hearing the knock outside and Grandma Mito's voice, Qianye Lan said, "Not yet, Grandma Mito."

Mito Uzumaki pushed the door open, walked in, and sat in a chair, getting straight to the point. "What do you think of Kushina?"

Her question sent Qianye Lan's mind racing.

Seeing Qianye Lan deep in thought, Mito Uzumaki said gently, "No need to be so cautious. Just speak normally."

Hearing this, Qianye Lan began to answer, "She's very lively and very kind."

After hearing his assessment, Mito Uzumaki said, "As long as you think well of Kushina, that's good. Before long, you may have to take care of her."

Qianye Lan's expression changed, and he quickly caught on. Somewhat anxiously, he said, "Grandma Mito, are you...?"

With that, he started to get up to find Tsunade.

But as though she had guessed his thoughts, Mito Uzumaki reached out and held him down. "I know my own body best. Tsunade has tried many things, but they all failed."

Qianye Lan's eyes reddened slightly.

Seeing him like this, Mito Uzumaki comforted him. "This is the law of time. No one can change it."

At that moment, Qianye Lan recalled some details he had normally overlooked.

Details such as Grandma Mito growing increasingly fond of sleeping lately, and her memory getting worse and worse.

After a long hesitation, he asked, "Does Kushina know?"

Mito Uzumaki shook her head. "Of course she doesn't."

Seeing that Qianye Lan still wanted to say something, Mito Uzumaki stopped him.

"From now on, I'm leaving Kushina in your care."

With that, she left the room.

Early the next morning, Kushina pushed Qianye Lan's door open and said, "Lan, time to get up."

Hearing her, Qianye Lan pulled his whole body under the covers and said, "My blanket has sealed me."

Kushina reached out with her small hands and mercilessly hauled him out of the covers.

"Get up, get up! Didn't we agree yesterday that we'd go have barbecue with Mikoto to celebrate?"

Qianye Lan let her pull him up, only for Kushina to suddenly cry, "Ah!" Her pretty face flushed slightly as she said, "Y-you, why aren't you wearing clothes?"

At her question, Qianye Lan said irritably, "Who have you ever seen sleeping with clothes on?"

Kushina said meekly, "I wear pajamas to bed."

After saying that, she looked at Qianye Lan with complete sincerity, admiring his figure while she was at it.

Her stare made Qianye Lan feel a little uneasy, and he quickly got dressed.

Kushina clicked her tongue and muttered something about who would want to look anyway.

But her slightly reddened ears still betrayed her thoughts.

As Kushina and Qianye Lan were about to leave, they happened to run into Hatake Sakumo.

Qianye Lan asked in confusion, "Uncle Sakumo, is something the matter?"

Hatake Sakumo ignored him and instead said to Kushina beside him, "You don't mind if I borrow your Qianye Lan for two minutes, do you?"

Qianye Lan looked utterly bewildered at his words.

Since when did I become Kushina's?

Kushina lowered her head with a blush and said, "If you need him for something, Sensei, go ahead."

Qianye Lan inwardly protested furiously, Why are you agreeing to that?

Still, he followed Hatake Sakumo to a relatively private spot.

Qianye Lan asked in confusion, "Uncle Sakumo, is something the matter?"

Hatake Sakumo patted his shoulder and said, "I've come to give you some good news. The Sunagakure spy we caught last time stole critical intelligence from the village, so each of us gets credit for one S-rank mission. The rewards will be handed out later."

Qianye Lan asked somewhat curiously, "What kind of rewards will they be?"

Hatake Sakumo lowered his head in thought for a moment and said, "Probably some cash rewards or some ninjutsu."