Seeing the shy, almost boyish look on his father's face whenever Kushina was mentioned, Namikaze Kirito could not help but smile.
Who wouldn't want to see their parents getting along so well?
"I see," Kirito said with a faint smile. "Then I'd like to meet your girlfriend too. The Uzumaki clan has already been destroyed. Since we're both tied to that bloodline, it would be a shame not to meet each other."
Minato's eyes lit up at once.
"Then why not come to my place?" he said warmly. "Kushina's a great cook, and this would be a good chance for everyone to get to know each other."
"Alright." Kirito nodded, then gestured toward Orochimaru, who was still hiding his identity beside him. "This is my companion. Would it be alright if he came too?"
"Of course!" Minato answered without hesitation.
That was just the kind of person Namikaze Minato was. The more people around, the livelier it felt.
Not far away, however, Jiraiya watched the scene with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
He had already heard the report from his subordinates. These two were supposedly just travelers passing through Konoha.
And yet, on the very first day they arrived, they had already gotten close to his student.
If their intentions were anything less than honest, that would be a problem. Kushina was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, after all. In any village, a jinchūriki's identity was a matter of absolute secrecy, something that had to be closely protected.
Jiraiya glanced at Minato and felt a headache coming on.
His student really was hopelessly trusting.
Then again... Jiraiya was hardly one to talk.
Still, the ordinary-looking middle-aged man standing beside Kirito kept bothering him.
There was something familiar about him.
Was it his eyes?
His presence?
Jiraiya could not place it.
While he was still thinking, the man suddenly seemed to sense his gaze and glanced back at him.
That single look made Jiraiya's whole body go tense.
I know this guy.
I've definitely seen him somewhere before.
"Sensei, aren't we supposed to be going for ramen?"
The one who spoke was Kakashi.
No matter the time or place, Kakashi always wore that distant, indifferent expression, the kind that made the other children keep their distance from him. And Kakashi himself never cared enough to notice.
To him, it did not matter whether others liked him or not.
Why bother?
"Yeah, Kakashi," Minato said with a smile. "Why not come to my place and eat with us instead?"
Kakashi's expression did not change in the slightest.
"No," he replied calmly. "After I eat, I still need to train."
Since Kakashi had already made up his mind, Minato did not try to persuade him any further.
At that moment, Kurenai Yuhi found herself looking at Kirito again.
Something about him felt strangely familiar.
She could not explain why. It was just a vague feeling in her heart, but it would not go away.
Asuma, standing nearby, immediately noticed the change in her expression and asked, "Kurenai, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Kurenai said softly. "I just feel like... I've seen that person somewhere before."
"Hmph. He doesn't look like a good guy."
Asuma's voice carried undisguised jealousy.
He was still young, but he was more than old enough to understand the threat of another handsome face drawing Kurenai's attention. The moment he saw Kirito and noticed where Kurenai's eyes had gone, his mood soured.
Naturally, he had no reason to look pleased.
While Kurenai was still lost in thought, Kirito stepped toward her.
"I overheard part of your conversation just now," he said gently. "Your name is Kurenai?"
Kurenai looked up at the handsome young man in front of her, her face turning faintly red.
"My name is Kurenai Yuhi."
"I see." Kirito smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Kirito. Nice to meet you."
After a brief hesitation, Kurenai reached out with her fair, slender hand and shook his.
The moment Asuma saw that, his eyes widened.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing? If you've got something to say, say it to me!"
"Asuma!" Kurenai snapped before Kirito could respond. "Be polite!"
The two had grown up together, so Kurenai did not hold back when scolding him.
Asuma clicked his tongue and shut his mouth, though the resentment on his face was obvious.
Kirito did not even spare him a glance.
His calm, gentle gaze remained fixed on Kurenai.
Being looked at so directly made Kurenai feel a little flustered.
"Do... do we know each other?" she asked.
Kirito smiled.
"Didn't we just meet?"
Then he crouched down slightly so that he was at eye level with her.
"What beautiful eyes you have."
"Hah. What are you, some kind of lolicon?"
Jiraiya finally walked over, grinning as usual, though the caution in his eyes when he looked at Kirito and Orochimaru did not fade in the slightest.
"Who knows?" Kirito replied lightly.
Jiraiya's teasing did nothing to change his expression. Instead, Kirito simply raised a hand and gently rested it on Kurenai's head.
"If fate allows," he said softly, "let's get to know each other better another time."
Kurenai herself did not understand what was happening.
Under normal circumstances, if a stranger reached out and touched her head like that, she would have stepped back immediately.
But for some reason, she felt no urge to refuse him at all.
If anything...
The warmth of that touch felt strangely comforting.
For Asuma, though, the sight was torture.
The moment Kirito reached toward Kurenai, he had wanted to rush forward and knock his hand away. But if he did that now, especially after Kurenai had already scolded him once, it would only make things worse.
So all he could do was stand there and watch as the girl he liked allowed another man to get close to her.
"Are you two travelers?" Jiraiya asked casually once Kirito stood up again.
"Yeah," Kirito answered. "We wanted to see for ourselves how different this world could be..."
There was something layered in the way he said it, but Jiraiya could not make sense of it. In the end, he simply took it as the vague talk of a traveler.
"Minato," Jiraiya said, shifting his tone, "it's been a while since I've seen Kushina too. Mind if I come along?"
"Of course, Jiraiya-sensei!" Minato replied at once, clearly happy.
Kirito did not mind Jiraiya joining them.
After all, Jiraiya's suspicion came from concern for Minato and Kushina's safety. There was nothing strange about that.
After exchanging a few more words, Minato took the lead and started heading home.
But Kurenai remained where she was for a moment, quietly watching Kirito's figure grow more distant.
Her large eyes were filled with confusion.
Who was that man?
Why did he feel so familiar?
And what exactly was this strange feeling in her chest?
Asuma stood off to the side, not daring to say anything more. He did not want to make Kurenai angry again.
But the hostility in his heart toward Kirito only deepened.
Meanwhile, as they walked through the streets of Konoha, Kirito looked at the familiar sights around him and felt a quiet wave of emotion rise in his chest.
So much time had passed before he even realized it.
This time...
Could he finally make up for the regrets he had once left behind?
Before long, they arrived at Minato's home.
The moment he saw the familiar front gate, warmth quietly filled Kirito's eyes.
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