Ren had already guessed that the red-haired guest was Kushina Uzumaki.
Even so, he had not expected her to be this friendly.
She had entered Minato's home, pinched the cheeks of three children she had never met, and immediately begun stalking the only one who had escaped.
Kakashi shifted farther across the room.
Kushina followed him with her eyes.
"Kushina, please don't frighten my students."
Minato leaned halfway out of the kitchen, wearing an apron and holding a wooden spoon. A helpless smile rested on his face, but his gaze softened the instant it fell on the red-haired woman.
"These are the children I told you about," he continued. "Uchiha Obito, Rin Nohara, Ren, and Kakashi. You met Kakashi once before."
Kushina finally stopped pursuing her last target.
Obito remained near the wall, keeping a safe distance from her hands. When Minato said her name, recognition appeared on his face.
"Kushina?"
He glanced between her and Minato.
"Wait. Are you Minato-sensei's girlfriend?"
The effect was immediate.
Kushina's face turned crimson, nearly matching her hair.
"G-Girlfriend?"
Her earlier confidence vanished. She waved both hands, nearly knocking over a decoration beside the door.
"Who told you that? Minato and I are only…we're only good friends!"
The final words came out much more quietly than the rest.
Kushina stole a glance toward the kitchen.
Minato had also turned slightly red, though he quickly disappeared behind the doorway and pretended to focus on cooking.
Rin covered her mouth to hide a giggle.
Then, perhaps unconsciously, she glanced toward Ren.
Ren noticed but chose not to comment.
Kushina cleared her throat and straightened her clothes, desperately attempting to recover her dignity.
"Enough about that. We haven't properly introduced ourselves."
She looked over the four genin before her gaze settled on Ren.
"You must be Ren. Minato told me that you're the team's Fire Release genius."
Obito's mouth fell open.
"Fire Release genius?"
He pointed to himself.
"Shouldn't that be me? I'm an Uchiha!"
Kushina tilted her head.
"Minato never mentioned that."
"What?"
Obito looked toward the kitchen with an expression of absolute betrayal.
"Minato-sensei!"
Kushina burst into laughter.
"I'm joking!"
Obito froze.
"Minato told me that you're number one at surprising people," she continued. "You're always doing something unexpected, but you're cheerful, determined, and reliable when it truly matters."
Obito's disappointment disappeared instantly.
He placed both hands on his hips and pointed his thumbs toward his chest.
"As expected of Minato-sensei! He really understands his students."
Kakashi gave a quiet snort.
Obito ignored him.
"Just wait. Once I awaken my Sharingan, I'll surpass both Kakashi and Ren. Then I'll become Hokage!"
"You should learn to arrive on time before aiming for the Hokage's seat," Kakashi said.
Obito spun toward him.
"What does punctuality have to do with strength?"
"The Hokage can't arrive late to every meeting."
"I won't be late once I'm Hokage!"
"That isn't how habits work."
"Stinky Kakashi!"
Kushina watched them argue with open amusement.
"They're always like this?" she asked.
"Almost every day," Rin admitted.
Ren nodded.
"Sometimes twice a day."
Their argument continued until Minato's voice came from the kitchen.
"Dinner is ready. I need two people to help carry the dishes."
"I'll do it!"
Obito abandoned his argument and rushed toward the kitchen.
Ren followed before Obito could attempt to carry everything by himself.
Minato had prepared far more food than Ren expected.
One by one, they placed the dishes on the low table in the living room. There was glazed chicken, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, thick slices of tamagoyaki, miso soup, pickled vegetables, and a large pot of steaming white rice.
The fragrance quickly filled the apartment.
Obito stared at the table as though he had discovered treasure.
"That smells incredible."
Rin's eyes brightened.
"You made all of this yourself, Minato-sensei?"
Minato smiled modestly.
"Kushina helped prepare some of the ingredients."
Kushina had already taken a seat in the middle of the table. She patted the space beside her, and Rin sat there after only a moment of hesitation.
Ren and Kakashi chose the opposite side, leaving Obito near the rice pot.
"Everyone's here," Minato said. "Please eat before the food gets cold."
They brought their hands together.
"Thank you for the meal!"
The peaceful meal began.
Ren and Kakashi ate quietly, though Ren noticed Kakashi taking a second serving of tamagoyaki when he thought no one was watching.
Rin praised the soup, earning an immediate smile from Minato.
Obito, meanwhile, devoured his meal as though he had not eaten in a week.
"This chicken is amazing!" he declared through a mouthful of rice. "Minato-sensei, you should stop being a shinobi and open a restaurant!"
"Swallow before speaking," Kakashi said.
"You're not my mother."
"No, but I'd prefer not to watch you choke."
Kushina reached over and placed another piece of chicken in Obito's bowl.
"Eat as much as you want. There's plenty."
"Thank you, Kushina-san!"
A few minutes later, Kushina deliberately held the vegetable plate toward him.
"You should eat these too."
Obito recoiled.
"I'm full."
"You just said you could eat six bowls of ramen."
"That's different."
Kushina's smile became frighteningly sweet.
"Eat your vegetables."
Obito silently obeyed.
The apartment gradually filled with warmth and laughter.
For a brief time, there was no war, no hospital filled with wounded shinobi, and no dangerous mission waiting beyond Konoha's walls.
There was only a teacher, his students, and the woman he clearly hoped would someday become part of his family.
Ren understood why Minato had invited them.
The gathering was not merely a reward for their training.
With the war escalating, no one knew when they would all have another opportunity to sit together like this.
When the meal was nearly finished, Minato set down his chopsticks.
His expression became more serious.
"There's something I need to tell all of you."
The table quieted.
"The war between Konoha and Sunagakure has intensified," Minato said. "More units are being dispatched to the western and southwestern fronts."
Ren noticed Kushina's smile fade slightly.
"There have also been signs of movement from Kumogakure. Nothing has been officially declared, but the village is preparing for the possibility that another front may open."
Obito no longer looked interested in his food.
"What does that mean for our team?"
"I'll begin receiving more assignments outside the village," Minato answered. "Some may require me to remain away from Konoha for several days or weeks."
Rin lowered her chopsticks.
"Will our special training stop?"
"No. Whenever I'm available, I'll continue supervising you personally."
Minato looked toward Kakashi.
"However, during my absence, Kakashi will be responsible for leading the team's training and any regular missions assigned to you."
Obito immediately opened his mouth.
Kakashi glared at him.
Obito closed it again.
Kakashi was the youngest among them, but he was already a chūnin and possessed more mission experience than the others. If Minato could not accompany them, placing Kakashi in command was the most logical choice.
Ren nodded.
"We understand."
Rin followed.
"We'll continue training seriously."
Obito crossed his arms.
"I'll listen to Kakashi as long as he doesn't abuse his authority."
"I don't need to abuse it," Kakashi replied. "Watching you complete the normal training is painful enough."
"Do you want to fight?"
Minato sighed, but Kushina laughed.
After dinner, Minato began clearing the dishes.
Ren and Rin moved to help, but Kushina stopped them by placing one hand on each of their shoulders.
"You're guests. Guests don't wash dishes."
"We don't mind," Rin said.
"I do." Kushina pointed toward Minato. "He invited everyone, so he can clean."
Minato looked over from the kitchen.
"I can hear you."
"I know."
Kushina clapped her hands and stood.
"Besides, Minato told me that all of you wanted to learn about fūinjutsu."
Obito straightened.
Kushina placed both hands on her hips.
"Fortunately for you, I happen to be an expert."
Minato coughed from the kitchen.
"An expert?"
Kushina's eyebrow twitched.
"A great expert."
"That sounds more accurate."
Her irritation vanished.
Kushina walked toward a small blackboard beside one of Minato's bookshelves and motioned for the four genin to gather around.
"Since dinner is finished, we'll hold a private lesson while everyone digests their food."
She picked up a piece of chalk.
"Fūinjutsu sounds mysterious, but its foundation can be summarized with two ideas: restraint and control."
Kushina drew a circle on the board.
"A sealing formula creates rules. Those rules determine what enters the formula, what remains inside it, and under what conditions it can be released."
She drew several characters around the circle and connected them with lines.
"Some seals store physical objects. Others contain chakra, restrict movement, suppress dangerous power, or attach a specific function to a person or object."
Kushina tapped the center of the diagram.
"The storage scrolls used by shinobi are among the simplest examples. The written formula creates a space governed by specific conditions. Chakra activates the formula, and the stored object is either sealed or released."
Rin raised her hand.
"Are barrier ninjutsu also considered fūinjutsu?"
"They're related, but not identical," Kushina explained. "A barrier defines and controls an area. A seal restrains, stores, or regulates a target. Advanced techniques often combine both principles, which is why people sometimes confuse them."
Even Obito listened attentively.
Kushina began with the structure of basic chakra scripts before moving on to energy flow, activation conditions, storage capacity, and formula stability.
Unlike the dense textbooks Minato had provided, her explanations were clear and vivid.
Whenever she introduced a complicated concept, she drew a simple example on the board. When Obito appeared confused, she compared chakra flow within a seal to water moving through connected pipes.
"If one channel is too narrow, what happens?" she asked.
"The chakra gets blocked?" Obito guessed.
"Correct. And if too much pressure builds…"
"The seal explodes."
"Exactly."
Obito stared at the chalkboard with renewed respect.
Ren remained completely focused.
As a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, Kushina possessed knowledge that most sealing experts in Konoha could never obtain. Even this introductory lesson revealed details absent from Minato's books.
Unfortunately, the Gala System did not react.
Kushina was explaining principles rather than teaching a specific sealing technique, so no new conquest target appeared.
Ren felt slightly disappointed, but the knowledge itself was already valuable.
After nearly an hour, Kushina placed the chalk down.
"That's enough for your first lesson. Fūinjutsu is an extremely deep field. If you rush into complex formulas without understanding the foundation, the best outcome is failure."
"And the worst?" Obito asked.
Kushina smiled.
"You'll discover that yourself if you ignore me."
Obito immediately decided not to rush.
Kushina turned toward Ren.
"Let me examine your sword."
Ren removed the sheathed blade from his back and handed it to her.
Kushina drew the weapon and carefully inspected the metal. Her fingertips moved along the flat of the blade as she sensed its ability to conduct chakra.
She examined the hilt, guard, and connection between the blade and handle before returning it to the sheath.
"The material is good," she said. "It should be able to carry a sealing formula without losing structural strength."
Kakashi's posture relaxed slightly.
"I need time to design something stable," Kushina continued. "The formula has to activate when the blade draws blood, but it must not trigger from Ren touching it or from ordinary impacts."
She looked at Ren.
"I'll take the sword for a few days. While I work, you need to master the fundamentals. I won't hand you a sealed weapon if you can't safely maintain it."
Ren nodded.
"I'll study seriously. Thank you, Kushina-san."
Kakashi hesitated before speaking.
"I'll lend Ren another sword tomorrow. Please return this one once the seal is finished."
Kushina gave him a reassuring smile.
"I'll take good care of it."
The dinner continued for a little longer before Team Minato prepared to leave.
None of them noticed the shadow that had been watching Minato's apartment from a distant rooftop.
At the same time, deep beneath the western side of Konoha, a masked shinobi knelt inside Root's headquarters.
The underground chamber was dim and silent.
Danzō Shimura sat at its center, one side of his body concealed beneath bandages.
The masked operative lowered his head.
"Lord Danzō, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki, entered Minato Namikaze's residence this evening. She has remained there for more than two hours."
Danzō's visible eye remained closed.
The operative continued.
"Minato's genin squad was also present. The identified members include Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Obito. Two additional children accompanied them."
Danzō's eye snapped open.
"What?"
His voice echoed through the underground chamber.
The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki had spent hours inside the home of one of Konoha's most gifted jōnin.
That alone demanded attention.
But one detail was far more dangerous.
An Uchiha had been allowed into the same room as the Nine-Tails.
Danzō's fingers tightened around his cane.
"Repeat the report," he ordered.
And in the darkness surrounding him, several masked figures silently raised their heads.