Late at night.
Konoha Village, Hokage Building.
"Why won't it connect?"
"Did we do something wrong?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's anxious voice rang out from the head seat in the conference room.
They had just received reports that Iwagakure and Kumogakure had launched attacks at the same time.
The original plan had been to contact Yagami through the Den Den Mushi and have him speed up the advance into the Land of Wind, forcing Sunagakure to surrender as quickly as possible so their forces could be redirected for support.
But at this critical moment—
the Den Den Mushi simply would not connect.
That alone was enough to make everyone in the room restless.
"There's nothing wrong with how we're using it…"
"Yagami taught me how to use it himself."
Mikoto, who had been trying to connect the call the entire time, was already sweating.
And for some reason, a bad feeling had started to creep into her heart.
That only made her more anxious.
"…Really."
"Why did it have to happen at a time like this?"
"That the Den Den Mushi would suddenly stop working…"
Hiruzen let out a helpless sigh, his expression dark.
The clan heads and senior officials in the conference room were just as tense.
For now, there was still no new information from the Land of Water border.
But along the borders with the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning, if nothing unexpected happened, fighting had most likely already begun.
The problem was that nearly half of Konoha's main forces had already been committed to the Sunagakure front.
No one knew how long the border defenses against Iwa and Kumo could hold.
If the battle on Sunagakure's side was not resolved quickly enough…
then they might be forced to send even the village's genin to the front lines as support.
That was something none of them wanted to see.
A heavy atmosphere, like dark storm clouds, hung over the Hokage conference room.
So everyone kept their eyes fixed on Mikoto, who was still trying again and again to connect the Den Den Mushi—
waiting for the moment Yagami's voice would finally answer from the other side.
The next day.
As the sky slowly began to brighten, Yagami stretched lazily before finally waking up.
It had been the most peaceful and comfortable sleep he'd had in years.
A soft blanket was draped over him, and Kushina was still curled up in his arms, fast asleep like a little koala.
The two of them had stayed up late the previous night, making a fuss until very late.
Because of that, Yagami couldn't bring himself to wake her.
His thoughts drifted back to everything that had happened yesterday. Quietly, he held Kushina a little closer, enjoying the rare calm and warmth of that moment.
About an hour later, Kushina's brows twitched faintly as she began to wake.
But the moment her mind fully cleared, she still didn't dare open her eyes.
So she simply kept pretending to be asleep.
Unfortunately for her, the red creeping across her cheeks had already betrayed her completely.
"Hahaha…"
"Alright, lazy cat, time to get up. We should head back too."
Seeing her shyly pretending to sleep, Yagami couldn't help but laugh.
To be honest, after holding her for that long, his arms were already starting to go numb.
Even so, he still hadn't had the heart to wake the sleeping beauty in his arms.
"Y-You're not allowed to look."
"Okay, okay, I won't look."
The moment her fake sleep was exposed, Kushina grew even more flustered.
Clutching her clothes, she slipped back under the blanket.
A while later, with her face burning red, she carefully emerged again.
Once Kushina had gotten dressed, Yagami casually lifted the blanket himself.
The next moment, Kushina's face turned bright red again, and she nearly buried herself like an ostrich.
"Alright, alright…"
After the two of them had finished getting ready, Kushina formed a hand seal.
The barrier formed by her Adamantine Sealing Chains slowly faded away.
"Kushina, teach me that technique sometime. I want to use it next time too."
Seeing the practicality of the Adamantine Sealing Chains once again, Yagami immediately asked with great interest.
This technique combined offense and defense, could form barriers, and could even suppress chakra.
Even among A-rank ninjutsu, it was undoubtedly one of the finest.
And if he learned it…
wouldn't that make future trips and camping ridiculously convenient?
"Okay, okay."
When Yagami casually said he wanted to use it next time, Kushina's cheeks flushed slightly again.
Still, she didn't refuse.
At this point, their relationship had already reached this stage.
If it was something Yagami wanted, she naturally wouldn't say no.
"Heh…"
Seeing her act as though he could decide everything, Yagami couldn't help but laugh again.
At that moment, however, a sudden sound interrupted whatever he was about to say.
"Buru~ Buru~ Buru~"
"Buru~ Buru~ Buru~ Buru~ Buru~"
"The Den Den Mushi?"
Yagami blinked in surprise.
Then he quickly reached into his clothes and pulled it out.
Because the Den Den Mushi would lose its signal if it was stored inside the system space, he usually kept it on his person, tucked directly into his pocket.
"Buru~ Click."
"Moshi, moshi—"
"Third Hokage-sama, it connected! The Den Den Mushi connected!"
The instant Yagami spoke, Mikoto's shocked and delighted voice rang out from the other side.
Yagami immediately turned and glanced at Kushina, suddenly feeling a little awkward.
"Yagami, what exactly is going on?"
"Why were we trying to contact you through the Den Den Mushi all night, only for it to never connect?"
Inside the Hokage conference room, the Third Hokage—who had not slept all night—snatched the Den Den Mushi from Mikoto almost the moment it connected.
His voice was anxious, sharp, and full of suspicion.
As for the senior clan heads and officials slumped in their seats—
the moment they heard Mikoto cry out that the Den Den Mushi had finally connected, they all jolted awake on the spot.
"You were trying to contact me all night?"
Hearing Hiruzen's words, Yagami froze for a moment.
Then, almost immediately, a certain scene flashed through his mind—
the way signals had been blocked by Doflamingo's Birdcage.
In an instant, he understood what had happened.
"Uh…"
"Last night… I was developing a new ninjutsu."
"So I put up a barrier. Maybe the barrier interfered with the Den Den Mushi's signal."
Yagami scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
It was obvious there had been something urgent if the higher-ups had tried to reach him the entire night.
He truly hadn't expected this kind of situation to happen.
Developing a new ninjutsu?
Hearing Yagami's shameless excuse, Kushina snorted inwardly.
Then she lowered her gaze to herself, before glancing back up at Yagami as he calmly spoke with the village leadership.
Her face instantly turned red again, and she rolled her eyes at his double meaning words.
"A barrier?"
"You had a barrier up the entire night?"
The Third Hokage's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, heavy with silence and disbelief.
So the reason the Den Den Mushi had failed to connect all night…
was because it had been blocked by a barrier?
"Cough, cough."
"I was too tired last night, so I forgot to take the barrier down."
The moment those words left Yagami's mouth, Hiruzen felt a surge of anger rise in his chest.
So while all of them had stayed up through the night, desperately trying again and again to contact him—
this brat had been sleeping peacefully the entire time?!
"Just this once! Don't let there be a next time!"
Seeing the Den Den Mushi imitate the Third Hokage's expression so vividly, Yagami immediately laughed dryly.
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