The next day.
At the break of dawn.
Minato and Kushina snuck into the Uchiha district.
These days, the Uchiha's reputation was not exactly favorable, and both of them were understandably nervous.
They had to sneak in while there were fewer people around in the early morning.
But why were there still so many people here in the morning?!
Fortunately, the Uchiha clan members they encountered were mostly ordinary civilians.
They only cast curious glances at Minato and Kushina, as it wasn't common for outsiders to visit the Uchiha district.
But no one stopped them, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
They made their way to Gin's house without further trouble.
Minato stepped forward and knocked on the door.
Bang bang!
After knocking for a while, there was no response.
Minato turned to Kushina.
"It seems like he's not home."
Kushina gave Minato a look of frustration.
"You call that knocking? No wonder he didn't hear you."
"Watch how it's done."
Kushina pushed Minato aside and stepped up to the door. She raised her fist, intending to knock gently, a smile still on her face.
But in the next moment...
Her smile faded, and the gentle lines of her face sharpened.
Her fist, which had been poised for a soft knock, suddenly sped up.
A loud sound followed.
"The point of knocking is to let him feel our enthusiasm! Dattebane!"
"D-dattebane?!" Minato was horrified.
He didn't recognize this version of Kushina at all!
What kind of bizarre technique was this? Did the Uzumaki clan have this kind of ability?!
Before he could process it, Kushina's fist slammed into the door.
"Feel our enthusiasm, you idiot Uchiha!!"
Bam!
The door was instantly reduced to splinters, scattering into the air.
"Idiot Uchiha?!"
Minato fell into deep thought.
He remembered that they had come to visit, not to pick a fight.
But it seemed like Kushina was fully prepared to brawl with Gin!
Inside the shattered doorway stood Gin, holding the doorknob, just about to open the door.
Now, his face was dark with anger.
There was no need to open the door anymore.
Before Minato could explain, a fist had already connected with Kushina's face, her upper body flung backward as her legs shot up horizontally.
She flew past Minato like a missile.
Gulp.
Minato swallowed hard, feeling Gin's angry gaze shift to him.
"And you."
Gin's expression was filled with rage.
"Both of you can go to hell!! You idiots!!"
An uppercut.
Gin's fist connected with Minato's chin, sending him soaring into the sky!!
This was Gin's "enthusiasm," dattebayo!
How dare they break his door.
No one gets away with that!!
"We're sorry!!" ×2
"We deeply apologize!!" ×2
"We just hadn't seen you in a while and came to visit." ×2
Gin sat at one end of the table, while Minato and Kushina, both sporting bruised faces, knelt apologetically at the other end.
Watching the two speak in perfect unison, Gin clicked his tongue.
Why did he suddenly feel so full, like someone had forcefully fed him something?
Already upset about the broken door, Gin's mood had soured even more.
"Alright, it's no big deal," Gin tried to change the subject, feeling the conversation was getting too weird with their synchronized apologies.
As for the door, he could fix it later.
This perked Kushina up. She slammed her foot on the table, one hand on her hip.
"Team Seven has reunited once again!"
"Hahaha!"
Seeing Kushina's energetic outburst, Gin couldn't help but laugh.
Then...
Out of nowhere, Gin pulled out a rolled-up newspaper and smacked it down on Kushina's head.
"You idiot! I just cleaned that table!"
Kushina scrambled away, holding her head.
"Face me in battle, Uchiha Gin!"
"If it's a fight you want, then bring it on!"
The two stood opposite each other, the tension building.
...
Uzumaki Kushina, who had grown significantly through a year of war, was no pushover.
Uchiha Gin, who had been facing strong opponents alongside White Fang, was no less formidable.
...
Their features grew sharp, and their postures strangely bulky.
"Ora!! Your art styles have changed!" (Insert Jojo Meme!)
Minato's voice, full of exasperation, rang out like the starting gun.
At that moment, both Gin and Kushina moved at lightning speed.
Suddenly, the room was filled with afterimages.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
The sound of strikes echoed through the air.
Finally, Kushina stepped back.
"Stop!!"
"Why do you have a weapon? That's cheating!!"
Kushina pointed at the folded newspaper in Gin's hand. Her own hands were bright red from the blows.
"You never said I couldn't use one," Gin retorted smugly.
"You jerk!! I'll take you down!"
Kushina, enraged, pulled out a kunai and prepared to charge.
Luckily, Minato swiftly grabbed her.
"Let it go, let it go. We can't beat him."
Minato's face was filled with resignation.
He wasn't sure he could even win against Gin now.
This harsh reality finally calmed Kushina down.
Charging in would just mean another beating, and that didn't seem worth it.
The three of them sat down around the small table again.
"Gin, isn't Sakumo-sama cold, cool, and super strong?" Kushina asked curiously.
She had never met Sakumo and was naturally interested in the legendary ninja.
"No, no, no," Gin waved his hand dismissively.
"Sakumo is just a scruffy, lazy pervert with a big mouth. He's a societal burden who should be destroyed."
"Gasp!!" Minato and Kushina both inhaled sharply.
"You're surprised, huh? If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe that such trash could be so famous," Gin continued, his rant about Sakumo seemingly endless.
He had been perfectly content staying at the Iwagakure front lines until the war ended.
But because of Sakumo, he had been forced into dangerous situations.
Naturally, he had a lot to complain about.
"Um..." Minato hesitated before speaking. "Does Sakumo-sama have silver hair and wear it in a ponytail?"
"Hmm?" Gin looked at Minato in surprise. He didn't expect Minato to have seen Sakumo.
Minato didn't say much more, only pointing behind Gin.
Gin fell silent.
"I'm a scruffy, lazy pervert with a big mouth, am I?" came a voice from behind, cold as death itself.
"Am I really that bad, Gin?"
The voice was like a chilling breeze from the underworld, causing Gin's skin to break out in goosebumps.
What now?
Caught talking behind someone's back and having the person hear everything...
What should he do?
Fuck!! Here we go again!
(End of Chapter)