"Kushina, take it easy on him, will you?"
Standing beside the pair, Mikoto patted her best friend's shoulder in gentle admonishment. "Yuto's still just a kid."
"Oh ho! What a virtuous little wife we have here!" Kushina—currently perched on Yuto's lap—shot her a mischievous look. "What, does it hurt your heart to see him get hit? Well, now I'm gonna hit him harder." With that, she delivered another exaggerated slap to Yuto's thigh.
Of course, being in a non-corporeal state, even her hardest "hit" barely registered as a faint tickle.
"W-what nonsense! Who said anything about my heart?!" Mikoto's cheeks burned crimson as she stubbornly turned away. "I just think you're being inappropriate. This is... indecent!"
"Oh? Then what would count as 'decent,' hm?" Kushina tapped her chin with exaggerated thoughtfulness, her tone dripping with playful provocation. "Maybe waking up in a maid outfit to give her 'master' a special morning service?"
*Pfft—!*
Mikoto's face erupted like a volcano. A tsunami of sheer embarrassment crashed through her. "I—I need to check on Shisui's virtualization progress!" she blurted, fleeing the lab like a woman chased by demons.
"Hmph. Is that all you've got?" Kushina snorted at her retreating friend.
"You two, I..." Yuto found himself at a loss for words.
"Wanting a new life but still shackled by the past." Kushina shook her head with a sigh. "That won't fly! I'm doing her a favor here. Get it?"
"Nope." Yuto shook his head.
Annoyed, Kushina pinched both his cheeks and huffed. "You're reaping all the benefits, yet you're gonna play dumb with me?!"
"Maybe we should just let things unfold naturally," Yuto suggested.
"Absolutely not!" Kushina released his face and turned back to the monitors. "With Mikoto's personality, 'natural' would take a million years! I'm already in deep, and she's still dry on the shore... What, so I look like the only shameless one here?!"
Yuto chuckled awkwardly, offering a solemn nod. "Of course not. Clearly, I'm the one doing all the seducing here."
*Pfft!*Kushina burst out laughing, ruffling his hair. "And what exactly are you seducing anyone with, huh? You're still a baby-faced brat!"
"Hey now, that's just mean."
"Mmm. Gotta admit though, you do have a weird charm. That 'curse' of yours—pretty sure it's less 'curse' and more 'turning you into the Shinobi World's incubus,' no?"
"What kind of bullsh—"
"HAHAHAHA!"
Kushina howled with laughter at Yuto's utterly constipated expression, slinging an arm around his neck in glee.
Just then, the monitors showed Hiruzen Sarutobi and his council wrapping up their "judgment" of Danzo's crimes.
"Let's talk to him first. Persuade him to abandon these... unrealistic ambitions," Koharu Utatane suggested softly.
"Just talk?!" Homura Mitokado scowled. "After everything he's done? At the very least, he should be imprisoned!"
"Koharu, he's still Danzo," Homura said earnestly. "We bear some responsibility for how he's turned out."
"Well..." Koharu wavered, her resolve crumbling.
"How about house arrest?" Hiruzen proposed. "Let him reflect on his actions in solitude."
"Fine. That's acceptable."
"Agreed."
The two advisors nodded in unison.
"Wait, they're joking, right?" Kushina's jaw dropped. "That's their verdict?!"
Stealing the First Hokage's remains. Inhumane human experiments. Slaughtering fellow villagers. Attempting to "reform" the morals of every man in the Shinobi world... And their response to this mountain of atrocities is a time-out?!
"Pretty standard, really. After all, that's their dear friend Danzo!" Yuto smirked without a hint of surprise. "Internal conflicts among Konoha's elite aren't settled with blood. How uncouth."
"This village..." Kushina took a shuddering breath. "Makes me wonder why Minato and I even bothered stopping Kurama. What was the point? The rot here runs soul-deep."
"Not quite. You fought to protect Konoha's people," Yuto corrected gently. "And the people are always worth saving."
His words soothed her slightly, but the bitterness remained. Countless lives meant nothing to these elders—less than nothing compared to their precious Danzo. Anyone with a conscience would rage at the sight.
Now she finally understood why Yuto insisted that only dismantling the old system could bring true change.
As long as these fossils clung to power, equality would remain a fantasy.
"Honestly? Their incompetence works in our favor," Yuto mused.
"How?!" Kushina blinked.
"The enemy of my enemy..." He grinned. "Konoha's 'F4' are the village's greatest tumors—but to revolutionaries like us, they're invaluable allies. The more corrupt they are, the faster the old world burns. Their greed paves our road to victory."
"...That's disturbingly logical." Kushina nodded slowly.
"Which is why I'll always be grateful to Danzo and the Hokage." Yuto's smile turned razor-sharp. "My dear, dear friends!"
"You're vile," Kushina snorted, swatting his arm. "Is this how you treat your 'friends'?!"
"Well, friends come and go. But comrades..."
"Oh, you're DEAD—!"
Screeching, she yanked his cheeks outward with vengeful glee.
"Mercy! Mercy!" Yuto flailed in exaggerated agony playing along.
"Kushina, Rin's awake," Mikoto announced, reappearing to interrupt their tussle.
"Tch. You're spared—for now." Kushina hopped off Yuto's lap and sauntered over, delivering a playful smack to her flustered friend's backside. "My throne's all yours. Don't waste it."
"What throne?! I don't—ugh!" Mikoto's face burned, though her eyes did flicker toward Yuto's lap for a split second.
Maybe... just maybe ... she should take the plunge.
Right on cue, a cheery voice crackled from the monitors: "Boss! You home~?"
It was White Zetsu No. 007—now adept at contacting Yuto's hideout.
Mikoto suppressed a scowl. Terrible timing.
Ever the professional, she quietly excused herself.
"Tell Obito his gifts are in the backyard pond," Yuto replied through the comms, not bothering to appear.
"The... pond?" No. 007 scratched its head and wandered outside. The water was crystal clear, with two green frogs—one large, one small—lazily swimming about.
"Uh... Boss?" The Zetsu's smile grew strained. "There's just... frogs here?"
"Deliver them to Obito," Yuto instructed. "The small one is Rin's head. The big one's her body."
"...What."
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