At this dinner table, Kushina and Satsuki were the only two who did not know the true identities of the two guests. They completely failed to understand why their private family matters would cause such a drastic reaction from these two strangers.
As for Sasuke and Boruto, who were actually the parties involved, Boruto was the first to recover after a brief moment of shock. He stammered as he sought confirmation.
"Uh! What does 'childhood engagement' mean? We haven't misunderstood what's going on here, have we?"
Boruto still held a sliver of hope that he had misunderstood. But Mikoto simply continued to explain patiently.
"It means exactly what it says. To be more detailed, it refers to an engagement arranged by the parents when the boy and girl are very young. If neither child objects in the future, they can directly become husband and wife."
"Mom...!"
Hearing her mother explain her marriage arrangement to outsiders in such detail, Satsuki couldn't help but blush, pulling shyly on Mikoto's arm, trying to stop her from continuing.
"Since the matter is out in the open," Mikoto maintained her graceful smile, "May I ask, what are everyone's opinions?"
She expressed her stance first. "I am very fond of Naruto, this child. Therefore, I'd be delighted to become Naruto's other mother."
"Mm-hmm! Me too!" Kushina immediately chimed in cheerfully. "It was wonderful that we made this promise back then! I wholeheartedly approve!"
Uchiha Fugaku remained silent for a moment, then spoke indifferently.
"I have no objection."
Uchiha Sasuke had originally thought the shock he had endured today had reached its limit—the shame brought by the realization that he existed as a female in this parallel Universe was so intense that he wished he could immediately find a hole to crawl into.
Throughout his tumultuous life journey, he had experienced the despair of his clan being slaughtered, the sorrow of being betrayed by his closest kin, and the rage upon learning the truth; he had tasted every kind of negative emotion. But awkwardness and shame like this were an unprecedented experience for him.
Deep down, Sasuke felt a dizzying sense of absurdity. He looked at "Uchiha Satsuki," who resembled him but was clearly female, and then looked at Naruto, who was fatally familiar from his memories, feeling like the distortion of time and space was suffocating.
"...I think... shouldn't we reconsider this?"
Sasuke's mind was a mess, but he could only manage to squeeze out this weak and futile objection.
"Is that so?" Mikoto turned and looked gently at her daughter. "Then Satsuki, regarding this agreement, do you consent?"
Satsuki already had the answer in her heart—she 100% approved of this marriage. In fact, if someone were to use "respecting her personal wishes" as an excuse to cancel this childhood engagement now, she would absolutely be the first person to step forward and vehemently object. Her hesitation at this moment was purely due to the presence of strangers, making her too shy to express her true feelings.
"Huh? This... do I have to say it now..." Satsuki's voice trailed off.
"Hmm? Satsuki, are you perhaps unwilling?" Mikoto intentionally drew out her words.
"No! I... consent..." Satsuki quickly denied it. She secretly glanced at Naruto, and her heart rate involuntarily sped up.
"I see," Mikoto continued to press, clearly enjoying the moment. "Then, do you like Naruto?"
"Wha... What?!"
Satsuki's eyes widened. She couldn't believe her mother would ask such a blunt question in front of so many people. She felt both embarrassed and flustered.
"Do you not like him? Satsuki, you don't have to force yourself." Mikoto was clearly teasing her daughter and her future "son."
"Well, it's not that I dislike him..." Satsuki turned her face away, the tips of her ears burning red.
"Just not disliking him, but not liking him either?" Mikoto pressed relentlessly, a gentle smile still playing on her lips.
"...I like him."
Under her mother's persistent questioning, Satsuki finally gave up resisting. She lowered her head and spoke the words she had hidden in her heart for a long time, in a voice that was barely audible.
After saying those words, she felt like her entire body was on fire.
"Bang!"
The dining table jolted violently. Sasuke finally couldn't withstand the continuous mental assault and collapsed face-first onto the tabletop, looking incredibly weak.
Hearing the "self" from another world openly confess her feelings to Naruto, the sense of absurdity nearly shattered his sanity.
"Sas... Master! Are you alright?!" Boruto cried out in panic. It was the first time he had ever seen Uchiha Sasuke lose his composure like this, and he quickly rushed forward to help him up.
Sasuke barely managed to grab Boruto's wrist and struggled to lift his head. "Forgive me, that was rude... I'm full. I need to leave for a moment." He had only one thought in his mind: he had to escape this suffocating situation immediately. Having said that, he pulled Boruto along, stood up, and headed straight for the door.
Amidst his surprise, Boruto could only cast a reluctant glance back at the unfinished special hamburger before being helplessly dragged away.
"What in the world is wrong with that person?" Kushina said, puzzled, completely failing to understand why their private family matter had caused such great distress to a stranger.
Naruto also remembered that there was indeed such a childhood engagement agreement... but he hadn't expected Uchiha Sasuke to witness this moment and be so severely impacted by it.
At this moment, Naruto suddenly noticed that nearly everyone's gaze was fixed on him, clearly waiting for his response. To be honest, in his perception, Uchiha Satsuki had always been a girl... Moreover, Naruto himself didn't realize that if Satsuki could see their Bond Rank, that number would be terrifyingly high.
"I... consent... Do I need to say anything else?" Naruto scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Mm! That's enough!" Mikoto said happily, not pressing him further as she had done with Satsuki. She looked at the young couple before her, her heart filled with satisfaction.
"Well then, after you both come of age, you can confirm your relationship and decide when to hold the wedding."
"Mom!" Mikoto's blunt words made steam practically rise from the top of Satsuki's head.
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