"Not bothering at all. If anything, I hope Aunt Mikoto can come over more often in the future."
"Aoba-nii!"
Before Aoba even finished talking, he had only taken two steps inside, another figure leapt at him.
In an instant, Karin was already clinging to him.
Aoba quickly reached out to support her so she wouldn't fall.
"Karin, there are a lot of people here."
Uzumaki Kasui scolded, displeased.
"I urgently need to replenish energy, or I'll lose vitality," Karin buried her face in Aoba's neck and inhaled, looking a bit like a crazed woman.
Aoba felt a little helpless. His neck felt a bit itchy, but he didn't say anything.
Kasui's entire face was covered with black lines.
She had no idea when her daughter had become like this.
'So embarrassing.'
Uchiha Mikoto watched with a gentle smile.
Kushina, however, after greeting Aoba, fixed her gaze entirely on Uchiha Mikoto.
Her eyes now were full of probing intent.
Dragging Mikoto here today was precisely because she wanted to confirm something in her heart.
"Kushina… why are you staring at me like that?", Mikoto tried her best to maintain her smile.
She wasn't blind. Being stared at like this, so blatantly, of course she felt it.
And this wasn't the first time.
Recently, whenever she was with Kushina, she could feel this kind of gaze.
At first, she thought something was on her face.
Later she realized Kushina kept staring at her from time to time, as if she had some hidden purpose.
"It's nothing," Kushina turned her head away.
"…"
Mikoto seriously wanted to pry open her best friend's skull to see what exactly she was thinking.
"Hm?", Aoba didn't pay much attention to the exchange between the two. He looked left and right, noticing the room was emptying.
Then he turned around and saw Fu still standing where she had been, frozen, with her head poking awkwardly around the corner.
"What are you doing?", Aoba walked over and gently knocked her on the head.
If her chakra hadn't been normal, he would've thought she'd been swapped out by someone.
'Why is she so quiet?'
Even the previously crazed-looking Karin curiously glanced toward her.
A girl acting like this was rare. She had only seen someone like that in Shizune or Mabui in the Hokage building.
"Huh?", Fu finally snapped out of her shock.
She had been counting how many girls were in the house.
Coming back to herself, she stepped out from behind the doorframe. Everyone was now looking at her, and before she could even greet them, Kushina had already zipped right in front of her, warmly grabbing her hands.
"You're the Seven-Tails' jinchuriki from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, right?", She had already heard about Fu from Tsunade and Shizune.
And for someone whose personality matched hers so well, Kushina instantly felt tremendous affection.
"Huh?", Fu stared blankly at the even-more-enthusiastic-than-her older sister, at a complete loss. She could only nod awkwardly.
It felt like her lines had been stolen.
"So cute. Welcome to Konoha," Kushina said, immediately pulling her toward the living room, "Come on, come on, let me introduce you to everyone at home."
As if this was her own house.
Aoba wiped a bit of sweat from his brow.
Though, Kushina did come here often.
Mainly because Karin and her mother lived here, and Tsunade and Nohara Rin too.
Although Naruto hadn't gone on training trips with Jiraiya this past year, with Aoba around, the Nine-Tails didn't hesitate to lend chakra, so Naruto had no trouble mastering it.
But he was often out on missions.
So Kushina, frequently home alone, ended up coming here to play.
In just a short while, Kushina had already introduced almost everyone.
Aoba simply smiled, then sat down on the sofa. Karin slid off of him but still stuck close to his side.
He didn't mind and asked Mikoto, "Aunt Mikoto, Sasuke and the others aren't back yet?"
Mikoto nodded, "This time, their mission is escorting a prince back to his country. The trip is pretty long."
"I see. If Sasuke and the others aren't home, you can come over like Kushina-neesan anytime. You're always welcome."
Aoba said with a warm smile, "It's livelier when everyone eats together."
Mikoto bit her lip, hesitated, then nodded, "Mm. I will."
In truth, she hoped Aoba could visit her home more instead. After all, his house had… too many people. Many things… were inconvenient.
If he visited her home, then when Sasuke wasn't there, it would only be the two of them. Then, they could…
As she thought of that, Mikoto's ears reddened and her head lowered, looking like she'd imagined something embarrassing.
But with so many people around, no one noticed her unusual reaction.
Except one person, her best friend who had been watching her the whole time.
Kushina's eyes suddenly flashed with brilliance.
She finally found a crack in Mikoto's defenses.
She had long been suspicious. Why would Mikoto blush during normal conversations?
And why was she suspicious?
Because once, while visiting Mikoto's home, she happened to run into Aoba there.
A man and a woman, alone.
And the way they cooked together in the kitchen, it didn't look like a normal relationship at all.
But normally, their behavior around others made it impossible to tell anything. If she asked directly and it turned out to be a misunderstanding, Mikoto would definitely be embarrassed.
And it might damage their relationships.
So she had been observing, trying to gather evidence. But they barely ever had chances to be alone, so it was hard to find proof.
She later tried a few surprise visits, but found nothing.
Until today, finally, she'd found another clue.
"Kushina-neesan? Kushina-neesan!"
While Kushina was debating whether to confront Mikoto, Fu's voice pulled her back.
"Fu? What's wrong?"
Fu looked at the red-haired big sister with concern, "Kushina-neesan, are you not feeling well? I called you several times."
Kushina blinked, then waved her hand, "No, no, I just spaced out a little. Sorry. What did you want to ask?"
Given she was an Edo Tensei body now, aside from being a bit dead, no illness could touch her.
"Good, as long as you're okay."
Fu didn't question it further. She asked excitedly, "Kushina-neesan, Aoba said there's a Two-Tails jinchuriki at home too. Where is she?"
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