At noon.
Kakashi and Uchiha Tunan sat in Ichiraku Ramen, waiting for Namikaze Minato.
Uchiha Tunan looked over Ichiraku Ramen's interior.
It was utterly ordinary, even a little rustic.
As for the nonsense netizens in his previous life had said about some Otsutsuki Ichiraku...
Uchiha Tunan had no desire to investigate it.
If it was fake, fine. If it was real, he would be courting death.
Before long, Namikaze Minato arrived at Ichiraku Ramen, accompanied by a female ninja in a green vest with a head full of red hair.
Namikaze Minato pointed to the female ninja beside him and introduced her. "Tunan, Kakashi, let me introduce you. This is Kushina Uzumaki."
Yet Kushina was not the least bit reserved. She was completely at ease around strangers.
She shoved Namikaze Minato aside, rushed up to Kakashi and Uchiha Tunan, and curiously looked them over from head to toe.
"So you're the new generation of Konoha geniuses everyone's been talking about.
Hello, I'm Kushina Uzumaki."
Kakashi merely nodded indifferently.
Uchiha Tunan glanced at Kushina Uzumaki and smiled with refined gentleness. "Hello, I'm Uchiha Tunan, Teacher Minato's student."
Namikaze Minato scratched his head with a smile. "Come on, sit down."
"Are you all here? What would you like to eat?" Teuchi emerged from the kitchen and handed the menu to them.
Kushina raised her hand and shouted, "A large bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen."
She glanced at Namikaze Minato and added, "Two bowls."
Uchiha Tunan did not look at the menu. He simply smiled and said,
"I'll have the same, but please go light on the seasoning.
I prefer milder food. Sorry for the trouble."
Kakashi said flatly, "I'll have the same as him."
"Got it." Teuchi nodded, collected the menus, and headed back to the kitchen.
Before long, four steaming bowls of fragrant Tonkotsu Ramen were placed before them.
"I'll dig in first!" Kushina eagerly picked up her chopsticks and began eating.
Suddenly, the Nine-Tails' voice rang out in Kushina's mind.
"Kushina."
"Hm? What's wrong, Kurama?"
"I can sense immense malice in that brat's heart."
Kushina paused with her chopsticks in hand, then quietly shifted her gaze toward Kakashi.
At that moment, the Nine-Tails within her reminded her, "Not the white-haired one. The Uchiha brat."
Kushina frowned as she looked at the refined Uchiha Tunan, who was eating slowly and delicately, and responded in her mind,
"Are you sure? Tunan looks as gentle as Minato."
"My senses cannot be wrong. The evil Chakra around him makes me deeply uncomfortable.
But compared to the malice in his heart, it is nothing.
He's looking over here."
"What's wrong, ma'am? Is there something on my face?"
Uchiha Tunan stared at Kushina with a puzzled expression, then pulled out a tissue and wiped his face.
That look is strange.
Say, after Kushina dies, could I inherit the abilities of the tailed beast inside her?
That is a question. If I can inherit them, wouldn't killing a few more Jinchuriki turn me into a natural Ten-Tails?
If it can be strengthened in a cycle...
At that thought, an inexplicable glint flashed through Uchiha Tunan's gaze as he looked at Kushina.
"He seems to have developed malice toward you."
Kushina's expression stiffened slightly, and she changed the subject.
"I suddenly remembered that I've often heard people in the village talking about you recently."
"Clatter~"
Uchiha Tunan froze, and the chopsticks in his hand fell to the floor.
Then he lowered his head, looking utterly despondent as he rasped,
"Is that so?"
At that moment, Namikaze Minato fetched a new pair of chopsticks for Uchiha Tunan, held them out to him, and said gently,
"Eat while it's hot, or it won't taste as good."
Uchiha Tunan nodded, picked up the chopsticks, and began shoveling noodles into his mouth. Yet tears fell one after another into his bowl.
"Tunan, what's wrong?" Kushina was instantly dumbfounded. She had not expected such a huge reaction from him.
Uchiha Tunan raised his head. His eyes were red, with tears faintly glimmering in them, but he forced a smile.
"Huh? It's so good. I've never had ramen this delicious before."
After saying that, he quickly lowered his head and continued stuffing noodles into his mouth.
"Would you like another bowl?" Namikaze Minato reached out and patted Uchiha Tunan's back, sympathy written across his face.
Uchiha Tunan abruptly stood up.
"No, I'm full. I still need to sort out my new house tonight. Take your time eating."
He then headed toward the Uchiha Clan Compound. After taking only two steps, he secretly raised a hand to wipe away his tears.
Namikaze Minato raised his hand as if to say something, but stopped himself. Only when Uchiha Tunan was nearly at the end of the street did he finally call out loudly,
"Remember to gather in front of the Hokage Building at eight tomorrow morning."
Uchiha Tunan paused, nodded, and left without looking back.
Kakashi expressionlessly set down his chopsticks, gave Kushina a cold look, and said, "I'm full too."
With that, Kakashi left on his own.
Namikaze Minato looked down and saw that Kakashi and Uchiha Tunan had barely touched the noodles in their bowls.
The two of them lost their appetites as well. After hastily taking a couple of bites, they left in silence.
Along the way, Kushina felt as though her mind could not process what had just happened.
"Minato, did I say something wrong?"
"It probably isn't a major issue. Just be more careful in the future."
"That was so strange. I only said that people in the village talked about him. Why was he so upset?"
"How did the villagers talk about him?"
"They called him a genius. He graduated from the Ninja Academy after just one year. Isn't that something worth talking about?"
Namikaze Minato gave a dashing smile, shook his head, and said gently, "So that's what it was. The three of us misunderstood."
"Is there something else?"
Kushina Uzumaki looked puzzled. After hesitating for a moment, she continued,
"Did you know that the Nine-Tails inside me can sense the malice in the people around me?"
Namikaze Minato frowned. "You mean..."
"Kurama said that Uchiha Tunan has tremendous malice hidden deep in his heart."
"But based on the information I have and the impression he made today, I don't think he's a bad person."
Kushina Uzumaki pursed her lips, chose to believe Namikaze Minato, and said softly, "I hope Kurama got it wrong."
Namikaze Minato sighed and explained to Kushina Uzumaki based on the information he had gathered beforehand,
"Tunan has been through a great deal. In just the past six months, his cousin, parents, and lover all died."
A trace of curiosity flashed through Kushina Uzumaki's eyes. "Can you tell me the details?"
"It happened like this..."
After Namikaze Minato finished recounting Uchiha Tunan's recent experiences, Kushina suddenly understood.
"So that's how it was. After going through so many tragedies, no wonder his heart is filled with darkness."
Namikaze Minato nodded. "When we met yesterday, he said his dream was to gain the recognition of more people. I could tell he meant it sincerely."
Kushina began filling in the gaps herself. "Then he must be the type of person who lives in darkness but longs for the light."
"Lord Hokage mentioned this to me before. Right now, he needs someone to pull him up."
"No wonder you were made a team leader right after becoming a jonin.
So they value your personality."
Before you continue