Chapter 114: Rewards

They did not stop at a single round.

Long after the quest notification had faded, Kael kept Sumire in his bed, turning her, lifting her, burying himself inside her again and again until the clock on the wall crept past midnight. Each time she came she seemed more open, more responsive, the initial stiffness of her first time melting into something fluid and eager. He found himself almost impressed. A few hours earlier she had been tight and uncertain; now she moved with him, moaned without holding back, and took everything he gave her.

When he finally let her rest she lay on her side, breathing hard, purple braids tangled across the pillow. After a while she pushed herself up on shaky arms and began gathering her clothes. Her legs trembled when she stood. The marks on her ass and thighs were still vivid in the low light.

"I have to go back," she whispered. "If Sarada wakes and I’m not in our room she’ll ask questions."

Kael watched her dress in silence. When she was covered he walked her to the door and opened it quietly. The hallway was empty. Sumire hesitated, glanced once at his face, then slipped next door without another word.

He closed the door and finally checked the reward window that had been waiting.

[Reward: Water Dragon Bullet, Water Prison Technique]

[Water Dragon Bullet: Shapes water into a massive, powerful dragon that slams into the target.]

[Water Prison Technique: Traps an opponent inside a dense, inescapable sphere of heavy water.]

Kael read the descriptions twice. Combat techniques. Real fighting tools. Until now most of the system’s gifts had leaned toward influence, pleasure, or subtle control—skills that made the endless string of conquests easier. These were different. These were the kinds of jutsu that could matter when Kaguya eventually arrived, or when any other threat decided to test him. He closed the window with a small, satisfied breath. The path was shifting. He was getting stronger in ways that went beyond the bedroom.

The dinner Sumire had brought earlier sat cold on the table. He ate it anyway, then dropped onto the mattress that still smelled of her and fell asleep almost at once.

He woke sometime before dawn to the familiar soft weight of another body against his side. Eida again—completely naked, one arm draped over his waist, face peaceful. Kael stared at the ceiling for a long moment and decided he really needed a better lock. Then he decided he was too tired to care. He pressed a slow kiss to her cheek, shifted lower, and rested his head against the soft warmth of her breasts. She made a small sound in her sleep but did not wake. Weird or not, she clearly meant him no harm. The steady beat of her heart under his ear and the quiet of the pre-dawn apartment pulled him under again.

When he next opened his eyes the sun was high and Eida’s side of the bed was cold. She had left hours ago without a word, the same way she had arrived. Kael sat up, rubbed his face, and remembered the three-day window on Mikoto’s quest. Two days left if he wanted the Wind Style Rasengan.

He dressed, left the apartment, and walked straight to the Hokage tower. Tsunade received him in her office with the usual stack of paperwork and a sharp, assessing look.

"Report," she said.

"The four of them are settling in. No trouble so far. Sarada, Himawari, and Sumire are ready for formal evaluation whenever you want it. Eida stays mostly to herself, but she hasn’t caused problems. I’ll keep watching."

Tsunade nodded once. "Good enough for now. Don’t let them out of your sight for long."

He left the tower and headed home. Lunch with Minato and Kushina was strangely ordinary. Kushina set a bowl in front of him, scolded him lightly for staying out late, and asked whether he was eating enough vegetables—exactly the same motherly routine she had always used, as if the nights he had spent inside her belonged to some other version of their lives. Kael answered the way Naruto would have, loud and easy, and let the domestic normalcy settle over the quieter complications.

Afterward he took the road that led toward the Uchiha compound. Luck, or the system’s quiet arrangement of pieces, put Mikoto directly in his path. She was walking home with two heavy bags of vegetables and groceries, the straps cutting into her fingers. The summer dress she wore moved with every step, and the afternoon light caught the mature curves of her figure in a way that made the quest timer feel suddenly more urgent.

Kael lengthened his stride until he drew level with her.

"Aunt Mikoto. Those look heavy. Let me take them."

She glanced up, surprised, then smiled the warm, familiar smile she reserved for the boy she had watched grow up. "Naruto. It’s all right, I can manage."

"Come on. It’s on my way."

She hesitated only a second longer before handing over the bags with a soft laugh. "You’re as stubborn as ever. Thank you."

They walked side by side toward the Uchiha compound. Conversation came easily—questions about how Sasuke was training, whether Itachi had written lately, small village gossip that required no careful answers. Mikoto spoke with the easy affection of an aunt who had known him since he was loud and orange and constantly in trouble. Kael matched her tone, keeping the familiar Naruto cadence while his attention stayed half on the soft sway of her hips and the way the bags had left faint red lines across her palms.

At the gate of her house she reached to take the groceries back. The sudden return of the weight made her lean forward off-balance. Kael moved without thinking, one arm catching her around the waist so she wouldn’t fall. For a brief moment her body pressed fully against his—soft breasts, the curve of her stomach, the warmth of a woman who had borne two children and still carried herself like she was in her prime. Mikoto’s free hand landed on his abdomen for balance and stayed there a second too long, fingers spreading across the hard lines of muscle under his shirt.

Her eyes widened slightly. "Wow, Naruto... you’ve grown up."

The realization of where her hand rested hit her a heartbeat later. She pulled back quickly, color rising in her cheeks, and adjusted the bags in her arms as if the contact had never happened.

Kael only smiled, the same easy grin the body he wore had always used. "See you later, Aunt Mikoto."

He turned and walked away before she could answer, leaving her standing at the gate with the groceries and the lingering feel of his body against hers.

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Give me power!!!