"I'm home," Uzumaki Mito called as she entered the house. She kept her eyes on Hyuga Shinichi, and when he also called, "I'm home," she smiled kindly and patted him on the head.
"Welcome home, Grandma. Why did you get back so late today? Huh? Isn't that Shinichi? Why did you take the day off from school?"
Nawaki had come out to greet them. Tsunade had gone out of the village on a mission again.
"Mm, I've taken Shinichi on as my apprentice. He'll be living with us from now on."
"Hm? Huh! Ah?"
Nawaki's expression had shifted from puzzled to surprised to confused, ending in a comical look. Shinichi immediately played along, putting on a deeply wounded expression.
"Nawaki, what's with that look? Do you hate the idea of me living at your house? Fine, I don't want to ruin the atmosphere at home. I'll leave right now. Boo-hoo-hoo."
"Hey? What are you talking about? Come back!"
Hearing Shinichi say that and seeing him turn to leave, Nawaki couldn't tell whether he was putting on an act or meant it. He immediately ran over and grabbed Shinichi to stop him from going.
"Alright, you two, stop fooling around. You'll bother the neighbors. Nawaki, you don't mind Shinichi sleeping with you tonight, do you?"
"Not at all. I've always wanted my friends to stay over and play with me. It'll be my first time sleeping over with a friend. Just thinking about it gets me excited."
Until now, everyone had been reluctant to put Nawaki's family to any trouble, so no one had stayed over at his house.
"Good. Shinichi, you don't mind either, do you? We'll have someone tidy up your room tomorrow. It's too late tonight."
"I don't mind. Whatever works."
"Alright, then wash up and go to bed early. Don't stay up playing too late. Shinichi, you'll need to get up early tomorrow. Training starts tomorrow."
"Grandma, can I come too?"
"That depends on whether you can get up."
Nawaki didn't like the sound of that. He slung an arm around Shinichi's shoulders.
"With Shinichi there, I'll definitely get up. Right, Shinichi?"
"I don't know."
Shinichi broke free of Nawaki and headed inside to put away his luggage.
"Hey, Shinichi, don't go! Oh, right—let's take a bath together."
And so the days went by: school during the day, then training with Grandma Mito alongside Nawaki when they got home. The training was mainly focused on Shinichi; Nawaki just did ordinary practice.
Time flew by, and four years passed.
It was now Konoha's thirty-second year. Shinichi was seven, and had grown to a full 1.3 meters tall, much taller than most children his age. He wore a blue robe and had a head of jet-black hair that fell to his shoulders, gathered high and secured with a hairpin, with a few strands left loose at the front.
His appearance had changed from the childish look he'd had before into something handsome and refined. His overall bearing was elegant, with a hint of nobility.
At that moment, Shinichi had pulled his blue robe down to his waist, leaving his upper body bare. Eyes closed, he stood on the water with his back to the waterfall, a chakra sword in his right hand. He had had it forged several years earlier.
The chakra sword looked just like the Taiji Sword from his previous life. He had sketched out its rough design from memory and shown it to a craftsman, who had made it for him.
It wasn't a flexible sword but a rigid one. The entire block of Chakra Metal had been used to make it, and Shinichi had named it the Listen-to-Wind Sword.
Suddenly, Shinichi opened his eyes, revealing their pale white color, and turned to swing his sword.
"Wind-Riding Sword Technique: Wind-Cutting Slash!"
A green-blue slash formed from wind-natured chakra flew toward the waterfall.
BOOM!
The Wind-Cutting Slash cleaved straight through the waterfall. It kept going, striking the cliff behind it and leaving a shallow gash.
Anyone observant enough would have noticed the many slash marks on the cliff revealed when the waterfall was cut apart.
"Whew. I can still increase the power of the slash."
Just as he was about to put away his sword, get dressed, and leave, a blond-haired boy stepped out of the bushes nearby.
"That was amazing."
When Shinichi looked at him, the blond boy realized what he'd done.
He must have interrupted someone's training.
"Sorry. My name is Namikaze Minato. I was so mesmerized by that move because it was incredible. I didn't mean to interrupt you."
Shinichi had already guessed who the blond boy was from his appearance. Once he said his name, Shinichi was certain it was indeed Namikaze Minato.
In his previous life, Shinichi had really liked this character. He hadn't expected to run into him here.
Minato had been born in Konoha's twenty-seventh year, so he was only about five now. Since Shinichi had liked him in his previous life, he spoke to him gently.
"My name is Hyuga Shinichi. By the way, isn't it time for school? Why are you here by yourself?"
"Huh? Are you that Hyuga Shinichi who enrolled in the Ninja Academy before he was three, graduated at four, passed the Chunin Ninja Exams and became a Chunin at five, and is rumored to be on track to become a Special Jonin at seven?"
(The Book of Soldiers mentions the ranks a ninja advances through as they grow up: Ninja Academy student, Genin, Chunin, Special Jonin, and Jonin. Jonin are promoted from among the Special Jonin after a selection process.)
Shinichi had graduated early at four. Most of Minato's generation didn't start the Ninja Academy until they were four, and by then Shinichi was already six. Since he had become a Chunin at five, he'd started going out on missions early. As a result, the students who enrolled later had never seen him, though they'd all heard the stories about him that circulated around the school.
Shinichi didn't really like people talking about his accomplishments. They were true, but hearing them made him so embarrassed he could've dug out a three-room apartment with his toes.
Seeing Minato staring at him with admiration, Shinichi didn't want to shatter the impressive image Minato had of him. After shivering, he planted his hands on his hips and said,
"Mm, that's right. It's me."
"That's amazing!"
"Anyway, you still haven't answered my question. Shouldn't you be at school today? Why are you here alone?"
"Oh, sorry. I got a little too excited. I'm not feeling great today, so I took the day off to clear my head."
Later, the two sat by the waterfall, and Minato told Shinichi why he was feeling down.
It turned out that Minato's parents were ordinary people who ran a small business. Not long ago, they had planned to travel outside the village with a caravan to look for goods they could bring back to sell. On the road, they were attacked by bandits led by a rogue ninja with Jonin-level strength.
The few Chunin protecting the caravan were no match for a Jonin. They were quickly overpowered and killed.
Later, a Jonin leading a squad on a mission to wipe out the bandits discovered what they had done. Once the mission was over, word was sent back to the village. The villagers who, like Minato, had been waiting for their families to return learned that their loved ones had been killed by the bandits and were overcome with grief. Minato became an orphan, too.
(This part of Minato's background is original, since he was a genius who rose above the ranks of Konoha's civilian ninja, so his parents were civilians as well.)
After telling Shinichi what had happened, Minato stared at the distant waterfall. He wanted to keep up a good image in front of someone he admired, but tears still began to fall despite himself.
Shinichi, who had also lost his parents at a young age, understood how it felt. Though unlike Minato, he had never experienced the warmth of having a family, he could still understand the pain of losing loved ones.
Shinichi reached out and patted Minato's head as he sat hugging his knees and crying into them. He told Minato about his own past, and as he listened, Minato lifted his head and looked at him.
"So your parents definitely wouldn't want you to be this sad. You have to live well and become a ninja who can protect the people you cherish. If you don't mind, you can call me your big brother. I think we have a lot in common."
Shinichi wasn't trying to take advantage of the future Yellow Flash or Fourth Hokage. After all these years, he had never thought of the people in this world as fictional characters from a manga. They were all real people.
He was real, too, and had long since become part of this world.
Shinichi just felt that he and Minato had suffered the same kind of loss, and wanted to give him the warmth of a family again.
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