Morning light streamed through the window, casting a warm glow over the living room of Ryo's home.
Kushina stretched with a long yawn. Her red hair was tousled, her face radiating the satisfaction of achieving a major breakthrough after months of training, mixed with the lazy fatigue of well-earned rest.
"Ah... so comfy!" she said brightly. "After working this hard, I deserve a proper reward!"
In a world where entertainment was scarce, Kushina's way of rewarding herself was simple and direct. Drag her best friend Mikoto out to shop and eat to their heart's content.
Mikoto set down her teacup with a gentle smile. Her black eyes showed rare ease. "Sure, Kushina. It really is time to relax a bit." She gracefully adjusted her deep blue skirt.
As for Ryo, he was cleaning and organizing his collection of blades.
Kushina bounded up to him, hands on her hips, chin slightly raised. "Ryo! Let's go. Today, you're our exclusive bag-carrying assistant!" Her tone was righteous and smug.
Ryo opened his eyes and looked at her bright, animated face. Then he glanced at the quietly smiling Mikoto. The corners of his lips curved ever so slightly.
"Alright." He stood up crisply, his expression full of indulgence.
Tsunade wasn't home. Her idea of a reward was very... Tsunade. Most likely buried in the middle of her "battlefield" — a gambling den or a sake house.
Konoha's commercial street was already bustling. Kushina held Mikoto's arm, walking lightly, like two birds flying free from their cage, weaving through shop signs and crowds.
The girls' laughter rang crisp and clear.
"Mikoto, come on. If we don't empty this entire street today, we'd be letting all my hard work go to waste!" Kushina tugged her along so hard Mikoto had to jog a step to keep up.
Mikoto steadied herself and glanced at the surrounding shops with anticipation.
Ryo silently followed half a step behind, quiet as a moving shelf.
Kushina casually shoved two bags full of snacks and trinkets into his arms.
Ryo caught them steadily. The pile of bags grew taller again.
He showed no expression, his gaze resting on Kushina's joyful figure and Mikoto's serene profile. In the depths of his eyes was nothing but tenderness.
Their first stop was a dango shop.
Kushina stared through the display window. "Boss, that one, that one, and that one. Three of each!"
Mikoto added, "And two cups of hot barley tea."
Soon, the table was packed.
Kushina took a big bite, cheeks bulging with food as her eyes narrowed in satisfaction. "Mmm, just the taste I remember!"
Mikoto sipped her tea and watched her eat with a gentle smile, picking up a skewer herself.
Ryo sat a little farther away across from them with only a glass of water.
Most of the time, he simply watched them. When the sauce nearly smeared Kushina's nose, he passed her a napkin without a word.
Kushina wiped her face roughly and continued attacking the food.
With full bellies, their shopping desire reignited.
Kushina dragged Mikoto into a fabric shop.
She darted between bolts of cloth and ready-made clothes.
"Mikoto, look at this one. It matches your hair!" She held a deep purple fabric against Mikoto. Then she picked up a yukata with orange flame patterns and held it to herself. "What do you think?"
Ryo leaned against the doorway, half his face hidden behind the growing mountain of bags.
He glanced at the yukata. "Looks good. Suits you."
Kushina immediately beamed. "Then this one it is!" She handed it to the clerk without hesitation.
Mikoto smiled and picked a bolt of light lavender fabric.
Ryo stepped forward silently to accept the wrapped packages. His load got even heavier.
They left the fabric shop just as the sun reached its peak. Kushina suggested, "Let's try that new croc-shaped taiyaki place. I heard the red bean filling is stuffed to the brim!"
Mikoto nodded.
The three of them walked along the street. Kushina chattered on, Mikoto listened with a smile.
The relaxed mood quickly shattered.
"Hey, did you hear?" At a nearby vegetable stall, a man in a Chūnin vest lowered his voice, nodding to his companion. "Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, botched an S-rank mission to save some useless teammates. The village took a huge hit."
His companion, a scar-faced shinobi, scoffed. "What kind of hero is that? A failure who can't finish the mission. A shinobi is just a tool of the village. The mission is the only priority. He put friendship before duty. Not worthy of being a shinobi."
"That's not quite fair," an older civilian tried to mediate. "White Fang-sama saved lives..."
"Rubbish!" The scar-faced man cut him off harshly. "The mission comes above all else! What does the Will of Fire say? Where the leaves dance, the fire burns. We, the leaves, are supposed to burn for that fire. A failed mission causes greater loss. That's the real betrayal."
"Exactly," the Chūnin echoed. "A tool should have the resolve of a tool. That's the right mindset."
"But the Third also said comrades are important bonds..." the civilian muttered weakly.
"Hmph. That's just idealistic talk for people at the top. Us foot soldiers should think only of the mission," Scar-Face said firmly.
The sharp voices pierced the air and reached the three of them.
Kushina's smile faded. She tightened her grip on Mikoto's arm, her brows furrowed.
Mikoto's gentle smile disappeared, replaced by silent thought.
Ryo didn't pause. His eyes briefly swept over the arguing shinobi, especially the scar-faced man and the Chūnin who started it. His gaze was calm, like looking at rocks by the roadside, yet it pierced through their intentional stares and deliberate remarks.
It seemed like just a street-corner argument, but in front of the ninja tools store, the same conversation continued.
A few academy students gathered.
One mimicked an adult. "My dad said Hatake Sakumo is a bleeding-heart fool. He hurt the village and doesn't deserve to be a Jōnin."
Another rebutted. "That's not true. My brother said giving up the mission to save comrades is what real heroes do."
Further ahead, the tea shop, the pastry stall, passing pedestrians, they were all discussing the same topic. White Fang's mission failure. Which matters more, the mission or your comrades?
The opinions split down the middle.
All of Konoha seemed suddenly blanketed by this carefully fueled storm of public opinion, buzzing relentlessly and impossible to escape.
This didn't feel like natural gossip. It felt like a deliberate wave of narrative.
Kushina completely lost her appetite for croc-shaped taiyaki.
She dragged Mikoto and hurried through the crowd. Only when they turned into a quiet alley did she stop, let go, and turn to face Ryo. Her chest was heaving, brows twisted in irritation and confusion.
"Ryo!" she called, clearly upset. She looked straight at him. Her voice carried helpless frustration. "Tell me. What's more important, the mission or your comrades?" Politics and ideology were never her strength, and this swirl of voices had made her head spin.
Mikoto also looked at Ryo. Her black eyes were calm, but serious. "Yes, Ryo. What do you think?" Even someone as composed and wise as her had been shaken by the wave of voices flooding the village.
Ryo stood in the alley's shadow, holding the tottering mountain of bags. He looked at the two girls in front of him, their expressions filled with uncertainty.
He glanced at Kushina's face, filled with confused emotion, then met Mikoto's calm but concerned eyes.
He could clearly see who this storm of public opinion was aimed at — Hatake Sakumo.
And deeper still, who was fanning these flames behind the scenes. The shadow of Danzō and Root was impossible to miss.
But he had no interest in untangling those political threads.
Ryo looked at Kushina and Mikoto. His voice was calm but firm, carrying a clarity that cut through all the noise.
"To me, Konoha, missions, comrades..." he paused, then looked directly into their eyes, "...none of them matter."
"Only you two," he said with emphasis, "are what matter most."
Kushina and Mikoto fell silent. The noise around them faded away.
Ryo continued, his voice now colder and carrying warning.
"Mikoto. Kushina. Remember. These people out there, they're just fickle masses." He didn't soften his words.
"Today, they might call you a hero for your service to Konoha. Tomorrow, at the slightest rumor, they'll spit on you and stomp you into the dirt."
"The best way to deal with them is to treat them as they are. Not worth taking seriously. And don't be fooled by that lofty-sounding Will of Fire nonsense the old man loves to preach. Don't go throwing yourself away for the sake of 'everyone.'"
"My sword," Ryo's eyes turned sharp, like a blade unsheathed. "Will only protect you, Kushina. Protect you, Mikoto. Protect Tsunade. Protect Rin. Protect Nawaki. Protect Kaori. No one else." A faint, cold curve touched his lips. "The rest aren't worth it."
"I want you to do the same," he added, his gaze expectant. "Protect only the ones you truly believe are worth it."
His words rang like thunder, clearing the fog in Kushina's heart.
The confusion and frustration in her eyes faded, replaced by clarity and conviction.
"Ryo, you're right!" she nodded vigorously. Her voice was filled with renewed strength and bright determination. "I'll only protect our little home."
As the Jinchūriki who survived the fall of Uzushio, Kushina understood better than anyone what true belonging meant.
Konoha was big. But the only place she'd die to protect was this family — her lover Ryo, her best friend Mikoto, her sister Tsunade, her younger ones like Rin, Nawaki, and Kaori.
Especially as the Nine-Tails' host, she could sense the good and evil in people's intentions.
The street gossip she'd just heard carried condescension, indifference, even malice. Just like Ryo said. Not worth her sincerity.
But Ryo, from the moment she arrived in Konoha alone, had stayed by her side through everything. He had even helped her master the terrifying power inside her. He was her everything.
Having grown up under Ryo's influence, her values had always differed from the average Konoha shinobi.
Now that she had sorted it all out, the whispers around them became meaningless background noise, automatically filtered from her mind.
The shadows on her face vanished, replaced by renewed brightness.
Mikoto quietly listened. She didn't express her emotions as openly as Kushina, but her calm black eyes showed the same deep agreement and resolve.
She had once been a carefully groomed political pawn of the Uchiha clan, offered up in an arranged marriage to benefit the family.
It was Ryo who shattered those chains with overwhelming strength, dragging her out of that predetermined life and giving her a new path and true freedom.
So her life, from now on, was for Ryo. And for the small family they were building together.
That loyalty went beyond village ties.
If one day this home came into conflict with Konoha's interests... Mikoto's eyes didn't waver. She would stand by Ryo without hesitation.
She gently took Kushina's hand, silently conveying her support. Then she looked at Ryo and gave a warm yet unshakably firm smile.
Ryo glanced toward the Hokage Rock. A glint of cold light flashed in his eyes.
If Konoha's higher-ups, or Danzō hiding in the shadows, dared to use the same tactics on him as they did with Hatake Sakumo today,
Then his sword would show no mercy. He would cut through Konoha's gates and strike down the schemers within.
He would teach them exactly what it meant to trample someone else's fate.
Kushina quickly returned to her cheerful self. It was as if her earlier frustration had never happened.
"Bag boy Ryo!" she turned with a grin and plopped a steaming bag of taiyaki onto the top of the stack he was carrying. "Hold this too. Mikoto and I are heading to that shop in front. New fabrics just came in!"
She grabbed Mikoto's hand and darted forward like a pair of carefree butterflies, merging back into the crowd.
Mikoto glanced back and gave Ryo a soft, apologetic smile before she disappeared into the sea of people.
Ryo looked down at the new bag of food, then up at the two figures immersed once more in their shopping spree. They seemed wrapped in an invisible barrier, completely untouched by the toxic whispers around them.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)