While the group celebrated with their BBQ, Saiki remained blissfully unaware that Danzo had already marked him as a target.
The bear had been enormous. After cleaning it, there were still hundreds of pounds of meat. The BBQ lasted from noon until well into the night. While the others ate normal portions, Saiki easily put away over a hundred pounds of meat himself.
His Straw Hat-level appetite left Kushina and Tsume in total shock. Tsunade and the kids just shrugged; they were used to his bottomless stomach.
As night fell, Saiki sent Genhai, Rin, and Kurenai home with several pounds of bear meat each.
Kushina and Tsume stayed behind to share some sake with Tsunade. Shizune and Saiki began cleaning up the mess in the yard.
Kushina felt unusually relaxed. For some reason, the Nine-Tails had been quiet lately, and being at Tsunade's house meant the Anbu guards weren't breathing down her neck.
Tsume didn't have anywhere else to be, so she stayed to enjoy the company.
Saiki, looking like he was ten months pregnant from the sheer volume of meat he'd consumed, finally finished tidying the yard with Shizune.
Shizune had offered to do it all herself, terrified Saiki's stomach might actually burst if he moved, but he insisted on the exercise to help his digestion.
He headed for the hot spring. Under his terrifyingly efficient digestion, the meat was already being converted into energy and chakra. The smell of BBQ was even being sweated out through his pores, so he needed the soak to feel clean.
As Saiki leaned against the edge of the pool, feeling the hot water work its magic, the women in the house were having a discussion.
Tsunade, nursing a drink, looked at Kushina and Tsume. "Ugh, I still reek of smoke. Let's go soak in the spring."
Kushina's eyes lit up. "Good idea! I feel like I'm made of grease right now."
Tsume looked hesitant. "But we didn't bring a change of clothes."
Shizune was about to mention that Saiki was currently using the bath, but Tsunade cut her off with a sharp look. "Shizune, go get some guest robes ready, will you?"
Tsunade knew perfectly well that Saiki was in the spring. That was the whole point.
The torn clothes incident and the morning "grinding" session were eating at her. She needed to know where the boy stood.
She had always viewed him as a little brother, but his physical reactions this morning were undeniably those of a man.
Konoha's culture was relatively open; female ninja were often taught to use their bodies as tools for a mission if necessary.
But this was Saiki. He joked about being her "child groom," and she didn't know if he was serious or just being a brat.
If he was just a kid who didn't know what he was doing, she'd let it go. But if he had intentions, they needed to have a very serious conversation.
Saiki was hard to read. He was too calm, too deep.
Tsunade knew all the girls in class were obsessed with him. Even today, seeing Rin and Kurenai follow him around like puppies confirmed it. Saiki just acted like a "good friend" to all of them, making it look like he wanted to keep them all on the hook.
Usually, when Tsunade used her "massage" techniques or "accidentally" gave Saiki a view of her legendary chest—looks that would cause grown men to walk into walls—Saiki's reaction was always a flat, bored stare.
She had even worried he was asexual and would never find a girlfriend.
But after this morning... after feeling him rock-hard against her while she ground into him until her own pants were soaked through... she knew he was very much a red-blooded male.
She decided to test him. Since Kushina and Tsume were here, she could turn it into a "group activity" to keep the pressure high.
Saiki, soaking in the peace of the warm water, had no idea he was about to be put through a gauntlet.
With a towel over his face, he leaned back and pondered the start of the war.
He wasn't surprised the third stage of the exams was cancelled. After he'd unleashed that "Spiraling Water Vortex"—a move that only the Hokage or someone with Samehada could realistically tank—the message had been sent. Konoha had shown its teeth; there was no need for further theater.
From the rumors the women were sharing, it was clear: the Leaf was at a breaking point with the Cloud and Stone. Saiki's class would likely be deployed as reinforcements within the week.
In his own home, Saiki didn't bother using his sensory skills. He was focused on his own survival.
A battlefield could grind a Kage to dust if they weren't careful. If you weren't a demi-god like Hashirama or Madara, you were always one mistake away from a coffin. Saiki was feeling the pressure.
His physical growth was limited by his age, and his jutsu were peaking. He needed more survival tools. Specifically, he needed Summoning and Reverse-Summoning techniques.
He decided he would ask Tsunade to teach him.
Thinking of Tsunade, he heard footsteps. Then the door to the bathhouse opened. The weight and number of the footsteps were all wrong; it definitely wasn't just Shizune.
Saiki pulled the towel from his face. As his vision cleared, he saw a towel-clad Tsunade leading the way, followed by Kushina, Tsume, and Shizune, all similarly wrapped.
He froze.
"Saiki? What are you doing here?" Kushina was the first to shout.
Saiki was baffled. He'd told Shizune he was coming here!
He looked at Shizune, who was staring at the floor with a beet-red face. Tsunade stepped forward with a casual laugh. "Relax, Kushina. He's just a little brat. Don't mind him."
Mixed bathing was common enough in their world, and to these women, a nine-year-old boy was still just a child.
Kushina looked embarrassed, but the others were different. Shizune had scrubbed his back and was basically ready to give him her life. Tsume had already been seen naked by him during her surgery.
And Tsunade... well, she had seen it all and done even more this morning. To her, a bath was nothing compared to that.
"Everyone, in!" Tsunade commanded, and Kushina had no choice but to follow.
Saiki started to stand up. "Uh... you guys go ahead. I'm actually done."
"Done already?" Tsunade blocked his path. "What are you afraid of, brat? Do you have something on your mind that you shouldn't?"
The way she phrased it left Saiki speechless.
Looking at Shizune, who was still too embarrassed to look up, and realizing Tsunade was definitely up to something, Saiki decided to play it cool. He sat back down in the water.