The second song ended, and Itachi Uchiha's side immediately kicked back into high gear. Doing what, exactly?

Swapping out the ad boards, of course.

Some of those wealthy sponsors had only paid for a single song's worth of time, and East Konoha Corporation was not about to let anyone freeload even one extra second.

So Hirofumi Ito stepped out once again to guest as emcee.

"To every audience member here today!

Let us send our most heartfelt congratulations to Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi, this wonderful couple!

Speaking of couples... I believe many of you already know that our Hidden Leaf Village has its very own model married couple!

I'm sure most of you already know their names!

That would be the Fourth Hokage and his beloved wife — minato namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!

Just now, Kushina Uzumaki took the lead vocals and brought us the Hidden Leaf Village anthem, Blue Bird!

And now, the Fourth Hokage and his wife will perform a brand-new song for the children of our Hidden Leaf Village!

The name of this song is 'Farewell Blooms into Flowers'!"

Another wave of deafening cheers tore through the venue. Kushina Uzumaki had already racked up a massive fanbase after singing Blue Bird, and on top of that, minato namikaze was simply, objectively handsome.

Even knowing minato namikaze was already married, more than a few female fans announced they were perfectly willing to be a second wife.

minato namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki each took a microphone and walked to center stage.

"Hello, everyone! I'm minato namikaze, everyone's big brother! This song is for all the children of our Hidden Leaf Village. We hope you love it!"

The instrumental kicked in the moment minato namikaze finished speaking.

Then came that rich, magnetic voice.

"Riding that cloud of parting, drifting far from home~~"

Kushina Uzumaki picked up the second line.

"Floating off to a horizon no one knows~~"

And then the two of them went back and forth, trading lines.

"Carrying the words mama used to say~~"

"A child's life isn't really all that hard~~"

"Oh~~ gently wipe those tears away~~"

"..."

The song built toward its climax, and the energy in the venue surged wild.

"When farewell blooms into flowers~~

New branches stretch and reach the sky~~

Like winter fading into spring~~

Waiting for the snow inside your heart to melt~~

..."

Down in the crowd, Naruto Uzumaki watched with tears welling in his eyes, support sign clutched in hand. This time, though, Naruto did not dare jump. The memory of whatever unidentified flying object had previously come crashing down onto his head was still very fresh.

Right at that moment, Kakuzu appeared at Hirofumi Ito's side.

"Boss!"

"What is it, my dear General Manager..."

Kakuzu looked extremely worked up.

"Boss! We just landed a big ad deal!"

"Isn't that a good thing? Why come to me? You can handle this yourself!"

Hirofumi Ito was genuinely confused.

"Boss, here's the thing. This client isn't a merchant from the Land of Fire — it's the Akimichi clan, right here in the Hidden Leaf Village. They want us to run an ad for their barbecue restaurant. And they're hoping that when you go back on stage to emcee, you could do a live read...

The Akimichi clan put up serious money this time. A full ten million ryo. And they don't have any extra demands at all, they just want you to casually drop a few words for Yakiniku Q while you're up there!"

Hirofumi Ito blinked. Just a few lines of ad copy, and the Akimichi clan was willing to hand over ten million?

Ten million was no small number. And they had zero other conditions. They were literally just asking for two or three sentences.

This was free money. There was no other way to describe it.

Kakuzu saw that Hirofumi Ito wasn't responding and immediately started to panic.

"Boss! Say something! Why aren't you saying anything?! That's ten million ryo!

This is practically no different from someone walking up and handing us cash!"

Hirofumi Ito looked at Kakuzu's desperately frantic expression and smiled.

"See, you're panicking again...

Relax. I'll handle it. Once the Fourth Hokage and his wife finish their song, I'll go up to emcee and slip in the live read while I'm at it. Don't worry, I'll make sure it lands."

Kakuzu let out a long breath.

"Thank goodness. I already collected the money just now, if you hadn't agreed, Boss, I, Kakuzu, would have charged that stage myself and read the advertisement with my dying breath!"

"Alright, alright... look how wound up you are."

A few more words with Kakuzu, and the song on stage drew to its close. minato namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki bowed and stepped off.

Hirofumi Ito walked up onto the stage, smile beaming. He needed to do this advertisement right. The client had paid ten million ryo, and he was not about to let them feel like that money went to waste.

"To every audience member here today, was the song the Fourth Hokage and his wife performed wonderful?!"

"Wonderful!"

"Absolutely incredible!"

"The Fourth Hokage is so handsome!"

"That warm, sunny smile — I literally cannot handle it!"

"Lady Kushina is so beautiful too!"

"Fourth Hokage! I know you're already married! But would you consider doing it one more time?"

"Lady Kushina... I know you're already married... but..."

"Excuse me?! Get lost! Lady Kushina is the Fourth Hokage's woman! You think you have any right to be eyeing her?"

"Sisters! Beat this shameless man to death!"

On stage, Hirofumi Ito held the microphone and spoke with an easy, unhurried smile.

"Everyone probably knows that the Fourth Hokage and his wife are our Hidden Leaf Village's model couple, but I'd wager most of you don't actually know the story of how they met.

I'm sure you're all very curious.

So today, as your Fifth Hokage, let me give you a brief account.

Our Hidden Leaf Village has a very famous barbecue restaurant called Yakiniku Q...

It was a pleasant afternoon. At the time, the Fourth Hokage minato namikaze was still just an ordinary ninja. That day, after the two of them finished a mission together, minato namikaze wanted to take Kushina Uzumaki out for a meal.

The two of them came to Yakiniku Q.

The food was so good that before either of them knew it, they were completely lost in the moment, and from that very day, Kushina Uzumaki fell in love with the person who had treated them to that barbecue.

You could say Yakiniku Q witnessed the birth of the Fourth Hokage couple's love story.

And the food really is that good.

Not only can you find your love there and meet the one meant for you, the Akimichi clan's barbecue carries one more mysterious benefit.

Eat at Yakiniku Q regularly, and your body will grow stronger. Your partner will love you even more.

And right here in our Hidden Leaf Village, we have living proof.

Allow me to invite four ninja up to the stage, four ninja who eat at Yakiniku Q on a regular basis. Take a good look at their muscles and judge for yourselves.

Please welcome Might Duy, Might Guy, Zabuza Momochi, and Kisame Hoshigaki, here to perform a song just for you!

'You Who Are Loved at 105 Degrees'!"

➤ Next: Kumogakure Is Trying to Kidnap Women from the Hidden Leaf Village Again?!

Chapter 236 - Kumogakure Is Trying to Kidnap Women from the Hidden Leaf Village Again?!

Hirofumi Ito had barely finished speaking when Might Duy, Might Guy, Zabuza Momochi, and Kisame Hoshigaki strode onto the stage, bare-chested, impressively muscular, and wearing the greasiest smiles imaginable.

Once up there, the four of them struck bodybuilder poses one after another, wildly flexing for the tens of thousands of audience members packed into the venue.

The backing track kicked in. The four of them launched into their oily singing and dancing.

"Super Idol's smile~~

Can't match how sweet you are~~

The midday sun in August~~

Can't match how bright you shine~~

You who loves 105 degrees~~

Drops of pure distilled water~~

..."

After every line, all four of them went straight back to flexing, those greasy grins never leaving their faces. It worked. More than a few wealthy women in the audience couldn't look away.

Especially the ones with money to burn, who had front-row VIP seats. The moment those physiques came into full view, the drool practically ran freely. Silver banknotes rained onto the stage in a frenzy.

"Oh~~ my goodness~~ that Might Guy is absolutely built!"

"Personally, I think that 'Kisame' would be far more impressive in that department... the name alone says it all!"

"I think Zabuza is exactly my type..."

"What do any of you know! Might Duy is the one with real flavor! Especially that little mustache! Oh my goodness! I am absolutely in love with him!"

"..."

The tens of thousands in attendance split neatly down the middle. Plenty of the men looked thoroughly displeased, particularly the older ones. Plenty of the women, on the other hand, found the whole spectacle completely riveting, particularly the older wealthy ones, who looked ready to take all four of them home on the spot.

Over at the VIP section, minato namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had just settled back into their seats when Naruto Uzumaki sidled over, curiosity written all over his face.

"Clueless old man, Mom — did you two really meet at the Akimichi clan's barbecue restaurant? I can't believe Hirofumi knew that! Even I didn't know that..."

minato namikaze scratched the back of his head, mildly puzzled. Truth be told, the two of them weren't entirely sure why Hirofumi Ito had brought that up just now either.

Kushina Uzumaki smiled, a touch of shyness in it.

"That's not quite how it happened, Naruto. Actually, your father and I had already met back at the Ninja Academy... and that time, your father was very brave and rescued me. I fell in love with him from that moment on..."

Every single member of the Konoha 11 nearby snapped around at once, eyes wide with gossip.

Even Naruto Uzumaki leaned in, desperate to hear how his parents had actually met and fallen for each other.

Kushina Uzumaki's face went a shade redder.

"In my moment of danger, your father appeared. He held me tightly in his arms. I remember the moon was very full that night...

We leaped high into the air together under the moonlight... and after that night, I stopped hating my red hair. Because Minato said my hair was beautiful..."

Kushina Uzumaki spoke and gripped minato namikaze's hand tightly at the same time.

minato namikaze scratched his head, a little embarrassed. Saying all this in front of a bunch of kids was admittedly awkward.

Naruto Uzumaki was too dense to catch it, but Sasuke Uchiha, standing right beside him, furrowed his brow slightly.

"Aunt Kushina, if I remember right, you were the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki back then. And you were inside the village. What kind of danger could you possibly have run into?!"

The question landed, and the Konoha 11 caught up one by one. Naruto Uzumaki's brow furrowed tight.

minato namikaze had no choice but to explain the whole thing to the group.

The Land of Lightning had coveted the Hidden Leaf Village's Nine-Tails and the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline. They had tried to abduct Kushina Uzumaki.

What would have happened to Kushina Uzumaki if the Land of Lightning had taken her, that went without saying.

Naruto Uzumaki heard it and instinctively looked over at Hinata Hyūga. The color drained from his face.

"Those bastards from the Land of Lightning! They tried to kidnap my mom back then! And then they tried to kidnap my wife! Absolutely unforgivable!"

Naruto Uzumaki had already learned that Hinata Hyūga would be his wife in the future, that Hinata would even bear two children for him, so sometimes the filter just switched off and the word came out: wife.

Hinata Hyūga heard it.

Hinata Hyūga passed out.

The veins around Neji Hyūga's Byakugan bulged instantly.

"The Land of Lightning! Kumogakure!"

Sasuke Uchiha looked at the furious Naruto Uzumaki and reached over, resting a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto. The Hidden Leaf Village today is not the Hidden Leaf Village of the past. You, me, Hirofumi — none of us are going to forget any of this. When we get the time, we can take a little trip to the Land of Lightning and pay Kumogakure a visit."

While everyone was still deep in that conversation, the head of the security team, Hidan, and Itachi Uchiha, who had just wrapped up elsewhere, were keeping their eyes fixed on a cluster of ninja moving furtively through the crowd.

Hidan stood in the shadows with a massive scythe across one shoulder. A blood-red Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan surfaced in Itachi Uchiha's eyes.

"One against seven... these little mice finally couldn't hold themselves back. I was starting to think they wouldn't make a move today."

"Mice are ultimately still mice. Right now is when the Hidden Leaf Village's guard is at its most relaxed — how could they possibly resist?"

"Have their identities been confirmed?"

"The Land of Lightning... Kumogakure."

"Tch." Hidan let out a dismissive click of the tongue upon hearing it.

Itachi Uchiha continued.

"The Hidden Leaf Village went through two so-called upheavals recently, the Third Hokage's death and resurrection, and the commotion surrounding my return to the village. These people used this concert as cover to slip inside. A pack of gutter rats who think they've buried themselves deep enough.

And these reckless fools actually dared to set their sights on those individuals.

They're looking for death."

➤ Next: The Woman Targeted by Kumogakure's Ninja