"I didn't expect Grandpa's Hokage robe to be made by an old lady..." Nawaki muttered in shock.
He never thought this ordinary-looking middle-aged woman was the creator of the iconic Hokage robes.
"Nawaki, don't be rude!"
Tsunade patted Nawaki's head. "How can you call her an 'old lady' (Oba-san)?"
"Haha... I am an old lady now. Time flies. When I sewed the Haori for the First Hokage, I was still a young girl."
The owner covered her mouth and laughed, waving her hand as she reminisced.
"Back then, my craftsmanship was the best in the village. It was actually the Second Hokage who personally commissioned me. Later, the Second Hokage also ordered his from here, and by the time of the Third, it became a tradition."
"Thanks to the Hokages, my reputation grew a lot. Many wealthy clans and nobles come to me for custom tailoring now."
"No way..."
Nawaki looked skeptical. "This shop looks so run-down."
"Hahaha, you have to keep the original signboard, right?"
The owner laughed heartily. "This place started as just a sewing shop, then became a clothing store. My son and daughter-in-law run it now. They went to visit relatives yesterday, so I'm just watching the shop for a bit."
"I didn't know about that history," Tsunade said in surprise.
"You didn't know either, Sensei?" Minato asked.
Tsunade shook her head. "I just knew it was an old shop with a good selection and reasonable prices."
"I designed all of them. I even opened a garment factory."
The owner smiled proudly, pointing at the Haori Minato was wearing. "That Haori you're wearing is actually an improved design based on the Hokage robe."
"Eh? Really?"
Hearing this, Nawaki looked envious.
"It's true. Actually, it's because of the Third Hokage."
The owner explained with a smile, "Because the Third is quite thin, the traditional Hokage robe looked a bit hunched on him. That's when I realized that while the robes of the previous Hokages were dignified, they weren't convenient for combat."
"Although the Hokage has a high status, their core job is still being a ninja. So I thought of the 'Spirit Robe' concept. I raised the collar to make it look more dignified, and I designed several styles of similar Haori."
"The one you're wearing is a children's version I designed specifically. Short hem, high collar—doesn't it look cool?"
"Yes, I like it very much!"
Minato nodded with a smile. In his aesthetic opinion, the Fourth Hokage's robe style was indeed the coolest among all the Hokages.
"Are there other styles? I want one too!"
Nawaki looked at Tsunade with pleading eyes. "Sis—"
"Sigh..."
Tsunade pointed at Nawaki. "Pick one for this kid, too."
The owner looked Nawaki up and down, nodded silently, and pulled out a size that would fit him.
Nawaki eagerly put it on and stood in front of the full-length mirror.
He looked at Minato in the mirror, then at himself, and suddenly fell silent.
For some reason, the same clothes looked devastatingly handsome on Minato.
But on him... he looked a bit goofy, like he was trying too hard to look cool.
As the saying goes: Matching outfits aren't scary; whoever's ugly is the one who's embarrassed.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the shop fell silent.
The owner observed the scene. "As expected, round faces don't suit high collars..."
"I can see that!"
Nawaki's face turned dark. "I'm never wearing matching clothes with Minato again."
Minato felt awkward. "Sorry..."
Nawaki pouted. "It's not your fault..."
Kids are sensitive. Just now, he vaguely felt that the way the owner looked at Minato carried a sense of destiny—like she was looking at a future Hokage.
This made him feel disappointed and led to many thoughts.
This robe was inspired by the Hokage robe. Minato fits it so perfectly... is this a sign? Does it mean Minato is destined to become Hokage?
Thinking of Minato's strength and his terrifying double Bloodline Limit talent, Nawaki felt even more defeated.
Seeming to notice Nawaki's disappointment, Tsunade rubbed his head.
She didn't try to comfort him by saying he would definitely become Hokage.
If Minato hadn't appeared, she might have.
But from the day Minato showed up, there was no suspense about who would inherit the title.
Minato would become Hokage!
If Minato grew to possess strength like her grandfather's, then even if he didn't want to be Hokage, people would push him into the seat.
Because while the Hokage doesn't have to be the strongest in the village, the gap between them and the strongest cannot be too large.
Compared to raw power, factors like personal morality or villager approval were secondary.
If Minato wasn't Hokage, and the Hokage's orders conflicted with his will, who could command the village's strongest asset?
As an adult, Tsunade knew that "the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment," so she didn't falsely comfort Nawaki.
Instead of letting him blindly chase a dream only to be crushed later, she hoped Nawaki would recognize reality early, pull himself together, and keep working toward his dream. She believed her brother could do it.
Sure enough, after a brief moment of disappointment, Nawaki cheered up again.
"One day, I'll have a Hokage robe that suits me perfectly!"
Nawaki looked at Minato with burning eyes. "I'll let you win this time, Minato!"
"Eh?"
Minato was confused. He didn't know what Nawaki was going on about.
Tsunade smiled, and the owner watched the scene with a grin.
"Is that all?"
"Let's buy a few pairs of pants, too."
Soon, the morning passed, and the three bought a lot of stuff.
Clothes, pants, ninja sandals, a brand-new ninja tool pouch, a set of kunai and shuriken—everything needed for school was bought.
Minato also bought a lot of plant seeds, planning to try cultivating vegetables and fruits later.
After dropping everything off at home, they went to the sukiyaki place Tsunade recommended.
Just as she said, the sukiyaki was delicious. The shop also had sushi and sashimi, but it was pricey—the meal cost 6,000 ryo for the three of them.
Fortunately, ninjas are highly paid. This amount was nothing to Tsunade. Although she gambled a lot, her household funds were still sufficient. She wasn't yet at the point of being chased across the ninja world by debt collectors like in the future.
After lunch, they wandered around the streets for a while, went home to grab their toiletries, and headed to the hot spring district.
Then, passing a small alley, they accidentally bumped into a certain white-haired man peeping through the wooden fence of the women's bathhouse...