"Come in."
Kushina pushed the door open and walked in, a wide smile on her face. "Sister Ruri, I heard you were looking for me?"
"When did I..." Ruri started, then caught herself and nodded. "Oh, right. I do have something for you."
"What do you need my help with?" Kushina's smile grew even brighter.
"We're short-staffed lately, so I'm planning to let your class graduate early and join the Security Team."
"Really? That's great!" Kushina couldn't help but cheer. She had long grown tired of wasting time at the school.
"Of course, only those who pass the assessment will be able to graduate. When you go back to school tomorrow, tell everyone about this so they can prepare."
"Okay, no problem!"
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Kushina left, completely satisfied, leaving a visibly relieved Ruri behind.
Once outside, Kushina stretched lazily. After a moment's thought, she turned and headed down another street.
A few minutes later, she arrived at the First Tower Under Heaven.
Even though it wasn't mealtime, the restaurant was still bustling with people waiting for a table. After greeting a few acquaintances she passed, Kushina scanned the room. Not seeing the familiar figure she was looking for, she slipped into the back kitchen.
There, she finally found Kaori, her hair tied up, dressed in a white chef's uniform.
"Sister Kaori!"
"Kushina, what are you doing here?" Kaori said apologetically. "Go wait outside for a bit. Let me finish stir-frying this dish first."
"No need. I just came to ask if you could make a few dishes for me, if you have time."
"Of course, I have time. What do you want to eat? Roast chicken again?"
Kushina nodded. "Yep, three of them, please."
"Alright. Go wander around for a while and come back to pick them up."
"Mm-hm."
As she usually did, Kushina went to a nearby clearing and practiced throwing shuriken at a wooden post. Nearly an hour passed before she returned to the restaurant and picked up the three fragrant roast chickens.
Then, carrying the chickens, she followed the flow of people along the road and walked out of Twin Rivers Village.
The farther she went, the sparser the pedestrians became. Suddenly, Kushina changed direction and plunged into the woods beside the road.
Despite carrying the heavy roast chickens, she moved through the forest with the agility of a seasoned ninja, quickly arriving at a secluded, rarely visited clearing.
She untied the bag of chickens, placed them on a large, smooth boulder, and then hopped onto the rock herself. "Big-Eyes, I'm here!" she shouted. "And I brought your favorite roast chicken!"
She waited for a moment. The only sounds in the forest were the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional chirp of insects. There was no other sign of movement.
"If you don't come out, I'm going to eat first," Kushina declared, wiping a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth. Unable to resist any longer, she sat down on the rock, tore off a large chicken leg, and stuffed it into her mouth.
"Mmm, mmm, delicious! Sister Kaori's cooking has gotten even better. It almost tastes like Brother Kaito's."
The thought of Kaito made the chicken in her hand seem less fragrant. "You big jerk brother, you haven't come back in so long. You must have gotten tangled up with some other woman."
"I'll bite you to death, you scumbag!" She treated the chicken leg as if it were Kaito, finishing it off in just a few bites.
She was about to tear off another leg when her hand found nothing. She turned her head and saw that the entire bag of roast chicken had vanished.
"??!!"
Kushina instantly sprang to her feet, her right hand stealthily reaching for the ninja tool pouch on her back. She carefully scanned her surroundings and whispered, "Big-Eyes, is that you?"
Suddenly, a wave of icy cold washed over her. All the sounds around her disappeared, leaving a silence as eerie as a graveyard. Even the dead leaves on the ground and the branches on the trees stopped moving, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
Genjutsu? Kushina's heart sank. Recalling what she had learned in school, she formed the hand seal for release and barked, "Kai!"
But to her surprise, the standard method for breaking a genjutsu didn't work. Everything around her remained frozen, like a scene in an oil painting.
What in the world is going on? Kushina was utterly baffled. A sense of panic began to set in, and her eyes darted toward the path she had come from. Her first instinct was to run.
However, before she could move, Kushina was horrified to find that she couldn't control her own body. Her hands rose on their own, one pressing her nose up and the other pulling her ear, making her look like a pig.
"...Stop messing with my body!" Kushina flushed with shame and anger. Her chakra erupted, and two golden chains shot out from behind her. The icy chill in her body dissipated, and the world around her returned to normal.
She let out a quiet sigh of relief, but her guard went up again just as quickly. A black-clad figure wearing a mask had appeared in front of her.
"Who are you? Was that your doing just now?" Kushina demanded, holding a kunai defensively across her chest. The two golden chains slithered beside her, ready to strike at any moment.
The masked man looked at her and spoke slowly. "Golden chains and bright red hair. You truly are a survivor of the Uzumaki clan."
"!" Having her identity exposed so bluntly sent shockwaves through Kushina's heart, and she couldn't stop the memories of that night from flooding back.
She forced herself to remain calm. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Just come with me quietly. Your body is worth a lot of money."
"In your dreams!"
With a sharp cry, Kushina's hands moved in a blur, instantly flinging more than a dozen shuriken. At the same time, the two golden chains shot out like venomous snakes.
"Heh." The masked man chuckled softly and stood his ground without dodging. The incoming shuriken and golden chains seemed to hit an invisible wall, unable to touch his body.
"?!" Kushina immediately realized this was an enemy far beyond her league. Reaching into her tool pouch, she pulled out a smoke bomb and slammed it on the ground. A thick cloud of smoke erupted, completely enveloping her.
Just as she was about to use the smoke as cover to escape, she felt something wrap around her waist. She was then pulled into a dark, damp, and soft space. The familiar sensation immediately told Kushina where she was.
It's Big-Eyes! He came to save me!
But her relief didn't last long. The darkness before her rapidly receded, and she was thrown out. After stabilizing herself on the ground, Kushina opened her eyes and saw a giant chameleon, the size of a small house, groveling before the masked man. Its large, intelligent eyes held a fawning expression.
"..." Kushina froze on the spot, completely stunned.
"Well, this is an unexpected bonus," the masked man said, patting the chameleon's head, which reached his chest. "Such a massive and intelligent ninja beast... it should be usable as a summon."
"..." Kushina bit her lip, walked silently up to the masked man, and tilted her head up. Her eyes were filled with a mixture of indignation and incredible, disbelieving joy.
"Brother Kaito, you bastard! You finally decided to come back!"