Shun slowly descended from the sky with his three consorts.
"Father! Mother!"
Shiryu dropped the log he was holding with a "thud" and ran over.
Seishin jumped from the watchtower, and Hamamaru quickly followed.
The three 12-year-old boys stood together, bowing respectfully. "Father! Mother!"
Looking at his three energetic sons, Shun's eyes were full of smiles. "Seeing how spirited you all are, the mission must not have been too tough?"
"It wasn't tough, just too boring."
Shiryu straightened up, shrugged his shoulders and pouted. He didn't forget to kick Seishin next to him.
"It was our first time on an overseas mission, and we wanted to show off, but who did we even encounter? A few days ago, dozens of rogue ninjas came, and I knocked them out with one punch each. I didn't even use Chakra Enhanced Strength, it was so uninteresting."
Seishin rubbed his kicked leg and complained, his black eyes full of indignation, "Exactly. I just started fighting with a few rogue ninjas, and I was about to sneak around behind them, but Hamamaru-nii used Ice Release and froze them all. It ended the fight before I even had fun."
"Who told you to be slow?" Hamamaru retorted softly.
He secretly glanced at Chie, then quickly added, "We had planned to finish work today and go to the back mountain to fight bandits. I heard there are hundreds of them there, so we could definitely have a good fight."
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked aggrievedly at Shisui up high and said, "But Shisui-sensei said we had to complete the refugee sheltering mission first, otherwise we wouldn't be allowed to go."
The three boys spoke one after another, like three little beasts whose activity range had been restricted, full of helplessness.
Shisui, hearing this from above, smiled helplessly, which was an "acknowledgment" of the children's complaints.
He walked to Shun's side and bowed respectfully. "Shun-sama, the three young masters are too energetic, and I was worried they might encounter danger in the back mountain. There are many bandits there, and quite a few traps. Also, the camp still needs people to guard it, and the safety of the refugees cannot be taken lightly."
"Shisui, don't worry, I understand your concerns."
Shun looked at his three sons and waved them over.
"Wanting to prove yourselves is a good thing, but have you ever considered that safely delivering refugees to a safe zone and allowing them to live is a greater merit than defeating hundreds of bandits?"
He knew that young people were full of energy, but the refugee mission could not tolerate any carelessness.
Tsunade could no longer hold back and quickly walked to Shiryu, reaching out to ruffle his hair, making his short black hair messy.
"You brat, still complaining that the enemies are weak? If you really encounter a strong one, you'll be crying."
Though she spoke with disdain, she still carefully checked his ninja uniform.
"Not hurt, are you? Don't be too reckless next time. Even if the enemy is weak, you still need to be careful."
Shiryu grimaced from the ruffling but still smiled and nodded. "Understood, mom, I'll definitely be careful next time, but I really want to fight bandits."
Chie walked to Hamamaru, took out a thick cotton robe from a storage scroll, and gently draped it over him.
"The nights in the Land of Fire are cold. Don't just think about playing around. If you catch a cold, how will you complete your mission?"
Hamamaru took the cotton robe, his ears slightly red, and he softly argued, "I wasn't playing around, it's just... I just thought the ice sculptures looked nice and wanted to make some for the children to play with."
Chie didn't listen, reaching out to tie his belt, her eyes gentle. "Be good. It's not too late to play with Ice Release after the mission is complete."
Ami quickly walked to Seishin, gently cupped his face, and carefully looked into his eyes. His black eyes were clear, he had indeed not yet awakened his Sharingan.
Ami's tone was gentle as she comforted him, "It's okay if you haven't awakened it yet. The Sharingan is about opportunity. When you truly want to protect something, it will naturally awaken."
Seishin looked at his mother, a bit embarrassed, and scratched his head. "Mom, I just feel that if I had the Sharingan, I could help out more and defeat the bandits sooner."
Ami smiled, took out a small bottle of ointment and said, "Silly child, what your father values most has never been whether you have the Sharingan, but whether you put your heart into what you do. Take this, apply it to your hands after training. Don't always grab the railings, you'll chafe your skin."
Shun stood aside, watching the warm interaction between his consorts and children, listening to the children's complaints of "enemies being too weak, wanting to fight bandits," and a gentle light filled his eyes.
Shisui walked over and bowed. "Shun-sama, and the three consorts. Although the three young masters are lively, they are never sloppy in performing their missions."
"Shiryu used his strength to help refugees set up tents, doubling the efficiency. Seishin, though not having awakened his Sharingan, used his keen observation skills to detect two ninja sneak attacks in advance. Hamamaru's Ice Release not only reinforced defenses but also helped freeze excess drinking water for the refugees, preventing it from spoiling."
Tsunade immediately showed a proud smile upon hearing Shisui's praise.
She patted Shiryu's shoulder and said, "Not bad, you didn't disgrace me. But the bandit fighting will have to wait until the mission is over, understand?"
Shiryu nodded eagerly, his eyes brightening. His mother's words were tantamount to "agreeing" to fight bandits later.
The distant fires were still burning, but the camp gained a few more touches of warmth from this brief family reunion.
The refugees, watching the three lively young boys and the gentle consorts, also smiled.
Even the royal children were working hard for them and were so full of vitality, which gave them more confidence to survive.
As the sun set, Shun knew it was time to return.
Shiryu, Seishin, and Hamamaru saw them off by the spatial gate.
Shiryu held onto Tsunade's sleeve, unwilling to let go. "Mom, once the mission is complete, we must go fight bandits."
Seishin promised Ami, "Mom, don't worry, I will definitely complete the mission well and strive to awaken my Sharingan soon."
Hamamaru looked at Chie and said softly, "Mom, I will take good care of myself and help Shisui-sensei too."
As the spatial gate slowly closed, Tsunade leaned on Shun's shoulder and couldn't help but laugh. "That brat, his head is full of fighting bandits, just like me when I was little."
Chie nodded gently. "Although Hamamaru likes to cause a fuss, he is very sensible. I'm relieved."
Ami also smiled. "Seishin isn't discouraged about not awakening his Sharingan. Instead, he's even more motivated, which is very good."
Shun gently embraced his three consorts, his gaze fixed on the night view of the Land of Water outside the window.
"The war in the Land of Fire will end soon. Once the children complete their mission, not only can they 'act heroically' by fighting bandits, but our family can also be reunited."