The Shimura Residence.
Kaze let the three little ones play in his spacious courtyard while he went inside to see his father.
Inside the main house.
Tanzō sat in a throne-like chair, eyes slightly closed, and asked without looking up.
"Those outside are the three kids you brought back from the Land of Rain, right?"
Kaze, who had just entered the room, knelt in front of Tanzō, nodded slightly, and said.
"Yes, father. They all have great potential. I plan to take them in. What do you think?"
A slight smile curved Tanzō's lips.
His son was starting to build his own power. How could he, as a father, object? He was more than willing to support him.
Tanzō took out a stack of bundled papers from his sleeve and gently tossed them in front of Kaze, saying.
"Choose a property from these to house those three kids. If you need more money, come to me."
Kaze picked up the stack of property deeds, his face lighting up with joy. "Got it! Thanks, Dad."
Without Tanzō's support, he'd have to buy a house out of his own pocket, which would probably halve his savings!
Tanzō slowly opened his eyes, stood up, walked up to Kaze, and looked down at him.
"Border wars, training in the Land of Rain... Kaze, have you ever held a grudge against me for being so tough on you?"
Kaze tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said honestly, "Just a little, not too much."
There was a brief silence between the father and son. Kaze had already guessed what his father was going to say next.
"My father and grandfather both died as ninjas on the battlefield. Self - sacrifice is a ninja's duty."
"My father and grandfather both died as ninjas on the battlefield. Self - sacrifice is a ninja's duty."
Hearing his father say the exact same thing again, Kaze almost burst out laughing.
He quickly pulled himself together, feigning deep emotion at his ancestors' deeds, and nodded earnestly, saying, "Yeah, you're so right."
... (A long monologue)...
Honestly, Tanzō's brainwashing skills were way better than Hiruzen's.
But for a slacker from the 21st century like him, it was still not quite up to par.
"You did a great job in the Land of Rain this time. I'm very satisfied," Tanzō remarked after the ideological lecture.
With that, he took out a ninja forehead protector from his bosom and, in Kaze's surprised and flattered look, personally put it on him.
"You've made a lot of contributions to Konoha. From today on, you're a Chunin, a Chunin belonging to Root."
Kaze had to admit that this emotional assault came out of nowhere, and he was a bit swayed.
However...
"Father, I haven't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet. Isn't this against the rules?" Kaze asked.
Tanzō glanced at him and said in a calm and overbearing tone, "In Konoha, my rules are the rules."
"
Well, this time, Tanzō really pulled off a showy move!
Tanzō sat back on the throne - like chair, closed his eyes, and coughed lightly twice.
Kaze got the hint and stood up. He fetched the precious tea sent by the Nara family and made a pot of tea in a fawning way.
The father and son sat at the table, sipping tea while discussing village and national affairs.
Kaze learned from his father that under the pretext of his own assassination, his father had carried out several rounds of purges, both overt and covert, in Konoha.
"The threats from within Konoha have been mostly eliminated," Tanzō took a sip of tea, a glint of coldness flashing in his eyes. "Now, only the Uchiha clan remains as an unstable factor."
Kaze felt a chill in his heart but didn't say anything.
It was still twenty - two years before the Uchiha clan's annihilation, so there was no need to rush things.
After chatting about some daily trivial matters for a while, Tanzō suddenly changed the subject. "By the way, there's something I'd like to hear your opinion on."
"Go ahead, father," Kaze said happily as he took a sip of tea, waiting for his father to continue.
"The ninja students in your class are about to graduate. At that time, I plan to take in your friend Minato Namikaze. What do you think?"
(*)?!
Hearing Tanzō's words, the tea in Kaze's mouth spilled out.
If the Naruto he read back then wasn't a pirated version, Minato... shouldn't he have become Jiraiya's disciple?
What the hell is going on!
At this moment, Kaze didn't realize that the flapping of his little "butterfly wings" was quietly affecting the entire ninja world.
Don't underestimate the small flapping of wings; it has a huge impact!
In fact, taking in Minato Namikaze was the result of Tanzō's careful consideration.
Minato Namikaze had excellent talent and was a good candidate. Moreover, he had a good relationship with his son and could be trained as his son's future support.
Moreover, it was said that he also had a good relationship with the Nine - Tailed Jinchūriki, and even...
If he could be taken in, he might be turned into a reins to restrain the Jinchūriki in the future. It was truly a win - win deal.
After walking out of the room, Kaze rubbed his temples with a headache.
"Dad is really something. While Jiraiya is away, he's trying to take advantage of the situation. It's so... um."
Mid - sentence, looking at the three little ones running around in the yard, Kaze suddenly realized a problem.
It seemed that he had also taken advantage of Jiraiya, and even more so than his father...
"We've taken all the good opportunities from Jiraiya. We're really wringing him dry," Kaze sighed.
Jiraiya only had a few apprentices in total, and all of them had been taken away by him and his father.
At this moment, Jiraiya, who was in the Land of Rain, sneezed and felt a sense of unease.
There was an emptiness in his heart, as if he had lost something very important in the dark.
Farther away, a large frog was tossing and turning on its throne, seemingly having a nightmare, and kept muttering the word "bad luck".
"Okay, stop causing a commotion, you guys.
"
Kaze called out to the three little ones who were running around and waved at them. "Come with me. I'll take you to your new home."
"New home?"
The three little ones glanced at each other, then gathered around Kaze. There was a faint glimmer of anticipation in their hearts.
Konan tugged at the corner of Kaze's clothes and blinked her big eyes. "Brother Kaze, where are you taking us? To the welfare home?"
Kaze pinched Konan's chubby and cute face and smiled. "Well~ I want to keep you guys as my little brother and sister. Would you like that?"
Konan's eyes lit up and she excitedly waved her little fist. "I'd like to, Brother Kaze!"
Kaze then looked at Nagato. The child's bangs were so long that he couldn't see his eyes at all.
But judging from the smile on his lips, he probably had no objections.
"Humph!" Yahiko beside him snorted but didn't say a word.
And not speaking out to refuse meant agreeing...
As they walked on the road, Konan naturally took Kaze's hand and asked curiously.
"Brother Kaze, since you're taking us in, why are you leading us outside?"
Kaze took out a property deeds. "I'm just afraid you'd feel uncomfortable living in someone else's place. My father found a house for you three to live in."
"Ah!" Konan let out an exclamation.
Not long ago, they were still wandering on the streets, homeless. Now... they were going to have a house of their own?
It felt so unreal!
The three of them glanced at each other. There was a bit of yearning in their hearts, and at the same time, they were full of gratitude towards Kaze and his old father.
Kaze's father was so straightforward that without a second thought, he provided a place to live for the three helpless children.
It was evident that he was truly a kind - hearted man!
"