"Lady Mito, did you call me here today because you have something for me to take care of?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked when Uzumaki Mito fell silent.
"It's about that child, Uchiha Dan!" Uzumaki Mito smiled. "He received no training during the most important seven years of his life. He's basically a lost cause."
"But you've seen his talent for medical work. I've never met anyone with such a gift for the Medical Arts and Medical Ninjutsu."
"So I'm thinking of making him a Medical Ninja, so he can contribute to the village. What do you think?"
"Well..." Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into thought.
He knew Uzumaki Mito.
Though she seemed to be asking, she had already made up her mind. How could he possibly turn her down?
"I'm not trying to put you in a difficult position!" Uzumaki Mito said, seeing what was on Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.
"After all, you're the Hokage. The decision is yours. I'm only making a small suggestion!"
"Do you know why Tobirama targeted Uchiha Dan in the first place?" Uzumaki Mito asked.
"I do." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, answering with some resignation.
Tobirama Senju had never explained his actions concerning Uchiha Dan, not even before his death. He had simply issued an order.
Tobirama Senju was a meticulous man who disliked lying. He preferred to be straightforward about everything. Even when he disapproved of the Uchiha Clan, he never hid it.
So he truly couldn't explain why he'd suspected the boy over nothing more than a look.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi's judgment matched Uzumaki Mito's.
"This was far too thoughtless!" Uzumaki Mito said with displeasure. "Tobirama is gone now, so I shouldn't speak ill of him."
"If he were here, I'd give him a proper scolding."
"As Hokage, how could he ruin a child's whole life just because the boy smiled once?"
"Does being a child of the Uchiha Clan mean he isn't even allowed to smile?"
"Uh..." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked awkward. He didn't know what to say.
"Say what's on your mind!" Uzumaki Mito prompted him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, then explained, "After being held back by us for so many years, Dan is bound to have some resentment. His weakness isn't a concern, but I'm worried that once he becomes strong, he might turn against the village."
"Your concern is reasonable." Uzumaki Mito nodded, acknowledging his point.
"Here's what I think. We still have to heed Tobirama's orders." After taking the long way around, Uzumaki Mito finally offered her suggestion. "The boy missed the best period for growth, so there's no need for him to train as a ninja anymore."
"But we can't waste his talent for medical work. So let's allow him to extract Chakra and become an outstanding Medical Ninja who can serve the village."
"Of course, keep monitoring him. I know you're the one who listens to Tobirama most."
"But there's no reason to refuse the chance to give the village another genius Medical Ninja."
"After all, the boy has never done anything to harm the village, nor has he shown the slightest inclination to do so."
"If anyone objects, blame me. It won't be you, Hiruzen Sarutobi, going against Tobirama's orders. I'm the one telling you to do this."
Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't yet shown any signs of becoming muddleheaded, so Uzumaki Mito made sure to give him due consideration.
After she'd put it that way, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't refuse. He nodded. "I agree."
With Hiruzen Sarutobi's promise, Uzumaki Mito felt much better.
Little Tsunade, Grandma can only help you this much.
The rest is up to you!
When you've lived a long time, you naturally end up with a more eventful life than most.
Whenever Tsunade mentioned Uchiha Dan, she always looked so furious she could barely hold back from swallowing him whole.
But when a girl that age kept bringing up a boy's name every day, what could it mean? Did anyone really need to spell it out?
As Uzumaki Mito saw it, Tsunade had already fallen for Uchiha Dan.
Only Tsunade herself didn't think so.
Of course, that silly boy Uchiha Dan seemed completely oblivious, and even thought Tsunade was a nuisance.
Like Hashirama Senju, Uzumaki Mito had no particular prejudice against the Uchiha Clan.
But she couldn't be bothered to interfere in matters between the children. It was best to let them work things out themselves.
At the Namikaze home.
"Uncle, I'm back!"
When Uchiha Dan got home from work and saw Namikaze Toneri, he called out loudly.
"You little rascal, did you lose today?" Namikaze Toneri asked, patting Uchiha Dan on the head in consolation.
Word of what had happened at Konoha Hospital had spread quickly, so Namikaze Toneri knew about it.
"Heh, don't worry, Uncle. I don't care about it at all." Uchiha Dan really didn't mind.
He'd only acted that way to get a reaction out of Tsunade. He wanted to see if he could use her to gradually get the village to loosen its restrictions on him, making it easier to find a chance to escape.
"Where's Minato?" Uchiha Dan looked around and, not seeing Namikaze Minato, asked.
"He might still be practicing," Namikaze Toneri said, feeling both proud and worried. "That boy's wonderful in every way, but he pushes himself too hard when he trains."
But as soon as he'd finished speaking, Namikaze Minato pushed the door open and ran inside.
"Dad, big brother, I'm home."
"You little rascal, go wash your hands. We're eating."
As for why Uchiha Dan had come to live with Namikaze Minato's family and become his big brother, that story went back seven years.
Namikaze Toneri and his wife weren't ninja. They were ordinary people from Konoha.
After observing Namikaze Toneri for so many years, Uchiha Dan was certain that his bloodline was extraordinary. He was probably descended from some remarkable figure.
But by Namikaze Toneri's generation, he was the only person in all of Konoha with the surname Namikaze, so there was no way to trace his ancestry.
Namikaze Toneri and his wife had been married for nearly twenty years, but still had no children. It had been weighing heavily on them.
The Namikaze Clan was going to die out!
Just then, through Kagami Uchiha's efforts, Uchiha Dan was sent away from the Uchiha Clan and cut off from it completely.
Desperate for a child, Namikaze Toneri took one look at the boy who'd moved in next door and felt an immediate connection. He promptly applied to adopt him.
If they couldn't have a biological son, an adopted one would do just fine.
And once Uchiha Dan came to live with them, he was so respectful and dutiful toward the couple that Namikaze Toneri and his wife were more than pleased with him.
Then, just two months after Uchiha Dan moved in, Namikaze Toneri's wife discovered she was pregnant.
Fortunately, the couple were both kindhearted people. Not only did they never reject Uchiha Dan, they worried he might feel hurt and treated him even better.
And so the whole family had lived together happily ever since.
"Big brother!" At the dinner table, Namikaze Minato glanced toward the door and whispered, "Can you spend a little more time with me today?"
"Haha, of course!" Uchiha Dan ran a hand over Namikaze Minato's little golden head and agreed without hesitation.
It was a code the brothers shared.
Namikaze Minato had shown exceptional talent from a young age. A year ago, he'd officially enrolled in the Ninja Academy and begun his studies.
But most of what he knew about ninjutsu had actually been taught to him by Uchiha Dan.
Even Namikaze Toneri didn't know about this.
To outsiders, when Namikaze Minato asked Uchiha Dan to spend more time with him, it was simply because the brothers were close.
But what he really meant was: I have lots of questions about my training. Can you skip working late today?
Before you continue