Tsuna opened her eyes as she looked at the window, seeing that the sun was already shining through the three windows of that house. Indicating the start of the morning.
She lifted the upper part of her body, stretching her arms and yawning, while looking to the side and seeing five futons, with four occupied and one empty.
She had felt Minato leaving about twenty minutes earlier along with other members of the house as soon as they woke up, even though she was still asleep, managing to detect the movement of chakra unconsciously and not caring enough to wake up, since it didn't seem to be an urgent or dangerous situation.
The other futons were used by Mikoto, Hanabi, and the latter's grandfather, sleeping in the middle of the living room in one of the Uzumaki clan's houses, none other than Kushina's mother's house.
Kushina herself had gone to sleep in her mother's room, trying to recover the years spent away from each other.
When they arrived at the clan the previous night, they had a short meeting with the clan leaders along with the head, which left them quite frustrated with Konoha's response after everything.
They cursed and complained about everything that had happened, not that they didn't have the right to feel that way. At the same time, Minato represented the small but powerful group, showing enough courage along with his companions to try to mediate the Uzumaki clan's catastrophe.
The Uzumakis seemed a little skeptical about it, but respected Minato more than ever according to Kushina.
The conversation between the leader and the elders did not last long, with everyone wanting to discuss more about what would happen with the group that had arrived to help them. It was decided that, the next day, they would meet again to discuss more clearly what they would do next or even to thank them for coming. Kushina wasted no time in wanting to sleep at her mother's house.
That was how they ended up in that house, with Minato having refused the leader's request to stay in his mansion and instead going to Akahana Uzumaki's house, at Kushina's own request, who wasn't upset at all about receiving them so suddenly, offering the living room to set up the futons, happy to have her daughter back after some days away.
Tsuna noticed movement in the kitchen, knowing very well it was Minato, Kushina, and Akahana. She got up and left the living room behind, entering the kitchen and seeing Kushina and her mother working on chores, while Minato was sitting at the table.
"Good morning, Tsuna." Kushina said cheerfully, as she finished heating the water.
"Good morning, everyone." Tsuna replied. "You're already up once again."
"Come, join me." Minato said calmly, as she sat down beside him.
"I think we'd better call the others." Kushina's mother commented.
"Don't worry, they're already coming. Waking up after I leave..." Tsuna said, as Hanabi, Mikoto, and the elderly man also entered the kitchen.
"Come, join us at the table." Akahana said, as she served the coffee and everyone gathered.
"You are very kind, miss. Thank you for your hospitality." Hanabi's grandfather said gratefully.
"It was nothing. I'm happy to meet Kushina's friends, especially now that she confirmed to me last night that you are also her true family." Akahana said, winking at Minato. She had probably been told by Kushina about everything — so many young girls around just one boy. Not to mention that one of them was pregnant and it wasn't Kushina.
Tsuna didn't say anything, nor did she try to express anything. She was already used to the idea of having to share him with the others since the academy days...
At first, she believed Minato would be destined only for her, since she was the first to interact with him among all the others, when she had sat directly beside him in the academy just because she used to be spoiled and thought it would be fun to annoy him. But at the same time, besides him being the most handsome boy in the class, there was something about him, which was why she approached him from the very first day and ignored everyone criticizing her for getting close to an orphan civilian when she was the Senju princess, just like her mother.
But she couldn't provoke him much when the Uchiha sat on the other side of the table, and it didn't take long for her to discover Mikoto, who also looked at him in a not-so-conventional way, as if she too was attracted to Minato.
Even with those disputes happening since that moment, putting the boy in the middle of them, Mikoto always seemed to find an excuse to stare at her from across the way, while Minato remained between the two of them.
Mikoto would find an excuse to stare at Tsuna, only so that she could look at the boy the whole time.
She felt threatened, even though she was just a little girl having silly thoughts about him, like a childish romance throughout the months. Even though Minato didn't show great skills at first, she knew there was something special about him, something that became clear when he surpassed everyone, even them, by the end of the year.
Afterwards, the dispute began to be summarized as two clans, perhaps even transforming her rivalry with Mikoto into something more intense precisely because of Minato, more than because of the history between the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan.
Deep down, she knew it was just because of the boy. She hated being in that "fangirl" position, with her tsundere attitude against the proud rival Uchiha, but she couldn't deny that was exactly what was happening.
Years later came Kushina, who seemed to have all of Minato's attention from the moment he saw her, which secretly filled her with jealousy and left her frustrated.
Later, came Hanabi, also joining them. When Tsuna realized it, Minato was already surrounded by women, and she didn't know when things started going wrong, remembering that first day in the academy when she could have had him to herself.
But now she didn't care anymore. He seemed happy with all of them, and she knew he needed them all by his side too. This moment proved it more than ever, after everything they had gone through together.
Not only had she lived a life beside Minato, but each one of them there had also experienced unique moments with him, and it would be impossible to deny that there was much more than just an attraction to someone handsome and talented like him. There was something Minato had built with each of them.
So, she could say she was completely calm when people asked and were astonished to realize that Minato had four future wives around him. Even with all the suspicion, it no longer shook her or made her feel embarrassed.
They ate their first meal of the day peacefully, with scrambled eggs, coffee, and tea. The Uzumaki clan had a reasonable amount of food grown on the island, as well as a farm where they kept cows, pigs, and chickens to feed the clan. Because of this, the island was quite independent and almost didn't need trade, except for what they exchanged with the Land of Fire, since they were self-sufficient even when it came to food.
"Let's go to the leader's house. Mu left a scroll saying we need to plan and discuss some things and also that we need to find a place to stay. I wouldn't want to trouble Miss Akahana for another night." Minato said as soon as he finished his meal.
"You don't need to worry about me, Minato. You can stay here." Kushina's mother tried to argue.
But Minato shook his head. "I appreciate the hospitality for this night and also your invitation, but we need to find a better place, bigger, you know."
Minato scratched his head, not wanting to seem rude to Kushina's mother, while she ended up understanding that they wanted a place where everyone could be more comfortable, as this house couldn't shelter them all.
"It's all right... if that's the case, I don't see any problem. There are some places in the village that are empty. The leader will surely be able to make them available." Akahana said.
"Well, let's go then. We have some matters to settle." Minato said, as everyone began to leave, leaving only Kushina's mother in the house. The group continued walking toward the leader's house.
Minato had never seen the village at the very start of the morning and was certainly amazed to see so many Uzumakis of all ages coming out of their homes, whether children running around, men heading out to work or just to handle business, while many Uzumaki women were carrying empty baskets to the village's central market, intending to replenish their household supplies.
Minato sighed. Now it wasn't just him drawing everyone's attention. His blond hair stood out from afar, and the curious gazes landed directly on him. And now, everyone was also staring at Tsuna, Hanabi, her grandfather, and Mikoto, who walked beside Kushina, also attracting attention. People wondered who that Uzumaki girl was and why she was walking with those strangers.
Some Uzumaki Shinobi approached, saying they would escort them. No one refused, and so they continued through the village, still observed by curious eyes and discreet whispers, with fingers pointing at them.
The children pointed at them as if they were seeing the strangest things they had ever witnessed, just because they had different-colored hair.
"They look at us as if we were strangers." Hanabi commented.
"Remember when the academy classmates treated Kushina as something exotic. Even though they were cruel back then, they were still surprised by the color of her hair. It's no wonder that we also seem exotic to this crowd of Uzumakis right now." Tsuna said.
"Yes, but soon they'll get used to us. They seem so calm." Minato commented, analyzing the village.
'It seems the leaders are maintaining a peaceful atmosphere, and I doubt they know about Konoha's rejection. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so passive, strolling through the streets so calmly, without worry. Maybe they don't even know that the attacks have already started getting closer to the village. They only depend on themselves now, they can't count on anyone else.' Minato was thoughtful, staying silent while observing the movement of the island as the Uzumaki shinobi kept curious children away, who tried to approach the strangers.
"It's a matter of destruction or salvation. And they'd probably laugh if they knew that the only reinforcements who came to help the clan are just a bunch of five teenagers under twenty years old, walking through their streets... and an old man who is certainly a retired ninja." He couldn't help but murmur in a whisper so that no one else could hear his thoughts.
They went on until they reached the clan's house, where the leader himself, Masaki, Mu, and all the other elders by his side were standing to receive them.
"I see you've arrived. Well, we're going to have some meetings before we begin alerting the whole clan. There's no reason to hold this back any longer. We must immediately start working on the island's defense." The leader said, with Minato nodding as he greeted him and the others.
"All right, we can talk. I would also like to give some strategic points and a few ideas so we can begin working on the clan's defense." Minato said, pausing before continuing.
"Anyway, I'd also like to go to one of the houses you had already offered us yesterday. I liked the idea of one exclusively just for us." Minato asked politely.
The leader nodded. "Very well, we can do that now. You can come with me. We'll begin our discussion, and we'd like to have all of you in the meeting, since you're the only ones from Konoha here." He said.
And so they followed him into the house, where the other elders came along, waiting.
At the same time, Minato couldn't help but glance back for a moment before crossing the mansion's doors, thinking about Konoha, wondering if they already knew that they had left the village and what they were thinking of them at that very moment. He was curious, after all, he had left many people behind for his own reasons.
Gai, Duy, Guy, the members of the ghost squad, Ino-Shika-Cho, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Nawaki, Sakumo, Kakashi.
Either way, that didn't matter anymore. Now he had to keep his mind focused elsewhere. He turned his gaze back to the entrance as he walked along with all the others