After settling the three little guys, Kaze stuffed his hands into his pockets and swaggered towards the Ninja Academy.
Come to think of it, this super - sassy walking style he learned from his good buddy Wangshuo when he was on Blue Star.
Memories came flooding back, and Kaze remembered the "girls" they downloaded together...
"Holy shit!"
Kaze suddenly remembered that he hadn't deleted the 100GB of study materials on his phone!
He didn't care about being reduced to ashes, but he was worried his phone hadn't been formatted!
"Forget it... It's all in the past life. Why keep thinking about it? It's impossible to go back anyway..."
Kaze shook his head, sat on the flower bed outside the Ninja Academy, and quietly waited for Minato and Kushina to finish school.
While waiting, Kaze recalled his conversation with his father just now.
[The following is Kaze's memory.]
"Um... This doesn't seem right, Dad."
Kaze was stunned by his father's words: "Minato doesn't really fit in with our... well, vibe."
Although Kaze had always wanted to change Minato's tragic fate, even the most tragic part of his original fate was better than having... a teacher like this!
"Do you think Minato Namikaze has a better place to go than here with me?" Tanzō frowned slightly and said calmly.
"Don't you know that since you've gotten so close to Minato Namikaze, he's already marked as a part of our Shimura family."
After hearing Tanzō's words, Kaze finally realized that he had to bear this blame!
It was like when a prince of a country got too close to a minister. Even if there was really nothing going on between them, other princes wouldn't dare to use that minister.
But if Minato became his father's disciple, then his Flying Raijin Technique... Well, it wasn't a big deal. If his father wanted it, he could get it tomorrow.
But Minato would lose the chance to learn the Sage Art from Mount Myoboku!
The problem was that Kaze couldn't tell Tanzō the real reason.
He couldn't just say that he secretly read the "script" and knew that his father wouldn't end well, so he shouldn't ruin Minato's future.
Kaze could only muster up the courage and say, "Dad, Minato is my dear friend, my brother! I think..."
"I didn't expect you two to be so close," Tanzō said in surprise, looking at his son. "You're worried that I'll treat your friend badly in the future, right?"
"In that case..." Under Kaze's hesitant gaze, Tanzō pondered for a moment and slowly said,
"I'll take your friend as my adopted son. Are you satisfied now?"
This is even scarier!
Kaze was completely dumbfounded.
Just imagine, Minato with his upright look, calling the eagle-eyed and wolfish Tanzō "Adoptive Father" one after another...
That picture was just... so disgusting!
Kaze wanted to blurt out: "A real man shouldn't grovel under others for long!"
However, seeing his father's increasingly menacing look, Kaze sensibly chose to keep his mouth shut. He was afraid that Tanzō would kill him on the spot.
Sigh.
The memory stopped abruptly at this point. Kaze let out a sigh with a complicated expression, wondering how he should bring this up to Minato later.
My father, that sneaky old guy, wants to take you in, but after my persuasion, he changed his mind. Now he wants to adopt you as his son...
"Kaze~"
Just then, someone patted him on the shoulder from behind.
Kaze turned around and saw that familiar face and that familiar smile.
"Mi... Minato!"
Kaze's mind went blank and his mouth just blurted out things without thinking. Subconsciously, he said, "Minato, my son wants to recognize you as his father!"
Minato: "??? Are you even listening to what you're saying?"
Seeing Minato looking utterly confused, Kaze also came to his senses and quickly said, "Bah, it's my father who wants to adopt you as his son!"
Minato: "... It sounds a lot more normal, but it still feels something's off."
"Yay, Kaze, you're back, Databane!" A surprised voice came.
The next moment, a red-haired figure rushed over, picked Kaze up from the ground, and spun him around in the air.
Was Kaze touched? No, he dared not move.
He froze his limbs and let Kushina have her way, blinking innocently at Minato beside him at the same time.
"Minato, it was your wife who made the first move. It really can't be blamed on me, bro."
After Kushina had enough fun with Kaze, she put him down. The smile on her face disappeared instantly, and she punched him.
"Where have you been? You didn't even come back for over a year, you big Databane!"
Σ_(」∠)
Kaze didn't die on the battlefield, but he almost got killed by Kushina's punch... He realized that his defense was still too low.
From now on, whenever I get attribute points, I'll goddamn put all my attribute points into defense! Dammit!
"Let's find a place to have a meal and chat. I'll foot the bill as an apology," Kaze said while spitting out blood.
The three of them found a barbecue restaurant and sat down.
Kaze told the two of them exactly what he had experienced in the past year.
Kushina let out a bunch of excited yells at Kaze's thrilling experiences. In her excitement, she punched Kaze again. The dull thud made Minato's hair stand on end.
"Th... There's still one more thing," Kaze said, struggling to hold his body upright and speaking with difficulty through the pain that was making him gasp for air. "We're about to graduate, Minato. My father plans to take you under his wing. You..."
"So it's this matter," Minato thought for a moment and said with a smile. "I have no objections. It'd be good to be taken in by Tanzō."
Oh, well...
Kaze showed a surprised expression. Minato's reaction was quite different from what he had imagined.
Seeing Kaze looking so startled, Minato just smiled and said nothing. That was truly what he was thinking in his heart.
Putting aside his relationship with Kaze, he learned a great deal from Tanzō back then, so he owed the man a favor. In the eyes of many, he might already be seen as part of this faction.
Moreover, since he had to choose a place to settle down in the end, why not choose a more powerful one?
"Alright, as long as you're willing."
Seeing that Minato had no objections, a weight lifted off Kaze's heart.
The three of them chatted and laughed. Their deep friendship hadn't cooled down after a year apart; instead, it seemed to be heating up.
Half a month later, in the Root's hall.
Kaze wore black combat clothes and a gray suspender overcoat. He slowly put on a mask with red patterns on a white background.
As the saying goes, clothes make the man and a saddle adorns a horse. (This Chinese saying implies that a proper appearance can enhance one's charm.)
Looking at his sharp and capable self in the mirror, Kaze nodded in satisfaction and said, "I knew it. I'm freaking handsome!"
Kaze tightened the arm guards on his arms and sized up the Root members passing by in twos and threes.
At this time, Tanzō still had a moral bottom line and hadn't been completely twisted by darkness and power, nor had he degenerated into a monster.
So, the atmosphere in the Root was still quite good, not giving the feeling of depression and despair as in the anime.
"My young master, what are you daydreaming about?" A burly figure walked over, put his arm around Kaze, and led him outside.
"The Uchiha guys are about to set off. We have to get into position quickly."
"This is your first mission after joining the Root. We can't afford to mess it up!"