Love

Konoha.

Having finally gotten a day off, Minato Namikaze naturally went to find Kushina.

After dropping off Kagami Uchiha and Kakashi, he left behind the words, "Barbecue Restaurant tonight," then vanished without a trace.

"Tch, the kind of guy who forgets his junior disciple the moment he sees a pretty girl," Kakashi muttered.

"What about you? Aren't you going to see your little girlfriend from the Academy?"

Kakashi kicked a pebble by the roadside and said flatly, "I'm not interested in little girls."

"Hehe, I wonder who it was that pulled out Make-Out Paradise to read whenever he took a break from training."

"...I was appreciating Jiraiya-sensei's literary accomplishments! It was training too!"

"Besides... the ones in there... are all older women..." His voice grew quieter and quieter.

"No need to explain. If I catch you peeping into the women's bathhouse with that old pervert, I'll notify the Uchiha Police Force to arrest you both."

Kagami Uchiha headed toward his home and said calmly, "Tell Minato I'm eating at home, so I won't be going."

Tap, tap...

"Then I'll eat at your place too!"

Kakashi shamelessly followed him, having forgotten Kagami Uchiha's warning that it would only happen once.

Kagami Uchiha thought about it. The effort it would take to chase Kakashi away far exceeded the trouble of setting out another bowl and pair of chopsticks, so he let it go.

"I'm not in a convenient position to do it. You buy the groceries, and you cook."

"Huh? I'm visiting your house, aren't I? Fine, I can cook, but I have to buy the groceries too?"

"Take it or leave it."

Kakashi finally understood how Obito and Might Guy felt.

When Kakashi entered the house with Kagami, carrying two baskets of vegetables, the first thing he saw was Shisui standing atop the pond.

"Little Shisui, practicing water-walking?"

Splash...

Shisui had been completely focused, but the shout disrupted his concentration, and half his body fell into the pond.

His little face turned red as he glared furiously at Kakashi. "White-haired dead-fish eyes! Don't distract me!"

"Ah! Big brother! You're back!!"

Shisui sprang out of the pond and lunged toward Kagami Uchiha like a carp flipping from the water.

Smack—

Kagami Uchiha pressed a hand against Shisui's face and frowned. "Go rinse off and change into clean clothes."

"Okay!"

Watching Shisui skip away, Kakashi leaned closer and said, "You're way too strict with him. Even I didn't start practicing water-walking until I was four. He's only two or three, isn't he?"

"And... white-haired dead-fish eyes... why does he call me that?"

"He's three and a half, and he still isn't proficient at water-walking." Kagami Uchiha looked at Kakashi with disdain. "Just like you—completely useless."

Kakashi really wanted to say that people had called him a genius ever since he was little...

But faced with Kagami Uchiha, he simply could not bring himself to say it.

Seeing Kagami Uchiha return, his grandmother's face lit up with joy, though she made no move to rise.

Kakashi could clearly sense that, compared to a year ago, the old woman seemed far closer to the end of her life.

Kagami Uchiha quietly walked to her side and placed his hand on her ankle.

Her muscles had already begun to atrophy, leaving only a thin layer of skin over bones that could be felt clearly.

"It's gotten this bad... Why didn't you tell me?"

His grandmother gently stroked Kagami's hair and smiled kindly. "It's all right. Shisui already knows how to take care of me."

Kagami Uchiha silently lowered his head and said nothing.

He had ways to heal his grandmother's body. If it came down to it, he could even ask Tsunade or Orochimaru for help.

But physical wounds could be healed; wounds of the heart could not.

Use genjutsu to erase his grandmother's longing for those who had passed away?

Kagami Uchiha could not do something so cruel.

He could clearly feel that as he gradually grew older, his grandmother's desire to live grew weaker and weaker.

She had been born into the Uchiha Clan and gone to war while still young. After barely surviving, she witnessed Konoha's founding and married the man she loved.

Yet not long afterward, the husband she had dearly loved died on a mission.

Later, even the son and daughter-in-law who had left Shisui behind died as well.

The Shinobi World had never treated the Uchiha Clan kindly.

Without any grand declarations, Kagami Uchiha gently moved his grandmother's hand away and said softly:

"Grandma, I'll take care of myself, and I'll take care of Shisui too."

If, on some morning or afternoon, you wished to follow the one you loved, then go in peace.

"Mhm... Grandma believes in you."

"Kushina!"

Downstairs, Minato held a bouquet of fiery red flowers resembling Kushina's hair and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Bang!

The window shattered from being pushed open too hard.

Ignoring the drop of more than ten meters, the girl leaped straight out the window.

"Catch me, Minato!"

Hokage Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked over the intelligence sent back by Orochimaru and Sarutobi Shinnosuke, then took a deep drag from his pipe.

Suppressing the Four-Tails, driving back the Tsuchikage—the Uchiha Clan's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!

Naturally, he did not believe the news spread by Iwagakure.

The Nine-Tails was still safely inside Kushina's belly.

Based on the intelligence Sarutobi Shinnosuke had gathered from Shibi and the others, along with Minato's explanation, Kagami Uchiha had mastered a secret technique similar to a more advanced Spirit Transformation Technique.

Using that technique, Kagami had successfully seized part of the Four-Tails' chakra, forcing Ōnoki to retreat through sheer cunning.

That old man Ōnoki had clearly been left overwhelmed by the Raikage, yet he still talked about honoring the six-month agreement and never heading south.

What a joke.

They had all been Kage for decades. Who was he trying to fool with that act?

However...

What unsettled Hiruzen Sarutobi was precisely Kagami Uchiha's ability.

If he could seize the Four-Tails, could he seize the Nine-Tails as well?

The Nine-Tails combined with the Uchiha Clan made it far too easy for him to think of one man.

He had witnessed that earth-shattering battle with his own eyes.

The Uchiha Clan might produce another Uchiha Madara... but could the Senju Clan produce another First Hokage...

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew all too well that power on that level was beyond the reach of ordinary shinobi.

Only bloodlines could achieve it.

For an instant, the thought of eliminating Kagami Uchiha before it was too late flashed through his mind.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head to himself and rejected the idea.

If Kagami Uchiha died now, the Uchiha Clan would definitely revolt. Even those Uchiha who had originally stood on his side would never accept such a thing.

Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated, then picked up Minato's letter again.

At the end, it read:

"'Kagami possesses the true Will of Fire and is someone who will bring peace to the Shinobi World.

I'm beginning to believe that he may be the Child of Prophecy Jiraiya-sensei has been searching for.

He will guide the Shinobi World toward change!'"

Since Jiraiya's youth, the Great Toad Sage had prophesied that his disciple would become a savior.

That was why Hiruzen Sarutobi had allowed Jiraiya to travel everywhere in search of that possible disciple.

I thought... I thought the person Jiraiya was searching for was you, Minato.

Yet you believe that person might be Kagami...

"What should I do... Sensei...?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked toward the portraits of the previous Hokage hanging in the office.