After dinner, Nagi chatted a bit longer with Shizuka, Kushina, and the others before saying goodbye and heading home.
Watching the two of them leave, Naruko felt an indescribable feeling well up in her heart.
Kushina then said, "Minato, nicely done. It looks like with Shizuka assigned to the International Exchange Class together with Nagi, they'll have someone to look out for each other. By the way, who is their jōnin instructor and the other teammate?"
Minato replied, "Their jōnin instructor is Samui from Kumogakure, and their other teammate is Ameno from Sunagakure."
Kushina and Naruko both froze for a moment. Kushina asked again to confirm,
"Don't tell me… everyone in the International Exchange Class except Nagi is a girl?"
Minato failed to catch the deeper meaning in her words and answered with a gentle smile,
"Mm, there's no need to worry. Nagi is a very gentle person. I'm sure they'll get along just fine."
"You agreed to this team arrangement, Minato?"
"Yes. I figured if they're all girls, they'd definitely get along well."
"Hehe… is that so?"
Dark energy seemed to rise behind Kushina.
Even Minato sensed that something was wrong. He cautiously asked,
"Um… Kushina, what's wrong?"
Kushina forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Nothing. Minato, you did such a great job. You've basically sent an airborne strike force straight to our daughter.
Oh right—the weeds in the yard need cleaning. Until they're completely cleared out, don't even think about coming back inside!"
After saying that, Kushina turned around and went into the house without looking back.
Minato was stunned. It seemed he had somehow angered Kushina. He quickly turned toward his daughter, hoping she would help plead his case.
"Um… Naruko, about your mom…"
"Oh."
Naruko responded casually and walked into the house. A moment later, she came back and handed Minato a sickle before returning inside and locking the door behind her.
"..."
Minato stared blankly at the sickle in his hand.
What exactly did I do wrong…?
The next day.
Nagi and the others from the International Exchange Class went to the Mission Administration Office to receive a mission.
Because they had recently completed a C-rank (S-difficulty) mission, they were required to take several D-rank missions before they could accept another C-rank assignment.
This time, they received a D-rank mission—rice planting.
Unlike ordinary people, the chakra within shinobi could make the soil more fertile and improve crop growth. Because of this, many farmers with decent finances would hire ninja to help with plowing fields or harvesting crops.
This time, however, the client was a wealthy merchant from the Land of Fire, so rice paddies stretched across the mountains. Correspondingly, the reward was also extremely generous.
Unlike before, the four of them silently reached a mutual understanding.
They each used the Shadow Clone Technique to complete the mission while their real bodies cultivated on the side. After all, their teamwork was already excellent—they didn't need a simple D-rank mission to build coordination.
Beside the rice paddies, Samui watched as Ameno and Shizuka each held one of Nagi's hands while meditating on the spot.
She was extremely puzzled by their training method.
At that moment, Shizuka leaned close to Nagi's ear and whispered something softly.
Nagi nodded.
Shizuka then asked,
"Captain, would you like to try it as well?"
Samui blinked in surprise.
"Try what?"
"Training."
Nagi and the others then explained their chakra fusion-assisted training method to Samui.
Samui's curiosity was immediately piqued. Ameno and Shizuka released Nagi's hands.
Samui coated her hands with Lightning Release chakra and placed them against Nagi's.
In an instant, a strange sensation rushed through her body.
Feeling the effect of this training, Samui quickly understood why the others practiced this way.
The results were extraordinary.
As a jōnin, her strength had been improving more and more slowly in recent years. Reaching Kage-level had long seemed impossible for her.
But now…
Unlike Shizuka and the others, Samui had years of battlefield experience and had previously had close contact with Nagi. She gradually realized that chakra fusion itself wasn't the key.
The real key seemed to be physical contact and intimacy.
As if reaching some decision, Samui looked at Nagi with blazing eyes.
Nagi felt a chill under her intense gaze. Just as he was about to speak, Samui suddenly pulled him into a firm embrace.
Feeling the two soft cushions pressing against his chest, that strange sensation Nagi had experienced before returned once again.
Before he could say anything, Samui spoke first.
"Calm down. Now try circulating your Lightning Release chakra."
Nagi nodded.
Lightning chakra began circulating through both of their bodies simultaneously.
After a short while, blue lightning chakra began to flicker around them.
Nagi could clearly feel the quality of his Lightning Release chakra improving, and Samui felt it as well.
And she hugged him even tighter…
Three hours later, both of them withdrew their Lightning Release chakra at the same time.
Nagi felt that both the shape transformation and nature transformation of his Lightning Release chakra had made significant breakthroughs.
Looking at Samui, who was still hugging him, he said softly,
"Captain… it's lunchtime now. Training is over. Could you let go of me?"
But Samui could hardly focus on her breakthrough anymore.
At that moment, her thoughts were filled entirely with Nagi. Her mind was full of ideas about deepening their relationship.
However, when she heard his words, she snapped back to reality and reluctantly released him.
Everyone took out their lunches and placed them together, tasting each other's cooking.
Shizuka and Ameno happily enjoyed Nagi's dishes.
Samui also wore a blissful expression, but her gaze occasionally drifted toward Nagi's tempting pink lips.
Nagi noticed something strange and asked,
"Captain, is something wrong?"
Samui answered instinctively,
"Mm… it looks very tempting."
Nagi thought she meant the fried shrimp in his bowl, so he picked one up with his chopsticks and placed it toward her bowl.
Samui also realized what she had just said.
But when she saw Nagi holding the fried shrimp out in front of her, she thought he was feeding her.
So she leaned forward and bit it.
Nagi was briefly stunned, but didn't think much of it. After all, he had intended to give her the shrimp anyway.
He simply continued eating with the chopsticks—whose tips were now slightly damp.
Meanwhile—
Shizuka and Ameno instantly froze like statues.
Their minds echoed with the same thought repeatedly:
Indirect kiss… Nagi's indirect kiss…
Shizuka was the first to recover. She glanced at Nagi's bowl and noticed some dishes that weren't in the lunchboxes.
Then she asked gently,
"Um… Nagi, could I have a piece of the fried tofu in your bowl?"
"Of course."
Completely unaware of the situation, Nagi picked up a piece with his chopsticks and offered it to her.
But Shizuka opened her mouth as well.
So Nagi simply fed it directly to her.
After taking only a few bites himself, Nagi noticed Ameno staring somewhat enviously at his bowl—well, more precisely, at his mouth.
So this time, he scooped up a spoonful of tofu and fed it to her directly.
Ameno's face immediately turned red.
Samui and Shizuka looked at her with visible envy.
Her "indirect kiss" with Nagi covered an even larger area than theirs.
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