[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Konoha, Year 39.
...
...
"Kushina-san!!" The children seemed excited as they saw Kushina entering the room with a cake.
"I think this is perfect for you at the moment..." Kushina commented with a smile, while the children were in the middle of breakfast.
"I think one cake won't be enough for everyone..." Minato commented from the side, looking at the children. Many of them he didn't know, but there were others he had seen when they were younger.
"You underestimate me, Minato." She said with a laugh as she reached the children's table, placing the cake on one part of it and pulling a scroll from her pocket, starting to pull out two more cakes while winking at Minato.
"Then why..." Minato was stunned by this.
"Because I like looking like a woman carrying a cake around?" She commented with a mischievous smile, and Minato didn't know what to say.
"Who's the uncle, Kushina-san?" A child pointed at Minato after grabbing a piece of cake.
"Is he your boyfriend by any chance?!" A girl exclaimed, looking at Kushina, expecting something like that or hoping she would be embarrassed, as Kushina was quite funny when she got emotional.
"He... is my fiancé." Kushina commented with a small smile.
The children eating cake looked at Kushina in surprise, while the others also glanced at Minato. Those who had memories of him couldn't help but express their doubts since they hadn't recognized him right away.
"Are you... Minato Namikaze?" they asked.
"Yes... it's been many years, Aiko." Minato responded to the girl who had asked directly. She looked to be about ten years old.
"Minato... the greatest record holder at the academy?!" The children exclaimed, recalling the name they had heard over the years. Besides Kushina mentioning him, the academy also held him up as an example to follow, though they weren't yet aware he had become a war hero.
"Amazing! You're the legendary Minato! I've always wanted to be like you! Did you also come from this orphanage?!" Another boy looked at him with stars in his eyes.
"It's a shame Yuuma already left for the academy; he would've been so excited to meet you!" Another spoke, referring to the child who had passed by Minato and Kushina before they arrived.
It didn't take long for the children to leave their chairs and surround him, pushing him away from Kushina and her cakes.
"..." The girl couldn't help but pout, being replaced by the children, but also smiled as she watched Minato being swarmed by them, unsure of how to handle all the questions they were throwing at him.
"What is going on?!" Some of the orphanage staff, who took care of and helped with the children along with Madame Gorete, appeared, returning from the kitchen and seeing the chaos when the children should have been quietly eating before many of them went to the academy.
"Sorry about this, Madame Gorete gave us permission to come in..." Kushina said apologetically.
"Kushina-san... wait, is that Minato?!" Some of the women there immediately recognized him.
"Hello... it's been a while..." Minato greeted them with a small smile, while being jostled by the children, who pushed him from side to side with questions.
"Hey, kids... can you stop this chaos and behave while you have your breakfast?!" Madame Gorete entered the kitchen at that moment through the main entrance, looking dissatisfied at all the children.
"But..." They tried to argue, but the head of the orphanage knew very well how to handle the children.
"No buts, just sit back down and you can eat or go back to eating the cake that Kushina brought." She said in a firm tone. She hadn't come with them earlier because she had been wiping the tears that had streamed from her eyes and didn't want the other children to see her like that.
"Save the questions for after your first meal, understood?" She finished, and many nodded in agreement.
"But I wanted to ask Minato-san some questions, but we have to go to the academy!!" Others argued.
"Minato will be in the village for a few days, so you can ask your questions tomorrow. After all, it's Saturday, and he said he'd come back here." She said to the table.
As reluctant as they were, the children nodded while Minato sat in a chair next to Kushina, grabbing his own piece of cake as well.
"It's actually good." Minato couldn't help but smile at the redhead.
"You better like it, dattebane!" She said, while some of the children laughed at their interaction.
In the end, the children who needed to go to the academy left, while others went outside to play. Minato, Kushina, and Madame Gorete followed them.
The engaged couple ended up helping out at the orphanage while playing with the children. Many wanted to ask Minato for jutsus, but he shook his head, saying they were too young for that. He added that maybe tomorrow he could show them some basics since the academy kids would be there.
Madame Gorete was happy to have Minato there. Despite the joy of seeing him, she refrained from asking much about the war for personal reasons. After all, she had lost children who had left the orphanage to become ninjas, a group that varied between those graduating years before Minato's era at the academy and a little after.
"So the village is starting to send 9-year-olds to war?" Minato asked while standing in a corner with Madame Gorete, watching Kushina play with the other children.
"Yes... we tried to protest against it. I know you went when you were 10... but 9 years old is too much. What kind of role could a child have at that age? It's cruel... and many of them are already dead... at this rate, they'll start sending 8-year-olds soon..." She said with a tone of deep dissatisfaction.
"I understand..." Minato murmured, knowing that in the future, yes, the village would send 8-year-olds to the Third World War.
Minato and Kushina didn't stay for lunch at the orphanage and, after saying their goodbyes to the staff and children, promising to return the next day, they headed to the Senju clan.
They arrived after walking through the village, going to the house next to where Kushina lived.
"This place feels so empty..." Minato murmured, seeing the deserted area.
"Yes... not even the servants are here anymore... the Senju clan suffered many losses this year..." Kushina commented as they found a woman sitting in a rocking chair.
She was Duy's wife, who had been living with the Senju clan since her situation years ago. Mito had accepted her, and no one had opposed that wish after her death, allowing the Might family to live in one of the vacant houses of the clan.
"Minato... So you're here..." She remarked, looking at Minato with some surprise.
"Hello, Miss Might... I see you're doing well..." He said, greeting her.
"Yes... you're doing well... that's good. I wanted to ask about my husband... but I never thanked you for what you did years ago. So thank you for everything!" She knew that Minato had made a significant move when she was about to die, leaving Guy behind while her father was at war.
And just as she was about to kneel before him to show her gratitude, Minato stopped her. She was young but still afflicted with a rare illness, even though she was no longer in danger of dying. She always had to make a great effort to do anything.
"You don't need to do that." Minato touched her shoulder, shaking his head for her not to continue. She was a little surprised but nodded at his request.
"Let's eat, Minato will make lunch today." Kushina exclaimed as they entered the house.
Minato didn't mind cooking, and 20 minutes later, lunch was ready with what was available in the house. He served it, and the older woman was surprised by how good the food was.
In the afternoon, he spent time training with Kushina, trying to find a way to create his new fuuinjutsu for chakra absorption. Later in the evening, he mentioned that he was going to the academy, and Kushina nodded, letting him do something on his own so she wouldn't seem too clingy.
"Just stay over here tonight, okay?" She asked, though it felt more like an order than a request.
Minato just scratched his head and nodded. It wasn't too hard to agree, especially since that old pervert had noticed he was back, so he didn't really want to return to his apartment. "I'll see you later. It should be time for the kids to get out, and I want to see my old teacher." Minato said before disappearing.
Maki Fuuma was bidding farewell to all the children for the day. He had taken on a new class this year, after assisting some in recent years following his work with Minato's Elite Class, a program the village hadn't put back into practice since then. But he knew that all the ninjas from that class were doing exceptionally well on the battlefield, though he hadn't participated himself, as his role was to continue guiding new children for Konoha's future.
Meanwhile, a stoic Kakashi passed by him with a cold and neutral expression, followed closely by another child, Might Guy, who was always so energetic that the teacher sometimes questioned his mental health.
"Minato?!!" Maki heard Guy exclaim again as he spotted Minato standing ahead.
"It's been a while, Guy. How have you been?" Minato ruffled the boy's hair in the middle of the exit, while Kakashi looked back in surprise, seeing Minato's back. Though he had spoken to him a few years ago, Kakashi continued on his way, having nothing to say to Minato, except that he wanted to surpass him, which he would soon do.
"How about you head back to the clan? I'll be there soon, and I can give you some training." Minato said, and the young Guy looked thrilled.
"Yes!" Guy exclaimed, running off toward the Senju clan, while Minato sighed and turned his attention to his teacher. "Hello, sensei." Minato greeted him.
"Minato!! The last I heard about you, you became a Jonin at just 12 years old!!" He exclaimed, approaching Minato with a gleam of pride.
"You could say that, sensei." Minato replied with a smile. "How have you been?"
They began a brief conversation while Teacher Fuuma talked about the challenges of teaching and how he was managing his class. "I know young Guy doesn't have much talent for ninjutsu, but he might surprise you in the future with just taijutsu. His father is developing an S-Rank technique." Minato mentioned.
"S-Rank? Are you sure?" Fuuma looked wide-eyed at Minato, who nodded.
"Yes... very powerful. I even asked the Hokage to let me join him with the technique; we'll be working on it at the northern border." Minato said.
They talked for a little longer, and Minato decided to return to the clan as it was getting dark, while Fuuma still had things to organize in his classroom.
When Minato returned, Guy quickly seemed to sense him and ran up, asking for training while preparing his weights. Minato just smiled at the child and gave him a series of exercises.
Kushina was also waiting for him at the door, so she ended up making dinner for the two of them, and they ate together as a couple before Kushina dragged him to the bedroom, where they slept on separate futons.
"Good night, Minato." Kushina said, glancing at him, happy to see him there.
"Good night, Kushina." Minato replied, staring at the ceiling, thinking about how good it felt to be in the village and to see so many people he hadn't seen in years.
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