Naruto: Thrown Into the Leaf

Chapter 103: Chapter 102: Reputation Rice and Meat

"I am your mother. You listen to me."

— Molly Weasley, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

--

"...This is humiliating."

"Ara. You’ll live," Mikoto replied calmly.

"Maybe. But socially, I’m not so sure." (￣_￣;)

They had to stop for ingredients. The market was lively as usual. Vendors shouted. Children ran between stalls. The smell of grilled fish and spices filled the air.

Which turned into a mistake.

Mikoto handed Otis one basket. Then the number increased to two.

Then four...

Then another.

"You don’t need that much food."

"I have teenagers in my house."

"...Fair point."

Then she stopped again.

And stared at him critically.

"...You also need clothes."

Otis froze.

"But I have clothes, Mikoto-san."

Mikoto stopped and turned to him, inspecting him from head to toe.

"Oh, Otis, it seems you have no sense of clothing. I have never seen someone who owns only old gray pants, and I don’t even know what their original color was. And a wolf skin over your upper body does not count as proper attire."

Otis had a reply on the tip of his tongue. But since there were no Vikings in this world, perhaps the people here simply saw his style as primitive.

Then Mikoto pulled him inside the tailor’s shop before he could argue.

Inside, the tailor looked small. He barely reached Otis’s elbow.

Otis thought the moment he saw him

Me and this four-foot tailor are complete opposites in every way... genetically, physically, and even in soul.

The tailor looked up.

Then up.

Then further up... And then he bowed to Mikoto as he apologized.

"Ma’am... I don’t have a category for that."

Otis muttered, "See? I warned you."

Mikoto ignored him.

"Take his measurements. And when it’s ready, send it to his home."

At that, the tailor called for a ladder to take his measurements... he climbed up and down like a man inspecting a building,

Mikoto turned away, shoulders shaking as she struggled to maintain her composure. (≧▽≦)

...

Then they went for more shopping.

And as fate would have it, two familiar figures walked down the street from the Academy.

"Otis?"

Sayuri spotted them first.

He turned.

Sayuri stood there, arms crossed, eyebrow raised.

Hinata stood beside her, clutching her academy books.

Sayuri looked at the baskets. Then at Mikoto. Then at Otis.

"Good evening," Hinata said to Mikoto. Her voice was more confident now because of the influence Otis and Sayuri had in her life.

"...Mother, are you guys shopping?" Sayuri asked. Her eyes were practically shining.

When Otis saw that expression, he immediately knew.

Ah. Hell naw.

"Let me join," Sayuri said, not even waiting for Mikoto to answer.

And then the torture started.

Sayuri dragged Hinata into the shopping spree with her.

Otis carried the baskets.

Alll of them.

The sun dipped lower, painting the street in orange.

After they were done, Mikoto smiled warmly.

"Dinner at our place," she said, looking at Hinata.

Hinata hesitated. "I don’t want to intrude."

But her eyes were shining with the kind of interest that clearly said, ’I want to go’.

In Hinata’s mind, she truly wanted to go since it meant she would get to spend more time with him. But how could she say that out loud? So she waited for them to invite her properly.

Mikoto looked at her and smirked, easily reading her obvious thoughts.

"You’re not intruding, dear," Mikoto said gently.

She nodded. "...Then I’ll come." It almost sounded as if she were agreeing under pressure from Mikoto.

Sayuri smirked. "Of course you will."

...

Mikoto moved around the kitchen. Sayuri helped naturally. Hinata tried to assist but was gently redirected to sit.

Otis sat where he was told.

The table filled quickly.

Rice.

Fish.

Vegetables.

Soup. And meat. Lots of meat.

Otis stared.

"...This is excessive."

They began eating. For the first few minutes, Otis tried to maintain composure since he was a guest. Then, he stopped pretending after the third serving.

It had been many days since he had eaten a home-cooked meal. In this world, there were only a few things that could make him happy. And Food was one of them.

"So," Sayuri said casually, "I hear you killed a Daimyo."

Hinata’s ears perked up.

Otis chewed calmly. "Rumors exaggerate."

Mikoto shot Sayuri a look. "We do not discuss politics during dinner."

Sayuri smirked. "Fine. Then let’s discuss why Mother dragged you through the market like a misbehaving child."

Otis looked mildly offended. "I was walking voluntarily."

"SAYURI," Mikoto said sharply.

"Okay, okay. I won’t talk," Sayuri said, raising both hands in surrender. (￣▽￣;) t(-_-t)

The evening settled into that warm, lazy calm...

The food had disappeared faster than it took to place it on the table.

Otis leaned back slightly, arms crossed, looking far too comfortable for someone who had been dragged to dinner against his will.

Sayuri was clearing plates with Hinata, who insisted on helping despite Mikoto telling her twice to sit down.

Then the door slid open.

And two figures stepped inside.

Shisui first.

And behind him, a smaller figure... Sasuke.

Both of them glanced inside. When they did not see Mikoto sitting at the table between Otis and the others, they decided to sneak in quietly.

"Ahem."

The sound came from behind them.

Both of them froze.

Slowly... very slowly... they turned around. And immediately regretted it.

"...!"

"...!"

(Pic)

Mikoto stood there, behind them, her Sharingan active. ࿋❟❛❟⚛︎👁️

The air shifted.

"How many times," she began calmly, which was always worse than shouting, "have I told you to come home on time for dinner?"

Shisui smiled sheepishly. "Aunt Mikoto, I can explain."

"Mother..." Sasuke muttered, but he could not complete the sentence.

Her hands moved toward them.

Shisui and Sasuke did not even try to dodge. They had already accepted their fate.

Mikoto grabbed both their ears at the same time with frightening precision.

"Explain while walking," she said sweetly, dragging them toward the table.

"Aunt Mikoto, ow, ow, sorry, sorry," Shisui said quickly, bending with the pull. "I had a meeting."

"You had ’a meeting’ yesterday too."

"It was important."

She tugged slightly harder before finally releasing him.

Ever since he became the leader of Root, he had been growing busier and busier.

--

Get advanced Chapters by joining my P@treon!

/pacifist01

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!