Hokage: Immortal, I Open Unlimited Eight Gates

Although she was quite uncomfortable with the fact that there were bugs on her body, Kushina couldn't find them after searching for a long time. She had no choice but to wait until she saw Aburame Shibi.

"Fine, but I'm going to ask Shibi later why he put bugs on me. He could have just put them on you, Mikoto, right?"

"Kushina!"

Uchiha Mikoto was clearly dissatisfied. "What do you mean by just putting bugs on me? I may not be afraid of them, but that doesn't mean I like them."

Realizing her mistake, Kushina quickly apologized, her tone genuinely remorseful. "Sorry, sorry, I was just talking nonsense, Mikoto. You know I'm terrified of bugs."

"Fine, but don't say things like that again," Mikoto replied, her frown easing.

"I promise! I won't do it again."

Seeing that Kushina was sincerely apologizing, Mikoto let go of her annoyance.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Chiba was staring at the black bear's paws.

When he first saw the black bear, an idea came to his mind: he wanted to try cooking and tasting bear paws, which were a delicacy praised by gourmets in his past life. As a chef in his previous life, his curiosity about such things was greater than average. However, bear paws had been illegal and far beyond his financial reach back then, leaving him to watch videos online to satisfy his craving.

"Hey, kid, why are you staring at that bear?"

Tsunade, noticing Chiba's intense focus, found it puzzling. Why wasn't this brat admiring her, but instead interested in a bear? Was her charm really inferior to that of a dead bear?

"I'm looking at the bear paws, Tsunade-sama," Chiba replied. "Did you know they're considered a delicacy? Properly cooked, they make an incredibly delicious dish."

Tsunade's interest was piqued. As someone who loved drinking and often paired it with good food, she grew curious. "You're saying bear paws are delicious? Can you cook them?"

Chiba nodded. "I can, but not today. I don't have the right tools or seasonings with me."

Although he had never made bear paws himself, he had watched enough videos in his past life to be confident in his ability to cook them.

Tsunade thought for a moment before speaking. "Alright, kid. You can take this bear paw with you, but you have to let me taste it when you're done. Deal?"

Considering that she had killed the black bear, Tsunade believed she had every right to make this demand.

Chiba agreed after a brief hesitation. "Deal. How about tomorrow? Tomorrow happens to be Sunday. Are you free?"

"Of course," Tsunade replied with a smirk. "I have time whenever I want."

"Alright. Should I deliver it to you, or would you prefer to come to my house?"

Tsunade originally wanted to go to Chiba's house, but she realized that appearing in the Uchiha clan might cause unnecessary trouble.

"I'll meet you at the hospital instead," she decided.

"Understood. I'll deliver it to you at noon tomorrow," Chiba said.

Satisfied, Tsunade nodded.

"Chiba! Kushina! Mikoto! Are you okay?"

Just as the conversation wrapped up, the voice of Nawaki came from the woods behind them.

Hearing him, Kushina immediately shouted back, "Nawaki! We're over here!"

Without hesitation, she rushed towards the sound. Her discomfort with the bugs on her body had reached its peak, and she was eager to have Aburame Shibi remove them.

"Shibi, hurry up and take your bugs back!" Kushina exclaimed the moment she found them.

Shibi, slightly disheartened by her dislike of his insects, nodded quietly. He channeled his chakra, and everyone watched as a tiny, ant-sized insect crawled out of Kushina's hair. It spread its wings and flew back to Shibi.

"Finally!" Kushina sighed in relief, her discomfort vanishing instantly.

"Kushina, where's Chiba? Why don't we see him and Mikoto?" Nawaki asked curiously, concerned they might have been injured.

Shikaku and the others also turned to Kushina.

"Yeah, where are Chiba and Mikoto?"

"They're back there with Tsunade-sama. I'll take you to them," Kushina replied, leading the group back toward the others.

After Kushina left, Chiba realized a serious issue—how was he going to remove the bear paws?

The only knife in his scroll was a ordinary kitchen knife, and the bear's legs were nearly thirty centimeters thick.

He thought briefly about using Wind Release but remembered he hadn't learned it. Frustrated, he turned to Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama, do you know any Wind Release ninjutsu?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?"

"I can't cut the bear paws with my tools, so I thought maybe you could use a cutting Wind Release jutsu like 'Vacuum Sphere' to help."

Tsunade found it amusing that this kid was already asking for her help despite barely knowing her. Still, she thought of the promised meal and nodded.

"Alright, I'll help you out."

She quickly formed hand seals, opened her mouth slightly, and with a sharp whistle of air, the bear's paws were cleanly severed.

Chiba smiled, relieved. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama! Don't worry, I'll deliver the bear paws to you on time tomorrow."

He picked up the severed paws, wrapped them in leaves, and sealed them into his scroll.

Just then, Kushina arrived with Nawaki and the others.

"Tsunade-sama!"

The group greeted Tsunade respectfully, mindful of her many titles and prestige.

"Big sister, what are you doing here?" Nawaki asked, pretending not to know.