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Chapter 31: Two People's Heart-to-Heart
Seeing Kushina completely ignore Oborotsuki's enthusiasm, Mayumi and Red felt a little awkward on his behalf.
The two exchanged a glance and quickly changed the subject.
"Oborotsuki, it's fine. Let her have some time alone. After all, she's just gone through such a huge change…"
"I'll go get your rice."
Mayumi said as she started to stand up.
Seeing her with that big belly, Red quickly stepped forward: "Mayumi-nee, sit down. Let me do it."
"Oborotsuki—one bowl okay?"
"Whatever. I'm not that hungry."
Oborotsuki nodded casually.
"Not hungry? Then let's drink!"
Red immediately set out two large bowls.
Following her movements, Oborotsuki's gaze drifted up to her healthy, fair cheeks and slender, delicate neck. A light smile curved his lips.
Everyone knew Kurenai had top-tier genjutsu talent.
But after several nights of "battle," Oborotsuki had also experienced her taijutsu firsthand.
Good thing little Karin hadn't been born yet.
Oborotsuki wasn't sure if he could handle both of them at once.
…
Over the next two days, aside from regularly returning to Amegakure to check if Konan had come back, Oborotsuki mainly stayed active in a few places.
The first was Kirigakure.
The Fourth Mizukage's call had taken effect.
Many missing-nin had chosen to return to the village and resume service under the Mizukage.
But some who had already left didn't make that choice.
Oborotsuki, of course, was among them.
For him, now that he was truly free and no longer bound or controlled by anyone, there was no reason to return and become someone else's subordinate.
In truth, Oborotsuki was secretly observing—watching whether Obito would come back to attack Kirigakure, or once again control Yagura and continue manipulating the village.
If that guy dared show his face, Oborotsuki wouldn't mind having a very heartfelt conversation with him.
During this process, Oborotsuki noticed someone very interesting.
Terumī Mei.
Kirigakure's number one beauty.
The future Fifth Mizukage—currently one of the candidates personally selected by the Fourth Mizukage as successor.
Seeing the youthful, vibrant Mei—so different from the mature older-sister version in the original story—
Oborotsuki already knew who his next target would be.
But for now, he hadn't made a move on Mei.
The second place Oborotsuki was active was Konoha.
Mainly to fulfill his promise to Kushina.
Obito was someone he was determined to deal with anyway—regardless of Kushina or Minato.
As for Konoha, Oborotsuki originally had no interest in meddling.
But after saying so much in front of Kushina, he had to at least bring her more relevant information.
Especially internal Konoha intelligence.
Only then would she completely give up on returning—and obediently stay by his side…
…
That day, Oborotsuki returned home as usual from the outside.
He had just finished a new round of reconnaissance in Konoha.
Surprisingly, Kushina was the first to come out of her room.
"Is there any new information from Konoha today?"
The moment she saw Oborotsuki, Kushina asked directly.
"The guy colluding with outside enemies is hiding very deep. No valuable clues yet."
"But there is something quite interesting."
Oborotsuki smiled.
"What is it?"
Kushina's heart stirred.
"The Uchiha clan has become the scapegoat for the Nine-Tails incident."
"Clan head Fugaku publicly apologized. Though he didn't outright admit the Uchiha controlled the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha, he took on at least half the responsibility on behalf of the clan."
"Right now, the entire Uchiha clan has been relocated from the village center to the outskirts of Konoha."
"The internal crisis in Konoha has temporarily subsided."
Hearing this, Kushina frowned deeply, but a breath of relief escaped her heart.
"Poor Fugaku…"
She murmured softly.
Over the past few days, Oborotsuki had continuously brought back news from Konoha, allowing her to understand the general situation.
She had learned how the Nine-Tails attack had caused massive losses—countless lives lost—and how resentment toward the Uchiha had spread among the villagers.
She had been worried the village might fall into even greater chaos, or even erupt into open bloodshed.
Now it seemed the crisis had indeed been temporarily defused.
"By the way—where are Mayumi and Red?"
Oborotsuki didn't sense their chakra and curiously glanced into the house.
"They went out shopping."
Kushina answered.
Kirigakure had reopened. To restore vitality and life to the village, many improvements had been made.
This included reopening free trade with nearby towns, allowing merchants and travelers to come and go freely.
So recently, the entire village and surrounding towns had visibly become more lively. After holding back for so long, Red and Mayumi couldn't resist going out.
Hearing this, Oborotsuki nodded.
For a moment, both of them had nothing more to say. They simply stared at each other in silence.
"Oborotsuki…"
Kushina suddenly spoke softly.
"You've done so much for me and my son. What exactly do you want from me?"
This question had been weighing on Kushina's mind for many days.
During this time together, she had also fully learned the story of how Oborotsuki had rescued Mayumi.
Now Mayumi had become his concubine.
And even though Red had lost her memories, she had already shared a marital relationship with Oborotsuki.
A young, vigorous, handsome, and powerful man—who helped these orphaned mothers so much—what was his purpose? It was obvious.
Kushina had been conflicted for a long time.
As an adult, some things didn't need to be spelled out.
But she also worried she might be overthinking, misunderstanding this handsome man's good intentions.
So today—while Mayumi and Red were out—she decided to have an open, honest talk with Oborotsuki.
"The Land of Whirlpools really does produce beautiful women."
Oborotsuki said somewhat evasively.
But from beginning to end, his gaze never left Kushina's face—not shifting even half an inch.
"Of course the Land of Whirlpools has many beauties—it's famous throughout the ninja world!"
Kushina immediately felt a surge of pride, instinctively showing her bold, straightforward personality.
But her excitement lasted less than two seconds before her expression darkened again.
"It's just a pity… some of those beauties are already taken…"
Her words carried a meaningful undertone.
Oborotsuki immediately understood the implication, but he smiled without minding at all:
"From the second I decided to save you, my purpose has been very simple."
"You've probably already seen—the Hōzuki clan has fallen to this state. Our numbers are dwindling. If we don't take action, our clan will naturally die out with my generation."
"So your meaning is…?"
Kushina looked up in surprise, meeting Oborotsuki's gaze.
"My meaning is—I want to revive the Hōzuki clan."
"It's that simple."
"So—whether a flower already has an owner or not, it doesn't conflict with my goal."
With that, Oborotsuki folded his arms and looked at Kushina with a calm, composed expression.
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