Before long, the bedroom door opened.
Uchiha Mikoto, still dressed in her kimono, looked at Shiranui Rei sitting on the sofa in the living room.
She smiled and blinked at him.
At eighteen, she was still a young woman, yet she already possessed a gentle, homely charm that made her seem like the perfect wife.
“Let me help with the living room too.”
Shiranui Rei stepped forward and took the broom from Mikoto’s hands.
His gaze accidentally fell upon her soft, pink lips, and he instinctively remembered the quiet voice from earlier, murmuring his name inside the bedroom.
This time, Uchiha Mikoto did not resist either.
She simply let Shiranui Rei take the broom from her.
Since he was sweeping the floor, she decided to organize the coffee table, windowsill, and shoe cabinet by the entrance, wiping away the dust as she went.
On the surface, the girl seemed completely focused on her chores.
But every now and then, she would glance back from the corner of her eye at the young man sweeping the floor.
Then, perhaps remembering something, her gaze would gradually drift into the distance.
Whenever she came back to her senses, she would hurriedly turn her head away.
The living room was much easier to clean than the bedroom.
Before long, everything was neat and tidy.
The two stood side by side at the entrance, looking over their work.
There was no particularly obvious change, yet the room somehow looked much more comfortable.
Shiranui Rei glanced up at the clock.
Without either of them realizing it, the minute hand had already gone around several times.
It was now noon.
“Mikoto-san, you’ve really worked hard today. I was wondering if you happened to be free for lunch…”
He paused for several seconds.
It wasn’t because he was nervous.
After all, he had experienced countless life-and-death situations.
There was no reason for him to become anxious simply because he was inviting a woman to lunch.
Besides, what had happened in the wardrobe and beneath the bed just now had been far more stimulating than this.
The reason he paused was simply because, before he had even finished speaking, he had already seen the unmistakable delight and anticipation on the girl’s face.
Following Mikoto’s expectant gaze, Shiranui Rei smiled.
“I wonder if I’d have the honor of inviting you to lunch, Mikoto-san?”
“It’s a date~”
Mikoto was usually gentle and reserved.
Only when she was with someone who had truly found a place in her heart would she occasionally reveal a playful side more befitting her age.
…
A barbecue restaurant in Konoha.
Steam rose from the grills, carrying mouthwatering aromas through the air.
From various tables came the sizzling sound of fat and meat roasting over hot charcoal.
Ordinary villagers and shinobi alike sat down together around lunchtime, enjoying delicious food while chatting and passing the time.
Shiranui Rei and Uchiha Mikoto clearly weren’t visiting this place for the first time.
After the Second Shinobi World War ended, Konoha’s commercial industry had continued to develop.
Businesspeople from other towns in the Land of Fire, and even from foreign countries, had begun coming to Konoha to open shops.
This barbecue restaurant had only opened last month, but business had been booming ever since.
“Mikoto-san.”
Shiranui Rei skillfully checked off several dishes on the menu before naturally handing it across the table.
Mikoto took it with equal familiarity.
When she noticed that he had also selected all of her favorite dishes, a knowing smile appeared on her face.
“Looks like I don’t have many secrets left in front of you, Rei-kun~”
Hearing that, Shiranui Rei fell silent.
She wasn’t wrong.
After all, just moments ago, Mikoto’s biggest secrets had been exposed to him inside the wardrobe and beneath the bed.
However, since Mikoto hadn’t discovered him, he naturally pretended that he had neither seen nor heard anything.
“There are still plenty of things about you that I don’t know, Mikoto-san.”
Shiranui Rei smiled.
Mikoto thoughtfully looked him up and down.
After a moment, she seemed to have realized something and nodded.
“I knew it. When I was organizing Rei-kun’s wardrobe today, I noticed that quite a few of your clothes have become too small.”
“You’ve been so busy with missions that you haven’t been taking proper care of yourself, have you?”
“Uh, well…”
Shiranui Rei was caught off guard by the sudden change in topic.
Of course, the biggest reason for his reaction was that when Mikoto mentioned the wardrobe, he inevitably remembered what had happened there earlier.
But speaking of the clothes inside…
She was right.
He hadn’t bought new clothes in quite some time.
Some of the clothes he had purchased a year ago no longer fit him at all.
Seeing that he wasn’t answering, Mikoto pouted slightly.
“Rei-kun, having ambition is a good thing, but you can’t neglect yourself just because you’re busy with missions.”
“How about this~”
She suddenly clapped her hands lightly, bringing her palms together at an angle in front of herself.
A smile appeared on her face as she clearly came up with an idea.
“I’m free after lunch anyway. If you’re free too, why don’t I help you pick out some new clothes?”
“Sure. Then I’ll have to trouble you later, Mikoto-san.”
The light in the girl’s eyes was a gift the young man couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
Originally, Shiranui Rei had planned to spend the afternoon asking Minato whether he had gained any insights into the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But now, it seemed that he could simply ask him tomorrow.
Not far away, several Uchiha shinobi were also sitting together around a small table, grilling meat.
There were four of them in total.
The steaming smoke and heat made the atmosphere lively, while several bottles of alcohol had further loosened their emotions, bringing everything buried in their hearts to the surface.
“Hey, look over there.”
Suddenly, one of the young Uchiha shinobi nudged the elbow of the person beside him and pointed his chin toward the table where Shiranui Rei and Mikoto were sitting.
The moment the four young Uchiha saw the beautiful girl with her elegant black hair smiling brightly nearby, all four felt their hearts skip a beat.
Uchiha Mikoto was the cherished daughter of one of the Uchiha clan’s elders.
She was eighteen years old.
Years ago, when she had first blossomed into a beautiful young woman, she had already attracted plenty of admirers among her peers.
From the Ninja Academy to becoming a genin, chunin, and finally a jonin, she had never lacked admiring gazes.
Beautiful.
Graceful.
From an excellent family.
Gentle by nature.
And most importantly, she possessed exceptional shinobi talent.
At only eighteen, she had already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and was one of the youngest jonin in the Uchiha clan.
Admiring a beautiful girl was only natural for young men.
And reverence for strength was practically ingrained in the Uchiha.
Faced with Uchiha Mikoto, who possessed both beauty and strength, how could ordinary young Uchiha possibly resist?
However, the moment their eyes shifted to the person sitting across from Mikoto, all four young men darkened in expression.
Faint red glimmers appeared in their pitch-black eyes.
The lively atmosphere around their table instantly cooled.
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.
Bang!
One of the young Uchiha slammed his cup onto the table and stood up with a dark expression.
“Hey, Ryosuke, don’t do anything stupid!”
One of his clansmen on the other side grabbed his sleeve and quietly tried to stop him.
The other two Uchiha, including the one who had first pointed out Shiranui Rei and Mikoto, also hesitated.
Seeing a woman they admired and had feelings for laughing and talking with another man would naturally make them jealous and unhappy.
But none of them had actually intended to cause trouble.
For one thing, they didn’t even know who the young man sitting across from Mikoto was.
And more importantly, Uchiha Mikoto was the daughter of an elder.
She wasn’t someone they could casually provoke.
The Uchiha clan clearly wasn’t filled entirely with fools.
But when it came to starting a conflict, all it took was one reckless idiot.
“Ryosuke! Ryosuke!”
Uchiha Ryosuke could gradually no longer hear the increasingly distant warnings of his companions behind him.
The heat from the barbecue seemed to raise the temperature of his blood.
More importantly, the alcohol he had been drinking one cup after another had completely ignited the anger burning in his heart.