The weeks flew by at a breakneck pace, with only a month left before the exam, and I barely found time to visit the Senju quarter, showing up almost at night, against all rules of decorum - Princess Uzumaki's message, delivered via summoning, was not to be ignored. This was the first time Mito had ever invited me over like this, so she wasn't just bored, she was in the mood for a serious conversation.
The barriers on the property and the house let me through, allowing me to enter without a problem, and the light in the kitchen alone made it clear where I was welcome, as did the fact that the other occupant had already gone to bed.
- Come in, Ryo-kun, make yourself comfortable," the older Uzumaki greeted me with a smile, sitting down at the table and enjoying a cup of tea.
- Hi, Mito-chan, I'll have some," I nodded, sitting down across from her, "because your tea is the most delicious I've ever tasted.
It's also the most expensive that I can get for money, and I can't afford to drink it all the time, or I'll lose all the money I have for a rainy day. I can't afford it all the time, or I'll lose my stash in a rainy day in no time.
Waiting for Mito to fill the cup she'd already prepared and hand it to me, I took a sip of the flavored drink and snacked on the pastries.
- So, you wanted to see me, and even so urgently, is something wrong? - I asked the beauty when the tea was finished.
- Yes, Ryo, something has happened," Mito sighed, lowering her gaze, "my stay in Konoha is coming to an end.
I didn't even realize what she was talking about at first, but then I felt like I'd been hit over the head with a dust bag.
- I don't get it," I said.
The elder Uzumaki had been in Konoha long before I was born, and for the past eighteen years, and was an unwavering support that I could rely on in any situation. Not that I used it often, but the fact that I had the village's most powerful fighter at my back, and one who wielded a great deal of influence among Konoha's top brass, was a great confidence booster and kept Sarutobi and Co. from being a political counterbalance.
And the fact that Mito is going to leave the village is very, very bad news for me in that regard, not to mention learning from a master fuin and simply an indispensable partner in top-level training battles.
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