"…?"
Mikami Yuu turned and glanced at Rin.
Rin looked a little embarrassed. "Um… I actually really like fluffy little animals. I used to want to keep a little white dog at home, but I never got the chance…"
"…"
Wait a second… the Nohara family, and a little white dog?
Named Nohara Shiro, right?
The corner of Mikami Yuu's mouth twitched slightly.
He had no idea whether Hiroshi planned to have a second child, but if he did, Mikami Yuu was absolutely going to suggest that he ask Hiruzen Sarutobi to grant the kid a name matching his eldest son's, just to show their heartfelt loyalty to the Hokage…
…
Two days after the "spy incident,"
Namikaze Minato led Mikami Yuu and the others, along with the recommendation letter Hebishi had written and the mission report from Akiyama Hayato, out of Wildfire City and onto the road back to Konoha.
The return trip was smooth and uneventful.
Minato kept using the travel time to teach Mikami Yuu and the others ninja combat skills, as well as common mistakes in ninjutsu training.
—Even though Minato himself followed a close-range burst style centered around Flying Thunder God and wasn't especially specialized in standard elemental ninjutsu, as a former top student at the Ninja Academy and the future Fourth Hokage, he was still more than qualified to guide Mikami Yuu and Obito.
Kakashi occasionally chimed in with a few extra details from the side.
Obito wanted several times to ask about the "White Fang of Konoha," but Kakashi was always nearby, so he could only keep swallowing the question back down.
As for why Kakashi kept staying beside Obito…
Well, naturally, it was because no one was asking him to practice swordsmanship anymore.
These past few days, Mikami Yuu had been focusing on rushing the affection of Healing Technique.
Although among his current romance targets, Great Fireball was the closest to leveling up—less than ten points away from max—right now Healing Technique was more important.
Because it was the key that would determine whether he could enter the advanced medical class.
A "close" level Healing Technique might impress Hebishi, but it wasn't necessarily enough to catch Tsunade's eye.
So to be safe, Mikami Yuu planned to push Healing Technique to Infatuated first, then go to Konoha Hospital to meet Tsunade. That way, the odds of successfully becoming her student would be much higher.
For that reason,
Mikami Yuu had deliberately caught a lot of wild rabbits and river fish nearby, knocking them out, cutting them, and then healing them over and over with medical ninjutsu.
If they healed, he repeated the process.
If they didn't, into the pot they went.
Seeing this, Rin joined in on the training too.
Obito grumbled a little at first, but after Mikami Yuu handed him a few roasted rabbit legs, the guy softened right up. Aside from the fact that he loved to squat beside Rin and watch her, which was annoying, he was actually pretty quiet overall.
Fortunately, over the two days Mikami Yuu had spent helping Hebishi with the wounded, he had already pushed Healing Technique's affection upward a bit through practice. And since Healing Technique, who appeared as a gentle older-sister type, was one of the easiest jutsu to romance in the first place—
after this last burst of focused effort,
by the time the three-day return trip ended, Mikami Yuu finally got what he wanted:
[Healing Technique (Affection: 75/100 — Intimate)]
(3 stage rewards earned: Constitution +3; Trait: Healing Brand — Wounds you treat will leave behind a subtle "Healing Brand." For three weeks after treatment ends, the brand will continue repairing the surrounding tissues until they are fully restored to their original, uninjured state.)
"…Yeah. This should do it."
Mikami Yuu was very satisfied.
At this point,
the familiar gates of Konoha had already come into view.
The moment they saw them, both Rin and Obito visibly relaxed, like a weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
Even the exhaustion from days of travel seemed to ease a little.
Minato turned his head toward them. "Good work, everyone. I'll go turn in the mission report, so you should all get some proper rest. There won't be any mandatory training for the next few days—focus on recovering. If anything comes up, you can go to Kakashi first. He knows how to reach me.
"And Yuu, Rin—when you go to see Tsunade-sama, you can mention my name. By seniority, she's technically my aunt in the line of disciples, so she should give me at least a little face."
—After all, the recommendation letter didn't guarantee success. If Mikami Yuu or Rin slipped up somewhere, then for Minato's sake, Tsunade might still be willing to give them another chance.
As for why Minato himself wasn't going with them… well, that would've been a little too deliberate.
After giving his instructions,
Minato clapped his hands. "Dismissed!"
"Yes, Minato-sensei!"
Kakashi gave a brief nod, then headed off alone toward home, his back looking oddly lonely.
Obito watched Kakashi's retreating figure, opened his mouth, but in the end still didn't call out to him. Instead, he turned to Mikami Yuu and Rin.
"Rin, Yuu—what are you doing next?"
"Going home, taking a hot bath, getting some rest, and heading to Konoha Hospital tomorrow."
Mikami Yuu stretched and answered.
Rin nodded. "That's what I was thinking too. After all this time eating and sleeping outdoors, I feel filthy. Yuu-kun, when you go to the hospital, remember to call me."
"…Then I'm going too."
Obito immediately cut in. "I don't have a recommendation letter, but I still want to go see Tsunade-sama and find out whether she's really as amazing as the rumors say!"
Mikami Yuu waved a hand. "Do whatever you want. Just don't be late."
…
There wasn't much to say about everyone going off to recover.
The next morning,
Mikami Yuu met Rin outside at the gate of their homes, and the two of them headed to Konoha Hospital together.
And yes… Obito was late, exactly as expected.
"…You're Mikami Yuu and Nohara Rin, the two recommended by Hebishi-senpai, right? Please come with me."
The one who came down to escort them was a girl around ten or so years old—Kato Shizune.
Under her lead, Mikami Yuu and Rin walked through the corridors and entered an inner hospital building not open to the public. They stopped outside a heavily guarded critical-care room. When Shizune pushed the door open, a strong medicinal smell mixed with disinfectant hit them in the face.
The first thing they saw was a row of hospital beds, all occupied by patients with severe, complicated injuries.
And the second thing—
Mikami Yuu's gaze was instantly drawn to the figure standing in the corner of the room.
It was a woman.
She stood with her back to the door, wearing a long emerald-green coat. Her golden hair was tied into neat twin ponytails, and even just standing there, she radiated an extraordinary presence. When she heard the sound and turned around, a beautiful face came into view—elegant, but with a trace of irritation.
Of course…
what was impossible to ignore most of all was the proud, overwhelming fullness at her chest, ripe and heavy like fruit in full bloom. With her arms folded, the curves stood out even more, creating an overwhelming visual impact.
She was none other than one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin—the famously huge-cow—ahem, the famously big sheep—
Princess Tsunade!