377. Begin of the Kage Summit

The group reaches the Uchiha clan compounds. They arrive in front of Akira's house.

"Let's pick up Tatsuya and Kanna!"

"Mom"! A little boy and girls run out of the house.

The boy has spiky black hairs with a tint of blue to them. He has black eyes and is wearing a black T-shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol. The little girl has long auburn hair with a tint of blue at the end braided into two strings. She has black eyes and wears a kimono with the Uchiha clan symbol.

"Tatsuya, Kanna!" Mei hugs them and gently pats their heads.

"You are here!" Aiko walks out.

"Mom!" Ayaka waves at her.

"You too Ayaka!" Aiko chuckles.

"Come inside, everyone. I just prepared snacks. It's your favorite chocolate cookies, Ayaka!"

"Let's go!"

Ayaka grabs Tatsuya's and Kanna's hands and drags them inside. Hanabi and Yakumo quickly follow her.

"You must be quite exhausted"! Aiko notices the fatigue in Mei's eyes.

"It was a very hefty meeting. Recently, a lot has happened in the shinobi world." Mei shakes her head.

"You are right! Looks like another war is about to begin." Aiko warily shakes her head as she recalls the recent attack on Konoha. She evacuated to the shelter with the rest of the clan members. Nonetheless, she was able to figure out the situation from others.

"You know?" Mei is slightly surprised.

"Is it that obvious?" She asks Aiko.

"Well… things can't be hidden for long, no matter how hard you try." Aiko chuckles and enters the house.

Inside the house,

"Aw… so cute!" Hanabi pokes Tatsuya's cheeks.

"NOOO!" Tatsuya grabs his cheeks and hides behind Ayaka.

"Nee-san, they are bullying me!" Some tears appear in his eyes.

"There! There!" Ayaka gently pats his head.

"No one will bully you anymore. Aunt will protect you!" Ayaka smugly crosses her arms.

Ah!

Yakumo and Hanabi stare at Ayaka with accusation.

"Looks like little Tatsuya doesn't like us. He doesn't like to play with his elder sisters." Hanabi and Yakumo release a long sigh.

"Nee-san, I will play with you both!" Kanna grabs their hands.

"Aw… little Kanna is cute!" Both girls poke her cheeks.

"If you bully me, then I won't play with you anymore." Kanna puffs up her cheeks and turns around while feigning anger.

"No! No! We won't our cute little Kanna. After all, our Kanna is the best." Hanabi takes out the candy from her pocket.

"I have a little present for you, Kanna!" She hands over the candy to Kanna.

"Wow, it's for me. Thank you so much, Nee-san!" Kanna grabs the candy and licks it.

"I have a present too!" Yakumo takes out a cute little doll from her pocket and hands it over to Kanna.

"Hanabi Nee-san, Yakumo Nee-san, both of you are the best." Kanna gives a kiss to both of them.

"Kawaii!!" Little hearts appear in Hanabi and Yakumo's eyes.

"Am I not the best?" Ayaka makes a sad face and turns around.

"NO! You are not the best." Kanna shakes her head.

Sigh…

Ayaka's soul leaves her body at Kanna's words.

"You are the best of the best, Ayaka Nee-san!" Kanna hugs her and kisses her cheeks.

"Hoh! Our Kanna is turning into a naughty girl." Ayaka ruffles her hair.

Hehe…

Kanna giggles as he licks the candy and plays with the doll.

"…"

Ayaka silently stares at Kanna.

'My cute little angel was bought over by devils with just a candy and doll.' She glares at Hanabi and Yakumo.

Hanabi and Yakumo have cheeky smiles on their face.

'It's our win! Operation KKK Kapture Kawai Kanna successful!'

"At least I still have Tatsuya with me." She gently pats Tatsuya's head.

Hanabi takes out the latest kunai toy from her pocket and waves it in front of Tatsuya.

Sigh…

"I was about to give it to Tatsuya-kun. But he doesn't like me, so I guess I will return it." Hanabi sighs in disappointment.

Tatsuya's eyes sparkle at the sight of the new kunai. He silently walks towards the kunai with a stretched hand.

"Oh! You want it Tatsuya-kun. I will give it to you if you let me rub your cheeks."

Tatsuya begrudgingly plays with the kunai as Hanabi rubs her face against his cheeks.

"…"

Ayaka silently stares at the antics of Hanabi and Yakumo.

"This is child assault. I am against it."

She pushes both of them away and gently pats Tatsuya's head.

"It's okay Tatsuya-kun! Aunt will protect me."

Tears well up in Tatsuya's eyes as he points toward the ground.

"AH!"

Ayaka lowers her head and notices her feet stepping on the new Kunai toy.

"This… this… Tatsuya-kun… I didn't mean to do that."

Snap…

The plastic kunai snaps in half under Ayaka's weight.

Waah…

More tears swell up in Tatsuya's eyes as his new gets destroyed.

"I… I didn't mean to. I am sorry, Tatsuya-kun!" Ayaka hurriedly apologizes and looks for ways to appeal to him.

"Don't worry Tatsuya-kun! I bought another one for you." Yakumo takes out a similar kunai from her pocket.

Tatsuya's eyes gleam. He jumps from Ayaka's embrace and cheerfully grabs the kunai from Yakumo's hand.

"Tatsuya-kun!" Ayaka calls to him, but he turns around and ignores her.

"Ah!"

An invisible arrow pierces Ayaka's heart as Hanabi and Yakumo giggle in a corner.

"Operation SSS: Snare Small Shota successful!"

Tick… tick…

An angry tick appears on Ayaka's forehead.

"You guys are so mean. Go away. I won't talk to you anymore."

"Hey girls! What's going on?" Izumi also enters the room.

"Aunt Izumi!" Kanna and Tatsuya turn to her.

"Mite! Mite! Kanna, Tatsuya! I have a gift for you." Izumi takes out a basket of sweets and a box of stuffed toys and plastic ninja gear.

Kanna's and Tatsuya's eyes glitter to the point that it blinds everyone in the room.

"Aunt Izumi, you are the best of the best!" Both of them hug her and kiss her on the cheek.

"I… I… that… that was supposed to be me." Tears flow from Ayaka's eyes.

'Nii-san, I miss you. I want someone to console me.'

'There! There!' An invisible hand ruffles Ayaka's head.

'Nii-san, you are the only person who knows me best.' Izumi cheers up slightly.

Sigh…

A cloaked figure sighs slightly in the sky.

'Just a bit more. The start of the Fourth Shinobi War is the absolute point in the timeline and my presence can alter its course, which might doom this world's fate. So, for now, I can't interfere too much with the laws of this world.'

The figure disappears from space.

Ayaka raises her head and glances at the sky.

'Sin! You felt it too, right? That presence!"

Jingle… jingle…

Bells jingle in Ayaka's mind.

-----------------------

Three days later, outside the entrance of Konoha,

"Is everyone ready?" Tsunade looks around.

"Ready!"

Team three and Team Seven respond to her call.

Fwoosh…

With a slight burst of chakra, three-figure appear in front of the group.

"Woah!" the sudden displacement of the space startles Chojuro. Ao also regains his sense after a few seconds.

He turns towards Tsunade and Minato and bows.

"Greetings, Lady Tsunade and Lord Minato!" Chojuro also quickly imitates his actions.

"It's fine!" Tsunade and Minato wave their hands.

Hmm…

Minato and Tsunade focus their attention on Chojuro.

"So, this young man is your successor?" They notice the Hiramekarei tied on Chojuro's back.

"Hmm… he is one of the mist swordsmen, too. That's great!" Chojuro clumsily bows his head.

"He may look a little clumsy. But when it matters, we can entrust important matters to him. After this potential war, I will retire and hand over my position to him to raise my kids." Mei declares.

"But… but… Mizukage-sama, will I… will I… be ok?" Chojuro pleads to Mei.

"You will be just fine! Also, it's not like you are alone. My father and Ao are also with you." Mei waves her hand.

"Just have more confidence in yourself and I am sure you will make a great Mizukage."

"Then… then… I will do my best to live up to your expectations!" Chojuro solemnly lowers his head.

Ahem…

Ao coughs slightly.

"Let's get going! We are wasting Lady Tsunade and Lord Minato's precious time."

"Ah! I am sorry!" Chojuro hurriedly lowers his head and apologizes to them.

"It's fine!" Minato waves his hand and dismisses him.

"You can talk with the rest of the group." He points towards Naruto and Sasuke.

"My son and his friends are slightly younger than you."

"Thank you so much, Lord Kage!" Chojuro walks towards Naruto and Sasuke with faltering steps.

Sigh…

Mei sighs and shakes her head.

"He has the ability but lacks the confidence. This time I assigned him the task of guarding me and meet shinobis from other villages to boost his confidence. I hope it will do well for him."

"I am sure he will be fine." Minato and the group notice Chojuro chatting happily with Naruto.

"Naruto sure has his charm." Mei chuckles.

The group departs for the Land of Iron.