"Report!"
"Lord Yagami, Iwagakure's army has withdrawn. They're retreating!"
Just as Yagami sent Mitokado Homura away, a sensory ninja rushed over, panting heavily.
"What?"
"Iwagakure's army retreated?"
"They're not going to try rescuing the Four-Tails' jinchūriki, Rōshi?"
Yagami frowned, his face full of confusion.
He had been worried about the Iwa forces making a move.
That was why he had ordered Mitokado Homura and the others to escort the Four-Tails back to the village first.
But the moment they left, Iwagakure pulled its troops back as well.
That made no sense.
Did Iwagakure really plan to abandon the Four-Tails' jinchūriki?
"Shikaku…"
"Can you tell what Iwagakure is trying to do?"
Unable to figure it out after thinking for a while, Yagami turned toward Nara Shikaku, the one with the sharpest mind among them, hoping he could clear up the confusion.
However, Shikaku was also lowering his head in thought.
It seemed even he could not fully understand what Iwagakure was planning.
"I'm not completely sure either."
Nara Shikaku raised his head and gave a bitter smile before saying, "But don't worry, Lord Yagami. Sending the Four-Tails back to the village was definitely the right decision."
"Then we'll proceed according to yesterday's plan. Everyone will rest for the day."
Since even Shikaku could not figure it out, Yagami could only make that decision.
It worked out well enough. The reinforcements that had just arrived from the village could also use today to recover.
"Everyone, disperse."
"We'll rest for the day."
"The newly arrived teams should set up their camps as soon as possible."
"Shikaku, inform the sensory unit. Tell them to increase their guard today."
After giving the orders, Yagami and Kushina turned around and returned to the camp.
The surrounding shinobi also left one after another to rest.
After all, this was a battlefield.
No one knew when the next battle would break out.
Recovering one's strength was extremely important.
It could decide whether they would be able to fight properly in the next clash.
It could even decide whether they survived.
Naturally, no one dared to underestimate the importance of rest.
"Is this the haori that countless Konoha shinobi dream of wearing?"
"The craftsmanship really is beautiful."
After returning to the tent, Kushina immediately opened the brocade box and gently stroked the Hokage-style haori inside.
Her dream was to become the first female Hokage.
So naturally, this was something that fascinated her.
What she had not expected was that the first time she touched such a haori, it would belong to her own man.
"What Hokage haori?"
"The real Hokage haori represents authority."
"These two sleeves are, at best, a symbol of honor."
Seeing Kushina admiring it so fondly, Yagami could not help shaking his head with a smile.
Just as he said, although it had the appearance of a Hokage haori, its meaning was still far from the real thing.
"If other people heard you say that, they would be furious."
"Something so many people dream of but can never obtain, and in your hands, it doesn't even count as a proper haori?"
Kushina turned toward Yagami and rolled her eyes.
For a moment, there was a special charm in her expression.
If it were not nearly noon, and the situation not exactly suitable, Yagami might have been tempted to do something shameless with her.
"You, take off your vest. I'll sew the sleeves onto it for you."
Just as Yagami stared at Kushina in a slight daze, her voice suddenly rang out.
"Oh? My Kushina knows how to sew?"
"In my impression, you only know how to swing your fists."
Hearing Kushina's words, Yagami snapped back to his senses and immediately teased her with a laugh.
Still, despite the joke, he took off his vest.
When he wore samurai clothes before, the outfit had been too loose, making it inconvenient whenever he kicked at the speed of light.
So that morning, Yagami had already changed back into his jōnin vest.
"What do you mean I only know how to swing my fists?"
"That just proves you don't understand me enough, okay?"
Hearing Yagami tease her, Kushina immediately became annoyed and wanted to refute him.
But as soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly choked on her own words, and her face flushed red.
Speaking of it, aside from their time together back at the Ninja Academy, the amount of time the two of them had truly spent together was not actually that long.
They did not know each other as deeply as she wanted to pretend.
And yet, their relationship had progressed as fast as a rocket.
That was something Kushina herself had never expected.
Realizing that now, she could not help feeling a little embarrassed.
Back then, when her cousin had given herself to Minato, she had hated her for not being stronger and had even beaten Minato directly.
But in the end, once it was her turn, she had somehow gotten confused and confessed to Yagami instead.
"Kushina? What are you thinking about?"
Seeing Kushina suddenly fall into a daze, her expression changing several times, Yagami asked curiously.
Kushina jolted awake with a guilty conscience.
"N-Nothing…"
Kushina snatched the vest from Yagami's hand.
Then she took a needle and thread from her ninja pouch and immediately lowered her head to begin sewing.
Her head was almost buried against her chest, and no matter what, she refused to look up.
[Ding! Fusion with the Mind Stone has been completed.]
Just as Yagami found Kushina's behavior a little strange, the system's notification suddenly rang inside his mind.
At that moment, Yagami felt his mind become unusually clear.
It was as if his entire being had sublimated in an instant.
In his perception, the whole world seemed to have undergone a tremendous change.
"So this is the effect of fusing with the Mind Stone?"
Yagami secretly drew in a breath.
With a thought, he opened the personal panel he had not checked in a long time.
His mental value had increased from a little over three hundred points to more than three thousand.
It had multiplied by ten.
And now, his originally balanced mental value and physical fitness value had formed an extremely sharp contrast.
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