"My grandmother wants to see you tonight to talk about something. Just you."
Yujin was surprised. He didn't expect an invitation from Mito for a private conversation.
"Alright."
But he didn't mind and was curious about what she wanted to talk about.
The two continued to sit on the garden bench in silence. Tsunade leaning her head on Yujin's shoulder, seeking emotional support. She was becoming emotionally dependent on Yujin, something he noticed but didn't know what to do about it.
As a friend, supporting her was right, but perhaps the recent events had been too harsh, making her overly dependent—a temporary state, he hoped.
Tsunade is a strong and independent woman. Depending on him goes against her inherent nature, something negative for her, Yujin understood.
Only time will tell if this dependence is temporary or not, however.
***
At night, Yujin was getting ready to meet Mito. Today, due to the private meeting with Mito, Yujin and Tsunade weren't going to drink together, so she was at her house with Shizune.
Along the way, he wondered what the meeting was about. His assumption was that it had to do with Tsunade.
The mansion was quiet. The guards let Yujin in easily; they already knew he was coming. The mansion's housekeeper led Yujin to Mito's room and bid him farewell.
"I'm coming in."
Yujin announced and slowly opened the door to the room.
"Come, let's talk."
Before he could fully open it, a voice came from inside, and Yujin entered completely, seeing the elderly woman sitting in a chair. In front of her, a table, a teapot, and two cups.
Yujin sat in the other chair, observing the full cup in front of him.
"Good evening, ma'am. I honestly didn't expect this invitation. You've been receiving people all day; I bet you must be very tired."
"Yes, but it's a necessary process. My death will bring many problems to the village; it's important to make preparations in advance. Please, drink and make yourself comfortable."
Yujin took the cup and had a sip. He never really liked tea, even from the world he came from, but obviously, he wouldn't be impolite at this moment. Seeing him drink and then look at her as if unsure what to say, Mito smiled and commented while sipping her tea.
"It must be challenging to find topics to talk about with someone like me. Especially considering you might be from the past, it can't be easy to adapt to a completely different society."
"Yes... It's difficult. This place is very different from where I came from, in terms of culture and society. I hope you don't take offense, but where I come from, a person like you doesn't exist. I mean, in the sense of a powerful woman with a lot of influence. Where I come from, and I don't know if it's another world or the past, women don't have power. They usually stay at home, taking care of the house and children. Rare examples of powerful women are wives or concubines of Emperors or feudal lords."
Yujin paused here to take a sip of tea, then continued.
"So, it's been challenging for me to adapt to this different place, but I learn quickly. It's not like I had a normal upbringing; I was constantly traveling, and there were different customs in different regions. I'm used to adapting."
Mito nodded slightly, not feeling offended.
"Maybe it's not so different nowadays. Although women clearly have more power today, I only have my influence in the village because my husband was the First Hokage."
Yujin was surprised by Mito's words, not expecting her to speak like that. From what he heard from Tsunade, Mito is not just the wife of the First Hokage; that's just one of her many titles.
"You must be joking, ma'am. From what I've heard from Tsunade, your life story goes far beyond being the wife of the First Hokage. The most powerful fuinjutsu user in the history of Uzushiogakure. The one responsible for the current distribution system of Bijuus among the villages. The Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails who never went out of control. Your contributions to the village are so significant, maybe even greater than those of the First Hokage, if I may say, so I don't believe your words, even if you said them yourself."
Mito chuckled gently hearing Yujin's words, clearly pleased with what he said.
"No need to take my words so seriously."
The elderly woman smiled and drank a little more tea before continuing.
"The reason I called you here, actually, there are several. One of them is that I want to know you better. I may be about to die, and maybe it's none of my business, but I wanted to know what kind of man managed to gain Tsunade's trust. Honestly, I thought she wouldn't open up to anyone else for the rest of her life after what happened with Dan."
"Tsunade and I are friends. I gained her trust because of the circumstances, something I feel a bit guilty about."
Mito smiled and shook her head gently, speaking as her smile slowly faded, and a cold expression appeared.
"No need to feel guilty. As long as you behave appropriately in the future... There's nothing wrong with what happened. Of course, unless you manipulated the situation to get to this point, hoping to gain something in the future."
Yujin smiled bitterly hearing Mito's words, not blaming her for mistrusting him.
In a way, she wasn't wrong. As he had arrived in an unknown place, Yujin's goal from the beginning was to gain Tsunade's trust so that she could help him adapt to the new place. He didn't expect, however, that their relationship would develop into what it is today.
"You're not far from the truth, ma'am. When I met Tsunade, I just wanted to save her from a difficult situation, but when I started to consider my situation, I tried to gain her trust so that she could help me. As you well know, maybe I'm from the past or another world, so I wanted someone to help me adapt to this place."
"That's why I told her about my past and my life. I knew she was going through difficult times and I wanted not only to comfort her but also to gain her trust so she could help me. And that's what happened, until we arrived in the village. She helped me, and I was grateful, but that was the end of my intentions."
Mito nodded with a neutral expression as she listened, not showing how she felt about his words.
"After that, things just happened. I enjoy her company, and she enjoys mine. I'm helping her adapt to her situation, just as she's helping me. It's a positive relationship, I believe. And obviously, I have no intention of using or hurting her, if that's your concern."
Finally, the elderly woman smiled again, clapped her hands together, as if reaching an understanding.
"I understand your actions and intentions, and I believe in you. You may not know, but because of my connection with that fox, I can feel people's emotions. I can tell if a person is sincere or not, and I know you were 100% sincere with me, so I'm happy and at ease leaving my granddaughter in your hands."
Yujin smiled bitterly hearing this; he had the impression that he just went through a wedding interview with the bride's family.
"I just wanted to add that for now, I have no romantic intentions with Tsunade; we are just very close friends."
Mito chuckled softly, finding Yujin's cautious words amusing.
"I won't comment on your relationship. Friend, boyfriend, husband, lover; it doesn't matter. Please, continue taking care of her."
Yujin stood up and again made the Baoquan Li gesture, bowing more deeply than the last time, showing the respect he had for the elderly woman's wish. As if realizing how serious Yujin was being, Mito nodded and smiled, satisfied.
"So let's move on to the second reason why I called you here tonight."