It's worth mentioning that Uchiha Kaien had never actually met Uchiha Mikoto before.
His daily routine was simple and repetitive, which meant he rarely came across anything new. And honestly, the affection he gained just from being classmates was already enough for him to harvest.
There was no need to run around aimlessly every day. For Kaien, collecting affection was just something that happened naturally—he never went out of his way to engage with people just to squeeze out a few extra points.
Even if he wanted to get stronger, he knew it had to come from himself. Besides, now that his bloodline illness was cured and he had powerful allies backing him, he was surrounded by high-quality sheep. There was no need to expand his pasture any further.
"Guess I'll train first... then find Kushina this evening. Maybe I can ask her out for dinner."
After a short moment of thought, Kaien made his decision. Rather than waste time searching blindly, it was more efficient to stroll around the restaurants near dinnertime—that'd give him the best shot at running into her.
From what he'd heard, Kushina still hadn't learned how to cook. If she wanted dinner, she'd probably be eating out. And according to Nawaki, she'd been spending time with Uchiha Mikoto lately.
That could only mean one thing—dinner plans.
And if that didn't pan out, he could always stop a fellow Uchiha on the street and ask. If he wanted to find Mikoto, he just needed to track down Uchiha Fugaku.
The police force always knew where Fugaku was, and if anyone knew where Mikoto might be, it'd be him. After all, he had the entire Uchiha Police Force behind him. Finding someone in Konoha was child's play.
And once he found Mikoto, he'd naturally find Uzumaki Kushina too. A perfect little loop.
"Hey, think you can take a punch from me now?"
Kaien's fists were itching for a spar. A quick match with Nawaki would not only get him some exercise but also earn him another bump in affection. He figured it was time his senior brother experienced a bit of love... the hard way.
"Using explosive tags like that is dangerous... still, thanks for helping me test that strategy, Kaien…"
Nawaki felt touched. Kaien could've just said he wanted to help test explosive tag techniques, but instead, he chose to phrase it like a challenge. Classic him...
Gentlemen judge by actions, not words—and Nawaki understood what Kaien was really trying to do.
Hot-blooded boys like them didn't care about a little trash talk. They were better at reading each other through fists than through feelings.
To him, Kaien's snark sounded more like encouragement.
"You're too weak to hurt me anyway. So go on—hit me with everything you've got..."
[Affection from Nawaki +1]
...
As the sunset cast a golden light over the village, evening settled in, and their training session came to an end.
Just as Kaien expected, Kushina hadn't returned to the Senju estate yet.
So Kaien took the initiative and set out with Minato and Nawaki in tow.
Not long after leaving the estate, Kaien spotted a member of the Uchiha Police Force on the street. Without hesitation, he grabbed the man's arm and asked directly.
"Yatsushiro-san, have you seen where Fugaku went?"
"Oh, it's you, Kaien. How many times do I have to tell you—stop calling me san! I'm barely in my twenties!"
Yatsushiro looked like he was about to snap at whoever grabbed him so suddenly—until he saw it was Kaien. His anger instantly melted into a friendly smile.
"You're too old. You're at the age where people start running for Hokage, yet here you are wasting away in the police department. You're already halfway to being a middle-aged uncle."
Kaien didn't hold back in the slightest.
"That hurts, you know? I'll have you know I'm a proud elite of the Uchiha clan—with a fully awakened three-tomoe Sharingan."
"Oh please, everyone's got three tomoe now. That just proves you've settled into your uncle mindset."
Kaien activated his own three-tomoe Sharingan, staring Yatsushiro down with a smirk.
"You too?! Kaien, you've already awakened the third tomoe? As expected of the Uchiha's brightest star! Hahaha!"
Yatsushiro was ready to argue, but seeing Kaien's Sharingan shut him right up. He broke into laughter, beaming with pride.
To have someone this young already awaken the three tomoe—surely the Uchiha clan deserved to be the strongest in the village!
"Spare me the drama. Just tell me where Fugaku is."
Kaien rubbed his temples. The Uchiha were great in many ways, but their obsession with the Sharingan—especially when a kid awakened it—could get exhausting.
"Oh, right. Fugaku said something about heading toward Barbecue…"
...
Thanks to the info from Yatsushiro, Kaien soon spotted two familiar faces near Barbecue—along with a third figure, a tall, graceful girl who looked just a bit older than Kushina.
"Mikoto, perfect weather for barbecue today. And since your friend's here too, why don't I treat you both to dinner?"
Uchiha Fugaku had just started to speak when a crisp voice called out from nearby.
"Fugaku!"
Mikoto was about to agree when she turned toward the voice. That tone, that nickname… Was it one of Fugaku's fangirls?
Then her eyes landed on Kaien.
Ah, of course—it was one of his little fangirls. An adorably tiny one, at that. And definitely an Uchiha.
Mikoto immediately noticed the flame fan crest on his shoulder.
Kushina had also turned at the sound of the voice, and instantly recognized the trio walking over—Uchiha Kaien, Namikaze Minato, and Nawaki.
"Well, would you look at that—all the familiar faces showing up at once."
"Hm? One of them is Nawaki. And the other two… your classmates, Kushina?"
Mikoto recognized them as her fellow students. The Uchiha-Senju combo—that must be the junior that Nawaki always bragged about.
She could remember it so clearly because Nawaki never shut up about how cute and talented his little junior was.
Originally, Mikoto hadn't really believed him.
But now? She was starting to see it.
Wait—this adorable kid is his junior?
And from the looks of it, he seemed pretty close with Fugaku too...
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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