Kushina still couldn't bring herself to just leave Tsunade, who was under a genjutsu, lying around in the courtyard.
With a good heart, she moved Tsunade back to the guest room and even set up a simple protective barrier before heading out with Shinno towards the Senju estate.
As for lifting the genjutsu? No way—how else would they get their alone time?
Hand in hand, Yamanaka Shinno and Uzumaki Kushina strolled towards the Senju estate.
The villagers' gazes still carried traces of coldness, disgust, and fear.
But Kushina didn't spare them a second glance.
Grandma Mito once told her that when her heart was filled with love, she would no longer feel lonely or afraid because of her status as a jinchūriki.
"Grandma Mito, look, I'm not lonely or afraid anymore!"
Standing before the Senju estate, Kushina whispered softly.
Then, in the blink of an eye, her face bloomed with a brilliant smile as she pulled Shinno along, rushing inside.
"By the way, Kushina, Minato and I brought back someone from our mission—one of your clansmen, actually. She's about your age."
As Shinno helped Kushina pack up her things, he casually brought up the news.
"Huh?! R-Really? What's her name? She's new to Konoha, right? She must feel out of place. Should I go keep her company? Does she have a place to stay? She must've had a rough time out there, Shinno, I—"
"Calm down, calm down. Let me finish."
Shinno patted Kushina's head, smiling as her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Compared to Kushina's childhood, Uzumaki Honoka had a much easier time.
When Uzushio fell, she managed to escape safely under her parents' protection. Although she lived a wandering life for a while, she soon settled in the Land of the Sea.
Both of her parents were shinobi, but they took on the work of hunters to make a simple living. It wasn't an easy life, but they got by.
Later, by pure chance, Honoka's parents got involved with an underground bounty exchange and somehow ended up on Summoning Island, assisting researchers in keeping rogue summoning beasts under control.
Unfortunately, due to old injuries from their shinobi days, both her parents passed away three years ago. Since then, Honoka took over their work, continuing to assist the researchers.
It wasn't until Shinno and Minato arrived that she realized Summoning Island was actually backed by Kirigakure.
After Minato saved her, all the surviving researchers were evacuated to Konoha.
Having nowhere else to go, she naturally followed them.
"Ha! I knew it! That pretty boy is definitely up to no good—using the 'hero saves the damsel in distress' trick to lure in innocent girls and then bringing them straight home!"
Kushina made a show of looking disgusted, but the worry in her heart eased significantly.
Because of Shinno's close relationship with Minato, she knew Minato quite well, too.
Even though she always thought he was way too soft and gentle.
But at the same time, she knew one thing for sure—when it came to his comrades, Minato was absolutely reliable.
If he was looking after Honoka, she definitely wouldn't have to go through the same loneliness and confusion Kushina once did when she first arrived in Konoha.
"Hahaha! You're right! That pretty boy is no good!"
Shinno laughed without an ounce of guilt, playing along with Kushina's teasing.
On the way back, he had already teased Minato multiple times, telling him to tone it down and stop flaunting his lovey-dovey nonsense.
But Minato? That guy let it go in one ear and out the other.
One second he'd agree, and the next, he'd be lying in his girlfriend's lap!
They even fed each other during meals! When traveling, it was either holding hands or clinging to each other.
How could a guy like that be any good?
"You're no good either."
Kushina grinned mischievously and playfully stuck out her tongue at Shinno.
Like she didn't know?
Among their generation of Konoha shinobi, Shinno was by far the most troublesome.
Sure, he looked all bright and handsome, but when it came to pranks, he made people's skin crawl.
The ridiculous genjutsu techniques he created and modified—
'Flying Stick Incoming,' 'Here's a T for You,' 'Big Brother's Ultimate Delight,' 'Insulting the Ancestors,' 'Northern Border Charity Fund,' 'Shining Horror Experience Card'...
With names like those, who'd believe he was a good person?
"Finally saying what's really in your heart?"
Shinno lightly pinched the tip of Kushina's nose.
Looking at her playful smile, he couldn't help but feel a little hungry.
"L-Let's hurry up and finish packing! If we're too late getting back, Tsunade might just tear the house down."
Under the hungry-wolf gaze, Kushina instantly chickened out.
"Tch, weren't you braver before?"
"I was brave before because it wasn't a problem. Now, not so much."
"And you're actually proud of that?"
After a long while of packing—
Kushina had managed to fill eight large chests with her belongings.
And that was just her daily necessities! She hadn't even touched the original furniture of the Senju estate.
Otherwise, forget eight chests—eighty wouldn't be enough!
"Looks like we'll need Shadow Clones."
Clapping the dust off her hands, Kushina was about to form the seals when Shinno stopped her.
"Let me show you something fun."
Shinno took her right hand and, after concentrating for a moment, placed his palm against her wrist.
Chakra and space-time energy converged—
In an instant, a small Flying Thunder God mark appeared on her wrist, shaped like a ring with two arrows rotating clockwise inside.
"What kind of sealing technique is this...? It looks like it stabilizes some kind of power?"
Kushina blinked, examining the mark with wide eyes.
The Flying Thunder God mark was essentially a special sealing technique that used chakra to fix a spatial coordinate in place.
Kushina might not have recognized Shinno's particular marking, but she immediately grasped its core function.
"Hold on, this needs a lock."
Shinno quickly formed seals and pressed his hand against her wrist again.
A small 'Shinno' character appeared in the center of the Flying Thunder God mark, along with a ring of complex sealing runes forming around the outer edge.
"A locking seal? And you even wrote your name on it—what, afraid people won't know I'm your girlfriend?"
Kushina's ears turned slightly red, and though she pretended to complain, her voice was filled with joy.
She liked this—she liked how he wanted the world to know they were together.
"This is my personal Flying Thunder God mark."
Shinno, completely defenseless against Kushina's coy complaints, poked her forehead and explained with a smile.
"Wait, wait—so no matter how far apart we are, you can appear beside me in an instant?!"
"Ahhh! Shinno, you're amazing!"
Kushina wrapped her arms around his neck, showering him with unrestrained praise.
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