[Chapter Size: 2400 Words.]
Third Person POV
Konoha, Year 42.
...
...
Minato had returned with Kushina to the property, where she was being kept behind the barrier. Not even his special Anbu guards noticed the shift due to Minato's jutsu, as the clones switched places seamlessly with the originals, taking Minato and Kushina's previous positions before vanishing in smoke, no longer needed.
"I'm going..." Minato said at last; it was already afternoon, and Minato wanted to visit the village before nightfall.
"Minato..." Kushina looked at him with concerned eyes as she murmured his name.
Minato touched her shoulder, gently squeezing it. "We'll make this work, Kushina," he confidently reassured her. After all, they'd had a ten-minute conversation earlier, right after he sealed all traces of the Nine-Tails' chakra lingering in the air into a scroll, ensuring no sensor from the village could detect it.
"I know that, Minato. I trust you more than anyone else, but that doesn't make me worry any less," she whispered.
Kushina had received plenty of significant information: the destruction of her clan and Minato's request that she control the Nine-Tails within her. Even with his help, Minato would still have to leave the village and possibly become a traitor.
Minato kept a gentle smile, indicating that everything would be fine, urging her not to worry too much. Nevertheless, just as he was about to leave, he felt Kushina suddenly grabbing him, as if afraid he might disappear forever.
"Promise me everything will be alright," she spoke, hugging him tightly. He sighed a little, softly smiling as he returned the embrace of the woman he loved.
"Yes," he replied, feeling her gently kiss him. After that, they separated, and Minato began walking away, passing through the barrier while Kushina kept watching him from the doorway.
"We'll be back here tonight," Minato said. After all, it was normal for them to come and dine with Kushina, who could no longer leave this place due to the village's orders; they regularly visited her.
Passing the ninjas secretly guarding Kushina, he found Nawaki standing with his single hand in his pocket, the other sleeve of his shirt swaying gently in the breeze. He leaned against the main house, as if waiting for someone.
"You're here," he said.
"Yes. How are things?" Minato asked.
"A bit lonely," Nawaki replied. Minato understood the sentiment; after all, Tsuna spent most of the day at the hospital, while Tsuna's sister and mother, Tsunade, were outside the village. That loneliness was understandable for Nawaki, being one of the last Senju alive. Some had survived until the end of the war, but were eventually killed in desperate attacks from the Cloud in the north.
"You still haven't found a girlfriend, man?" Minato teased lightly.
"You say that like it's easy," Nawaki mumbled.
"I just hope you're not reading my sensei's books," Minato added, knowing that clearly wasn't the best resource for understanding women.
"Of course not!" Nawaki responded, slightly embarrassed, clearly lying.
"Anyway, meet me tomorrow at training ground seven, if you're free. We need to talk," Minato said, and Nawaki nodded, not knowing exactly what Minato wanted now. "Bring Duy too," he added as a final note.
Duy and Nawaki had ended up forming a team for missions. Since Duy was already training and progressing toward opening the gates, it made sense to keep them together, especially after Nawaki had lost his team at the end of the war.
Minato wasn't sure exactly what to do now but wanted to spend some time walking that afternoon. He had eaten something earlier with the girls before visiting Kushina and then had Kushina's cake afterward, so hunger wasn't an issue. He just continued walking out of the clan grounds.
He paused for a moment, trying to sense where his girls were within the village. Using his sensory chakra and observation haki, he easily located all of them at the village center, buying a few things—mostly ingredients, so Minato could cook something that night, obviously wishing to eat his food.
He left that side and kept walking through the streets like an ordinary villager, observing the shops and the people, seeing how they interacted. A glint in his eyes reflected some of the questions he'd asked himself after leaving the mission: what was the village's purpose? What did it mean to be a shinobi? After all, the will of fire was about protecting Konoha, its ninjas, and their families—giving your life for the village. But more than that, it was about giving your life for the very idea that built Konoha: for the bonds Konoha's shinobi shared and for future generations, although it seemed a bit contradictory coming from Sarutobi, given he was sacrificing the Uzumaki.
"Hey, isn't that Minato Namikaze...?" some people whispered upon seeing him walk down the street.
Minato hadn't received this much attention in over a year. After being hailed as a war hero, he had worked exclusively as an ANBU squad member. It was somewhat surprising that people would recognize him immediately, since it was rare to see him around the village, and he hadn't performed any grand deeds as Minato Namikaze recently.
But he didn't pay much attention to those people, continuing to hammer away at his internal questions. Without realizing it, as he was slightly distracted, he soon noticed he'd stopped in front of a specific place.
"I can't even remember the last time I looked at this place," Minato murmured, a bit surprised upon seeing it, although nostalgia quickly overtook him.
It really had been years since he'd looked at the ninja academy entrance. After graduation, he'd never had a reason to come back. While gazing at the entrance, his eyes shifted further back, landing on an old swing, remembering that Naruto might sit there one day in the future.
Nevertheless, he didn't go towards the swing—after all, he was too old for something like that—but he still decided to stay there. He sat down on a bench, enjoying the rare feeling of being alone—something he seldom experienced since he was always with his girls. He spent a few minutes just breathing in the air of Konoha, until he sensed people approaching.
"Hurry up, Obito! We have to deliver this to sensei before class ends!" Minato heard the girl calling out to the boy who wore some sort of sporty goggles.
"I know! It's just that I had to help an old lady cross the street, Rin! But I'm coming now!" he shouted, running towards the girl after being late and causing her to wait after she'd already waited for him.
Minato didn't know the context of their hurry to deliver something to their teacher, nor why they were outside the academy, but he couldn't judge. After all, classes had different schedules. Just like during his own academy days, there had been days he spent entirely in class, while others were only half-days. It could be a test or an assignment their teacher requested.
But that didn't matter right now. Minato was seeing Rin and Obito for the first time, who were supposed to be in Kakashi's original class—who, unsurprisingly, had already graduated and was acting far beyond a ninja of his young age, having become a Chuunin at age eight...
Minato remained there, observing them with interest as they ran by, initially not noticing him due to their hurry.
'They'll graduate in a few years... will I be their teacher?' Minato couldn't help but wonder, watching them pass by. He'd seen them around the village a few times, but it was the first time seeing them up close.
Minato was ready to become their teacher, and he'd never allow their fates to become as tragic as they'd ended up—like Kakashi finally realizing, at the last moment, that his teammates were more than mere tools for the village and its missions, Rin dying, or even Obito being corrupted by Madara Uchiha.
Minato would avoid that fate, but certainly, if that happened to the Uchiha boy—if Obito turned toward evil—he'd handle things differently from Naruto. After all, Minato didn't believe someone could simply return to the right path after just a conversation. Obito had committed crimes that were unforgivable.
Minato quickly set those thoughts aside, realizing he was contemplating the fate of a child whom he could still protect and guide toward the right path. At the same moment, footsteps stopped in front of him, and a pair of feet turned toward him.
"Obito?" Rin spoke up, noticing her teammate had stopped, looking at the man who seemed around ten years older than them, sitting there.
Minato also looked at Obito with a calm gaze, analyzing the young Uchiha standing before him.
"You..." he murmured, recognizing Minato's face from somewhere, but unable to pinpoint exactly from where.
"..." Minato couldn't help but smile slightly, watching Obito staring and trying to remember his face.
"Can I help you, young man?" Minato finally spoke.
"Do you know him?" Rin stepped closer to Obito, also looking at Minato.
"He doesn't seem unfamiliar! I've seen him somewhere... I just can't remember exactly where... Didn't I help you once?" Obito asked. Minato wore a regular hoodie and pants, dressed as a civilian. Even on days off, off-duty ninjas usually wore their uniforms, causing Obito's confusion at seeing Minato without his headband.
"Obito, we have to go!" Rin reminded him urgently, causing Obito to nod and snap out of it.
"Right! Let's go—Ah, I remember!" the boy interrupted himself, shouting and pointing at Minato.
"..." Minato raised an eyebrow, while the girl seemed increasingly urgent about returning to the academy.
"My grandma told me about you!" Obito pointed directly at Minato. "She even showed us a drawn picture and said we Uchihas should stay away from you because you're dangerous!"
Minato raised his eyebrow even higher, surprised by the sudden accusation, while Rin seemed shocked at Obito's bluntness toward an apparently random stranger.
Minato clearly understood that the Uchihas weren't at all pleased with him over the past year, especially after what he'd done to the clan Elder and easily defeating every clan member who'd confronted him. Even so, he hadn't expected they would start showing his image to the younger generation and warning them about the hostility they held toward him.
"I can't say I'm on the best terms with your clan. After all, I did beat up some Uchiha members, but I was defending my future wife, and I don't regret doing it," Minato replied calmly.
Obito seemed startled by Minato's answer. All he'd heard from his grandma was that he should stay as far away as possible from this man, as Minato was dangerous and nobody in the clan could do anything against him.
Obito opened his mouth to reply again, but before he could say anything else, a Chuunin appeared next to them, looking seriously at the two youngsters.
"What are you two doing out here? You're the only ones who haven't entered the classroom yet! If you're not inside within the next thirty seconds, I'll give both of you a zero!" he complained immediately, making Rin and Obito frown. "And you're even bothering others," he added, immediately recognizing Minato.
"It's my fault, sensei. Don't be so harsh on them," Minato spoke up to ease the situation for the two youngsters, noticing their nervousness.
"Alright, I'll forgive you this time, but you'd better be careful. Go!" the teacher said, while Rin and Obito quickly nodded and ran inside, giving Minato one last glance.
"That boy is too impulsive, and the girl always tries to help him," the teacher commented afterward, watching them enter.
"That's common for them, sir..." Minato politely replied since he didn't know this teacher.
"Kim," the teacher calmly responded. "My name is Kim. Minato Namikaze, right? Anyway, I have to go now. It's a bit surprising to meet you here."
"I was just thinking about a few things. Couldn't help remembering my own days here. I studied at this academy," Minato commented thoughtfully.
"I see. You might not know this, but when you entered the academy in the elite class, I was in my second-to-last year," Kim revealed, smiling slightly. "I remember very clearly how you began to stand out at the end of your first year and soared through the second, becoming the greatest genius of that generation," he remarked, completing his thought shortly afterward, "and later, the hero."
Minato raised an eyebrow slightly at the comment. "Just serving the village to the best of my abilities," Minato replied calmly and humbly.
The teacher nodded. "I hope you'll become an example for these youngsters as well," he said before leaving Minato standing alone there.
Minato stayed a bit longer, leaving shortly afterward as he continued walking.
In the classroom, the teacher was already waiting as the two students entered. "Sensei, who was that?" Obito immediately asked after handing in the delayed papers to the teacher.
"He's Minato Namikaze, the village hero who was officially recognized a year ago," the teacher explained to the class, causing Obito's eyes to widen in surprise.
"Right! Now I remember!" Rin exclaimed as well, recalling Minato's appearance from when the Hokage had publicly honored him in the village along with other heroes. She had been with her friends celebrating in the village at that time.
"Really a hero...?" Obito murmured. He didn't clearly remember Minato's name, only the drawing his grandmother had shown him.
"Not just that," the teacher continued. "He also became the genius of his era when he was at the academy, joining a program in which the village invested a lot of resources, but in the end managed to produce powerful shinobi," he explained to all the students.
"Like Kakashi..." Obito murmured again, feeling a bit of anger as he mentioned the name of the prodigy who always stood out from his class, considered the example from the previous graduating group. Having left all of them behind, envy was clear in his eyes as he thought about his rival.
"Mister Minato is the best! I know him, and we even train together with my dad!" Might Guy, who was also in the class, immediately shouted upon overhearing the conversation.
"Anyway, let's move on. I'll announce the grades for your assignments after correcting these last two," the teacher announced as class was coming to an end.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 236 - The Son of the Village's Shame 02.
Chapter 241 - We need to get stronger... 03.
Chapter 251 - After Everything, Are We Weaker?
Chapter 260 - Kurama's Chakra, the Semi-Perfect Jinchuriki.
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