Chapter 95: He Likes Married Women
An hour later.
Mikoto came over carrying a large tray.
On it was a simple breakfast for two.
Seeing Fugaku sitting cross-legged in the living room, she placed the tray on the table and asked softly,
"What did you talk to him about?"
Fugaku kept his head lowered, carefully reading the documents in his hands without even looking up.
"Some details about last night."
Mikoto glanced at the thick stack of documents in front of Fugaku, then walked over and began helping him organize them.
"What is this...?"
She picked up an invitation and looked at Fugaku in confusion.
"Why did Orochimaru suddenly send this?"
Hearing that, Fugaku put down the document in his hands and turned his attention to the invitation.
It was a message Orochimaru had sent shortly after Asuka left.
The contents were extremely simple:
He was inviting Fugaku and several other shinobi clan heads to dinner.
Dinner?
Fugaku found Orochimaru's behavior somewhat strange.
He had attempted to assassinate a member of a shinobi clan last night, yet tonight he was inviting the same people to dinner.
However, thinking about how increasingly eccentric Orochimaru had become over the past few years, Fugaku took the initiative to find an excuse for him.
Perhaps he had something he wanted to say.
There was no need to cook tonight.
"Hmph."
Mikoto gave a soft hum.
She put the invitation back where it had been, still uncertain about Orochimaru's intentions.
It probably wasn't going to be just an ordinary dinner, right?
In Konoha, a bowl of rice at Ichiraku cost fifteen ryō, while a boiled egg cost sixty-five ryō. A bowl of plain ramen cost only sixty ryō.
A copy of the Konoha News cost ten ryō—roughly two-thirds the price of a bowl of cooked rice.
After leaving Fugaku's house, Asuka stopped by the Nara family's shop for a simple breakfast. With a few coins jingling in his pocket, he bought a newspaper from a young paperboy.
Although the information he could get from Grandma Cat was certainly more comprehensive than anything in a newspaper, it was also much more expensive.
Unless it was wartime, he still preferred buying newspapers.
He glanced at the paperboy's satchel and noticed several brightly colored books inside.
The covers featured several beautiful older women, and the exquisite illustrations immediately made it obvious that these weren't exactly respectable books.
Hmm.
These must be Kana's works.
There was absolutely no way he would waste that much ink on drawing people's faces.
"Kid, why did the bookstore owner give you books like these?"
The boy dropped the coins into an iron box, patted his satchel, and answered casually,
"He can't just watch me starve to death, can he?"
"I've still got a little sister to support."
"Then give me another newspaper."
Asuka bought another newspaper from the boy, intending to give it to Old Ryoichi when he returned.
He lowered his head and looked at the newspaper he had just bought.
Under the leadership of the Fourth Hokage, the brave shinobi forces of Konoha have successfully defeated Kumogakure, capturing a large number of Kumogakure shinobi while rescuing several of our own shinobi.
Before long, Kumogakure and Konoha will begin their final negotiations. The outcome of these negotiations will determine whether the flames of war, which have already been extinguished, will be reignited.
"Tsk."
After reading the news, Asuka clicked his tongue and rolled up the newspaper.
The final shinobi village that had yet to sign a ceasefire agreement with Konoha was now about to do so.
The next war would be the Fourth Shinobi World War.
"Asuka."
His thoughts were interrupted by an orange cat that suddenly jumped onto his shoulder.
Asuka tilted his head and looked at the panting cat on his shoulder, teasing it.
"Fatty, you really need to lose some weight. You're already panting after running such a short distance."
The orange cat gave him a disdainful look before poking its own belly with a paw.
A human-like expression of pride appeared on its face.
"My plump figure displays the elegant curves of a cat. It's incredibly charming."
"Heh heh~"
Thinking about the U-shaped curves of the cat's transformed body, Asuka's mouth twitched.
This was the most confident cat he'd ever seen.
"Oh, right."
The orange cat, which had been licking its fur, suddenly seemed to remember something.
It leaned toward Asuka's ear and whispered,
"Orochimaru sent Fugaku an invitation to dinner tonight."
"He certainly moves fast."
"So when you said Orochimaru should treat you to dinner, you meant he should invite Fugaku and the others to dinner?"
"What else? We don't have any social needs, and the food at home is better than anything we can get outside."
"That is true."
Thinking about the high-quality canned food stacked up in half of their room, Fatty nodded in agreement.
Eating a meal outside could cost even more than buying a can of food.
However, it suddenly pinched its own belly with a paw, and the entire cat immediately became depressed.
A plump figure was certainly a good thing.
But wouldn't a plump and graceful figure be even better?
At this moment.
Hokage Tower, top floor.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood there with his pipe between his lips, looking down at Asuka, who had just passed by.
His old eyes watched until Asuka disappeared from sight.
The faint sounds of animals and people from the street drifted into his ears, making the top floor seem rather quiet.
Of course.
It would have been even quieter if not for the noisy old companion standing beside him.
"Hmph."
Watching Hiruzen exhale a puff of smoke into the air, Danzō stood beside him and spoke calmly.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you know me."
"When I act, I prioritize stability."
"If I don't have a ninety-eight percent chance of success, I won't act recklessly."
"And once I do act, I'll certainly prepare a series of contingency plans."
"The fact that he can still eat dango on the street means this has absolutely nothing to do with me."
Hearing this, Hiruzen lowered his pipe and glanced at his old companion.
After all these years, he understood Danzō's personality extremely well.
For Danzō, even ninety-eight percent certainty still contained an enormous amount of risk.
As a true shinobi, he would never act without absolute certainty.
After a brief silence, Hiruzen thought of his disciple and asked quietly,
"Did he have some sort of conflict with Orochimaru before this?"
"Yes."
Danzō answered without hesitation.
Then he raised his head and stared carefully at the sun overhead.
Only after his eyes began to sting did he narrow them and explain,
"He stole Orochimaru's beloved."
Cough, cough...
The smoke failed to come out.
Instead, it caught in Hiruzen's throat, causing him to cough violently.
Beloved?
Orochimaru had found a wife?
"Danzō... Orochimaru... he... who does he actually like?"
Seeing Hiruzen still immersed in shock, Danzō narrowed his eyes and said solemnly,
"You know Orochimaru doesn't like women."
"You also know that he likes Kusanagi swords."
"Whenever he hears that a Kusanagi sword has appeared somewhere in the shinobi world, he'll immediately set out to find its owner and use every means available to convince them to hand it over."
"Think carefully, Hiruzen."
"If a single piece of news can make you abandon everything, dictate your happiness and anger, and send you traveling thousands of miles without rest simply so you can meet and embrace that person..."
"Isn't that exactly what lovers consumed by desire do?"
"His pursuit and collection of Kusanagi swords is practically a romance."
"From gathering information about them, to thinking about them day and night, to finally embracing them and having them accompany him every day..."
"That sword is his wife."
Hearing this, Hiruzen finally understood.
After everything he had just heard, it was still nothing more than a sword.
He looked at Danzō strangely, a hint of confusion and unease in his eyes.
"So Orochimaru's Kusanagi sword is in Uchiha Asuka's hands?"
"No."
Danzō quietly corrected him.
"That isn't an ordinary sword."
"That's Orochimaru's beloved woman—the one who has accompanied him for years."
"Hiruzen, think about it."
"How humiliating would it be for one man to steal another man's beloved woman?"
"What's more, he often takes Orochimaru's beloved woman with him on missions."
"At night, he embraces her and spends the night with her."
"That shows just how satisfied he is with Orochimaru's lover."
"What man could possibly endure something like that?"
Seeing Hiruzen suddenly fall silent, Danzō felt that he had done enough research to completely clear Orochimaru of any wrongdoing.
Danzō cleared his throat and said,
"The circumstances of this incident are perfectly clear."
"There was no conspiracy involved."
"It was simply a conflict between two men fighting over their beloved."
"As for what happened last night..."
"Orochimaru has realized that his reckless actions caused harm to the village."
"Make him apologize, and let's put this matter behind us."
After saying this, a complicated expression appeared on Shimura Danzō's face.
A respected member of the Legendary Three Ninja had attempted to assassinate a jōnin from one of the shinobi clans within the village.
And the target had been a jōnin of the Uchiha clan.
Most importantly, the assassination had failed, and his identity had been exposed.
He hadn't discussed the matter with the other party beforehand, nor had he prepared any contingency plan.
If this matter wasn't handled properly, it could have disastrous consequences.
He had spent the entire night trying to come up with a reasonable excuse that would silence the numerous shinobi clans in the village.
And this excuse couldn't come from Hiruzen.
Orochimaru couldn't say it either.
So only Danzō himself could deliver it.
I have devoted my entire life to Konoha.
Danzō thought that from now on, his reputation would probably have two more labels attached to it:
"Unreasonable."
And:
"Scheming."
With that thought, his gaze unconsciously fell upon Hiruzen.
Seeing Hiruzen staring at him with a complicated expression, Danzō tightened both hands around his cane.
He maintained a calm and composed expression, then turned around and waved his hand at him.
"Remember to approve the expense reimbursement."
That evening.
After once again helping Yugao Uzuki clean up the aftermath of her work, Asuka trudged toward the Uchiha compound with his arms hanging limply at his sides.
"Fatty, I think I've gotten myself into a troublesome mess."
The orange cat sprawled across Asuka's head also spoke tiredly.
"Can't be helped. Who told you to send that half-baked apprentice out into the world?"
"Wasn't I just as inexperienced when I first went out?"
As he spoke, Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto approached them arm in arm.
"Kushina-san! Mikoto-san!"
Asuka raised his head and greeted them.
Seeing someone greet her, Kushina was about to respond politely.
But the moment she looked up and realized it was Uchiha Asuka, the smile on her face immediately froze.
"That pervert who stole another man's wife."
The words slipped out.
The air around them seemed to freeze.
The atmosphere became awkwardly silent.
Asuka looked up at Kushina, his face expressionless.
"Kushina-san, you shouldn't say things so casually."
Hearing this, Kushina pointed at the Kusanagi sword hanging from Asuka's waist and sneered.
"Elder Danzō already told us everything about you."
???
Asuka looked at Uchiha Mikoto in confusion.
"What did he tell you?"
At this moment, Mikoto's expression was also filled with disgust, mixed with a hint of nausea, as if she were looking at a scumbag.
She said,
"You like married women."
Hearing this, Asuka froze.
When had he started liking married women?
However, seeing the disgust on their faces, Asuka immediately became interested.
Once he got home, he was definitely going to investigate this matter thoroughly.
But for now...
He looked the two "fat women" up and down.
He called them that purely to maintain his own momentum.
Not wanting his intimidation to lose its effect, Asuka took the orange cat off his head and tossed it onto the ground.
Then he ordered,
"Fatty, transform."
"Let some self-righteous married women take a good look at themselves in the mirror."
Bang!
Before he had even finished speaking, the transformation was complete.
Kushina and Mikoto stared at the U-shaped catwoman standing opposite them.
Both of them froze.
Then their expressions instantly darkened.
The catwoman stood there with a large belly, vigorously shaking the fat around her stomach.
The sight instantly killed any desire anyone might have had to get close to her.
Asuka rubbed Fatty's head, his gaze sweeping over the two "fat women" opposite him several times.
Then, with a look of disdain, he said,
"Compared with certain married women, I'm practically holier than a saint."
After saying that, he looked down at Fatty again and sighed.
"You need to lose weight too."
"I think you're going to give me cervical spondylosis at this rate."
Fatty gave Asuka a disdainful look.
Then it extended three fingers from its chubby paw and said in a gentle, adorable voice,
"Diet tomorrow."
"Tonight, eat one extra meal!"
"Make an extra portion for Grandpa."
"My grandpa is your grandpa's summon."
"Bullshit. Your grandpa is Uchiha Izuna's summoning beast."
"Uchiha Izuna is your granduncle."
"..."
As they continued bickering, Asuka didn't even spare a glance at the darkened faces of the two women.
Instead, he turned toward the setting sun and walked home while continuing to argue with Fatty.