Naruto: I, who didn't want to be hacked to pieces, saved the ninja world.

"Kushina, what brings you here?"

"Didn't you say I'd come to your house for dinner tonight? Naruto's with Sasuke now, so I came to find you ahead of time."

Kushina blinked as well. "You still haven't told me why you seemed distracted?"

"Well... actually, Aoba will be here later too."

"What did you say?!"

Before Mikoto Uchiha could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Kushina's voice, who reached out and grabbed Mikoto's shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me about something so important sooner?!"

"I……"

"Never mind, now's not the time for this. I forgot something, I need to go back first!"

"Huh?"

Chapter 554 Aunt Mikoto's Initiative

"Ok?"

"ah!"

Bai Yun Qingye was about to knock when the door opened by itself, and a hurried figure rushed out.

He instinctively dodged, and Kushina also changed direction in time to avoid a collision.

"Kushina-nee?"

"Mikoto, you guys just do your thing, don't worry about me!"

After Kushina discovered it was Shirakumo Aoba, she didn't linger for a moment, leaving only one sentence before rushing out.

"This……"

Shirokumo Aoba stared blankly at Kushina's disappearing, graceful figure, then turned to Uchiha Mikoto, "Aunt Mikoto, what happened to Kushina?"

"Well..."

Mikoto Uchiha looked equally bewildered and could only briefly recount what had just happened.

“I told her that you should come out for dinner with me tonight, and she said that she left something important at home and had to go back to get it.”

"Could it be that Kushina prepared some gift for you but forgot to bring it, so she was in a bit of a rush?"

Mikoto Uchiha offered a relatively reasonable guess.

"Perhaps."

Baiyun Qingye blinked, as if she already knew what it was.

Judging from Mikoto Uchiha's innocent expression, she probably doesn't know anything about it.

Mikoto Uchiha's personality doesn't seem like that of someone who would do such a thing.

So... was this all Kushina's plan?

In that case, he really needs to be more careful.

If Aunt Mikoto doesn't have this idea, then it's better to let things take their course.

At this moment, Kushina, who was rushing home, had no idea that a huge black pot had been placed on her back.

Although she did have her own little plan, it was Uchiha Mikoto who truly came up with the idea.

She was just adding fuel to the fire.

She hadn't expected Mikoto Uchiha to act so quickly; she had thought the other party would dawdle for a while longer.

Otherwise, she would have carried it with her at all times.

-

Mikoto Uchiha quickly packed her things.

Then he walked out of the office with Shirokumo Aoba.

Unfortunately, they ran into Tsunade and Shizune, who were also leaving the office.

"teacher……"

Baiyun Qingye felt inexplicably guilty, as if he was about to accompany another girl home when he happened to run into his girlfriend.

"Ah!"

Tsunade simply gave a playful smile.

Silent sound sounded a bit resentful, and she gave a reminder.

"Aoba, go home early tonight."

"I'll try my best..."

Such an ambiguous answer obviously did not satisfy Shizune, so Shirokumo Aoba quickly shifted her attention.

"By the way, teacher, Sai is coming to Konoha tomorrow."

"Sai? That Loulan Queen?"

Tsunade had heard the other party mention it before.

Konoha and Loulan had already had quite a few collaborations that year, with Konoha's amusement park basically being contracted out to Loulan personnel.

Meanwhile, the commercial streets of Loulan have seen an increase in merchants from Konoha.

But perhaps it's a case of "kings not meeting kings," as Tsunade and Sai haven't even met yet.

"Yes, she wants to visit as the Queen of Loulan to discuss future cooperation between Konoha and Loulan."

Baiyun Qingye replied.

"As the Queen of Loulan? Could she possibly have another identity?"

Tsunade looked at Shirokumo Aoba with suspicion.

"This time I came as the Queen of Loulan."

This answer made all three people present narrow their eyes.

This time she came as the Queen of Loulan, but will things be different next time?

"Qingye, if I remember correctly, the Queen of Loulan should have a daughter who is about your age, right?"

Sara had visited Konoha a few times, so Shizune had met her before.

Upon hearing these words, a glint of light flashed in Uchiha Mikoto's eyes, which had been lowered.

“If we follow the normal timeline, Sarah would probably be more than ten years older than me…”

Bai Yun Qingye said somewhat embarrassedly.

Shizune subconsciously looked at Tsunade, but was immediately glared at back.

"Alright, I'll have Jingyin make proper arrangements for tomorrow. You guys enjoy your dinner, we'll be leaving now."

After saying that, Tsunade pulled Shizune away.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Tsunade seemed to be in a good mood.

It's a bit strange.

However, he didn't think much of it and instead looked at Uchiha Mikoto, who was spacing out again beside him.

"Aunt Mikoto, let's go."

"okay."

-

The atmosphere was strange.

Even Baiyun Qingye finds it difficult to clearly explain the current situation.

However, Mikoto Uchiha's reaction has been a bit strange ever since she separated from Tsunade and the others.

He looked preoccupied and absent-minded, as if he was constantly thinking about something else.

"Aunt Mikoto?"

Baiyun Qingye asked tentatively.

However, no response came.

So he raised his voice slightly.

"Aunt Mikoto!"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Mikoto Uchiha came to her senses, somewhat bewildered.

Baiyun Qingye asked helplessly, "Aunt Mikoto, have you really not encountered any troubles lately?"

He had asked this question before.

"What a worry..."

Mikoto Uchiha glanced at the other person, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said with a hint of playfulness, "It is indeed a very troublesome matter. I haven't been able to sleep well these past two days because of it."

Bai Yunqingye was slightly taken aback, then said, "Would it be convenient to tell me? Maybe I can help."

Looking at the boy's serious expression, Uchiha Mikoto felt a surge of satisfaction, but then gently shook her head.

"I'm so sorry, but it's something I can't tell Aoba."

"OK then."

Seeing that Uchiha Mikoto had already said so, Shirakumo Aoba gave up on asking further questions and instead said something.

"Since Aunt Mikoto won't tell me why you're upset, then tell me how to make you feel better, that should be enough, right?"

"That's acceptable..."

Upon hearing this, Mikoto Uchiha's lips curled slightly, and then she said self-deprecatingly.