Rain Village couldn't even spare two cents, but Sand? Sand needed to bleed.
Of course, that would have to wait until they defeated Sand in battle first.
Meanwhile, after finishing their meal, Kushina waved goodbye to everyone with a smile. "I'm heading to the Hokage's office!"
"Hey, what did you and Kushina talk about?" Minato and Nawaki asked, crowding around Xin as soon as the others had left. They were sticking to him like bodyguards, one on each side.
"Nothing much," Xin shrugged, smiling as he answered. "Just gave her some advice about managing her clan. She can't keep supporting them all on her own forever. Even though Kushina has the resources, that kind of dependency will cause problems down the line."
"Oh, by the way, I'm thinking of hitting up the hot springs later. You guys in?"
"Definitely!" Minato and Nawaki's eyes lit up.
After everything they'd been through in Rain Country, a good soak in the hot springs was exactly what they needed.
"I'll head there first and get us a spot," Minato said, flashing his usual bright smile.
Nawaki blinked in surprise for a second, then lightly punched Minato on the arm. "Alright, you go ahead. Next time, it's on me."
"No problem."
With a thumbs-up and a grin, Minato set off for the hot springs.
Once he was out of earshot, Nawaki's smile faded, and his face grew serious. "You did the right thing, Xin. Even though the Uzumaki clan isn't big, they can't just rely on Kushina to support them forever. They need to stand on their own two feet."
Still, Kushina could help them out where it made sense.
Kushina's situation wasn't unlike Tsunade's in Konoha, though the two couldn't be compared in terms of status.
Even so, Konoha had seized the Uzumaki clan's assets after Whirlpool was destroyed, and thanks to Mito Uzumaki, Kushina had been well compensated.
With ownership of an entire luxurious street, she was in a position to help her clan. But helping didn't mean coddling them indefinitely. If that continued, it was only a matter of time before it backfired.
"Wow, didn't expect you to be so insightful today," Xin said, giving Nawaki a surprised look.
Go to hell! Sure, Nawaki could be a bit slow, but that didn't mean he was dumb! What was with that look? Like Xin was trying to console a clueless kid?
When Xin and Nawaki arrived at the hot springs, Minato had already reserved a spot.
As Xin eased into the steaming water, he felt the tension in his muscles begin to melt away. Yeah, there was nothing better than soaking in a hot spring after a long stretch of exhaustion. It felt like his whole body was relaxing.
"Mmm..." Nawaki was enjoying it the most, sinking into the water until only his head was visible, his face plastered with a blissful grin. He even started humming contentedly, which made Xin and Minato want to kick him out of the bath.
Minato rolled his eyes at Nawaki, clearly tempted to give him a good shove.