Chapter 106: Kakashi—Feel Your Father's Love!

"Kei, who was that just now?"

Kushina fanned her still-warm cheeks with the back of her hand and called out from behind the kitchen door.

"Anbu. My transfer notice should arrive soon."

"Huh? Didn't you just get transferred to a regular combat unit? Where are they assigning you now?"

"Guess where! Get it right and you win a prize. Get it wrong, and you owe me a kiss!"

"Hehe~ I'm not that dumb! Since Anbu showed up in person, it must be an important post. You just left the Analysis Team, so you probably won't go back there. So it's either the Intelligence Division or the Sensor Barrier Unit!"

"Wrong! Time to pay up, come on! Give me a kiss."

"Aww~ But you just did that already!"

Kushina watched as Kei Yamanaka easily unlocked the kitchen door using a key made of earth-element chakra.

Her cheeks, still warm from earlier, flushed even redder.

"That's different!"

Kei wrapped his arms around Kushina's waist.

And resumed savoring the moment.

Old married couples might find this cliché, but for young lovers, no matter how much they do it, it's never enough.

The smell of something burning hit them.

Kushina gave Kei a light tap on the chest and hurried over to try saving the food in the pan.

"Now can you tell me where you're being assigned?"

"Giving up already?"

"Not guessing, not guessing! It's a trap—I'm not falling for it again!"

"Aren't you the one who just said you weren't dumb?"

"Hmph~ Exactly because I'm not dumb that I won't guess anymore! You bad guy keep making me guess, so it's definitely somewhere I wouldn't think of!"

She scrunched up her nose playfully at Kei.

That adorable expression made him want to pinch her soft, flawless cheeks.

"It's Root."

Kei said with a smile.

Clang~

Kushina's mouth slightly opened in shock, her spatula slipping from her hands into the pot.

She turned around anxiously to look at her boyfriend.

"No Tongue-Cutting Seal, and it's a real deputy director position too. The Third probably wants me to balance out Danzo. As for Danzo himself, he probably has his own little plans, but it's not a big issue."

Kei explained.

"If you're going after Danzo, remember to call me! I recently made a deal with that smelly fox! Hehe~ I'll show you what invincible golden armor really looks like!"

Kushina's eyes sparkled brightly.

She flexed her right bicep with a determined look.

But those delicate, pale arms weren't exactly impressive.

Instead, they only made the 'criminal' think she was even cuter.

If the sound of the front door opening hadn't interrupted them, this little tomato wouldn't have stood a chance against the predator.

"Kushina, we've got another kid joining us for dinner, cook an extra serving. Kei! Set something up later—we've been dying of boredom lately, if you catch my drift?"

Tsunade padded barefoot into the living room, a tiny slug resting on top of her head.

She yanked Kei straight out of the kitchen.

If she hadn't been running around all morning and was starving now, she'd have skipped dinner to have some fun first!

Gambling Capital!

A place that had always haunted her dreams!

"Yup, yup, got it."

Kei Yamanaka watched how Tsunade's playful expressions turned her otherwise stunning face into something bordering on sleazy. He sighed helplessly.

Damn.

Can't she just use that face properly?

And your tone of voice... people might think I'm dragging you to a brothel!

"Senior Kei, Senior Kushina, sorry for the intrusion."

Kakashi Hatake slipped into the guest slippers at the entrance before dragging his feet into the living room, his signature dead-fish eyes fixed ahead. He then bowed deeply to Kei Yamanaka and Kushina.

"Don't look at me like that. This kid lost another teammate during a mission—the Third ordered me to talk to him. I don't know how to talk to him. When I heard you were back, I brought him over so you could give it a try."

Tsunade plopped half-slouched onto the nearby couch with obvious impatience.

She was indeed a medical ninja, but Kakashi wasn't physically injured nor clearly mentally traumatized.

It was obviously about the emotional wound from Sakumo's death.

So what good could come from handing him over to her?

She should've just had Kei slap a few genjutsu on him instead.

"So… did Rin Nohara die? Or was it Obito?"

Kei's eye twitched slightly as he turned toward the subdued Kakashi.

"...Some random Konoha ninja I didn't even know."

Kakashi felt uneasy under Kei's gaze and looked away while softly muttering his response.

Recently, Sensei Minato had been constantly going on high-difficulty missions.

His squad couldn't keep up with Minato's pace, so they got left behind.

Ten days ago, Lord Third Hokage suddenly assigned them to complete a joint operation with another team.

That other team's chunin leader didn't listen to his suggestions and acted recklessly together with Obito. Plus, the rest of their squad members weren't strong enough.

Wasn't it only natural that two people died?

In the end, he was the one who completed the mission.

He didn't understand why the blame fell on him.

"Tell me what happened from the start?"

Upon learning it wasn't Rin or Obito, Kei relaxed slightly inside.

With nothing better to do, he figured he'd hear the whole story.

"..."

Kakashi met Kei's eyes in silence without saying a word.

According to Konoha ninja regulations, even C-rank missions required discretion around non-essential personnel.

As for B-rank missions, formal reports must be submitted to the Hokage Office, and approval directly from the Hokage was needed before disclosure.

"Start from when the Hokage gave you the mission?"

Assuming Kakashi just didn't know where to begin, Kei offered a suggestion for where to start.

"...Confidential regulations."

"Crap!"

Kei almost choked on those four words before ending up bitterly amused.

Honestly speaking, after years of being a ninja,

he'd always been fine talking about missions lower than A-rank openly, and even S-ranks if kept quiet.

This was truly the first time he'd encountered someone as stubborn as Kakashi!

After collecting himself, he gave it another shot.

"I think your problem right now is a lack of effective communication. First, you need a crash course in communication, and then we can work on changing your mindset."

"..."

Kakashi furrowed his brow slightly but nodded all the same.

Leaning back on the couch, waiting for dinner to be served, Tsunade nearly burst out laughing as she watched Kakashi start tormenting Kei Yamanaka.

Finally, she wasn't the only one getting tortured anymore!

"How about we start with a little something before dinner?"

Kei rubbed his temple with one hand, realizing for the first time how exhausting it could be to talk to people.

[Demonic Illusion: Naraka Vision – Modified!]

With a single-hand seal,

this modified D-ranked genjutsu instantly pulled Kakashi into an illusory realm.

Glancing at his system interface, Kei gave a silent command.

"System, grant Kakashi the [Straight Man Expert] trait."

After all, it was a Green-Tier Trait—he couldn't just waste it on some random cannon fodder.

Besides, Kakashi's way of speaking—so few words it took eight men to drag one out, and even when he finally said something, it could choke you to death—was simply unbearable to Kei.

A faint green glow, visible only to Kei, quickly seeped into Kakashi's body.

Trapped within the genjutsu, Kakashi's emotions fluctuated wildly. His facial expressions shifted rapidly, though he remained completely unaware of what was happening.

Kakashi was already clutching his stomach and kneeling on the ground in pain less than two seconds after falling into the illusion. Tsunade raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"A modified version of the Naraka Vision technique. Besides affecting his psychological fears, I've also amplified the distortions of sight, sound, and pain across all five senses."

Difficulty-wise, it's probably high B-rank territory. As for its strength… Let's just say there's zero chance he's breaking free."

"What content did you use?"

"The tender care and love from a father to his son."

"…That's so like you."

Hearing it was a father-son scenario, Tsunade's lips curled upward into a wider smile.

That brat had been driving her crazy all morning.

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