The Anbu messenger was about to hand the intelligence report to the Third Hokage, but Tsunade snatched it away. Seeing this, the Hokage was not offended at all and merely waved the messenger away.
Tsunade read the report aloud. "The Land of Rain is currently mobilizing troops and gathering supplies, sending them to the border. Hanzō will also depart in a few days." After finishing, Tsunade looked up at the Third Hokage. "It seems Hanzō, as you predicted, does not intend to compromise. There will surely be a major war."
The Third Hokage nodded and said with a smile, "This is not unexpected. Don't just stand there. Orochimaru and Jiraiya have already rushed to the battlefield. The logistics and medical departments still need you to organize them. Don't delay the schedule." Tsunade pouted, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
As departure approached, Nawaki naturally dragged Kyuushin and Minato into continuous training. Even as part of the logistics unit, he wanted to contribute more, but after being blown over by an exploding tag and covered in dirt for yet another time, he couldn't help but grumble, "Ah, this is so annoying! The traps you set are too disgusting!"
After heeding Mito's advice, Kyuushin had increased the power of the exploding tags a bit, often leaving Nawaki with cuts and bruises. This had already made Nawaki secretly consider the exploding tag his lifelong enemy.
Kyuushin skillfully stepped forward to treat Nawaki, but in his heart, he was extremely satisfied with the past two days of training. Hearing Nawaki's complaint, he couldn't help but say, "Anything can happen on the battlefield, so you need to be constantly vigilant. If you fall into a trap, it won't just be you; your teammates might also be implicated."
"But I already promised Grandma that I'd listen to you completely. If you don't let me go, I definitely won't go," Nawaki argued.
"I can command you now, but when you advance to Chunin or Jonin, you'll have to lead your own team. At that time, you'll need to consider such situations even more," Kyuushin said, shaking his head.
Hearing Kyuushin mention Chunin and Jonin, Nawaki's eyes showed a look of yearning. He stopped arguing and mumbled, "Alright, you're right."
After finishing Nawaki's treatment, Kyuushin looked at Minato, who was still practicing, and said, "We're leaving tomorrow. Don't train too hard today. We don't know how long we'll be gone. Let's go out and have a meal together, and bring Kushina." Nawaki immediately stood up, agreeing repeatedly, and Minato naturally had no objections.
Since Kushina was still at school, they told Mito and then the three of them went directly to the school gate to wait for her. Finally, they picked up Kushina, who also brought Makiko and Sachiko, two other girls. Having not seen them for nearly a year, the ten-year-old girls were now gradually growing up. However, their personalities hadn't changed much; the younger sister was as lively as ever, pestering Kyuushin to tell her about his missions. The older sister listened quietly, only occasionally asking more questions when she heard something interesting. So, Kushina and the others began to talk about interesting things that happened at school, eventually leading the conversation to the topic of romance.
In the precocious world of Naruto, early romance was naturally very common. Even before he graduated, Kyuushin had received some chocolates and love letters. However, as an adult in a child's body, he couldn't share the same thoughts as those children, so he had to politely refuse. Therefore, when they brought up this topic now, Kyuushin could only sit silently to the side, listening as if it were entertainment.
At first, Kushina and the other two were chatting enthusiastically, but then they seemed to notice the three boys were silent, so they turned the topic to them. Sachiko asked Minato, "Minato-kun was very popular in class before. Do you have a girl you like?"
Minato, who was silently drinking his beverage, didn't expect the topic to suddenly shift to him. Hearing Sachiko's question, his small face turned red, and after secretly glancing at Kushina, he stammered, unable to speak. Seeing Minato like this, Kyuushin also wanted to tease him, so he joked, "It seems you do! Minato, why don't you tell us, and we can help you confess." Nawaki also joined in, and Minato's face immediately turned even redder. "N-no... there isn't... Don't... don't talk nonsense..."
Seeing Minato's transparent attempt to hide something, the atmosphere at the table was suddenly filled with cheer. Kushina was also laughing heartily, though it was uncertain if she would still be able to laugh when she realized he was talking about her. Seeing that Minato wouldn't say, no one forced him. However, at this moment, Makiko, who was usually quiet, suddenly spoke up and asked Kyuushin, "Kyuushin-kun, what kind of girl do you like?"
As soon as she said this, Sachiko immediately stared at Kyuushin with burning eyes. Nawaki and Minato also looked over with curiosity.
"Hmm..." Kyuushin hadn't expected to be just enjoying the gossip, and now it was his turn so quickly. Especially the gazes from Sachiko and Makiko made him feel a bit uncomfortable. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Currently, I don't have any thoughts on that. Let's talk about it in a few years."
"Oh." Makiko lowered her head, and Sachiko immediately turned to look elsewhere.
Kushina was also somewhat speechless. She said, as if giving a hint, "Makiko and Sachiko also received a lot of chocolates on Valentine's Day. They almost filled their drawers, didn't they?"
"No, no, you're exaggerating, Kushina," Sachiko quickly said, then glanced at Kyuushin.
Kyuushin was also a bit awkward. He had figured it out: these two young girls seemed to have a crush on him, and Kushina was fanning the flames. But honestly, he only regarded the two sisters as ordinary classmates. He wasn't a pervert, nor did he want to become a creepy old man who 'raises' girls. But at this point, he couldn't continue to feign ignorance. After carefully considering his words, he finally said, "We are still young. I also plan to seriously consider this issue in five or six years. However, Sachiko and Makiko are both excellent girls, and I hope we can still sit together and eat like this then." He couldn't directly refuse, and both sisters had good personalities. The implication of his words was that if they still felt the same way in five or six years, he would answer them then.
Indeed, after hearing him say that, Sachiko also smiled. "Of course! I think no matter how many years pass, we will definitely still be like this."
"Mm." Makiko also nodded. Then she raised her cup. "I wish you all good fortune in battle and a safe return." Kyuushin wiped the sweat from his forehead and raised his cup with everyone.
After eating, it wasn't too late. Kyuushin and the others first escorted the two little girls home and then returned to the Senju residence together.