Chapter 581: Mugetsu's Daily Life
After leaving the Hokage Building, Mugetsu returned to his home in the main district.
He created a Shadow Clone to clean the house, then used Kenbunshoku Haki to locate Kushina.
Before leaving the battlefield, Minato had written a letter and asked Mugetsu to deliver it to Kushina on his way back.
"My luck is pretty good," Mugetsu thought when he found Kushina on the shopping street.
If Kushina had been inside the Uzumaki Sealing Technique house instead of out in the open, it would have been much harder for Mugetsu to find her.
Kushina was not only the Nine Tails Jinchūriki, but also a Jinchūriki currently learning to master the Tailed Beast's power, so her residence was top secret and not somewhere people could casually approach.
Even with Mugetsu's current standing in the Anbu, he would still have to go through the Anbu and apply to Hiruzen before he could visit.
But if Kushina was out shopping, things were much simpler. Mugetsu could just "happen" to run into her.
After all, the main district of Konoha was not that large. Running into someone there was normal.
While tracking Kushina's location with Kenbunshoku Haki, Mugetsu strolled through the streets at an ordinary pace and gradually made his way over.
"This light pink dress feels pretty nice. It matches our hair color."
By the time Mugetsu reached the shopping street, Kushina was already inside a clothing store choosing clothes. It was worth noting that she was not shopping alone. Hana Uzumaki was with her.
"Kushina, Hana, long time no see," Mugetsu said, putting on a pleasantly surprised expression as he raised a hand in greeting.
Hearing the familiar voice, Kushina immediately set down the light pink dress and turned around.
"It really has been a while. By the way, Mugetsu, are you still studying Sealing Techniques? You were in Konoha not long ago, but you never came to me for guidance," Kushina said, putting on the stern air of a teacher.
For Kushina, knowing whether Mugetsu was in Konoha was very easy. If he was here, she would eat at least one meal a day that he had made.
If she went two or three days without eating Mugetsu's cooking, then it meant he was either out on a mission or back on the battlefield.
"I am still studying. I just haven't run into any questions worth asking you about," Mugetsu explained.
The real reason was much simpler. Mugetsu's current level in Sealing Techniques was no worse than Kushina's, and he was worried he might ask something that would stump her.
Most of Mugetsu's other abilities came from the system, but Sealing Techniques were different. That was something he had truly studied and developed step by step with his own talent.
He just did not know whether that talent had originally belonged to this body, or whether it came from the changes after his soul fused with it.
"Don't underestimate small problems. If they pile up, they can waste a lot of time. Besides, I'm not that busy anyway," Kushina said, crossing her arms.
After eating Mugetsu's cooking for so long, Kushina had long wanted a chance to repay him. Even good friends could not freeload forever.
"Kushina sensei is right."
Mugetsu smiled and nodded, already planning to bring up some simpler sealing questions with her in the future.
"Lord Mugetsu," Hana greeted respectfully.
She was genuinely grateful to him.
Mugetsu had not only saved her, he had also brought her to a peaceful and stable place like Konoha.
He had even helped her apply for subsidies and solve the hardest issues of food and lodging after arriving in a new place. He had helped her almost every step of the way.
"Why are you still calling him 'Lord'? Just call him Mugetsu. It makes him sound like some big important figure," Kushina complained.
"But isn't Lord Mugetsu already a very important big figure?" Hana asked, looking confused.
"It feels like everyone in Konoha is talking about him. Some people are even saying that Lord Mugetsu has a very high chance of becoming Hokage in the future."
Kushina fell silent.
After thinking about it carefully, she realized it was true.
Mugetsu was no longer the Chūnin or Special Jōnin Academy teacher he had once been.
The current Mugetsu had already made a huge name for himself on the battlefield, commanded a Ninja force, and earned several great merits in war.
Judging by his achievements and strength, calling him a big figure really was not wrong.
Even the Sannin had not been this accomplished at his age.
"Everyone here is around the same age and they're all friends. There's no need to be so formal," Mugetsu said with a smile, shaking his head.
Titles after his name were one thing, but being called "Lord" still felt strange to him.
"Exactly. There's no need for that kind of thing," Kushina said, nodding in agreement.
She knew Mugetsu definitely did not care about this kind of status. If he did, there was no way he would have cooked for her so often.
Then Kushina suddenly thought of something and gave Mugetsu a few extra looks.
"It's been a long time since I bought clothes for Minato. Mugetsu, you and Minato are pretty similar. Why don't you try some on for me later?" she said as the idea struck her.
"I'm one centimeter taller than Minato, so it would be better if he tried them himself," Mugetsu refused.
He was 1.8 meters tall, while Minato was only 1.79 meters.
"One centimeter shouldn't matter that much, right?"
"The important part is that it's unnecessary. If nothing unexpected happens, Minato should be returning to Konoha soon," Mugetsu explained.
The Jinchūriki had been badly wounded, and more than eighty percent of the enemy force had been destroyed. That battle had all but crippled the Iwa Ninja force in the Land of Grass.
Unless Iwagakure immediately sent another large army into the Land of Grass, the Konoha forces there were likely to have a period of calm.
At that point, someone like Minato, who had been fighting on the front line for a long time, would naturally have a chance to return to Konoha and rest.
"Really?" Kushina's eyes lit up.
"I can't say for sure that he'll come back, but there's about a seventy percent chance," Mugetsu answered after a moment of thought.
Based on what he knew of Iwagakure, they probably would not move against Konoha again in the short term unless Konoha somehow handed them an opening.
That was because Ōnoki was too cunning. He never liked to take reckless risks.
Iwagakure had plenty of troops, but Ōnoki had kept them hidden for so long that it was obvious he wanted to find the right chance to overwhelm one of the major villages in a single decisive strike, not simply win some border battles.
That said, because Madara existed in the shadows, Mugetsu was not completely certain.
If Madara interfered, then even the encirclement of the four villages might happen ahead of time.
"Hehe, then there's really no need. I'll just wait until Minato gets back and buy them together with him," Kushina said with a happy laugh.
Then the three of them left the clothing store and strolled down the shopping street together while chatting.
To make sure Hana was included, Kushina deliberately kept the conversation on topics she could join in.
"Hey, Mugetsu, Hana, look over there. That shop's event looks really interesting!" Kushina said, pointing at a cake shop.
Mugetsu followed the direction of her finger.
"Maybe you're actually a hidden cake making master."
He had already more or less figured out the nature of the event.
The cake shop provided all the ingredients, and the customers would use them to assemble their own cakes. The store only charged them for the ingredients.
"Come on, let's go try it!" Kushina said, tugging both of them inside.
Mugetsu was not especially interested, but he did not resist either.
Next came the hands on portion.
Before long, Mugetsu felt less like he was making a cake and more like he was putting together building blocks.
All the ingredients had already been prepared. There was no real processing required. It was mostly just placing and arranging things like stacking pieces together.
Once Mugetsu thought about it, it made sense. If the store only handed customers raw ingredients to make cakes entirely on their own, all kinds of problems would arise.
For Mugetsu, who occasionally made pastries by hand, the shop's activity was extremely simple.
He finished quickly, and the final product looked even more refined than the display cakes in the shop's counter.
"Mugetsu, you're so fast, and it even looks so delicate!" Kushina exclaimed.
She had only taken one look at Mugetsu's cake before realizing he was already done.
Kushina instinctively sped up.
Unfortunately, Kushina did not have much experience making pastries. The moment she hurried, problems appeared, and she accidentally ruined the shape of the cake.
Left with no choice, Kushina picked out ingredients and started over.
This time, she was much more careful. Though the result still could not compare with Mugetsu's, it was at least no longer lopsided. It looked like a normal cake.
Hana seemed to have made pastries before, because her finished product looked slightly more refined than Kushina's.
"Sirs, would you like them packed up?" the shop assistant asked proactively.
"No need. I want to eat mine here," Kushina said at once.
Then she turned to Mugetsu and Hana.
"What about you two? If you're eating here too, we can trade and try each other's."
"I don't need mine packed either," Mugetsu replied.
This kind of cake definitely could not compare to pastries he made from scratch, so there was no reason to take it home.
Hana made the same choice.
Then the three of them divided their little cakes into three portions each and exchanged them.
"It actually tastes pretty good."
Maybe it was the special flavor that came from eating something made with your own hands. Or maybe Kushina really did have talent. Either way, she thought her homemade little cake was quite tasty and no worse than one bought from the store.
"Hana, yours is pretty good too!"
Kushina took another bite of Hana's cake and found that while Hana's looked nicer, the taste was almost the same as hers.
"Mm. Kushina, yours is delicious too," Hana said, taking small bites and nodding her approval.
In truth, Hana felt that all the cakes tasted more or less the same.
The ingredients were too standardized, and there was very little room for creativity.
But when she took a bite of Mugetsu's cake, her expression changed in surprise.
Mugetsu's cake not only looked better, it also tasted noticeably better than the ones the two of them had made.
"As expected, when it comes to this kind of thing, it still has to be you, Mugetsu," Kushina said, not at all surprised.
Compared to Mugetsu's normal cooking and pastries, this little cake of his was nothing special.
The three of them finished eating, and Kushina asked the assistant to pack up the failed cake to take away.
When it came time to pay, Hana looked at the bill and, after thinking for a moment, said, "If you really want to make cake, I feel like doing it at home would still be better."
The shop's DIY cakes were only slightly cheaper than buying finished cakes if you succeeded on the first try. If you messed up badly like Kushina had, the cost of ingredients ended up being even more expensive than simply buying a cake.
"At home, the main problem is that it's too much trouble. Here it's more convenient," Kushina said, still quite satisfied with the activity.
Making cake at home would be far more troublesome than doing it here, and once it was done, you would also have to wash all the tools yourself.
If the store was still running the event by the time Minato returned, Kushina planned to bring him here too.
Now that she had some experience, she was sure that next time she would be able to make a prettier small cake than Minato.
After that, the three of them wandered around the shopping street for another hour before parting ways.
It was not Mugetsu who suggested leaving. Kushina had other things to do. Her free time was over, and she had to return and continue training to control the Nine Tails' power.
Before they separated, Mugetsu handed Minato's letter to her.
"He'll be back soon and he still asked you to bring me a letter. He really misses me, doesn't he? I can't do anything about him," Kushina said, her lips curving upward until the smile almost spilled over.
Mugetsu felt a subtle sense of helplessness.
They were not even together at the moment, yet somehow they were still publicly showing off their affection.
Still, he could understand Minato's thinking.
If he was able to come back, that was good.
But if he couldn't, then at least he could still get his feelings across through a letter.
Not wanting to be subjected to any more public affection, Mugetsu quickly headed home.
He had already arranged his schedule before returning to Konoha.
From noon to afternoon, he could spend time with Kushina.
Then, around dinner time, he planned to visit Tsunade at her house.
Since Kushina happened to have some free time, Mugetsu naturally wanted to use the rest of the afternoon for research into Sealing Techniques and Breathing Techniques.
Mugetsu's original agreement to cook for Tsunade had long since been fulfilled, but he had never seen her as a mere tool he could discard after the Yang Seal was finished.
He had originally approached Tsunade with a purpose in mind, but over time they had genuinely gotten along well and become good friends.
Tsunade's experiences had made her a very unusual person within Konoha, and Mugetsu found spending time with her to be oddly relaxing.
...
"Hana, don't you think Mugetsu is really great?" Kushina suddenly asked while they were walking.
For part of the way, Hana's route home overlapped with Kushina's, so they still had a little more time to talk.
"Mm," Hana answered instinctively.
Mugetsu was handsome, powerful, gentle, and thoughtful. Hana genuinely could not think of anything bad to say about him.
"Let me tell you a secret," Kushina said with a mysterious look.
Hana looked at her curiously.
"Doesn't Mugetsu seem like the kind of person a lot of people would admire?"
Hana nodded. She thought that was obviously true.
She felt that no one should be able to reject someone as outstanding as Mugetsu, a man who had both looks and ability, and a good personality on top of that.
"Don't be fooled by appearances. He's actually been single this whole time. There's never been any girl around him," Kushina said in a quick whisper after glancing left and right.
Hana's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Then, almost immediately, she thought of a possibility, and her heart quietly settled down.
Maybe it was simply because Mugetsu had high standards and ordinary girls could not catch his interest.
"Hana, if you really think Mugetsu is good, then you should try. In Konoha, only our Minato is on the same level as Mugetsu, so you should seize the chance," Kushina continued.
After spending some time with Hana, Kushina felt that she was a good person and also a good candidate to become someone's wife.
Of course, Kushina had no intention of forcing them together.
If Mugetsu truly had no interest, then Kushina would also advise Hana to give up.
Although Hana was the only fellow Uzumaki she had in Konoha, Mugetsu was her best friend, so naturally she would still lean toward Mugetsu in the end.
.....
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