---
Outside the Hokage Building
Kaede and Shinku stood outside the Hokage's office with his team, who had just come out of the meeting.
Kaede kept a straight face, though deep down she was happy and relieved that Megumi would be safe.
Shinku couldn't read Kaede at all ,she was unusually obedient today.
"Are you okay, Kaede?" he asked.
"I'm fine, thank you," she replied with a smile.
She knew Megumi would leave her one day, so there was no point trying to hold on to him.
She was sick, though she didn't know why, and she simply wanted to spend her last days with him. Now that he wasn't by her side, she decided she'd spend her remaining time with her crazy friend instead.
"I guess this is where we go our separate ways, sensei," Kaede said, bowing before turning to leave.
Shinku was dumbfounded by Kaede's new behavior. he couldn't find a single fault or reason to accuse her of acting strange.
"I think leaving him with the Fourth Hokage was the best solution," Shinku said, trying to comfort her. "He's a civilian like you, and the Hokage will train him to become a great shinobi for the village. It's a win-win for everyone. And I don't know why you hate your husband's clan, but that boy will always be remembered as a descendant of the Nara Clan."
Kaede stopped in her tracks and tilted her head slightly toward Shinku. She'd been imagining how to spend her remaining days, but now this man had said something that if he'd not been her husband's sensei she would've gotten him killed on the spot.
A wave of killing intent poured out of her, directed straight at Shinku. He responded in kind.
Their clash of killing intent filled the air, heavy and suffocating.
"What is wrong with these two? Can't they have a normal conversation without trying to murder each other?" Anko muttered, holding Kurenai's hand.
"Dad, please! That's enough!" Kurenai shouted, her voice trembling with rage as she tried to prove she wasn't weak.
The killing intent vanished, but the hatred it awakened remained.
"I don't know why you hate my father or your relationship with him," Kurenai said sharply. "But as a senior, you should never release your killing intent toward him again. Or do you have a problem with me too?"
The tension shifted from father vs. Kaede to Kurenai vs. Kaede.
Shinku's eyes widened. He knew exactly how this would end.
It wasn't a spar it was a death match. Kaede was no ordinary woman. Facing her was like pitting a coughing baby against a nuclear bomb or a rookie against the Grim Reaper.
Silence fell, and only the wind could be heard.
Kaede stared at the girl in front of her, who looked like someone standing at the edge of breaking down.
"I don't know what gives you the confidence to face me," Kaede said calmly, "but I'm sure it's your connection to the Third Hokage's son. Still, I'm not interested in trading words with an opportunist like you or your father. This is my final warning."
She pointed at Shinku.
"Stay away from me and my son. If you want to maintain your relationship with the Nara Clan, then marry her off to them. It's getting late I have things to do. Excuse me."
Without looking back, Kaede walked away, her figure fading into the distance.
"Kurenai, are you okay?" Anko asked softly.
Seeing her friend stand up to someone that dangerous was practically suicide and now Kaede had humiliated her by dragging her relationship with Asuma into the open, with even her dad catching a stray.
"I'm fine," Kurenai said quietly.
"Dad, let's go home," she whispered as tears streamed down her face.
Shinku hugged his daughter. "It's okay. You're brave. You can cry it out."
"Ahhh…" Kurenai sobbed uncontrollably.
---
Meanwhile...
Megumi stood beside Minato, who was finishing his paperwork.
"Why is my luck so bad that I have to stay with this guy?" Megumi muttered under his breath.
"Done!" Minato said cheerfully, standing up and walking toward Megumi, who seemed lost in thought.
"He really is a Nara descendant," Minato said with a smirk. "Are you ready to go to your new home?"
"Yes, I'm ready," Megumi replied.
As Megumi started walking toward the door, Minato placed a hand on his shoulder and suddenly, the scenery changed.
"What the what just happened?" Megumi turned around in shock. The Hokage's office had vanished, replaced by a different building.
"Did this guy just teleport us?" Megumi thought, scanning himself. "Wait… did this bastard just mark me?" He started searching his clothes for any seal marks.
Minato didn't notice Megumi's reaction; he had other things on his mind. "Stay here. I'll come get you," he said before vanishing again in a flash of light.
He reappeared in a kitchen, where a heavily pregnant woman was eating.
"I'm home," Minato announced.
"You should've just stayed at work," she replied flatly, taking another bite.
"Sorry, but I wanted to tell you the boy will be staying here with us," Minato said with a grin.
"What?!" she gasped, dropping her chopsticks. She remembered him mentioning a boy who could summon toads but she hadn't expected this.
"Where is he? Go bring him now!" she demanded, abandoning her food in her eagerness to see the strange boy.
Minato looked puzzled. Why couldn't she sense Megumi outside?