"R-really, I'm fine…"
Feeling Seisui's warm breath brush against her ear, Haru's already flushed face turned an even deeper shade of red.
Her heart was spinning in circles.
Seisui's leaning so close… Is he planning to do something bad?
Should I stop him?
But if I refuse, would that disappoint him?
If he's disappointed… will he stop liking me?
Then maybe… I should just go along with it?
Uchiha Haru's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts — she was even beginning to imagine what their future child might be named.
When Seisui saw her close her eyes, he froze for a moment.
Eh? What's she doing?
I'm a man of integrity, you know!
But after a pause, he gave in with a small smirk.
Well… she is my girlfriend after all.
Even so, he only leaned in and gave her cheek a light peck.
Nothing more.
Too much action, too much heat — and the world might just explode.
The two stayed together atop Hokage Rock for a long time, talking, laughing, and enjoying the sunset until the stars appeared.
Haru's face stayed red for the rest of the day.
Watching her back as she left, Seisui clicked his tongue and rubbed his cheek with satisfaction.
"Not bad… really soft."
A girl like her — talented, strong, cold to others but gentle with him, from a powerful and wealthy clan — was a dream most could only fantasize about.
But Seisui was different.
He didn't just dream it. He dared to chase it.
Hands on his hips, he stood proudly like a man who'd conquered the world.
"Seisui, what are you doing here?"
He turned around at the familiar voice and grinned. "Oh, Minato. You two are out together?"
"Of course!"
Kushina puffed her cheeks playfully, hugging Minato's arm. "Grandma Mito gave me two days off! Finally, I don't have to study those boring sealing techniques!"
She beamed with joy — the shadow of her clan's destruction was slowly fading.
And now that Nagato and Mina had appeared, her heart had hope again.
The Uzumaki clan still lives!
We'll rise again in Konoha!
Seeing her radiant smile, Seisui couldn't help but chuckle.
The Uzumaki clan, huh…
That would be his foundation one day.
Gaining power meant taking responsibility — that was a truth universal across all worlds.
"You're still the lucky one," he said. "No missions, just sealing lessons."
"Hmph!" Kushina snorted. "Wait till you start learning seals — you'll see the pain! You'll go bald!"
Minato smiled helplessly at her fiery antics. "Alright, Kushina. Grandma Mito's just trying to help you. And you've got Nagato and Mina with you, right? You can even lecture them the way she lectures you."
Kushina's eyes lit up like she'd discovered a new weapon.
"Right! I'll just do what Grandma Mito does!"
She crossed her arms and put on a mature, scolding tone.
"Mina! That's wrong!"
"This seal pattern will explode — do you want to blow up your teammates on the battlefield?!"
She even tried to look wise and serious while saying it.
"I'll teach them just like that!" she said, laughing proudly.
Watching her, Seisui and Minato exchanged a silent look — then both sighed.
The Uzumaki clan's sealing arts were their foundation.
Without them, they were nothing more than tough barbarians with strong vitality.
Seisui, too, would soon have to start learning sealing techniques.
At the very least, he needed to master Adamantine Sealing Chains.
After watching the pair's cheerful bickering for a while, Seisui finally shook his head.
"You two enjoy yourselves," he said flatly. "I'm heading home."
Minato and Kushina exchanged glances and stepped closer.
"Come on, stay a bit!"
"Yeah, hang out with us!"
"No thanks." Seisui could instantly tell what they were trying to do. "You won't get to show off your lovey-dovey act to me. I suggest you go find Jiraiya-sensei instead."
He smirked. "He's still single."
And that was no lie.
Jiraiya would die single.
After waving goodbye, Seisui turned and left.
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo Shimura were at it again.
"Hiruzen! I told you — hand that man over to me!"
Danzo's voice was sharp and cold, his eyes glinting like a predator's.
"Just as I predicted, he's defected! This is all because of your weakness!"
"Danzo, stop imagining things," Hiruzen said calmly, seeing right through him. "Seisui and the others would never defect."
He knew Danzo's real motive — he just wanted more people under ROOT.
A mere chunin's defection wasn't enough to get him this worked up.
"Hmph! Who wants those two brats?" Danzo scoffed, slamming his hands on the desk.
He still hadn't forgotten the way Seisui and Minato once humiliated him.
That wound still burns.
Just wait. One day, you'll both kneel before me and call me Hokage.
Clenching his fists, Danzo turned back coldly. "Hand over Uzumaki Mina."
"With the Nine Tails sealed inside her, she belongs under my ROOT's supervision. It's the best choice for the village."
"Sure."
Danzo blinked. "...What?"
Hiruzen took a calm drag from his pipe, smoke curling around his face. "You can have her — if you can convince Mito-sama to give her up."
Danzo froze.
"You… You agree?"
This was the first time Hiruzen had said yes to him so easily. Could it be that he finally acknowledged Danzo's worth?
"Yes," Hiruzen said with a chuckle. "When it's not related to Seisui or Minato, when have I ever refused you?"
Danzo thought for a moment — and realized, annoyingly, that it was true.
Still, he muttered stubbornly, "There've been plenty of times!"
"Ha." Hiruzen just laughed, waving his pipe. "Then go ahead. Ask Mito-sama for her student. If she agrees, she's all yours."
Danzo's face twitched.
If he really went to ask Uzumaki Mito for her pupil, he'd be lucky to live through the night.
"Tch. I knew it — you'll regret this someday, Hiruzen!"
He turned on his heel, but instead of using the metal door, he leapt straight out the window.
"I am the true Hokage!"
Watching him go, Hiruzen sighed softly, looking down at the papers on his desk.
"A chunin-level ninja… perfect for this mission."
But then his expression darkened.
"Danzo… your heart's growing darker by the day."
=======
The Next Morning.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Seisui jolted awake at the sound of frantic knocking.
Even half-asleep, his instincts kicked in — a shinobi's alertness was second nature.
Sensing who was outside, he frowned.
Minato?
Normally, Minato's knocking was gentle — this was urgent.
Opening the door, Seisui found him looking a little out of breath.
"Minato, what happened?"
"I'll explain later," Minato said quickly, pulling out a scroll and waving it. "We've got a mission. Grab Haru."
"Huh?" Seisui blinked, eyeing the scroll. "Wait — since when are you the team leader? Why's the mission scroll with you?"
Minato scratched his head sheepishly. "I went to see Kushina earlier, and when I passed by the Hokage building, Lord Hiruzen handed it to me. Said it's for you."
He handed the scroll over. "I'll go tell Kushina, you go get Haru."
"Yeah, yeah," Seisui said, glancing at him knowingly. "Go explain to her you're ditching date day, huh?"
Minato just smiled awkwardly before vanishing in a flash of yellow.
"His Flying Raijin's getting smoother," Seisui mused, rubbing his chin.
He'd even started using it for travel — something he couldn't do before.
Unrolling the scroll, Seisui read it carefully.
"...A rogue-nin assassination?"
He raised an eyebrow at the rank.
"B-rank. Not bad."
Changing into a black combat outfit — matching Haru's — he headed toward the Uchiha compound.
The two had even ordered their suits together — couple gear, as Haru called it.
Minato wanted one too but couldn't afford it, still buried under the debt he owed Seisui — tens of millions of ryo.
Seisui had joked that the only outfit Minato deserved was Might Duy's bright green spandex.
Smirking at the memory, he soon arrived at the Uchiha estate.
No one stopped him — everyone knew he was Uchiha Setsuna's soon-to-be grandson-in-law.
A few even nodded politely.
Pressing the doorbell, he waited — and to his surprise, it was Uchiha Setsuna himself who opened the door.
The old man's face was stone cold.
"What are you doing here?" he barked. "Haru's not home!"
Seisui blinked.
That was… new.
Before, the old patriarch barely acknowledged his existence — conversation between them was always stiff and awkward.
But this time felt different.