Even the Third Hokage was wary that one day, Kushina might get upset and have the Nine-Tails launch a Tailed Beast Bomb straight at the Hokage's office.
Ever since that incident, no one, not even the Elders, dared mention keeping surveillance on Kushina. As long as she stayed in the village, everything was fine.
The only one still mumbling about it was Danzo, but no one paid attention to him. The Third Hokage ignored him, and the Elders didn't back him up either. After a couple of failed attempts, Danzo dropped the issue altogether.
"So, you've got Kushina on one side, and Uchiha Mikoto on the other. Aren't you worried they'll fight one day?" Nawaki asked, curious.
"Of course I'm worried," Takuya chuckled. "But since they haven't fought yet, I'm not stressing over it. I mean, what can I do? When you're this handsome, girls just can't bear to leave you."
"..."
I really want to punch him, Nawaki thought in frustration. Even Minato had an exasperated look on his face, clearly also tempted to knock Takuya around.
"Hey, speaking of which," Takuya continued, quickly changing the subject, "wasn't there a girl following Minato around a while back? How's that going?"
Wait, what?!
Minato nearly stumbled as he jumped from one tree to the next, barely catching himself in time.
"Who?" Nawaki asked, surprised. He hadn't heard about this.
Takuya grinned. "Ask him yourself. I remember it was a girl from the Uzumaki clan. Didn't get a good look, but she had red hair, so that much is obvious. She even brought him a cute little lunchbox."
"..."
Please stop, Minato thought, sighing in defeat.
Under Nawaki's relentless curiosity, Minato finally raised his hands in surrender and confessed with a wry smile. "It was nothing, really. I just happened to bump into Naimu on the street, so she gave me a lunchbox she had."
Is Minato handsome? There's no question about it. Half the village had a crush on him. His looks and sunny smile were enough to win over countless girls.
If it weren't for Kushina and Mikoto by Takuya's side, Takuya would probably get even more attention than Minato. Still, girls swooning over Minato made perfect sense.
As soon as Nawaki heard the name Naimu, his interest faded. Oh, it was her. For a second, he thought it was someone else.
"Minato, you should think about it. If you two get married and have a kid, you could name him 'Naruto.' What do you think?" Takuya teased, unable to stop himself from laughing.
Where's the joke? Nawaki blinked, confused, while Minato shook his head, exasperated. He wasn't in the mood to respond.
Judging by Minato's expression, though, Takuya figured there wasn't much to that story. Minato probably didn't feel much for Naimu, maybe finding her too soft-spoken for his taste. Or maybe Minato liked explosive personalities, like Kushina—someone who'd fly off the handle at a moment's notice.
"So, what's our mission?" Minato asked, finally remembering to inquire about their assignment as they stopped to rest along the way.
Takuya didn't bother looking up from the meat he was roasting over the fire. "Escort mission. Lately, the people of the Land of Water have been stirring up trouble. A number of Konoha's ships have been attacked, so the village needs us to provide escort for two months or so."
Konoha had suffered major losses during the Second Ninja War, with the Sand Village faring slightly better, followed by the Cloud Village. The Eight-Tails' rampage had dealt a heavy blow to the Cloud Village, and rumor had it they were still investigating the incident.
The Stone Village lost a few men in the Land of Rain, but otherwise came out alright. Of the five great villages, only the Mist Village, far off across the sea, had remained untouched and retained their full strength.
Too bad their Mizukage's mind wasn't all there. Thanks to his bloody mist regime, new ninja were dying in droves.
Had it not been for the internal bloodbath, the Mist Village could've easily strengthened its position, taking advantage of their isolation and their lack of war losses.
"Two months? That long?" Nawaki groaned, instantly deflating.
Minato chuckled, teasing, "What, too eager to get back and chase after that girl?"
"Don't mess with me!" Nawaki snapped, flipping Minato off. Then he turned to Takuya and asked, "Do you think we might run into the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"
"I'd love to fight them," he added eagerly.
"There's a chance. If we do, we'll take their swords," Takuya replied, already daydreaming about the Shark Skin Sword, Samehada.
The Thunder God Sword was nice and all, but while it was sharp, it didn't pack the same punch in terms of raw power. Samehada, on the other hand, was perfect for smacking people around.
If they really did run into the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Takuya was determined to get his hands on that blade.
"I've heard one of them, Hozuki Mangetsu, is a genius," Minato said, clearly also intrigued by the idea of facing them in battle. He wanted to see if their skills matched their reputation.
Forget the rest of the Swordsmen—Mangetsu's name alone was famous throughout the ninja world. In the Mist Village, people even compared him to Takuya.
"Alright, if we run into Mangetsu, he's yours. I'll take care of Fuguki Suikazan, and Nawaki can handle the rest," Takuya said, dividing up the Seven Ninja Swordsmen like it was no big deal.
"Is Fuguki Suikazan that strong?" Minato and Nawaki asked, curious as to why Takuya had singled him out.
"He's just a big guy," Takuya shrugged. "Nothing special, but I want his weapon. If we cross paths, don't even think about fighting him—he's mine."
Fuguki Suikazan was as strong as a high-ranking jonin, but Takuya didn't consider him much of a challenge. In fact, none of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen really impressed him; it was their swords that had piqued his interest.
If they didn't cross paths, so be it. But if they did, Takuya would take their swords without hesitation.
And it wouldn't be hard to justify. Attacking the Fire Nation's shipping lanes? That was a death wish. They wouldn't even need an excuse to retaliate. Konoha could take their swords, and if the Mist Village wanted them back, they'd have to come begging.
Or, more likely, they'd try to negotiate some kind of trade. But that was boring.
So, Nawaki thought to himself, if Takuya's claiming Suikazan, and Minato's taking Mangetsu, that leaves the other five for me, right?
"Hehehe..." Nawaki started laughing to himself, already imagining his victory.
Minato leaned over to Takuya and whispered, "Is he going to be okay?"
"He'll be fine," Takuya replied calmly. "At worst, he'll get beaten up. Nothing too serious—just enough to teach him a lesson."
If things went according to Takuya's plan, Nawaki would definitely get his ass kicked by the five remaining Swordsmen. He had a habit of getting too cocky, and the only way to cure that was a healthy dose of reality.
Once they finished eating, the trio continued on their way, reaching the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire a day later.
"Welcome, sir," the commander in charge of the coastal defenses greeted them warmly.
"Recently, ships leaving the Land of Fire have been attacked near the borders of the Lands of Craftsmen and Hot Water, especially in the latter," the commander explained.
"Is it confirmed that the Mist Village is behind the attacks?" Takuya asked, studying the map.
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Next Bonus 500
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 305+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters