Chapter 271: Mother Arrives
The intense construction work always made it easy to lose track of time.
Dana buried his head in work for several days until his Old Man contacted him via the Communication Snail.
During this special period, the Third Raikage had moved his office to Asuka Castle. Or rather, the entire central command of Kumogakure had temporarily relocated there.
The Third Raikage now had a larger desk because he had even more documents to process.
When he was only managing a village, he was already overloaded. Now that matters from all over the country required his attention, one could imagine the situation.
The Third Raikage had gone from the initial excitement of "doing big things" to the numbness of being buried in paperwork.
His face was perpetually stoic as he stamped documents mechanically.
Seeing Dana arrive, the Third Raikage wiped his face, forcing himself to sober up a bit.
"I called you here to remind you... don't just focus on work. How many days has it been since you went to see my daughter-in-law?"
Dana froze, then felt a bit ashamed. "Uh... about four days?"
The Third Raikage looked at Dana with disdain. "It's been six days. The wedding is in less than two weeks. Put down your work for a bit. Your mother is arriving in the capital soon. Go see Natsu first, then pick up your mother. She's coming specifically for the wedding."
Dana asked, "Is she coming via Heavenly Transfer Technique?"
The Third Raikage rubbed his temples. "How is that possible? Your mother brought over seventy people, all mobilized from the clan. She vowed to organize a grand wedding."
When Dana found Natsu, she was training.
Although she had become the Daimyo, Natsu still lived in her small room. So many people had died in the master bedroom at the top of Asuka Castle that she refused to sleep there.
The only difference was the upgrade in status. After all, she was the Daimyo; her food, clothing, and daily necessities had improved significantly. The Cloud, controlling the "Daimyo's Office," wouldn't mistreat her in this regard.
Instead, Natsu found it annoying. Her room wasn't big to begin with, and having so many people coming and going every day was frustrating. She truly had the resolve to be a "puppet Daimyo" and just wanted to live her old life.
After Momo opened the door, Dana bent down to enter the room and was stunned. The structure hadn't changed, but the decoration was vastly different. Gorgeous paintings, intricate tapestries, pure silver candlesticks were piled everywhere. Even the candles were special, as thick as an arm.
Seeing Dana's confused look, Natsu said helplessly, "They insisted on decorating this place and kept moving things in. It was already small, and now it's hard to even turn around. Especially these candles... they smell so weird."
"Well, you are the Daimyo after all. Living at the bottom of the castle is one thing, but if there were no decorations, people might think the Cloud imprisoned you."
He walked over and sat cross-legged beside Natsu. He noticed the book in her hand was the one he had written for her: "From Beginner to Master: The Ninja World's Super Rookie..."
The handwritten manuscript, bound into a book, looked well-worn.
"Still reading it? I haven't asked you before... how is your training going? Mastered it yet?"
Natsu said proudly, "Of course. According to your description, I should be at least Chunin level now."
Going from failing as a Genin to becoming a Chunin in three years—her talent wasn't bad, maybe slightly above average. However, Natsu's combat experience was approximately zero. The so-called "Chunin level" likely only referred to chakra volume and ninjutsu proficiency.
Dana feigned surprise. "Eh? That fast? That is indeed impressive. Becoming a Chunin in just three years."
Natsu could barely contain her smug expression.
Perhaps due to her childhood experiences, Natsu had immense patience when it came to mastering power. Even if it was just theory on paper, years of dedicated training couldn't be faked.
As for her original goal of escaping Asuka Castle through training... well, now that she was the nominal master of Asuka Castle, that goal was selectively forgotten.
Dana sat for a while and found that the candles indeed had a strange, cloyingly sweet smell, as Natsu said. He could understand that it might be a scent nobles considered sophisticated, but to his senses, it felt like someone had poured honey into his nostrils and then sprinkled soap shavings outside.
This wasn't a candle; it was practically a fumigation bomb.
Thinking about Natsu's special status now, unable to go out freely and even less free than before, forced to endure this cloying smell in this room, he suddenly felt a bit guilty.
Looking at Natsu, he asked on a whim, "Want to take a walk around the capital?"
Natsu's eyes lit up. "Really? Is it appropriate?"
"I think few people would recognize you..."
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Saying that, she jumped up to change clothes. Truth be told, even before, she rarely had the chance to visit the capital. Although separated by only a wall, the capital was both familiar and strange to her.
Ignoring Momo's protests about wanting to come along, Natsu put on a sleek ninja outfit. She and Dana left Asuka Castle directly through the window.
"First, let's find something to eat!"
Ninja world snacks were mostly dango, yokan, daifuku, and the like. Unless the quality was exceptionally high, Dana usually wasn't used to eating them, but Natsu would probably like them.
After a period of repair, the capital had recovered some of its former atmosphere. Traffic was heavy, and people came and went endlessly. The citizens, much like the Cloud villagers, wanted to work hard to make up for the losses of the past year.
"Big sale! Big sale! Big peaches with small pits, small peaches with no pits!"
"Reopening! The pleasure district is reopening! Familiar girls, familiar taste!"
"Seasonal new product, big sale! Big walnuts with small kernels, small walnuts with no kernels!"
The endless shouting formed the varied tapestry of the busy market. Natsu looked left and right, curious about everything.
Whenever they passed a snack or treat stall, Dana would casually buy a few portions. Soon, Natsu's hands were full.
"I can't eat anymore..."
"You can bring it back for Momo. She can definitely eat it. I didn't bring her along just now, and she looked like she was about to cry from anger."
Natsu smiled sheepishly and apologized to Momo in her heart. After all, three people going out was completely different from two.
Two people... wasn't that basically a date?
"Although I rarely had the chance to come out before, I could always see the capital's prosperity through the window. For the past year, everyone here has suffered so much, and many places became desolate. Now it's finally better."
Dana nodded. "Raihara Yukihiro was indeed a lunatic. But compared to the liveliness of the capital, the current Cloud Village is even better. I'll take you back to see it later. The New Kumogakure was practically built by my hands."
"Dana-kun is so amazing. You can do everything."
"Just know a little bit."
Checking the sky, Dana suddenly said, "By the way, I'm going to the East Gate to check. My mother should be arriving soon."
"Okay... EH? MOTHER?!!!"
Natsu's hands waved like windmills.
"Wait! How can you just gloss over such an important thing with 'by the way'?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?! I'm not prepared at all!!"