After awakening, time slowed down.
It was natural to sleep a lot, but her sense of reality and presence had increased compared to before. And there were external changes too—more visitors came to the house than before.
'Well, these aren't exactly visitors...'
In truth, Etsu was a bit surprised.
"Was a mission even necessary for this?"
"Etsu-chan is such a well-behaved child."
"Hatake Kakashi."
She hadn't expected to meet a character from the original series so quickly.
She knew he was part of Minato's team along with Obito and Rin, but still.
'Obito, you were already an official ninja.'
The three ninjas who came to Etsu's house had apparently formed a team and received a mission. One of those low-rank missions that Naruto hated in the original story—babysitting, babysitting, and more babysitting.
In reality, this mission was completely below their level. After all, Kakashi had become a Chunin at age 6 according to the setting. Taking on these D-rank missions usually assigned to Genin was probably for Obito's sake.
"A child being well-behaved isn't a compliment, Obito."
"What...?"
"Children should act like children."
After this puzzling conversation, Kakashi suddenly reached out to Etsu and stretched both her cheeks, then twisted them around.
'Ow, ow, ouch!'
I'm just a baby! Don't you know how delicate baby skin is?
"Waaaaaahhhh!"
"Et-, Etsu! You! What are you doing to my sister?"
"The crybaby ninja's sister is a crybaby too, I see."
"Kakashi!!"
"Hmm, children should be lively like this."
Watching Kakashi looking satisfied while Obito panicked, Etsu was dumbfounded.
'You made a child cry just for that reason?!'
Etsu was so angry that she pointed her tiny hand directly at Kakashi. Clear tears were still welling in her eyes.
Point
"...?"
Two confused expressions.
"Stupid Kakashi!"
"!"
"Etsu, Etsu-chan!"
"Pervert!"
Just as Obito was showing an impressed expression at the clearly spoken words, he froze at the word that followed.
"Etsu! Where on earth did you learn such words...!"
"So she's not an ordinary kid..."
Scratch scratch
Kakashi scratched his cheek with a tone suggesting it had nothing to do with him.
It was a peaceful moment.
As it turned out, Kakashi was currently 9 years old. That meant there was an 8-year age gap between him and Etsu. He wasn't covering one eye with a headband yet, and his expression didn't look as dull as expected.
'Though he's already wearing the mask.'
It was unexpected for Etsu, who had only imagined the dull pervert image from the manga, but he had a rather sharp and cold personality.
'Plus, he's a genius...'
Obito, Etsu's brother, had only recently become a ninja. Since Kakashi was an exceptional case who had advanced very quickly, there was a difference in experience despite being on the same team.
Thinking about how the protagonists in the original story graduated from ninja school at 12 without any special advancement, she had assumed everyone was like that, but it seemed the ages for enrollment and graduation weren't uniformly fixed.
Even if Obito hadn't awakened the Sharingan yet, he was still an Uchiha.
'Though he's barely mentioned in the original story after his death, becoming an official ninja at 9—is Obito a genius too? Even more than Sasuke?'
Becoming an official ninja—graduating from ninja school—or getting promoted was also related to the times.
Becoming a new ninja at a young age meant not only skill but also that Konoha was short on manpower.
Ninjas here were like the military, after all.
Etsu hadn't thought that far since she was safely within the Uchiha boundaries. Above all, there was no way to know the historical background that wasn't shown in the original story.
After that, Team Minato frequently took on babysitting missions and came to Kosuke's house.
It was 13 years before the Uchiha tragedy and 5 years before the Nine-Tails incident. Since the Uchiha clan hadn't been half-expelled from the Leaf village yet, Kosuke's house wasn't in the isolated Uchiha compound but closer to Konoha Village. Of course, that area was still Uchiha property.
"Etsu-chan, are you awake?"
"Bi... bwother."
"I'm glad you're alive...!"
"Are you an idiot?"
"Don't need Kakashi!"
"This little kid..."
Though she wanted to speak clearly, the characteristic lisp of a young child came out. Obito was satisfied with just that, but Etsu inwardly groaned in frustration.
'I'm a perfectionist...!'
She wanted to see Minato at least once, but a Jonin supervisor wouldn't come for a low-rank mission like babysitting. Besides, although it took the form of a mission, they were basically coming to look after Obito's sister.
"Are you two bickering again?"
"Who would with this idiot."
"Did you call me an idiot again, Kakashi?!"
"Hmph."
After the first day, Rin also joined the mission. Rin, who was receiving training as a medical ninja, was a pretty young girl. Though she was much older than Etsu, to the reincarnated Etsu, she appeared as a young girl.
She didn't know if the principle of balancing team abilities existed from this time, but probably Kakashi was the strongest and Rin the weakest. This was just Etsu's speculation since she couldn't see into the original author's mind.
'What's unexpected is...'
That her brother Obito and Kakashi clashed quite often. She had thought they were incredibly close friends, close enough for him to give Kakashi his eye...
In reality, Kakashi seemed too cold. Did hair color also reflect personality? The fact that he was the youngest yet most skilled might also be a point of conflict.
Etsu's clear thoughts didn't last long. Up to age 7 was when the brain develops most actively, which meant her thinking ability wasn't complete yet. No matter how much she remembered her past life, she couldn't overcome the limitations of her physical body.
She slept a lot, like a baby should. Time continued to pass quickly for Etsu.
And Namikaze Minato was appointed as the Fourth Hokage. Since it was impossible to obtain information on her own, she learned this from conversations she overheard here and there. A change in Hokage was naturally a big event.
As she would learn later, Minato had already been designated as the next Hokage candidate in his teens. This was just the official announcement. The position of Hokage wasn't something that could be changed overnight. He had to form his own ANBU directly under the Hokage, and a proper handover was necessary.
'Ah, was this when things already went wrong?'
The atmosphere within the clan was bad enough for young Etsu to notice as she toddled around. They had hoped the Fourth would come from the Uchiha clan. The selection of the Hokage made them feel that the Uchiha were being pushed away from the center of the Leaf.
Namikaze Minato wasn't from the Senju clan, but what mattered was that the Hokage didn't come from the Uchiha.
'The Uchiha tragedy... might be unavoidable.'
And when Etsu turned fourteen...
Kakashi became a Jonin—
And Obito died.