Tsunade's grip loosened, and she set Kaito down slowly. The tension in her expression softened into relief.
"Since you're back, that's what matters," she said. Then, with a sudden glare, she jabbed a finger at him. "But if you disappear without a word again, Ayanami Kaito, I'll make you regret it."
"Don't worry," Kaito replied with a disarming smile. "I won't."
Without warning, he pulled her into a light embrace. A flicker of guilt crossed his mind—Hinata was waiting for him at home, yet here he was holding Tsunade. It felt… complicated.
"Right," Kaito said, breaking the moment. "Nothing major happened in the shinobi world after I left, right?"
(Why aren't they talking about him being her student! 😐)
"There's been a lot," Tsunade replied. "What do you want to hear first?"
"Start with the most important."
For the next several hours, Tsunade recounted the events that had unfolded during his absence. Shizune entered once, but Tsunade sent her away, claiming the conversation was private.
Listening intently, Kaito found himself both relieved and unsettled. Overall, things had followed the same course as the events he remembered from the original timeline. After the war, Namikaze Minato had risen to prominence, eventually becoming the Fourth Hokage. The Sannin had drifted apart.
The only significant deviation was that his own name—once hailed as the "God of the Ninja World"—had faded from history. Years without news of him had led people to assume he was dead. Younger generations didn't even recognize the name the Kaito from then.
But Kaito didn't mind. As long as the important events stayed the same, the rest didn't matter.
"Alright," Tsunade said at last, her voice softening. "Since you're back, you should go see Kushina."
"Yeah, I will," Kaito nodded, though his lips twisted into a small, uneasy smile.
"So, you've mastered the Hundred Healings Mark," Kaito thought aloud.
"You've been to the past," she said calmly, pouring tea for him.
"Yeah. As soon as I returned, I came back to Konoha."
"Planning to leave again?" she asked, her tone sharp.
"No. Never again," Kaito said gently, brushing a hand against her cheek.
"Hmph. I'm not Hinata—you can't win me over with a couple of sweet words."
Kaito blinked in surprise. "How did you—?"
"You don't need to know," Kushina cut him off. "You should be thinking about how to explain yourself to Hinata and Ino."
Kaito groaned inwardly. That was a problem he hadn't solved yet.
Seeing his expression, Kushina smirked slightly. "Need my help?"
"Not yet. Ino's still away on a mission. I'll talk to them together when she's back."
"In that case…" Kushina's eyes gleamed with challenge. "Let's settle something between us. This time, I'll beat you."
Without warning, she closed her eyes and addressed the Nine-Tails inside her. "Kurama, my man's back. Take a nap for a while."
"Tch. I'm not interested in watching your human squabbles," the fox grumbled before going silent.
Soon, Kaito's lips found Kushina's in a slow, hungry kiss, his hands roaming as each layer of clothing fell away. Their bodies tangled in a fevered rhythm that lasted for hours, every touch and moan pulling them closer to the brink. By the end, they lay breathless and spent, the room heavy with the intoxicating scent of their passion.
___
Thanks for the Power stones.