Naruto Birdcage

Morning.

The slightly open window let in a few beams of white light, which made the eyes redden and brought the dreamlike illusion back to reality.

The wall clock ticked steadily, and outside the window, the wind blew with a whooshing sound.

The window screen swayed back and forth, and the whole bedroom was quiet.

Ayano didn't know when she had opened her eyes, but she still lay there motionless.

Perhaps she had slept restlessly, as the tatami was in disarray.

Sounds came from the living room, and Ayano glanced at the time on the wall. She then removed the blanket and slowly got up, putting on a sleepwear.

Haruka was cleaning the room in the living room.

After she left last night, she wasn't sure what had happened, but there was a pile of glass shards from cups beside the table on the floor.

The sound of a door opening came from the bedroom.

Ayano turned her head and saw Haruka, surprised to see Ayano, her hair a mess as if she had just woken up.

Haruka was a bit surprised.

She had never seen Ayano like this, looking so careless, and it was rare for her to sleep in so late today.

"Haruka."

"...Yes?"

"You don't have to come anymore."

After Ayano finished speaking, she didn't look at her and directly turned to go to the bathroom, leaving Haruka standing there in a daze.

When she went back last night, she had talked to her younger sister, Natsu, and asked her to find out if it was really possible for her to stop serving Ayano in the future.

Had this woman come to a realization, or had she finally faced the reality?

......

Kirigakure sent a peace proposal, delivered by Shikaku from the front lines.

The general idea was that they wished to cease hostilities, sign a peace treaty, and were willing to pay Konoha a certain amount of war reparations.

However, they hoped Konoha would return the Seven Ninja Swords and the Three-Tails.

After reading it, Makoto handed it over to Orochimaru for his opinion.

Orochimaru appeared indifferent, simply saying that Makoto should handle it as he saw fit.

Lately, Orochimaru had been spending all his time in the laboratory, immersing himself in his experiments, and had shown no interest in any village affairs, big or small.

He left everything to Makoto to manage.

Previously, Makoto would occasionally visit the laboratory to inform Orochimaru of important matters and ask for his decisions.

This, however, had become a source of annoyance for Orochimaru, and eventually, he said that he no longer wished to be bothered with the village's political or military affairs, leaving all decisions to Makoto.

Even Makoto couldn't help but sigh at how broad Orochimaru's heart was.

However, this was the result he had hoped for.

Makoto immediately wrote another letter, along with the peace proposal from Kirigakure, and sent it to the Daimyo.

The victory over Kirigakure had been anticipated by many.

Although the Daimyo was not surprised, winning the war was still a good thing, and he gave Konoha official recognition.

He also approved the request Makoto had subtly made in the letter and granted Konoha many additional rewards.

Afterward, Makoto notified the frontlines to prepare for the negotiations with Kirigakure.

Such matters generally required the Hokage to be involved, but seeing Orochimaru's attitude, it was clear that wasn't going to happen.

Therefore, the responsibility was given entirely to Minato and Shikaku. If the offer from the Kirigakure was reasonable, the Seven Ninja Swords would be returned.

"Reasonable" was from Konoha's perspective; whether Kirigakure would accept it was another matter.

As for the Three-Tails, Makoto didn't mention it in the letter.

Minato would never hand over his student, and the significance of the Tailed Beasts was far too great to be measured by money.

However, shortly after Makoto sent out the letter, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu arrived together at the Hokage's office.

When Makoto saw them, he immediately sensed that they might not be here with good intentions.

He stood up from his seat and greeted them respectfully, "Lord Homura, Lord Koharu."

Homura directly asked, "Did Kirigakure send a surrender letter?"

Makoto answered, "It's a peace proposal, just delivered from the frontlines."

Koharu then asked, "What does the Fourth Hokage intend to do with this?"

Makoto replied, "I've already conveyed the Hokage's intentions to Minato-senpai and Shikaku-senpai at the frontlines."

Koharu furrowed her brow and asked, "Why didn't you come to ask us?"

Makoto immediately responded,

"It was the Hokage's order that this matter was urgent, and I was instructed to notify Minato-senpai immediately. Perhaps he also wanted to consider your advanced age and didn't want to trouble you with this matter."

He promptly shifted the blame to Orochimaru.

Makoto could tell that these two old geezers were here for him.

If it were truly about Kirigakure, they could have gone directly to Orochimaru.

Koharu gave him a side glance and said, "What? Do you think we're too old?"

Makoto immediately panicked and said,

"Lord Koharu, you've misunderstood me. I was just helping the Hokage with his tasks. How could I ever have such thoughts?"

He then began flattering them, saying that both of them were important contributors who had worked alongside the Third Hokage to govern the village, and that Konoha's current strength couldn't have been achieved without their efforts.

He had always regarded them as role models.

This made Koharu speechless.

Homura continued to interrogate, "Did you arrange for ten Hyuga clan members to join the Anbu?"

"Yes, that did happen."

Homura immediately expressed his dissatisfaction,

"The Anbu has strict vetting procedures. How can this be done so carelessly?"

Makoto continued to shift the blame,

"It was the Hokage's direct request. He said that the Byakugan ability of the Hyuga clan would be of great use to him. I was also concerned that they might not be up to the task, but I couldn't go against the Hokage's will."

Homura's words were momentarily caught in his throat.

He thought to himself that this kid was really good at deflecting blame, constantly mentioning the Hokage.

The implied meaning was clear: don't blame me, I'm just doing my job.

If you have a problem, go talk to Orochimaru.

The two Hokage advisors were both angry and helpless.

Makoto suddenly put on a pitiful expression and began to speak sorrowfully.

He said that he was trembling with fear of not doing a good job, afraid that his actions might harm the village's interests.

As it seemed now, it had indeed turned out that way, otherwise, he wouldn't have caused Lord Homura and Lord Koharu to be upset.

He would go directly to the Hokage to resign from this position and suggest that the Hokage appoint someone more capable, while also listening more to the advice of the two esteemed advisors.

Homura and Koharu both felt a headache coming on, and their tone softened: "Makoto, we didn't mean to blame you."

Makoto looked pitiful and asked, "Really?"

With that look, paired with his youthful face, it was easy to believe him, but Homura and Koharu both knew he was just putting on an act.

Orochimaru's choice to promote this kid clearly wasn't a mistake—he wasn't foolish.

"We just hope you'll think carefully before making any decisions. If you're unsure, you can come to us for advice."

"But I'm not the one making the decisions on anything. It's all up to the Hokage. The only decisions I make are things like village disputes."

Homura: "…"

Koharu: "…"

"By the way, there's been a conflict between Heiji and Kotaro in the West Street over the market stalls.

 I've been putting off handling it. How about… would you two advisors help take care of it?"

Homura and Koharu were immediately enraged, snorting coldly before turning and leaving, sweeping their sleeves as they went.

Once the office door closed, Makoto finally stopped smiling.

These two old geezer really don't think they've lived long enough.

.......

That afternoon, Ayano arrived.

Makoto arranged for her to stay in a side room, separate from the other servants.

But her arrival wasn't intended for her comfort—Makoto assigned her plenty of tasks to do, aiming to help this once-pampered woman change her lifestyle habits.

The household servants were quite surprised to see Ayano and gossiped about her in private.

Ayano had expected this and ignored everyone, focusing solely on her tasks.

However, she was so clumsy at household chores that she often caused loud crashes and disturbances.

Some of the maids, out of kindness, stepped in to help her, but she never offered a word of thanks.

Only when Makoto, annoyed by the noise interrupting his reading in the study, came out to scold her would she kneel and apologize.

Ayano now entered the study, tea tray in hand, and knocked before stepping inside.

She saw Makoto sitting there, fully engrossed in a book.

The study was quite different from before.

There were many more books, and the calligraphy pieces written by Hiashi were no longer there.

It had been a while since Ayano last visited.

The last time she was here, she had brought tea for Hiashi, but at that time, Hiashi had been noticeably cold toward her.

She noticed that, in addition to reading, Makoto was also making notes in the margins of the books, as if he were a student studying for an exam.

Makoto was indeed studying, absorbing new knowledge every day.

He no longer went to the training grounds to practice but instead experimented with using the vibrations of his chakra to stimulate his muscles, aiming to improve his physical abilities.

However, this method was far more excruciating than sweating it out at the training grounds.

It felt as though his skin was being peeled away and his inner muscle groups were being directly pounded.

Each session pushed Makoto to his limit, and he dared not overdo it—it was simply too grueling.

The results, however, were remarkable.

Makoto could clearly feel his body growing stronger by the day.

Without his outer garments, his well-defined muscles were strikingly visible.

"Wait," Makoto called out to Ayano, who had just set the tea down and was turning to leave.

"Go to the kitchen and make me something to eat. No main courses—just some pastries or small snacks will do."

"…"

Hearing no response, Makoto glanced up and noticed her standing there awkwardly, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I... I don't know how to cook," Ayano said softly.

Makoto found it odd. "Didn't you bring me food before?"

Ayano looked even more embarrassed. "That was made by Haruka."

Makoto : "..."

After a moment, he asked again, "Can you cook at all?"

Ayano immediately replied, "I can learn."

Makoto sighed in exasperation, thinking to himself how similar these two sisters really were.

"Fine, just ask Akiri to make it instead."

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