"Yosh! To celebrate Nawaki's successful graduation, let's have barbecue tonight!"
Putting aside the unreliable thoughts in her mind for the time being, Tsunade suggested.
"Okay! I want to eat what Minato makes!" Nawaki suggested.
"No, let's go to the barbecue restaurant."
Kushina frowned. "Minato works very hard cooking every day, and Nawaki, you eat so much..."
"What? I eat a lot? Do you want to hear what you are saying?"
Nawaki pointed at himself incredulously. "I should have the smallest appetite in this family, right? Even you eat more than me!"
Hearing this, Kushina puffed up her small face. Although she really wanted to explode, unfortunately, Nawaki was right.
Currently, the one who could eat the most at home was Minato. At some point, Minato's appetite began to skyrocket in a way they couldn't understand.
Now Minato could easily eat the sum of the three of them in one meal!
Tsunade could use the Strength of a Hundred Seal to maximize the absorption of energy from food and convert it into chakra, keeping her body in peak condition at all times, so her appetite was not small either.
And as a member of the Uzumaki clan, she (Kushina) had vitality and physical strength far exceeding ordinary people, but correspondingly, she also needed more nutritional intake than others.
Two years ago, it was fine to say, but now her appetite had indeed exceeded Nawaki's.
So when Nawaki said she ate a lot, she really couldn't refute it.
"That's why we should go to the barbecue restaurant to eat. Cooking so much food every day, Minato is already working very hard!"
"But I just want to eat what Minato makes. Minato grills a wide variety of things, much richer than the single stove grill at the barbecue restaurant."
Nawaki complained, "And today is to celebrate my graduation, right? Can't you satisfy me?"
"Then let's eat at home."
Minato patted Kushina's little head and smiled. "This also shows that my skills are better than the barbecue restaurant, doesn't it?"
"Mmh mmh!"
Nawaki nodded repeatedly, his eyes shining.
The dishes in the barbecue restaurant were just those few items over and over again. Although he couldn't say he was tired of eating them, there was no freshness to speak of.
But for Minato, everything could be grilled!
Seeing Minato say so, Kushina didn't object anymore. Her small head rubbed against Minato's palm. Actually, she also preferred to eat what Minato made.
Everyone bought groceries on the way back home. Minato plunged into the kitchen and began to prepare the dishes.
Seeing that Kushina and Nawaki both went back to their rooms, Tsunade quietly walked into the kitchen, came behind Minato, and gently placed a pair of tender hands on his shoulders.
This posture was a bit ambiguous, but Tsunade seemed unaware of it.
"Minato?"
"What's wrong, Sensei?"
Minato didn't stop washing the vegetables, seemingly accustomed to such contact.
"Are you... concerned about Grandpa's necklace?"
Tsunade asked softly, with a deliberately casual tone, probing.
"Hm?"
Minato was a little surprised. He raised his head, only to find his vision blocked by a pair of magnificent peaks. "Why does Sensei say that?"
"Just now when I gave the necklace to Nawaki, I felt that your mood wasn't quite right."
Tsunade leaned forward, tilted her head, and stared at Minato unblinkingly with her amber eyes, her tone carrying a hint of teasing. "Could it be jealousy?"
"I was just thinking about other things. In Sensei's eyes, I shouldn't be the kind of child who likes to fight for things, right?"
Minato said casually, "And even if I were jealous, I shouldn't be jealous of Nawaki, right?"
Hearing this, Tsunade's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously blurted out, "Then whose jealousy?"
"Whose jealousy does Sensei think I should be feeling?"
Minato threw the question back, his tone inexplicable, asking with a half-smile, "Whose jealousy does Sensei want me to feel?"
"Brat!"
Tsunade was instantly speechless, a blush flying onto her face. She rubbed his little blond hair and gritted her teeth hatefully.
She finally confirmed that those habitual physical contacts and ambiguous tacit understandings were not just illusions of her own perversion, but also contained the factor of the other party intentionally teasing her.
If she had ulterior motives towards Minato, then judging from Minato's reaction, this brat also had ulterior motives towards her, his teacher...
While this made her happy, she couldn't help but feel a little ashamed and annoyed. Ashamed and annoyed that she was actually manipulated by her own disciple!
Thinking of this, she pinched Minato's cheeks with both hands. "Are you very proud?"
"Gu, I don't understand what you are saying." Minato mumbled indistinctly.
"Don't play dumb!" Tsunade scolded lightly, released her hands pinching Minato's cheeks, and stared at him with burning eyes. "Give me a reason!"
"Does Sensei think one needs a reason to like someone?"
Minato rubbed his cheeks, seemingly still able to feel the residual warmth of her fingertips.
"No need..."
Tsunade said, then couldn't help sneering. "But liking two people does!"
Minato laughed awkwardly. "This is indeed a headache."
Hearing this, Tsunade narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You kid, you really dare to think about it?"
"It's not a question of daring or not. If emotions could be controlled, then Sensei wouldn't be discussing these with me. You should feel this more deeply than I do, right?"
Minato said calmly. Tsunade instantly felt the embarrassment of having her thoughts seen through.
She really wanted to ask what the other party planned to do, but afraid of not getting the answer she wanted, she ultimately didn't pursue the question.
That night, Tsunade had insomnia.
Lying in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, feeling a sense of lost confusion.
As soon as she closed her eyes, she seemed to see Minato with a wicked smile on his face, saying to her: Teacher, this is a crime, right? Actually having thoughts about your own disciple... Trash teacher!
Or something like: Teacher, you don't want Nawaki to know about this, right? You don't want to bring shame to the First's name, right?
Scaring her awake from drowsiness several times. She washed her underwear twice, and didn't fall asleep with difficulty until the sky gradually brightened.
In comparison, Minato wasn't affected much. He got up early in the morning and prepared breakfast.
With memories of his past life, he was very open about this kind of thing.
And since Tsunade didn't pursue the question, it meant that for Tsunade, his existence was more important than the answer. This attitude already explained a lot.
"Good morning, everyone!"
Nawaki came to the living room full of energy. Seeing only Minato and a listless Kushina, he asked, "Is Sis not up yet?"
"Probably didn't sleep well last night?"
Minato served a bowl of hot porridge to Nawaki. "Don't worry. Aren't you getting your team assignment today? Eat first."
"Thanks for the hard work!"
Nawaki ate breakfast, chuckling from time to time, seemingly foreseeing his future of becoming Hokage.
Eating hurriedly, he put on his forehead protector solemnly. "I'm full. Just put the dishes in the sink. I'm going out first!"
"Wait, Nawaki." Minato threw a bag to him. "Ninja missions have certain dangers. Take these clone seeds. They can help at necessary moments and also make it convenient for me to support."
"Ah, thanks a lot!" Nawaki didn't refuse. He knew Minato's strength and didn't force himself to hold on for a little boring self-esteem.
Watching Nawaki leave excitedly, Minato's eyes held a trace of scrutiny.
Regarding the saying of the cursed necklace, his attitude was that it's better to believe it exists than not. After all, Tsunade's luck was inherently weird.
So he planned to secretly guard the other party for a while to see what the situation was.
---