Konoha: Who's the good guy?

"Hey! What's with that disgusted and contemptuous look on your face?!"

Reeking of alcohol, Kushina displeasedly lowered her arms, which had been protecting her chest.

Even though she has a carefree personality, she's still a beautiful girl with a great figure and looks!

Is it really appropriate to make that kind of expression?

"How much did you drink?"

Yamanaka Kei skipped over Kushina's question.

Looking at the chaotic living room, I was utterly speechless.

The once empty and clean coffee table is now filled with instant noodle cups with only some soup left and scattered wine bottles.

Magazines were spread out and ninja scrolls were scattered everywhere, on the sofa and on the floor.

Several cute-looking puppet dolls that he usually used to practice ninjutsu were also abused and thrown aside.

"It's just a little bit~"

Kushina also noticed the messy living room at this moment.

The hazy effects of the alcohol instantly sobered him up. He shrank back and stood there, cautiously peeking at the mountain scenery.

She muttered to herself, "She didn't do anything today, so why is the living room such a mess?"

"...No matter what troubles you in the future, drink less alcohol. It's not good for your health."

Seeing Kushina's uneasy expression, Yamanaka Kei's words, which were on the tip of his tongue, ultimately turned into concern.

Having known each other for many years, he understood Kushina's personality better than anyone else.

This girl usually doesn't drink at all, so the fact that she drank so much today probably means that something unacceptable happened to her this afternoon after her conflict with Danzo this morning.

He formed the "未" mudra with one hand.

Yamanaka Kei unleashed the "Mind Transfer Clone Technique," an advanced version of the "Mind Transfer Puppet Technique."

Five humanoid puppets, each a little over a foot tall, sprang to their feet and hurriedly began tidying up the messy living room.

The originally dirty and messy coffee table was quickly cleaned up.

The magazines and reels that had been carelessly tossed around were sorted and put back in their original places.

Barefoot, Kushina trotted along, helping the puppet tidy up.

Her attentive manner made it seem like she was incredibly hardworking.

"Alright, alright, tell me, what do you want from me?"

Looking at Kushina, who was acting cute and smiling obsequiously, Yamanaka Kei really didn't know what to do with her.

"Hehehe~ Jing-jun~ How about we talk? Lend me eight million taels, okay~"

Kushina's tone and expression were extremely obedient, and her coy manner showed no trace of the flamboyant Red Hot Chili Pepper she had displayed during the day.

"No, you just collected the rent in July, and it's been less than three months, and it's already all gone?"

When Shan Zhongjing heard about borrowing money, he looked incredulous.

When Mito Uzumaki passed away, he left Kushina an extremely rich legacy.

The rent from those dozen or so shops on Konoha's commercial street alone could have sustained her a life of luxury for a long time.

What on earth happened to this girl that she ended up needing to borrow money?

"I...I lent it to Tsunade."

"That gambling addict...you've got guts!"

"I can't say anything about it. Tsunade was crying, saying she had no food, no clothes, and was about to die..."

"You believe her just because she says so?"

"Oh dear, Kei-kun, that scoundrel Danzo Shimura is absolutely inhuman! He said the damage to the Jonin standby room had nothing to do with him and that I have to bear all the reconstruction costs myself. Even the Third Hokage is biased towards him..."

Kushina, in a tearful tone, skipped over the fact that she had lent money to Tsunade and began to accuse the culprit, Shimura Danzo.

As a result, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, also received a lot of criticism.

Her tone made it seem as if the collapse of the Jonin waiting area today had nothing to do with her.

"Alright, alright, eight million is fine, right?"

"It would be even better if there were just a little more so I could have some for dinner."

"You, after collecting rent, remember to set aside some emergency funds. You also need to plan your daily expenses. And next time someone asks to borrow money, you should first determine if they have a legitimate reason for borrowing it..."

With a helpless expression, Yamanaka Kei got up from the sofa.

As he spoke, he took out two deposit slips from the Land of Fire Bank from a hidden compartment in the study.

Kushina knelt obediently in front of the coffee table.

Perhaps it was the alcohol that was affecting him.

Listening to the nagging and admonitions around me, I couldn't help but think of Grandma Mito Uzumaki.

He accepted the two deposit slips, each containing five million, in a daze.

Seeing her dazed expression, Shan Zhongjing waved his hand in front of her eyes and gave her another word of advice.

"Keep the extra two million for good food and to buy some nice clothes. If you encounter a similar situation again, don't take it out on yourself. As the old saying goes, it's better to torment others than to make things difficult for yourself..."

As soon as Yamanaka Keigo finished rambling on, he saw large tears welling up in Kushina's eyes and streaming down her cheeks.

Not being very good at handling these kinds of things, he quickly pulled a tissue from the tissue box and handed it over.

Looking at Kushina, who was crying with tears streaming down her face.

Yamanaka Kei sighed, racking his brains for ways to comfort the other person.

"If you're really still angry, how about we sneakily give Danzo a good beating? I'm quite familiar with Root's fighting style. If it's inconvenient for you to show up, I can secretly take care of him for you..."

"Waaaaah~~~ Kei, waaaaah~~~ I miss Grandma Mito~~~"

Kushina Uzumaki, who had been silently shedding tears, couldn't hold back anymore after being comforted by Kei Yamanaka.

All the pent-up grievances and longing for loved ones burst forth at once.

She looked up and burst into tears.

Snot mixed with tears, and he cried until his face was a mess.

She hadn't heard such caring words in a very long time since Grandma Mito passed away.

Because of his identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

She couldn't freely leave the village to carry out missions, nor could she live as freely as a normal ninja.

Every day, they also have to endure those almost ubiquitous looks of disgust and fear.

Even some high-ranking officials in the village, led by Shimura Danzo, would occasionally target her.

The third generation would only offer her a few words of comfort afterward.

The most frequent thing they said was always to tell her to be more mature, and that they were doing it for the village.

But it's clearly them who's causing trouble. If it's really for the village's sake, why shouldn't they tone it down a bit?

"...Shall I go with you to see the Senju Old House?"

Shan Zhongjing asked tentatively.

Kushina shook her head, wiping away her tears as she asked.

"Kei, did you use some kind of ninjutsu against Danzo today?"

"Huh? No, why do you say that?"

Sakura was slightly startled, but she didn't show it on her face and skillfully began to play dumb.

"Hmph! Liar! You can fool others, but you can't fool me~ I sensed it! The fleeting malice on your body when Danzo left."

Kushina's face was covered in tears and snot, but her eyes curved into crescent moons with laughter.

"...Hurry up and wipe it off, you're crying and laughing, it looks awful."

Yamanaka Kei's eye twitched slightly, but he finally stopped denying it, pulled out a tissue, and smeared it directly on Kushina's face.

"Hehe~ Jing, it's so nice to know you~"