"Mikoto, run over there. Catch it!"
Kushina shouted anxiously to Mikoto at the other end of the alley.
"I know!" Mikoto replied quickly. As she turned, a dark shadow came hurtling toward her—a massive, fat cat wearing a gold necklace.
It was astonishing to see such a plump cat jump so high. One could only sigh in admiration—it was truly a cat of the Ninja World.
"Ah~!"
Mikoto shrieked, covering her face and sitting back in fear of being scratched or disfigured. Her strength wasn't particularly impressive, and she hesitated to handle the cat too roughly. Just thinking about their employer, the stubborn old rich woman, made her head throb.
"Are you okay?"
Kushina ran over, not blaming Mikoto, and helped her up with a look of genuine concern.
"It's my fault. I let it get away again," Mikoto said, clearly embarrassed as the cat disappeared from sight.
"It's fine. This cat has been caught so many times—it reacts fast," Kushina reassured her. "I saw Hyouko chasing after it just now."
Kushina dusted off the dirt from Mikoto's clothes and playfully pinched her bottom.
"Feels pretty good," she said.
"Hey! You're shameless!" Mikoto exclaimed, lightly hitting Kushina.
The two burst into laughter, their earlier frustration instantly forgotten.
Despite her carefree demeanor, Kushina's kindness and attention to detail shone through.
"Youth is all about cherishing friendships like this," a voice suddenly declared.
Duy appeared out of nowhere, his eyes filled with tears, seemingly lost in memories of his youth.
Unfortunately, the two teammates from his younger days had long since passed, falling in the line of duty.
"Duy Sensei."
Kushina and Mikoto stopped playing around, feeling a bit nervous, as if they had been caught daydreaming in class.
"Well, you two need to keep it up," Duy said with a thumbs-up and his signature bright smile.
"And another thing—if you don't hurry, the cat will be long gone!"
"Ah, we're going."
The two hurriedly left, and the face of the rich woman appeared in their minds at the mere thought of losing the cat. They even imagined how she would scold them. They didn't want to face it anyway.
"Big Brother Duy."
A voice sounded behind Duy.
"Minato! You're here to see Kushina, right?"
Duy turned around and saw Minato slightly embarrassed, scratching the back of his head. Their generation gap was quite confusing. Minato had started calling Duy "Uncle," but Duy corrected him. He was still young—what kind of uncle was he?
"Yeah, what mission are you on? You're not catching cats again, are you?"
Minato had already changed into his regular clothes and looked very handsome. Not many people could pull off his hairstyle.
"Haha, yeah. That fat cat runs away from home four or five times a month."
Duy laughed, thinking the rich woman's mission money would be enough to buy a new one.
"I'll go help," Minato volunteered, as if he could handle it.
"No need. The mission is small, but it's all valuable experience on the road to adulthood," Duy refused without hesitation. If they needed help with such a trivial mission, when would the three of them grow up?
"Fine, I'll wait with you then."
Minato didn't insist, as he felt Duy was right.
"Have a seat over there and eat something."
Duy pointed to the yakitori restaurant not far away. If it weren't for the current economic upswing, he would never have offered to treat so easily.
"Good, I'm a bit hungry."
Minato was indeed a little hungry after all that running around.
The two of them arrived at a skewer shop and casually ordered some food. They ate while chatting idly.
For the most part, it was Duy doing the talking, with Minato occasionally responding. Every three sentences were about youth, and every five sentences seemed to bring tears to Duy's eyes.
Minato had no idea how to handle the situation.
Just as he felt their conversation was reaching a dead end, Kushina and her group appeared not far away, holding a chubby cat.
Minato looked at them as if they were his saviors. He swore to himself that he would never hang out with Duy alone again.
"Kushina."
As Minato called out, Kushina's eyes lit up. She stuffed the fat cat into Mikoto's arms and sprinted toward Minato.
"When did you get here?"
Kushina sat down next to Minato, and there was no longer any sensei in her eyes.
"Not long ago. You guys didn't finish your mission, so Duy and I waited here."
Minato reached up and removed a small piece of leaf from Kushina's head, probably from when she was grabbing the fat cat.
Within a few sentences, Mikoto and Hyouko had also entered the store. Since Minato often came to see Kushina, they were all on a first-name basis.
They exchanged greetings, and Mikoto and Hyouko sat down at an empty table.
"Duy Sensei, the mission is complete," Mikoto said, gripping the fat cat tightly with both hands.
"Well done, everyone. Go ahead and grab something to eat."
"I'll go hand in the mission," Duy said, taking the fat cat from Mikoto's arms and giving the young people some space.
"Thank you, Sensei," the three girls said in unison as they bid him farewell.
"Have fun. I'll go straight home to my kids."
Duy left with a smile, carrying the fat cat in his arms. He made sure to point out some food they could order and settled the bill before departing. He had promised to treat them, and he would keep his word. Lies had no place on the path of youth!
Once Duy left, the mood at the table lifted.
Although Minato was also a Jōnin, he was close to their age, so there was no generation gap.
"Every day we just catch cats and dogs—it's so boring!" Kushina complained, biting into a skewer.
If Duy were still there, she wouldn't dare say that. She knew it would invite one of his lectures, and she couldn't bear his lecturing style.
"It's not that bad," Mikoto said calmly. She actually found such missions rather interesting. After marrying Fugaku, she probably wouldn't have the chance to do missions anymore.
"Not that bad? It's boring to death! I envy Minato. He must have carried out a great mission today. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here right now." Hyouko chimed in, her personality similar to Kushina's.
"No, it was just a small mission."
"Our sensei gave us the day off," Minato explained, not thinking much of capturing Kakuzu and having no intention of elaborating further.
"Minato, you're a Jōnin, and I'm only a Genin. You won't dislike me, will you?"
Kushina seemed to jump from one thought to another, her question coming out of nowhere.
"How could I? Even if you couldn't use ninjutsu, I'd still like you."
Thanks to Kawakaze's training, Minato was no longer shy about saying such things, even in front of others.
"Tsk, tsk, don't flaunt your affection in front of me. Curse you all," Hyouko grumbled, the only single person at the table, while aggressively biting into a skewer.
"Haha, I'm not going to stop just because of you. My Minato is the best," Kushina declared, squeezing closer to Minato as if she couldn't bear to be apart from him.
"You guys make me sick," Hyouko muttered. Her frustration only seemed to fuel her appetite as she devoured a few more skewers with gusto.
"Hahaha~"
The three of them couldn't help but laugh.
Before long, the skewers they'd ordered earlier were brought to the table. The four ate and chatted, the atmosphere lively and harmonious.
After finishing their meal, they went their separate ways. Minato and Kushina, however, set off to enjoy some sweet time together.
From street to alley, from sunset to moonrise, they wandered, savoring each other's company.