Once the meal was ready, Orochimaru arrived, Shikaku in tow-clearly there to mooch off their dinner.
Shikaku, who had been grumbling earlier, ate with great enthusiasm, showing he was all talk and no backbone.
It was odd-most members of the Nara clan were highly intelligent, yet their emotional intelligence when it came to everyday life was quite lacking. Especially when it came to being henpecked husbands-it seemed to be a family trait.
It almost seemed like no matter how gentle a woman was before marriage, if she married into the Nara clan, her temperament would become as fiery as a chili pepper.
Xin figured that a lot of it came down to being forced into that role. He was sure that any woman, no matter how patient, would snap if she spent hours preparing a meal only to have her family ignore it for hours.
If there was a valid reason, it was one thing-but when they had no excuse and still delayed for hours, that took a special kind of stubbornness. Once in their thinking mode, the Nara clan members could become world-class procrastinators.
"I have some things to attend to, so I'll leave you all to rest. Shikaku, make sure to wash the dishes before coming back."
After eating and drinking his fill, Orochimaru promptly stood up and left.
Shikaku, who was about to follow, froze in place, his expression turning sour as he stared at
the pile of dishes. Washing them seemed like such a hassle.
Why did Orochimaru have to make him do this?
"How did you end up friends with this guy?" Nawaki asked, draping an arm around Minato's shoulders as they watched Shikaku reluctantly scrubbing dishes. "I think the Nara clan members are pretty amusing."
"They really are," Minato laughed awkwardly.
How he and Shikaku became friends was still a mystery even to Minato. Perhaps it was... birds of a feather?
No, more like kindred spirits.
The next morning, after eating, Orochimaru arranged for a ship to take Xin and the others to the Uzumaki camp.
They were joined by a few of Konoha's Jonin.
It was quite a mixed group-Uchiha, Hyuga, Sarutobi, Shimura... Ninjas from various Konoha clans had gathered together, including even the future in-laws of the Third Hokage.
"Senior."
Seeing Yuhi Shinku, Minato and Nawaki stepped forward to greet him.
"Not bad, you boys have grown."
Yūhi Shinku inspected Minato and Nawaki, his stiff face showing a rare smile as he praised them.
"Senior."
Xin also approached.
Their relationship wasn't exactly close, but it was at least more familiar than with most people.
After all, they had worked together during the Second Shinobi World War.
At that time, Shinku wasn't yet a full Jonin-he was only at the level of a Special Jonin.
Despite Yühi Shinku's high status among Konoha's Jonin, his strength was not particularly outstanding.
He also became a Jonin relatively late.
The reason he couldn't advance to Jonin, despite having the required strength for some time, was because Shinku was a severe "specialist."
More of a specialist than Nawaki used to be.
Simply put, his taijutsu was average, kenjutsu was average, ninjutsu was average—but his genjutsu was exceptionally strong.