At noon, in Konoha's hottest yakiniku restaurant, Yakiniku Q.
Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh at the restaurant's good fortune, standing strong from the war era all the way to the Boruto era, surviving even Pain's destruction. It was practically more historic than Ichiraku Ramen. It was a shame that Master Teuchi hadn't opened his ramen shop yet; according to the original story, it should be another four or five years.
However, Lin Yu couldn't wait. He was especially eager to taste the legendary Ichiraku Ramen that Hinata supposedly devoured 46 bowls of in 30 minutes. Lin Yu considered if he might have time to inquire about "Otsutsuki Ichiraku" in Konoha.
"Hi! Mikoto, over here! We're here!" Kushina waved her small hand at a graceful figure by the entrance and shouted.
"Kushina, keep your voice down..." Lin Yu heard hushed whispers from the surroundings, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"Hmph, what's the big deal? There's no rule against speaking loudly here." Although she said that, Kushina lowered her voice. It was all Lin Yu's fault. She hadn't recovered from the joy of becoming a rich girl, and her voice had gotten louder. Hmph!
Lin Yu cast an apologetic glance at the surrounding customers, then focused his attention on the beautiful girl walking towards them.
Uchiha Mikoto at this age was truly a beauty. Although she was only two years older than Kushina, her physical development was far beyond Kushina's.
Uchiha Mikoto was wearing a purple crew-neck sweater today, paired with a light yellow hip-hugging skirt that outlined her perfect figure. She wore the same black thigh-high stockings as Kushina, but her slender legs were straighter and more alluring than Kushina's! One could only say Kushina still had some developing to do.
"Sorry Kushina, I'm not late, am I? And who is this..." Uchiha Mikoto smiled apologetically at Kushina, then looked at Lin Yu with some confusion. She had the same hair as Kushina; could he be her biological brother?
"Oh, we just arrived too. As for him, he's called Stinky Lin Yu. Don't mind him. We'll go shopping after we eat!" Kushina pouted at Mikoto, gesturing for Mikoto to sit next to her.
"Ahaha, my name is Uzumaki Lin Yu. You must be Uchiha Mikoto. Thank you for often taking care of my Kushina at school. It's nice to meet you." Lin Yu chuckled, a gentle smile on his face.
"Ah, it's nice to meet you too, but I don't often take care of Kushina; it's usually Kushina who helps me out of tricky situations." Mikoto said, covering her mouth with her hand and smiling.
Lin Yu looked at Kushina with a hint of confusion.
Kushina's small face flushed, and she huffed, "Those annoying flies are always buzzing around Mikoto, disturbing my and Mikoto's studies, so I taught them a lesson a few times, making them detour when they see me and Mikoto!"
Lin Yu felt a bit sheepish. He wasn't that violent; where did Kushina learn her aggressive personality? Wasn't it said that personality is influenced by environment? Why didn't Kushina pick up his gentle demeanor!
If Kushina knew, she would surely put her hands on her hips and proudly declare, "It's genetic! You wouldn't understand!"
Mikoto chuckled, "It's fine, they didn't do anything bad, but they were indeed quite annoying."
"Hmph, it's precisely because you're too gentle that they keep bothering you. Look at me, who dares to bother me!" Kushina hugged Mikoto's arm, her small face full of smugness.
"You're so violent, anyone who bothers you is asking for a beating..." Lin Yu muttered under his breath.
"Stinky Lin Yu, what did you say!" Kushina's ears twitched. She thought she heard Lin Yu bad-mouthing her.
Lin Yu pouted and said, "Before, it was 'Brother Lin Yu, Brother Lin Yu.' Now that you have money in your pocket, you call me Stinky Lin Yu. Women are so fickle."
"You're only a few days older than me. I called you that before because you were working so hard. Now I see you're getting worse and worse, so of course, I have to change the name!" Kushina said, her round cheeks puffed out, looking quite displeased.
"Hmm? I'm getting worse? I didn't know that myself!" Lin Yu was truly confused this time. Had he done anything bad to Kushina?
"Hmph, you think about it yourself!" Kushina, her small face flushed with what she was thinking about, turned her face away from Lin Yu and took Mikoto's hand to look at the menu.
She wouldn't say it in front of Mikoto. Kushina knew how she slept. But both mornings, she woke up to find her quilt neatly covering her. One day might be a coincidence, but two consecutive days could only mean one thing!
Stinky Lin Yu secretly covered her! Stinky Lin Yu! How could he peek at a girl sleeping! He's terrible!
Lin Yu was completely unaware of all this. He was still racking his brain, trying to figure out what bad thing he had done recently that Kushina discovered. Had his identity as the man in black been exposed? Did Kurama tell Kushina? Impossible, Kurama didn't know anything about the man in black, and besides, would the tsundere Kurama gossip?
Could it be that Kushina knew about Konan... This was even less likely, as they were in different countries. Lin Yu felt he was going crazy, trying to figure out how he had become worse and worse!
Kushina had no idea that Lin Yu had almost dug through his entire memory from birth to find the answer. How could Lin Yu understand a girl's thoughts?
"This, this, and this, give me ten portions of each!" Kushina said to the waitress, her cheeks puffed out, seemingly channeling her bad mood into the yakiniku.
Mikoto, sitting beside her, was somewhat dumbfounded, a bead of cold sweat appearing on her gentle face. "Kushina, we can't possibly eat this much, and it's very expensive here."
"It's okay, Mikoto. We have a sucker treating us this time! It's a waste not to eat." Kushina's big eyes rolled, and she grinned at Lin Yu, a mischievous thought forming in her mind.
Lin Yu's treasury was with her; let's see how he would pay the bill.
Lin Yu snapped back to reality. He decided not to think about it anymore. So be it if he was bad. As the saying goes, "The stronger one is, the more wicked one becomes!" Who said that? I made it up!
"Don't worry, Mikoto. I'm treating, Kushina's paying!" Lin Yu said to Mikoto with a smile.
"I just feel it's not cost-effective. For the same price, we could buy more meat at the market, and it would be cheaper to cook it ourselves." Mikoto frowned, her beautiful brows knitted, looking somewhat distressed.
Mikoto is so thrifty; it's a shame for Fugaku to be so cheap!
Lin Yu looked at Mikoto with admiration and couldn't help but say, "Then next time, we can buy the ingredients ourselves and cook at home. Mikoto, how are your cooking skills?"
Mikoto's fair face blushed slightly, and she said shyly, "It's... it's okay. I can do a little bit of everything."
"That's great! I've been wanting someone to teach me some cooking skills. Kushina always complains that my cooking is bad." Lin Yu made up his mind to learn some cooking from Mikoto.
"Hey, hey! Are you two ignoring me and flirting!" Kushina's sulky face appeared in Lin Yu and Mikoto's line of sight. She used her small hand to turn Lin Yu's head away, preventing him from looking at Mikoto.
Lin Yu was speechless. He just wanted to learn how to cook; he couldn't even stand his own cooking anymore.
Mikoto's face was flushed. She had a good impression of Lin Yu. He was handsome with a delicate appearance, and his personality seemed gentle, which was her type. And he was interested in cooking...
The more Mikoto thought about it, the redder her face became. She could only lower her head, not daring to look at Lin Yu, her small head almost touching her chest.
"Stinky Lin Yu, why did you just say you were treating and I had to pay?" Kushina asked Lin Yu angrily, waiting for his explanation.
"Oh, my dear Kushina, have you forgotten? I gave you all my savings. I'm penniless now. Can you bear to see me working here to pay off my debt!"
Kushina snorted with laughter. Imagining Lin Yu wearing a cleaning uniform, a scarf on his head, sadly cleaning toilets, and being reprimanded by gruff customers, she felt incredibly happy.
Kushina noticed that both Lin Yu and Mikoto were looking at her strangely. Her small face immediately stopped smiling, and she composed herself. "Well, since you've begged me so much, I, Queen Kushina, will reluctantly pay for you this time!"
In front of her best friend, Kushina still wanted to maintain some dignity. As for what would happen between Lin Yu and Mikoto, Kushina had no idea. She would regret it later!