Sora and Minato

"Me? I'm doing all right." Sora Uchiha rubbed his nose,

The wind swept through his hair, strands falling over his eyes and making him close them instinctively.

He hadn't expected the first person to worry about him to be Kurenai Yuhi. When his parents learned he'd joined the Anbu, their first thought was that it would offer him better prospects. The clan members worried he might betray the Uchiha Clan. Kurenai, though, was the first to worry that he might be in danger.

"You're lying." Kurenai Yuhi muttered unhappily. "Every time you lie, you rub your nose. Your missions must be really dangerous."

Sora Uchiha froze, then awkwardly lowered his hand from his nose, wondering when he'd picked up that habit.

He opened his mouth to explain, but couldn't find the words. After all, it would be a lie to say there was no danger. The squad he'd joined had an eighty percent casualty rate.

"Come on, I don't need you to explain. I'm just worried about you." Kurenai Yuhi gently shook Sora Uchiha's arm. She glanced around and saw that no one else was looking their way. Pressing her lips together, she took his hand.

Feeling the warmth of Sora Uchiha's palm, like the sun, her cheeks flushed. But she didn't let go, and she didn't dare look at him, either. She only thought to herself that Sora's hand was so warm and comfortable...

As for Sora Uchiha, when Kurenai Yuhi suddenly took his hand, he was startled, but he didn't pull away.

Kurenai Yuhi wasn't as lively as usual today. She must have been feeling anxious about the future. If so, he'd make sure she had a good time today.

Besides, Kurenai Yuhi's little hand was soft and boneless when he rubbed it. It felt nice, and he didn't mind.

"Red, you're standing too close to me..."

He'd put up with Kurenai Yuhi holding his hand, but the girl had taken advantage of that and pressed herself right up against him.

"Just this once, okay..." Kurenai Yuhi's face was red as blood, her voice as faint as a mosquito's. She looked as if she wanted to hide her whole head inside her collar.

Sora Uchiha found it amusing and teased her. "This girlish act doesn't suit our Red at all~"

"Ahhh! I don't care anymore!" Kurenai Yuhi shrieked like a fox whose tail had been stepped on, then threw her arms around the boy she'd known for two years.

Sora Uchiha froze and raised a hand to push her away, but the girl in his arms spoke with a slight catch in her voice. "You have to stay alive..."

At her words, Sora Uchiha's hand went still. His expression turned distant as he remembered the Iwagakure ninja Shisui, whom he'd killed. Perhaps somewhere in Iwagakure, someone like Kurenai Yuhi was waiting for Shisui to come home...

He stopped trying to pull away. Instead, he placed a hand on the girl's head as she choked back tears and gently ruffled her hair. "I'll be just fine. One day, I'll put an end to war in the Shinobi World."

"Sure," Kurenai Yuhi said, laughing through her tears. "You might as well say you're going to become Hokage."

"Sure," Sora Uchiha said with a smile. "Then I'll become Hokage first, just to show you."

Kurenai Yuhi thought he was only joking. She had no idea those were Sora Uchiha's true feelings. After reviving the Uchiha Clan, his next goal was to end the wars.

In other words,

unification.

After saying goodbye to Kurenai Yuhi, Sora Uchiha went over to Minato-sensei.

He could hear the sounds of a fight from far away. Shuriken and Kunai clanged together in a steady stream.

As he got closer, he saw Obito and Rin attacking Kakashi together. They were fighting fiercely, but a closer look showed that Kakashi still had the upper hand despite being outnumbered.

If he remembered correctly, Kakashi would pass the Jonin exam next year. In other words, he was already close to Jonin level.

A natural genius.

Not like a wild genius like him, who relied on the system.

Of course, the difference was that Kakashi couldn't beat him. Before Uchiha's Glory appeared, Kakashi might have been able to put up a fight. But after he got Uchiha's Glory and Karasu Tengu, Kakashi was no match for him.

Come to think of it, there really was someone who could beat him at twelve: Uchiha Itachi, who'd held back when the brothers fought.

Itachi had massacred his clan when he was twelve or thirteen.

"Hmm, Sora? What brings you over here?"

Just as Sora Uchiha was lost in thought, someone gave his shoulder a light tap. He turned his head and saw Minato Namikaze crouching in front of him, smiling.

Tch. He hated ninja who didn't respect personal space.

"I remembered that today was the last day of Rin and the others' special training, so I came to watch," he explained.

"I see." Minato Namikaze sat beside him. "It's nice to be young, with so many friends."

"Come on, sensei. You're still young yourself." Sora Uchiha rolled his eyes.

"Haha." Minato Namikaze laughed and pointed at the three sparring ninja. "What do you think of them?"

"What do you mean? Kakashi's way ahead of the others. Obito seems a lot stronger than he was two weeks ago, though," Sora Uchiha said. "They've gained quite a bit from their two weeks of training. Rin and Obito can already hold their own against Chunin."

"Yeah. The rookies have made tremendous progress under the Jonin's training these past two weeks. They're better prepared to survive from now on. How about you? How are things in the Anbu?"

"Me? I'm doing all right. I don't have missions every day."

"Heh. I heard you joined the squad with the highest casualty rate." Minato Namikaze scratched his head, looking worried. "I'd planned to put you in a safer squad, but the Third Hokage put you in Shinnosuke's squad for some reason. Want me to talk to him again?"

Heh. What reason? To keep an eye on me, obviously, Sora Uchiha thought with a cold snort. He shook his head. "It's fine. I'll make the best of it. Besides, the most dangerous places are where you improve the fastest."

Minato Namikaze thought it over, then nodded. "All right. Since you've put it that way, I won't interfere. Be careful. If you ever change your mind, just tell me."

Sora Uchiha looked at him in confusion. "Sensei, why are you so worried about me?" Then his expression changed, and he folded his arms. "No way."

"What are you thinking?!" Minato Namikaze laughed in exasperation and flicked him on the forehead. "I just think we get along well. 'No way,' he says. What kind of things are going through your head at your age?"

"Besides, I already have Kushina."

Sora Uchiha rolled his eyes and lowered his arms. "Yes, yes. Everyone knows you have a beautiful wife."

Minato Namikaze didn't mind Sora Uchiha's dismissive tone. "If Kushina knew you'd praised her like that, she'd be jumping for joy."

As he spoke, he sighed softly and said boastfully, "You're the only one who thinks Kushina's beautiful."

Sora Uchiha didn't respond. He knew what Minato Namikaze meant. The villagers kept their distance from Kushina when they saw her red hair, believing it was a bad omen.

When he'd first met Kushina three days after arriving, he'd complimented her beautiful hair. She'd taken a liking to him right away and practically treated him like her younger brother.

"Hmm, looks like they're done."