As soon as the door opened, Uzumaki Kushina appeared at the entrance, clearly having been waiting for Minato to come home.
She had not prepared any food, though. After all, Minato had already said he was going to eat at Ichiraku Ramen first.
But the moment the door opened and she saw several people standing outside, Kushina's face flushed red.
After all, she and Namikaze Minato were not married yet. They were only dating, so she had definitely not expected him to suddenly bring this many people back with him.
"Minato, you're back. Even Jiraiya-sensei is here, and—"
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.
"Sorry, Kushina. We're not interrupting your time alone with Minato, are we?"
"Jiraiya-sensei…"
Minato could only give a helpless look.
He knew his teacher's personality far too well, so there was no point saying anything.
Just then, Kushina's eyes shifted and landed on Namikaze Kirito.
More specifically, on his red hair.
"You are…?"
"Oh, right, Kushina, I haven't introduced him yet." Minato quickly stepped in. "This is Uzumaki Kirito, a member of the Uzumaki clan. And this is his companion."
A member of the Uzumaki clan?
Kushina's eyes widened as she looked at Kirito.
For some reason, the moment she saw him, she had already felt a strange sense of familiarity deep in her heart, like an instinctive pull of blood ties. But once she heard Minato say he was from the Uzumaki clan, everything immediately seemed to make sense.
That was why it had felt like this.
Since Mito-sama passed away, Kushina had never met another member of her clan.
How could she not be excited now?
Without wasting another second, she hurriedly stepped aside and let the two of them into the house.
As Kirito walked in and looked at the familiar surroundings, a faint warmth flickered through his eyes.
This was his home.
On the other side, Orochimaru quietly observed his leader, Namikaze Kirito, with interest. His expression did not change much, but there was clearly something thoughtful in his gaze.
As if he had sensed it, Kirito turned his head and smiled at him.
That one smile made Orochimaru's heart tighten for a moment, and he immediately looked away.
"Kushina, Jiraiya and Kirito still haven't eaten yet. I want to see you show off a little." Minato smiled. "I'll help too."
Kushina, of course, had no complaints at all.
Meeting one of her own clansmen was already more than enough to make her happy.
And as luck would have it, there were still enough ingredients left in the house for her to cook something properly.
So Minato and Kushina quickly headed into the kitchen together and got busy.
Meanwhile, Kirito sat calmly in a chair, casually picking up the fruit set in front of him and eating it as if he were completely at ease.
Jiraiya sat across from him and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Kid, you really don't know the meaning of being reserved, do you?"
Kirito did not even pause.
"Jiraiya of the Sannin. I've heard your name for a long time. Now that I've finally met you, I can see you really are cautious."
Then he looked at him meaningfully.
"But you don't need to worry. I have no malice toward your disciple or toward Kushina."
He paused slightly before adding in a quieter voice,
"I just wanted to be here for this final meal."
Jiraiya's eyes sharpened for a brief moment.
But seeing how direct the boy was, he stopped beating around the bush and simply nodded.
"As long as that's true."
Just then—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A sudden knock came from the door.
Since Minato and Kushina were both busy in the kitchen, Jiraiya got up and went to answer it himself.
The moment he opened the door, an old man in the Hokage's robes stepped inside without hesitation.
Jiraiya blinked in surprise.
"Old man? What are you doing here?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled.
"What, Jiraiya? Am I not welcome?"
Hearing the voices, Minato and Kushina quickly put down what they were doing and came over.
"Lord Third," Minato said at once.
"Minato, Kushina, no need to be so formal." Hiruzen smiled kindly. "This old man simply came back too late and got chased out by his family. Surely you don't mind letting me stay for a meal?"
"Of course not, Lord Third. Please, come in."
Minato and Kushina promptly welcomed the Third Hokage inside.
Kirito, however, remained where he was, still eating fruit as though nothing had changed. He did not even bother to look up at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
There was no need.
Even without looking, he already knew the old man must be carefully studying the two of them.
In truth, Hiruzen had not come to Minato's house just for dinner.
The reason he had come in person was because of his old companion—
Shimura Danzō.
The conversation between Minato and Kirito had already reached Hiruzen's ears through Root.
And the matter of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was not something minor.
Danzō had immediately wanted to move in and seize control of the situation.
But Hiruzen had no intention of allowing that.
Namikaze Minato was already the strongest candidate to become the Fourth Hokage, and Hiruzen had his own reasons for choosing him.
To begin with, Minato came from a civilian background. When it came to matters of power, that made him far easier to balance.
On top of that, Kushina was Minato's lover, which ensured that the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki would remain firmly tied to Konoha.
Now Danzō wanted to go directly to Minato's house and take someone away.
But Kushina had never met any surviving member of her clan before.
With her personality, there was no way she would agree quietly.
And if that led to conflict, things would only get uglier.
At the same time, Hiruzen himself also wanted to see exactly what kind of person this so-called Uzumaki clansman was, and what his appearance in Konoha might mean.
That was why he had come personally.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a seat beside Jiraiya and turned his cloudy old eyes toward Namikaze Kirito.
Before Kirito could say anything, however, the middle-aged man disguised as Orochimaru spoke first.
"Hehe… so you're the Third Hokage. The one known as the Professor among shinobi."
Hiruzen smiled mildly.
"I'm just an old man who should have retired long ago."
"Not at all." Orochimaru's tone carried a strange meaning. "From the way you are now, it seems you're still growing stronger."
Jiraiya's brows twitched slightly.
The middle-aged man in front of him looked ordinary enough, yet the way he spoke… and the feeling he gave off…
It all felt strangely familiar.
As if he had heard that tone somewhere before.
Who exactly is this guy?
Jiraiya searched his memory, but the answer refused to come. Instead, the unease in his chest only deepened.
At that moment, Hiruzen decided to test them more directly.
"I heard the two of you are travelers." He smiled faintly. "What do you think of Konoha?"
Orochimaru answered in a calm voice.
"Wouldn't it be more accurate to say this is the greatest shinobi village in the world? The moment I arrived in Konoha, I could already feel a level of prosperity unlike anywhere else. It truly broadened my horizons."
It was a polite answer.
Too polite.
And not the answer Hiruzen had actually wanted.
From beginning to end, his attention had remained on Kirito.
He had been waiting for the boy himself to speak.
Since Orochimaru had stepped in again, Hiruzen decided not to circle around it any longer.
He looked directly at Kirito.
"You're from the Uzumaki clan. Do you know whether there are still any other clansmen alive?"
Kirito finally raised his eyes and answered casually,
"At the moment? Probably not. At least, I haven't met any others."
Then he added, as though it were the most natural thing in the world,
"Wasn't our clan already destroyed after forming an alliance with Konoha?"
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