Next to the Hokage Building, below Hokage Rock, there was a grove of cherry blossom trees.
Carrying a money box blessed with sealing jutsu and accompanied by Kakuzu, Kizaru walked into the cherry blossom grove.
"The scenery here is nice, isn't it, Brother?" Walking along the shaded path, Kizaru said with a smile.
"Not bad!" Kakuzu, who was solely focused on getting the money, had no mood to appreciate the beauty and casually replied.
"Haha! You're really impatient!" Seeing Kakuzu's distraction, Kizaru teased.
After speaking, Kizaru didn't bother to tease Kakuzu anymore and walked ahead, preparing to go to the center of the cherry blossom grove, a place devoid of people.
After taking a few steps forward, Kizaru suddenly stopped under Kakuzu's gaze.
"Children these days are really scary!" Seemingly noticing something, Kizaru said with a smirk.
Hearing Kizaru's remark, Kakuzu also sensed the movement not far ahead and coldly said, "Trash!"
"Hey hey hey, Brother! I'm still here." Kizaru turned to look at Kakuzu, teasingly.
Without saying a word, Kakuzu's expression conveyed his opinion: the brat ahead was indeed trash!
How could a low-ranking ninja not defeat a little girl? What else could they be if not trash?
"Just because I'm an outsider, you won't help me, huh?"
"I..."
"You think the same, don't you?"
Several meters ahead of Kizaru, Uzumaki Kushina from the Land of Whirlpools looked at the Minato on the tree and angrily questioned.
The mockery and rejection from classmates, the covert exclusion by villagers towards outsiders, the attacks from the older brother of a classmate, and the bystander attitude of Minato, filled Kushina's heart with anger and sadness.
After angrily questioning Minato, Kushina turned around and ran forward crying. She just wanted to return to Uzumaki Mito's house.
Kushina, running with tears, didn't notice Kizaru and Kakuzu standing ahead and ran straight towards them.
Handing the money box to his left hand, Kizaru reached out his right hand and pressed it against Kushina's head as she rushed past.
"How terrifying, Kushina!" Startled by the sudden attack, Kushina stopped, pushed away Kizaru's hand, and defiantly looked at his face with a hint of disgust.
As the new Jinchuriki successor of the Nine-Tails, when Kushina arrived in Konoha and lived with Mito, Kizaru happened to be there at the time. Introduced by Tsunade, he learned sealing jutsu from Mito.
Therefore, Kizaru had a profound influence on Kushina, who was the same age but tall and had a distinct way of speaking.
"You foul-mouthed jerk, why are you here? Just like everyone else in the village, do you also think I'm an outsider and hate me?" Kushina, already angry with this jerk who nicknamed her "Red Habanero" at their first meeting, questioned again.
"How terrifying!" Faced with Kushina's anger, Kizaru turned to Kakuzu beside him.
Out of professional instinct, Kakuzu glanced at Kushina and then said to Kizaru, "How much?"
"Eh, it's getting scarier and scarier!" Facing Kakuzu's response, Kizaru could only sigh helplessly.
After sighing, Kizaru looked at Kushina again, who was preparing to leave.
Once again, he reached out his right hand and pressed it against Kushina's head, ignoring her struggles. He looked at the tree ahead.
"Minato, if you don't come out now, your girlfriend will run away."
"Whoosh!"
Minato, somewhat flustered, jumped in front of Kizaru, next to Kushina.
"Brother Kizaru, this is Kushina, my classmate." With a hint of embarrassment on his face, Minato hastily explained.
"Haha! I thought you two were a couple!" Releasing Kushina's head from his right hand, Kizaru chuckled.
"Who's a couple with him? I don't like this sissy anymore, you foul-mouthed jerk!" Despite her messy hair, Kushina first yelled at Kizaru, then looked disdainfully at Minato next to her.
Minato, being scorned, didn't get angry or retort. He just looked at Kushina with a gentle smile.
"Tch!" With a snort, Kushina turned her head, crossed her arms, and glared angrily at Kizaru, who prevented her from leaving. "What do you want, you jerk?"
"Long time no see. Let me treat you both to barbecue today!" After speaking, Kizaru lifted the money box in his left hand and patted it, showing off. "With the help of Kakuzu here, I made a small fortune."
"A small fortune of eighty million, right?"
Standing next to Kizaru, Kakuzu wanted to say something.
"Yeah! Barbecue!" In the village, no child could resist the temptation of barbecue. A hint of interest flashed across Minato's face, but instead of agreeing directly, he turned to look at Kushina next to him.
Hearing Kizaru's invitation, Kushina hesitated for a moment. This was the first invitation she had received since coming to the village, aside from those from Mito, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.
"Tch, I don't want you to treat us!" Although tempted, Kushina, still angry, stubbornly refused.
Trustin Kakuzu's professionalism, Kizaru handed the money box to him directly, then smiled and stretched out his hands, forcefully taking this pair of tomato and egg scrambles.
"Brother, keep up!" Holding onto both of them, especially the struggling Kushina, Kizaru laughed and shouted.
"Is this guy treating me as his subordinate?"
Annoyed, Kakuzu still carried the money box and followed along.
Initially planning to distribute the money deep in the forest and tease Kakuzu a bit, Kizaru changed his mind after encountering Minato and Kushina.
Walking out of the cherry blossom forest and onto the commercial street, Kizaru didn't stop but continued forward.
"Brother Kizaru, where are we going?" As they were about to leave the commercial street, with Minato on one side and Kushina on the other, both following Kizaru, Minato asked.
"To meet a kid!" Smiling, Kizaru replied.
"A kid?"
Looking up at Kizaru's profile, Minato suddenly became curious.
Besides a few classmates from before and peers from the clan, Kizaru actually had friends.
Remaining silent and now calm, Kushina, who had kept her emotions in check for the past three years, listened to the conversation between Kizaru and Minato, sneakily glancing at the two.
"If everything goes as planned, that kid should be starting school this year." Looking down at Minato, Kizaru joked, "She's just like you, a genius!"
After Kizaru left, Minato, who had maintained the top position in the entire grade for three years and could graduate early at any time, humbly said, "Compared to you, Brother Kizaru, I'm not really a genius."
"No need to compare yourself to me, Minato!" Ruffling Minato's soft blond hair, Kizaru self-deprecatingly said, "I, on the other hand, am a freak! Haha!"
"No, Brother Kizaru, you're not a freak at all! You're the village's strongest super genius!" Looking straight at Kizaru, Minato corrected seriously.
"A freak?"
At this moment, Kushina, who had become the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, couldn't help but glance at Minato upon hearing this conversation.
Somehow, Kushina suddenly found Minato, this annoying sissy, somewhat pleasing to the eye.