511 Starting from One Piece

At night, with heavy snow falling outside the window, everyone sat around the steaming hotpot, chatting and laughing as they ate.

Kaito had specially prepared a large plate of cherry pork for Kaguya. As expected, Kaguya, who loved sour food, instantly fell in love with the taste. Her gaze toward Kaito was filled with admiration.

Kushina, seeing how happily Kaguya was eating, couldn't resist picking up a piece to try.

Then she put down her chopsticks and said to Minato,

"Look at Kaito. Learn from him. I want to eat this too in the future!"

Minato, who had been happily slurping hotpot, stiffened. Kushina elegantly wiped her mouth and calmly asked,

"What? Is it difficult?"

"No! Not difficult at all! Kaito, please teach me this dish! I'll definitely learn it properly from you!"

Kaito had no time to bother with Minato. While serving dishes to Kaguya, he gently said,

"Eat slowly. If you like it, I'll make more anytime."

Kaguya nodded hard. This was her first time experiencing someone caring for her like this—especially while she was pregnant.

Hamura and Hagoromo had not been born through natural childbirth, so the situation back then was completely different.

One thing was certain—the child about to be born definitely wouldn't become a "dutiful son."

As they ate, Hoshina suddenly scooted to Kaito's side and sat down, calling out crisply, "Kaito-san."

Kaito reached out and patted Hoshina's little head, smiling.

"Hello, little Hoshina."

Hoshina opened her arms and asked,

"Kaito-san, can you hold me?"

"Of course!"

Kaito lifted Hoshina up and let her sit on his arm. Hoshina giggled happily.

Naruto was stunned. He considered himself a doting brother, but every time he tried to hold Hoshina, he'd get slapped. Hoshina always complained that his whisker marks were ugly.

This really made him want to cry. Even Kurama had protested before—after all, in his opinion, whiskers were cool!

By the way, with Minato and Kushina's help, Naruto's relationship with Kurama had progressed quickly. Kurama wasn't as stingy now and would even lend Naruto some chakra to fight Sasuke from time to time.

Kushina giggled beside them.

"Come to think of it, when Hoshina was just born, the first person she wanted was Kaito. Feels like it happened just yesterday."

Kaguya looked at Hoshina in Kaito's arms, her heart filled with longing for the child growing inside her.

Kaito could see Kaguya's thoughts. He held her hand and softly said,

"It's almost time. I'll stay with you these days."

Kaguya leaned her head against the other side of Kaito's chest, softly humming in response.

Seeing this, Obito sneaked a glance at Rin beside him—only to be caught immediately. Rin put her hand on his forehead and asked with concern,

"Obito, why is your face so red? Are you feeling unwell?"

Feeling the warmth of Rin's hand, Obito felt like he was melting. He collapsed weakly onto the floor and stammered,

"N-no, I'm fine… Rin, you're so nice…"

That instantly made Rin blush. She quickly pulled her hand back and lowered her head.

"Stop it… everyone's here… what nonsense are you saying!"

Kakashi coughed twice. He had already removed his trademark mask, and just looking at his expression gave off extreme awkwardness.

He picked up a slice of meat, chewed twice, and smacked his lips in evaluation.

"Still too tender. Needs more cooking."

Obito knew Kakashi too well. He instantly recognized the sarcasm. Furious, he shot upright and retorted,

"Yeah? Still not as exciting as more… mental stimulation. That stuff is much more intense. Isn't that right, Kakashi?"

"Uh… I don't know what you're talking about. Rin, I think Obito is sick. Please deal with him."

Obito suddenly activated his Sharingan and glared at Kakashi. His genjutsu proficiency was quite good—Kakashi, caught off guard, froze instantly.

Swoosh!

While Kakashi was dazed, Obito's hand blurred into afterimages, searching his body. Moments later, he pulled out an Icha Icha Paradise.

The book looked old and well-used—clearly read many times.

Kakashi finally snapped back to reality. The moment he saw the book in Obito's hand, he shivered and reached for it. Obito swiftly tossed it into Rin's hands.

Rin curiously flipped it open, scanned a few pages, and her face turned red at visible speed.

Snap!

She shut the book hard, glared at Kakashi, and scolded,

"Kakashi! I always thought you were serious! I can't believe you actually read stuff like this!"

Seeing Rin's reaction, Kushina took the book. She knew Jiraiya was the author, but had never read it herself.

Minato hurried to stop her.

"Better not read it. That book…"

But too late—Kushina ignored him and focused intently on reading.

For Kakashi, every second she read felt like torture. He looked to Minato for help, but Minato subtly spread his hands—there was nothing he could do.

Kushina wasn't a shy little girl like Rin. She finished it with an incredibly calm expression, sighed softly, and tossed the book at Minato with a look of disdain.

"That's it?"

Minato casually stuffed the book into his pocket and agreed,

"Yeah, nothing special. But Kakashi is still in Anbu. Carrying this kind of book around affects Anbu's image. I'll keep it for him for now."

Kushina rolled her eyes and turned to chat with Kaguya. On the topic of children, the two had plenty to discuss.

Kakashi watched helplessly as Minato took the book. His heart bled—after all, that Icha Icha Paradise was a rare illustrated collector's edition, long sold out.

Obito felt extremely satisfied inside, but kept a pained expression and told Rin,

"Rin, I'm partly responsible for Kakashi turning out like this. I'll supervise him properly in the future!"

Kakashi watched Obito acting all smug and muttered under his breath,

"Damn Uchiha…"

"Hm?"

Madara and the others put down their chopsticks and turned to stare at Kakashi. Even Kaito looked at him with an amused expression.

Well now—Kakashi's single sentence had practically poked the entire Uchiha nest. He forced out a few awkward laughs, pulled up his mask quickly, and fell completely silent.