Notes:
Kurama, also known as Nine Tails or Kyubi, is the tailed beast sealed in Uzumaki Kushina, a jinchuriki.
At noon, Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Tonan sat in Ramen Ichiraku, waiting for Namikaze Minato’s arrival. Tonan looked around at the restaurant’s layout. It was plain, and a little rustic. As for what the netizens from his previous life said about the owner being Otsutsuki Teuchi or whatever, Tonan didn’t want to find out right now.
It would be fine if it were just a rumor, but if it was true, then he would be asking for death. Very soon, Minato arrived, bringing along a red-headed kunoichi wearing a green vest.
Minato pointed to the woman next to him and said, “Tonan, Kakashi, let me introduce you. This is Uzumaki Kushina.”
Kushina’s demeanor was not reserved even by a little bit, but quite the opposite. Pushing Minato out of the way, she rushed up to Kakashi and Tonan and looked at them curiously.
“So, these are the rumored new generation geniuses of Konoha? Nice to meet you, I’m Uzumaki Kushina.”
Kakashi nodded nonchalantly. Tonan glanced at Kushina and smiled in an elegant and easy-going way, and greeted, “Hello, I’m Uchiha Tonan. Minato-sensei’s student.”
Minato scratched his head with a smile. “Come on, let’s all take a seat.”
“Is everyone here? What do you all want to eat?” Teuchi walked out of the kitchen and laid out the menus in front of them.
Kushina raised her hand and shouted, “A large pork bone ramen!”
Then, she glanced at Minato and added, “Two bowls!”
Tonan didn’t look at the menu, he just smiled and said, “The same for me as well, but with less seasoning, please. I prefer lighter food. Sorry for the trouble.”
Kakashi answered indifferently, “I’ll have the same as him.”
“Alright!” Teuchi nodded, gathered the menus, and headed back into the kitchen. Soon after, four steaming bowls of mouth-watering pork bone ramen were served.
“Let’s dig in!” Kushina hurriedly picked up her chopsticks. Just then, the Nine-Tails’ voice appeared in her head.
“Kushina.”
“Yeah, Kurama? What’s up?”
“I’m feeling a strong sense of evil from that brat’s heart.”
When she heard that, Kushina’s hand stilled. She slightly turned her gaze towards Kakashi. But the Nine-Tails in her body corrected her, and said, “Not the white-haired kid, I’m talking about the Uchiha brat.”
Looking at the gentle-looking Tonan, who was slowly chewing his food, she frowned, “You must be mistaken. He looks as gentle as Minato.”
“My perception can’t be wrong. The evil chakra in his body unsettles me. But it’s nothing compared to the evil thoughts in his mind.”
“He’s looking over.”
“What’s wrong, senpai? Is there something on my face?”
Tonan looked at Kushina with a puzzled expression while wiping his face with a tissue.
“Those eyes… strange. Speaking of which, can I inherit her tailed beast abilities after she dies? Now that’s a question. If I keep going and kill all the jinchuriki, won’t I become a natural Ten-Tails? If it can be enhanced in a loop…”
Thinking up to this point, an inexplicable emotion appeared in Tonan’s eyes as he looked at Kushina.
“He seems to be thinking something evil about you.”
Kushina’s face stiffened. She said aloud, “I just remembered… I’ve been hearing people talking about you in the village of late.”
Clatter
Tonan froze and his chopsticks fell to the ground. Then, lowering his head, seemingly dejected, he asked hoarsely, “Is that right?”
Minato grabbed a new set of chopsticks for Tonan. Passing it to him, he said in a warm voice, “Eat while it’s hot. It won’t taste as good once it’s cold.”
Tonan nodded, picked up his chopsticks, and began chomping on the noodles in big bites, but drop by drop, tears fell into the bowl.
“Tonan, what’s wrong?” Kushina was confused. She didn’t expect this sort of reaction. Tonan looked up, his red eyes faintly glistening with tears. He said with a forced smile, “Huh? It’s too delicious. I’ve never eaten such good ramen before.”
Then, he lowered his head and continued stuffing his mouth with noodles.
“Want another bowl?” Minato patted Tonan’s back with a sympathetic look. But Tonan suddenly stood up, and said, “No, I’m full now. I’ve to clean up my house today, so I’ll leave you all to it if that’s alright.”
With that, he headed back towards the Uchiha district using Ground Travel. Just as he was leaving, he had even sneakily wiped his tears. Minato reached out and wanted to say something to him, but he couldn’t find the right words. Finally, when Tonan was about to turn into the street, he shouted out, “Remember to meet me in front of the Hokage Residence tomorrow morning at eight o’clock!”
Tonan paused in his steps. Nodding, he left without turning back. Kakashi put down his chopsticks with an expressionless face and turned to Kushina with a cold gaze. “I’m done, as well.” And then Kakashi left on his own.
Minato looked down, and the ramen in Kakashi and Tonan’s bowls seemed almost untouched. Minato and Kushina didn’t have any appetite anymore either. After eating a bit, they left with taciturn faces.
When on the road, Kushina couldn’t wrap her head around what happened. She asked Minato, “Did I say something wrong?”
“It’s probably nothing. Just watch what you say in the future.”
“That’s strange… I just said that people in the village were talking about him. Why was he so upset?”
“What were they talking about him?”
“They called him a genius, and that he graduated from the academy in only a year. Isn’t that worth talking about?”
Minato smiled and shook his head, “I guess all three of us misunderstood.”
“What else could it be?” Kushina looked puzzled. After some hesitation, she continued, “Did you know the Nine-Tails inside me can sense evil thoughts in people around me.”
Minato frowned at her words. “What do you mean?”
“Kurama said that Tonan has evil thoughts lurking in his heart.”
Minato shook his head, and said, “But based on what I understand, as well as the impression I got of him today, he didn’t come across as a bad guy.”
Kushina pursed her lips and chose to believe in Minato. “I hope Kurama was wrong.”
Minato sighed. From what he knew of Tonan’s situation, he explained to Kushina, “Tonan’s been through a lot. In just half a year, he has lost a fellow clan brother, his parents, and his girlfriend.”
Kushina got curious, and asked, “What happened?”
Minato patiently narrated Tonan’s recent experiences. Listening to him, Kushina had a realization, “After all those tragedies, it’s no wonder his heart is filled with darkness.”
Minato nodded, and said, “When I met him yesterday, he said that he dreams of gaining the acknowledgment of more people, and I can see that he meant that from the bottom of his heart.”
Kushina’s mind began running wild. “In that case, he must be the type who’s dark inside and bright outside.”
“Hokage-sama told me about this. Tonan needs someone who can help him out now.”
“No wonder you’ve been asked to become a team leader as soon as you were promoted to a jonin. It’s because of your personality…”
