Nawaki was still in a bit of a daze, replying weakly,
"I just wasn't paying attention…"
Before he could finish, Minato interrupted with a stern expression,
"If this had happened on the battlefield or during a mission, you'd be dead, and you'd have taken Kushina down with you."
Mito Uzumaki nodded. "It seems your temperament is still too impulsive."
"That kind of rashness won't get you far as a ninja."
In truth, she wasn't overly concerned that Nawaki had triggered the explosive seal.
He was still young, plenty of room for growth.
"Looks like I'll need to have Tsunade whip him into shape," Mito thought, glancing at Nawaki with a hint of disappointment.
Yuki Seisui glanced at Nawaki, who was being scolded from all sides, and shook his head before squeezing in next to Haru Uchiha.
Mito didn't pursue the topic further. She simply turned to everyone and said,
"The food's ready. Let's eat."
"Yes, Grandma Mito!"
Everyone gathered around the table. Tsunade looked curiously at her brother and asked,
"What's wrong with him?"
"He looks like someone just humiliated him."
Yuki Seisui glanced at Mito, who gave a small nod. Taking that as permission, he explained,
"We were doing some live combat training in the arena."
As Jiraiya's teammate and a princess of the Land of Fire, Tsunade knew Minato's abilities well. She nodded, "And? Did the kid lose?"
"Haha! Still, no need to look that miserable over it."
Tsunade patted her brother on the shoulder with a smile,
"Just win next time, that's all."
Yuki Seisui, seeing Nawaki's gloomy face, added softly,
"He was teamed up with Kushina and ended up triggering a trap she set with explosive tags…"
"…which resulted in both of them getting 'killed.'"
Tsunade's smile froze.
"Ahem... Let's just eat," she said, awkwardly shifting the topic.
She had intended to offer some comforting words, but stepping on your own teammate's trap and dragging them down with you?
There was just no recovering from that kind of embarrassment.
The group silently left Nawaki to stew in his shame.
During the meal, the conversation picked back up.
"Let's go again after this!" Kushina clenched her fists, determined. "I won't lose this time!"
"You should probably learn a few more sealing techniques first," Seisui replied flatly. "Right now, you're no match for Minato."
Kushina glanced at Minato, who gave her a shy smile. Not convinced, she huffed,
"I just let my guard down!"
"I won't lose next time!"
Mito Uzumaki watched everyone with a warm smile.
It looked like Kushina was forming her own precious bonds.
Especially with that blond-haired boy, clearly, he had a thing for her.
Mito could feel the emotions quietly stirring in Minato's heart.
"Looks like it's almost time to find a new jinchuriki for the Nine Tails," Mito murmured within the sealed space.
Her voice echoed through the space where the Nine Tails lay imprisoned.
The fox growled furiously.
"Stop talking about me like I'm some kind of item!"
"When I get out of here!"
"I'll destroy everything you hold dear with my own claws!"
The beast's roar thundered through the sealed realm, answered only by the clinking of chains.
"RAAAWR!"
"Damn humans!"
Later that evening, after spending time with Kushina at the Senju compound, Seisui and his companions finally took their leave.
As they walked through the village streets, Seisui said,
"Let's start taking on missions tomorrow."
"Yeah." Minato nodded. "We've had two days off already. Jiraiya-sensei said he'd test us when he gets back."
"If we don't complete enough missions, we're in for a serious beating."
"Still, how about we do a D-rank mission every other day?" Seisui suggested. "Half a day for missions, the rest for training."
Uchiha Haru immediately approved, while Minato scratched his head.
"Isn't that a bit too cautious?" he asked.
"The Hokage gave me permission to accept C-rank missions, you know."
Seisui glared at him in frustration.
"With Jiraiya-sensei gone, what if we run into a Chunin or even a Jonin?"
"Or worse, an S-rank rogue ninja? That'd be game over."
"Don't you think you're being overly paranoid?" Minato asked hesitantly.
"You don't get it. It's called being prepared."
"Mm-hmm," Haru agreed without hesitation.
"Power is the only real currency in the ninja world!"
"Mm-hmm!"
"A ninja without strength is nothing but a rat scurrying through the sewers!"
"Mm-hmm!!"
Minato looked at the perfectly synchronized pair and suddenly felt like he didn't belong.
I was the one who became friends with him first!
How did I end up getting sidelined?!
With a sigh, Minato finally gave in.
"Alright. Let's meet up tomorrow morning, then?"
"Perfect!" Seisui gave him a big thumbs up.
"Since you're so eager for missions, we'll do it your way!"
"You idiot! Wasn't it your idea to take missions?!"
Seisui nodded righteously.
"Exactly."
"Then why are you making it sound like it was my decision?!"
"Didn't you say to meet in the morning to take a mission?"
"…Yeah."
"Then it's settled." Seisui flashed a dazzling white smile.
"Minato, you're such a responsible ninja!"
"R-Really?" Minato scratched his head, flustered.
"I-I'm not that great…"
"See you tomorrow!"
With that, Seisui grabbed Haru's hand and took off down the street.
Minato stood there for a while, watching them disappear into the distance…
…and slowly realized he'd just been played.
"Damn you, Seisui!"
Meanwhile, Haru ran alongside Seisui, curiosity on her face.
"You know Minato's going to come ask you about this tomorrow, right?"
Seisui waved it off.
"No worries. Minato's easy to fool."
"I've tricked him so many times already."
Puffing his chest with pride, he added,
"I could probably sell him off and get him to thank me for it."
"Meeting you is probably both the best and worst thing that ever happened to him."
Seisui smiled, holding her hand as they strolled through the village.
"I'll probably be busy for a while."
"You two should keep training on your own."
"Hm?" Haru tilted her head, curious.
Seisui explained,
"I made a deal with the Panda Sage a while ago. I'm supposed to go train in Sage Arts."
"I've just been putting it off, but now that I have time, I'm heading to the Panda Clan's land to learn."
"Oh…"
"Don't look so down." Seisui noticed her disappointment and added,
"I'm just going to train in Sage Mode, not like I'm dying."
"You'll still see me every day."
==========
The next day, around noon…
After finishing a simple lost-cat mission, Seisui finally arrived at the Panda Clan's territory.
"You finally showed up!"
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