The registrar's face turned completely dark, watching Takuya ignore him entirely and walk away without any explanation, leaving him helpless.
"Isn't this going to be a problem?" Pakura asked, worry evident in her voice.
"What problem?" Takuya replied, sounding irritated. "It's just that old guy on duty today. Forget about him. I don't get along with the Sarutobi clan, especially not their clan head. As long as you don't have any ill intentions, Tsunade will handle anything else."
The Sarutobi and Shimura clans were always the types to look down on others. Right now, Takuya didn't have the patience to argue about regulations with them. He simply didn't care.
Pakura, speechless, thought, Isn't the Sarutobi clan head the Third Hokage?
Meanwhile, back at the Hokage's office, an Anbu member reported, "Lady Tsunade, Lord Takuya has returned with Kushina and Pakura. Pakura didn't have proper identification, and Lord Takuya refused to complete the registry, leading them away without complying."
"Got it. Anything else?" Tsunade was busy dealing with a pile of documents and didn't even look up. Of all things to report, they choose this? Where was this diligence when I brought people back myself?
"Uh… well, yes," the Anbu member continued, a bit taken aback, "Lord Takuya also mentioned that the person handling this matter should report to you. Moreover, he said he doesn't want any Anbu snooping around his house or keeping Pakura under surveillance."
"Report my ass!!" Tsunade's patience was wearing thin; her pen snapped in her grip, her forehead veins visibly pulsing. "Have they run out of things to do? Reporting every trivial matter to me? And as for you—how about you spend your time keeping an eye on Danzo instead of sneaking around other people's homes?"
"Are all the people Takuya associates with so untrustworthy? If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility!!"
Tsunade's sudden outburst startled the Anbu operative, who quickly lowered his head, avoiding her blazing gaze.
"I tell you to monitor Danzo, and you fail. I tell you to track down the village's missing funds, and you can't find anything. I tell you to root out Root's spies in the Anbu, and you come up empty-handed. Yet the moment Takuya and Kushina return, you're suddenly eager to keep an eye on them?"
"Is this the extent of the Anbu's abilities?" Tsunade spat. Were they trying to drive her mad?
"Enough! Get out there and do your job! Without my explicit orders, no surveillance. And if I find out that Anbu operatives are being deployed by the Council or anyone else without proper authorization, then all you captains might as well hand in your resignations."
Tsunade's patience had hit its limit. It was baffling to her—why did the Anbu seem so eager to curry favor? Especially with the likes of the Council and Danzo.
She had warned them, time and again, but her words seemed to fall on deaf ears. Fine, if they wanted to keep playing this game, she'd strip them of their roles. Surely there had to be some trustworthy individuals in Konoha willing to step into the Anbu's ranks.
Is this a dream? Pakura wondered as she watched Kushina blowing bubbles in the hot spring beside her, her head a little foggy.
From the moment she had stepped into Konoha, Pakura had been on edge. She feared unfair treatment and constant surveillance. She feared Takuya would abandon her after bringing her here.
But none of that had happened.
Takuya had confidently escorted her into the village. He didn't even bother with the formalities of registration. He openly threatened the lurking Anbu, took her and Kushina out for a meal, and then brought them to a hot spring—luxuries she had never imagined. To top it off, the Anbu that had been shadowing them even disappeared.
"It really is more comfortable here in the village," Kushina remarked, contentedly. "Sure, staying here for too long can get boring, but after running around outside, you come to appreciate the comforts of the village. At least you don't have to compromise on simple things."
"Unlike at the frontline camps, where even getting a hot bath is tough," she added, sinking a little deeper into the hot spring.
"What's on your mind?" Kushina asked, noticing Pakura staring at her. Only her small head was above the water, as if she was trying to disappear entirely.
"Nothing," Pakura snapped back to reality. "I was just curious—about Takuya's relationship with the higher-ups…"
She gestured vaguely.
"Is it really that bad?"
"If he didn't see Konoha as his home, Takuya would've probably taken a blade to them already. You tell me—is it that bad?" Kushina replied, rolling her eyes. The only one among the upper ranks she had any respect for was the Third Hokage. As for Danzo and the Council? Forget it—they could stay far, far away.
Okay, let's pretend I didn't ask, Pakura thought, unsure how to even respond to that. At least in Sunagakure, no one would ever think of taking a blade to their leadership. Konoha's internal politics ran far deeper than Sunagakure's.
After soaking in the hot spring, it was time to head home for some rest.
"Takuya, I'm heading back to rest. I'll come by tomorrow!" Kushina waved and skipped away happily.
Sitting in the living room, Pakura remained silent. Takuya hadn't arranged any other place for her to stay. It was clear that, for the time being, she'd be living at his house.
What baffled her most was that Kushina, who had once been so hostile towards her, now didn't seem to care in the slightest whether she stayed at Takuya's house or what might happen.
"Pick whichever guest room you like," Takuya said. "There's bedding in the wardrobe, and here are some pajamas and clothes. Just make do for now—we'll get new ones after sorting out your ninja registration tomorrow."
The clothes were all Uchiha Mikoto's, though they clearly didn't fit Pakura well—too tight in all the wrong places. Takuya, however, couldn't be bothered to get anything else, so he just told her to deal with it.
Pakura stood there in the pajamas, her eyes twitching as she looked at the clothes. She wasn't blind—those clothes clearly didn't belong to Kushina. Which raised a rather interesting question: Everyone knew about Takuya and Kushina's relationship, so why were there other women's clothes in his house—and from his bedroom, no less?!
Pakura's head was spinning.
The next morning, with a sleep-deprived Pakura in tow, Takuya headed straight for the Hokage's office. Getting the ninja registration sorted was easy—he just had to find Tsunade, and she'd get it done with a single word.
Along the way, Pakura couldn't help but curiously observe her surroundings.
Compared to the barren, windswept Sunagakure, Konoha was thriving. The streets were bustling, full of people, restaurants, and shops—things you'd never see back in Sunagakure.
Compared to Konoha, Sunagakure truly felt impoverished.
There was also no choking sand blowing in her face.
"It's bustling, isn't it?" Takuya asked, noting her gaze.
"It is," Pakura admitted, keeping her head down as she walked beside him. "It's far livelier than Sunagakure—more people, more stores and restaurants. But most importantly, the villagers look happy."
It wasn't that Sunagakure's residents were unhappy, but life in the desert meant struggling for basic necessities. There was no comparing their standard of living with Konoha's.
Not even the well-off Kumogakure could compete in this regard.
It was simply a matter of the environment.
Hands behind his back, Takuya glanced toward another part of the village, smiling. "The urban area over there is even more lively, with taller buildings. It's different from the center here, near the Hokage's office, where most buildings are wooden."
"We'll go exploring later. But first, let's get your registration done."