Ebara: "!!!!"
He wanted to rush over and slap Dai.
Is that human speech?
But now wasn't the time.
He could only pray Dai would quickly tell Sato Shizuka that lame joke.
Ebara was dying to see her cringe.
Maybe his prayers worked.
Dai actually started telling the joke.
"Wolf, tiger, lion play a game. Who gets eliminated?"
Unlike Ebara's dry delivery, Dai added animal impressions.
For the wolf, he howled, "Awoo!"
For the tiger, he traced a "king" on his forehead.
For the lion, he shook his hair, mimicking a mane.
If Dai's impressions were decent, fine.
But his first attempt was painfully awkward.
Ebara was doubled over, laughing.
"Dai, you're too much!"
"King of Cringe, that's you!"
He turned eagerly to Shizuka.
Dai's social life is dead.
But when he looked, Ebara froze.
Shizuka was beaming at Dai, clearly delighted.
Ebara felt like he'd taken ten thousand critical hits.
This wasn't the plan.
"Was the joke funny?" Dai asked, surprised.
He'd thought it wasn't, so he added the antics.
The result exceeded his expectations.
"So-so, but your performance was adorable," Shizuka said, wiping sweat from his forehead with a floral handkerchief.
Ebara: "!!!!"
Pfft!
He felt pierced by a thousand arrows.
He came to see Dai flop, but he was the clown.
Struck down, yet I'm the joker!
Hokage's Office
"Third, we found the kid," an Anbu knelt before the Third Hokage.
The Third perked up. "Reliable intel?"
"Absolutely," the Anbu confirmed.
"Great, great!" the Third said, thrilled.
"But…"
"What?"
"Other villages seem to be looking for her too."
The Third frowned but reassured himself. "Normal. Every village wants Uzumaki blood."
Uzushiogakure, though not a great nation, was a force in the ninja world.
A vital ally to Konoha.
But during Konoha's upheaval, with the First Hokage gone and the Second killed by Kumo (Chapter 13), Uzushio's sealing mastery and alliance with Konoha made it a target.
In the First Ninja War, it was crushed by a multi-village assault.
Konoha, overwhelmed, couldn't help.
Uzushiogakure fell, its Uzumaki clansmen slaughtered or scattered, living in hiding.
Finding an Uzumaki was near impossible.
"No matter what, we've found a jinchuriki candidate before Senior Mito passes," the Third thought, relieved.
"Should we bring her back now?" the Anbu asked.
The Third pondered. "Not yet. Let me think. Get me her file."
He studied the documents, quickly deciding.
Leaving the office, he headed to Uzumaki Mito's home.
At her gate, he caught Ebara sneaking around like a thief.
"Ebara, what are you doing here?" the Third barked.
"Oh, looking for Tsunade's brother, Nawaki. He asked me to teach him training stuff," Ebara lied.
The Third didn't buy it. "If you're after Tsunade, give it up. She left for a mission yesterday."
"What!" Ebara deflated.
After Dai's blow (earlier), he'd hoped to flirt with Tsunade to recover.
"Tch," the Third scoffed.
But seeing Ebara sparked an idea for his plan.
"Come, meet Senior Mito with me," he said.
"Why? You go ahead."
"You're chasing her granddaughter. Isn't meeting the elder proper?"
"Chasing? It's mutual love!" Ebara protested.
Banter aside, he followed the Third to see Mito.
Mito was as he remembered—always smiling warmly.
Her aged face carried a lifetime of loss: husband, son, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, clan.
Yet her smile soothed anyone who saw it.
A family's treasure.
Mito was Konoha's greatest.
"Ebara, you're here," Mito said, smiling.
"Yes, Grandma," Ebara replied.
He was cheeky with everyone but Mito.
"More handsome every day. No wonder Tsunade talks about you," Mito teased.
"You're too kind," Ebara said shyly.
His politeness stunned the Third.
Is this the same punk who needs a beating every three days?
"Sarutobi, what's up?" Mito asked the Third.
"Senior, we found an Uzumaki child," he reported.
Ebara's heart stirred. Probably Kushina.
Mito's expression stayed calm. "Is she in the village?"
"No, we just have her info," the Third said, handing over the file.
Ebara peeked. Yup, Kushina.
"A girl," Mito said, as if recalling her younger self.
"What's your plan?" she asked.
"Other villages are tracking her too. I want to bring her back soon," the Third said respectfully.
"Bring her back," Mito said lightly. "I won't last much longer before joining Hashirama."
Her smile didn't waver, as if discussing someone else.
"Senior!"
"Grandma!"
The Third and Ebara exclaimed together.
Mito, still radiant, said, "Why the fuss? No one lives forever."
"Madara, Hashirama—they're dust. I'm lucky to have lasted this long."