A faint lipstick mark remained on half of Mirai’s cheek.
For a moment, his brain almost stopped working.
Then, in the next instant, a scream tore through the night above the Senju compound.
“Aaaaaah!
Don’t kiss Mirai!”
Kushina sprang out of her chair.
Her red hair seemed to rise without any wind, like a living flame.
She pointed furiously at Tsunade.
“Not even you, Big Sis Tsunade!
Nobody’s allowed to kiss him!
Mirai is my…
he’s…”
She suddenly froze halfway through the sentence.
“Your what?” Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow with obvious amusement.
“He’s…
he’s…”
Kushina opened and closed her mouth several times.
Her voice became quieter, her face redder, until finally she let out a strangled sound, spun around, and ran away.
Bang!
Her bedroom door slammed shut.
The table remained silent for two seconds.
Then Mito burst out laughing and nearly spilled her tea.
Tsunade stared for a moment before planting her hands on her hips and laughing even harder.
“Hahahaha!
That little girl!
She’s only seven and she’s already jealous?!”
Nawaki’s eyes widened.
He looked at Mirai, then at Kushina’s closed door, then turned back to Mirai with an expression that clearly said, ‘Brother, how are you this powerful?’
“Mirai, you-”
Nawaki raised a thumb.
“You’re this young and you’ve already got Kushina completely wrapped around your finger?!”
“I do not!” Mirai immediately denied it.
He tried to look as though being kissed on the cheek was completely ordinary and didn’t affect him at all.
Unfortunately, the lipstick mark and his slightly red ears betrayed him.
Mito lowered her tea with a smile in the corners of her eyes, looking from Mirai to Kushina’s closed door.
She gently shook her head.
“Hashirama…” she murmured.
“Can you see this?
This house is becoming too lively to contain all these little ones.”
Tsunade was still laughing, repeatedly smacking Mirai on the shoulder.
“Not bad, brat!
You don’t look like much, but apparently you’ve got some charm.
Even Kushina fell for you?”
“I didn’t!
She was the one who- forget it.”
Mirai rubbed the lipstick mark on his cheek and sighed helplessly.
“I’ll go call her for dinner.”
He walked to Kushina’s room and lightly knocked.
“Kushina, the food’s getting cold.”
Silence lasted for a long time before a muffled voice answered from inside.
“Hmph.
I’m not hungry.”
“Then I’ll eat your share too.”
“You dare?!”
The door immediately slid open just enough to reveal a pair of red, slightly watery eyes.
Mirai looked at her and couldn’t stop his mouth from curling upward.
“Come on.
Everyone’s waiting for you.”
This was clearly not the moment to keep teasing her.
Kushina stared at him for several seconds, then huffed and slowly opened the door.
As she passed, she deliberately bumped his shoulder.
“…If someone else kisses you next time, I’ll-”
“You’ll what?”
Kushina thought hard and realized there wasn’t much she could actually do.
Finally, she snapped, “I won’t talk to you anymore!”
“Hahaha!
Fine!”
Mirai cheerfully agreed.
They could deal with what happened if someone else ever kissed him later.
Apparently that little peck earlier had left quite an impression on Kushina.
When they returned to the table, the atmosphere was still slightly strange.
Tsunade didn’t care in the slightest.
She sat down and immediately began eating, even humming an unknown tune from time to time.
Mito held her tea with a quiet smile and looked back and forth between Mirai and Kushina without saying anything.
Nawaki kept his head down and ate desperately.
His status in the household was the lowest.
One wrong joke and someone would probably hit him.
Kushina wasn’t much different.
She kept her head lowered throughout the meal without saying a word.
Whatever entered her bowl, she ate.
Once she was finished, she simply sat quietly.
She barely touched the tomato-and-egg dish she normally loved.
Mirai, sitting beside her, placed a piece of fried pork cutlet into her bowl.
Kushina’s shoulder twitched.
Then she quietly ate it without looking at him.
“I’m full.”
Kushina put down her chopsticks, spoke softly, and returned to her room.
This time she closed the door gently.
Once she was gone, Nawaki finally couldn’t hold himself back.
“Sis, what you did just now- mmph!”
Tsunade jammed a chopstick between his lips before he could finish.
“Can’t food keep your mouth busy?”
“Mmph!
Mmph!”
Nawaki struggled until he pulled the chopstick free, rubbed his mouth pitifully, then caught Tsunade’s gaze and immediately became obedient again.
Tsunade wiped her mouth and crooked a finger at Mirai.
“Brat.
When you’re done eating, come to my room.
There’s a reward for you.”
Mirai paused.
“What reward?”
“You’ll know when you get there.
Stop dragging your feet.”
Mirai put down his bowl and followed Tsunade to her room.
Mito watched them leave and lowered her head with a quiet laugh, warm steam from her tea softening her expression.
This wasn’t Mirai’s first time inside Tsunade’s room.
Last time, he had already enjoyed one of her massages there.
“Sit down first.
I’m taking a bath,” Tsunade said casually as she tugged at her collar.
“I’ve been running around all day.
I’m covered in sweat.”
“Okay.”
Mirai sat obediently at the edge of the bed with both hands resting on his knees.
At least, he looked obedient.
The bathroom had a partition door.
The upper half was frosted glass, while the lower half was wooden.
Tsunade stepped inside and shut it behind her.
Soon, the sound of running water filled the room.
Mirai initially kept his eyes on the floor.
Then the warm light from the bathroom cast a vague silhouette across the frosted glass.
Mirai silently turned his head toward the window instead.
The moon outside was bright, illuminating the stone courtyard with a pale layer of light.
Excellent view.
Completely safe.
The sound of water stopped.
The partition door opened and Tsunade came out wrapped in a bath towel, her blond hair still wet over her shoulders.
She carried the warmth of the bath with her as she crossed the room, casually dropped a towel over a chair, and sat beside Mirai without bothering to change first.
Her voice was full of satisfaction.
“Hahaha!
You should’ve seen it.
I went to the old man’s office today and did exactly what you said.
First I demanded the Medical Division.
When they refused, I threatened to resign.”
“Those old fossils looked like they’d swallowed poison.
In the end, they agreed to let me start with a three-team trial.”
Mirai stared at her triumphant expression and couldn’t help blinking.
It had worked perfectly.