Only then did Obito Uchiha greatly relax. Scratching his head, he laughed foolishly twice before burying himself in the food again.
As he ate, he suddenly remembered something and curiously looked at Kushina.
"By the way, big sister Kushina, I remember you're also a Jonin, right? But it feels like I've never seen you lead students, and I've never heard about you leaving the village for missions either. It's kind of strange."
Minato Namikaze, sitting beside her, was just about to explain when Kushina Uzumaki smilingly took over first.
"Minato, let me explain."
She turned toward Obito and said with a slight smile, "Because my identity is rather special, I need to stay in the village more and receive everyone's protection. I can't casually run outside the village."
"I see…" Obito Uchiha nodded as if half understanding.
At his current age, he did not truly understand what a special identity specifically meant, but he did understand what 'can't leave the village and receive everyone's protection' meant.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something like, "That's such a shame, there are so many interesting places and experiences outside the village or "Wouldn't staying inside the village all the time feel boring?"
But the words stopped at his lips.
Looking at Kushina's calm smile, he felt that saying such things seemed inappropriate, so in the end, he merely awkwardly murmured an 'oh'.
Seeing this, Kushina Uzumaki instead laughed even more brightly and reached out to rub Obito's spiky hair.
"So, Obito, you need to work hard and become stronger quickly! Once you become strong enough in the future, maybe you'll be able to protect me and go see the vast world outside the village together!"
These words instantly ignited the fire in Obito's heart, and he abruptly sat upright, nodded forcefully, and loudly declared: "Don't worry, big sister Kushina! I'll definitely become super strong in the future!"
"So strong that no bad person will ever get the chance to hurt you! I mean it!"
"Alright, alright, then I'll look forward to it." Kushina Uzumaki smiled and nodded.
Then she turned her head to look at Minato Namikaze beside her, who had been watching her with a smile the whole time. Her eyes were full of tenderness as she was just about to say something.
At that moment…
Knock knock knock!
A sudden, rapid knocking sound rang out, interrupting the warm atmosphere in the living room.
"At this hour…" Minato showed slight surprise, but immediately stood up. "I'll go take a look."
He walked to the entrance and opened the door. The person standing outside surprised him somewhat.
"Senior Tsunade?"
The visitor was indeed Tsunade. She looked somewhat hurried. Her golden hair was slightly disheveled, and she had little intention of exchanging pleasantries. Her gaze directly passed over Minato and swept toward the inside of the house.
"Minato, is Kushina here?"
"I'm here, big sister Tsunade!" Hearing the familiar voice, Kushina Uzumaki immediately stood up from beside the dining table and quickly walked to the doorway. "What's wrong? Why are you looking for me so urgently?"
Kushina Uzumaki and Tsunade were naturally old acquaintances. Back when she had been selected as the next nine-tails Jinchuriki, she had practically moved into the residence of the first Hokage's wife, Mito Uzumaki, following that elder of the Uzumaki clan to learn the Uzumaki clan's secret Sealing Jutsu and various other techniques.
As Mito's granddaughter, Tsunade often visited her grandmother, so over time the two grew familiar with each other.
To Kushina, Tsunade was a powerful yet somewhat special senior and older sister figure, and her domineering, fiercely protective personality matched Kushina's tastes perfectly.
"Kushina, I need your help with something very important right now!" Tsunade grabbed Kushina's wrist, her face full of urgency.
"Eh? Right now? Should we talk here or..." Kushina was caught off guard by her attitude.
"Let's find somewhere quieter to talk."
"Then let's go to the study room."
With that, Kushina led Tsunade toward the study room, quickly saying to Minato and the children at the dining table: "Minato, you guys eat first! Big sister Tsunade and I are going to the study room to discuss something!"
Inside the study room, Tsunade skipped all the pleasantries and got straight to the point.
"It's about the mass-production problem of a new type of medical scroll. We're stuck at simplifying the Sealing Jutsu process and need a top-tier sealing expert! You were the first person I thought of!"
"Medical scroll? Mass production?" Kushina blinked, immediately catching the keywords, and her curiosity was instantly piqued. "Big sister Tsunade, please explain in detail!"
So Tsunade quickly explained the matter of the medical scrolls.
Kushina listened quietly, and her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go already, big sister Tsunade!" After hearing everything, Kushina looked even more impatient than Tsunade.
God knew that although staying in the village every day was safe, life had become almost completely repetitive, leaving her with barely anything that made her feel truly needed.
Now that she had heard about a project where she could make a huge contribution and save countless comrades' lives, she could no longer sit still.
The two were just about to leave the study.
"Wait, big sister Tsunade!" Kushina suddenly remembered something and spoke again. "Can I bring one more person along? She might be able to help a little, and it'd also be a learning opportunity."
Tsunade paused. "Who?"
"Rin."
Kushina smiled and explained, "That child, Rin, is meticulous and very talented at chakra control. She has great potential for Medical Ninjutsu. Although Minato is an excellent teacher, he isn't specialized in Medical Ninjutsu after all. I always feel like her potential in this area is being held back a bit. With this medical scroll project, if she could follow beside you and broaden her horizons, even if she's only helping out and observing, she'll definitely benefit enormously."
"You really know how to think for others." Hearing that, Tsunade smiled as well. "Fine, bring her along. But I'll say this first: how much she can learn from me depends on herself."
"No problem!"
Walking out of the study, Kushina waved toward Rin Nohara at the dining table. "Rin! Come over quickly and come with us! We have an important mission!"
Rin Nohara froze for a moment before quickly standing up. "Yes, sister Kushina!"
Soon afterward, Tsunade, Kushina, and Rin Nohara hurriedly left in a storm-like rush, leaving behind a somewhat quiet atmosphere and three men staring at each other: Minato, Kakashi, and Obito.
"What's with all the mystery..." Obito Uchiha muttered softly, a little jealous that Rin had been brought along for an important mission.
"Just eat your food, dead last." Kakashi glanced at him.
"Who are you calling dead last?!"
"Alright, alright."
Minato smiled and smoothed things over. "They definitely have something important to do. Let's continue eating."
At the same time, Kushina leaving together with Tsunade was naturally noticed by the Anbu responsible for guarding, monitoring, and protecting the nine-tails Jinchuriki.
Thus, the information was quickly reported to the Hokage's office.
"I understand. Continue carrying out your protection duties. Don't interfere with them. Report again if anything unusual happens."
After listening to the Anbu's report and learning that Kushina had followed Tsunade to Shinichi's personal laboratory, the third Hokage merely nodded and gave a simple instruction.
But inwardly, he could not help becoming curious.
Has he developed something incredible again?
For a moment, even the third Hokage's heart became filled with anticipation.