At noon, Namikaze Minato, just like before, took a packed meal from Mokgetsu's house to the Fuinjutsu room where Kushina was.
To tell the truth, this return to a long-lost routine made Namikaze Minato feel much more relaxed.
Even a ninja like him would feel stifled after being on the battlefield for too long.
The Anbu responsible for protecting Kushina chose to ignore Namikaze Minato's arrival.
Considering Namikaze Minato's relationship with Kushina, he had the clearance to enter this special place.
Namikaze Minato smiled slightly upon noticing the Anbu and greeted them.
Although Kushina wasn't fond of the Anbu whom she saw as more of a surveillance than protection, Namikaze Minato understood the Anbu and the village had their difficulties.
The destructive power of the Tailed Beasts was terrifying. If unexpected incidents occurred, their havoc would be a major crisis for all of Konoha, making these security measures necessary.
The two Anbu nodded in response. It's hard to ignore a friendly face, and even harder when it's Konoha's new era strongest, the Yellow Flash.
"What time is it, why isn't it lunch time yet? Who decided on three meals a day anyway, why not six meals?"
Before Namikaze Minato could knock on Kushina's door, he heard her continuous complaints from inside.
Namikaze Minato smiled wryly and knocked on the door.
"Is it lunch delivery? So slow, can't you be faster next time..." Kushina was about to complain about the Anbu but opened the door to find it was Namikaze Minato.
Seeing the food box in Namikaze Minato's hand, Kushina's eyes lit up, "Oh, Minato's back! You're just in time; I'm starving."
Kushina quickly took the food box and set the dishes out on the table in the room.
Confined to a specific area and living under the watchful eyes of the Anbu, mealtime was one of the few things Kushina looked forward to, a rare source of happiness for her.
Though, by 'mealtime' here, I specifically mean Mokgetsu's cooking.
Minato understood Kushina's feelings all too well, which is why he rushed back with all his might last night.
The two of them ate lunch in silence, and only after finishing did they look at each other.
Casually wiping oil stains from her mouth with a napkin, Kushina studied Namikaze Minato carefully, tracing her slender fingers against her snow-white chin.
Seeing Kushina's gaze, Namikaze Minato thought he had something on his face and instinctively checked, finding nothing.
"Kushina, what are you staring at?" Namikaze Minato asked honestly, confused.
"I'm looking at your face," Kushina replied matter-of-factly.
Namikaze Minato: ...
Suddenly, he felt as if he had just wasted half a minute.
"Actually, I was thinking if wearing black-framed glasses would make your cooking skills better," Kushina said, gesturing around Namikaze Minato's face.
Namikaze Minato sighed, "Even if you think that way, there's no way my cooking will ever match Mokgetsu's."
Namikaze Minato had thought about learning Mokgetsu's cooking. He even took action, and Mokgetsu taught him.
Under Mokgetsu's guidance, his cooking did improve significantly, but compared to Mokgetsu, it was like looking up to a towering mountain.
"Heh, just kidding, that could never happen," Kushina chuckled.
"Did you know, Minato, Mokgetsu is really popular now. He's got some title like Blazing Sun Mokgetsu, and there's a lot of talk about who among you two is the strongest young ninja in Konoha."
Minato nodded. Konoha's extensive promotion of Orochimaru and Mokgetsu's great victory on the East Coast Battlefield was largely to boost morale, so even while on another battlefield, he heard about Mokgetsu's achievements there.
"Have you ever fought with Mokgetsu, Minato? Who's stronger between you two?" Kushina's gossip-loving heart flared up.
On one hand was a great friend, and on the other, the boyfriend she planned to marry, with many similarities between them, Kushina was really curious about who was stronger.
Before, Kushina would have believed it was Namikaze Minato.
Not because of favoritism, but because Minato's strength was indeed formidable.
Although Namikaze Minato gained fame in the Ninja World after some time on the battlefield, Kushina knew well that he had always been strong, only growing further in strength through the trials of war, stepping on the fame of others.
Whereas before Mokgetsu went to the East Coast Battlefield, Kushina hadn't heard of him defeating any enemies, nor had she seen him in action; so she naturally assumed Minato was stronger.
But now it's different, now many powerful opponents have fallen at Mokgetsu's hands, and he even teamed up with Orochimaru to kill a Jinchuriki, clearly showing he's an extraordinary powerful warrior.
Without a battle between strong ones, there's no way to determine who's stronger. Too many factors can affect the outcome, and simple intelligence comparison can't tell.
"I haven't fought Mokgetsu, so I can't really say who's stronger," Namikaze Minato shook his head and answered.
If he had been present during Mokgetsu's battle on the East Coast Battlefield, Namikaze Minato might have been able to predict their combat outcome.
But Namikaze Minato had only seen Mokgetsu fight once, and that was back at the Land of Grass battlefield when they were dealing with a Jinchuriki together.
That war happened nearly two years ago, and during this time, Mokgetsu has clearly made rapid progress, so the strength he displayed at the Land of Grass doesn't represent his current power.