CH 178

Mikoto simply said what she wanted to say literally.

"During this time, Brother Fugaku has been under a lot of pressure. He drinks with Brother Sekai almost every night."

"I asked him what happened, but he won't tell me."

"Recently, he hasn't come to me much..."

"I have never seen him like that. I just feel that he is under a lot of pressure. Maybe it will be better to vent it out with a good friend at that time!"

Mikoto raised her eyes and stared at Aoba above the Hokage Rock. She felt that this kind of friendship between boys was very sincere, and it was often easier to solve problems than between men and women.

"This..."

Kushina turned to look at Mikoto beside her, her eyes flashing with confusion.

Could it be that she was thinking too much?

Was her concern just her overthinking?

In fact.

Minato also had a lot of friends!

For example, Shikaku Nara, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Choza...

However, when she saw Minato with them, she did not have that many thoughts.

Could it be because...

Aoba was very handsome?

Well...

It was possible!

Kushina thought silently in her heart. She felt that maybe it was because of Aoba's good looks that made her a little unconfident.

"Minato is gone!"

Just at this time.

Mikoto's voice sounded and clearly transmitted into Kushina's ears.

Then.

Kushina looked up in the direction of the Hokage Rock.

There was no trace of Minato.

Only Aoba was left.

"Well, let's continue shopping." After Mikoto's unintentional explanation, Kushina instantly understood these things, and her heart relaxed a lot.

"Hahahaha!" Mikoto smiled, winked at Kushina, and continued to pick up the topic, "Have you thought about how to reward Minato?"

"You're here again..." The corners of Kushina's mouth twitched, and she stared at Mikoto's head. She really wanted to open it and see what was inside.

...

Aoba stood above the Hokage Rock, and there was no one here. He stepped forward and looked down at Konohagakure.

The scene in front of him was bustling.

Even if the people in the village realized that war was about to happen.

They continued to live their own lives.

This was the meaning of the village's existence!

Whether it was the First Ninja World War, the Second Ninja World War, or the Third and Fourth Ninja World War that might happen in the future.

Almost all these battles happened outside the village.

The ninjas in the village went out to fight.

It provided the village with peace.

To protect their family and friends in the village.

For ninjas.

This protection was the meaning of them becoming stronger!

"I wonder if Danzo will do anything to Minato who wants to become the Hokage..."

Aoba narrowed his eyes slightly, his eyes flashing with coldness.

He was not willing to provoke any trouble.

He was even more unwilling to get involved in anything.

Even in the face of the upcoming Third Ninja World War this time, the method he proposed was to let Konohagakure establish a balance to prevent the war from happening.

From beginning to end.

Aoba was not involved in the war itself.

However.

He had a bottom line.

Now he has recognized Minato as a friend. If there are any obstacles in Minato's path to becoming a Hokage...

He did not mind helping Minato clear these obstacles.

Just like the olive branch Minato had just thrown at him.

If Minato really became a Hokage.

Perhaps...

He would take over part of Anbu's affairs!

He couldn't say for sure about this now.

That could be something that would happen in ten years.

Such a long period of time was enough for too many variables to occur.

However.

There was one thing that Aoba was certain of.

He was already used to living in the dark.

He did not want to appear on the surface.

To him, being a low-key office worker was a choice that made his heart feel very comfortable and peaceful.

"Now that the sealing technique books have been settled, it is time to prepare some other things."

Aoba did not stay too long on the Hokage Rock. He strode towards the direction of the stairs and slowly descended the stairs.

Not long after he walked down the stairs, he saw two girls walking toward him.

They were Kushina and Mikoto.

The two of them said that they would continue shopping, but in fact, their bodies were very honest. They still walked in Aoba's direction.

"Aoba, why are you here? It's been a long time!"

Kushina immediately greeted Aoba warmly, but the enthusiasm on her face was more or less a bit deliberate.

Mikoto stood beside Kushina; she had changed from the winking look just now to a girl who looked very introverted.

Especially when he stood together with the hot-tempered Kushina.

She looked very quiet.

"Long time no see."

Aoba said lightly; he then looked at Kushina and then at Mikoto.

How should he put it...

If only Kushina was here, he might go and ask her about seals.

However, Mikoto was also there.

The current Uchiha clan seemed to be in a big problem.

Although Kumogakure wanted to accuse them as a whole, the Uchiha clan would not escape the village's scrutiny.

"I still have something to do. I'll go first."

Aoba waved at the two of them. Then he quickly left under their gazes, not giving them a chance to speak again.

"Ah... you... this..."

Kushina saw that Aoba had left as soon as they met, and her face was suddenly full of confusion. She looked at Aoba's back, not knowing what to say.

"Kushina, do you feel that Aoba is deliberately avoiding me?" Mikoto stared at Aoba's back and said.

"How could that be..." Kushina said.

"Intuition." Mikoto sighed slowly. She felt that since the first time they met, the distance between the two of them had been getting farther and farther. Moreover, after carefully recalling it, she found that Aoba was already avoiding her when she suspected Aoba's identity at that time.

"Maybe there is a misunderstanding here." When Kushina heard Mikoto say intuition, she suddenly felt a little convinced in her heart. Sometimes, you don't need any evidence to feel what is going on.

...

After leaving Hokage Rock, Aoba did not return to Anbu's dormitory but walked towards the shops on the street.

He still had some money on hand.

He was preparing to buy some items.

He was preparing to learn how to draw sealing tags.

He was already beginning to think about the effect of adding the sealing tags into his paper clone.