"Is this where Kiyoshi lives?" A gentle voice sounded.
"Yes, it is, Minato-sensei." Another clear female voice followed.
"Minato-sensei and Rin just follow me. I know this place best." There was also a rather noisy voice.
Kiyoshi directed his attention toward the main gate.
*Thump thump.*
Someone was knocking.
Kiyoshi smoothly stored his ninja blade into the sealing scroll, hanging it at his waist, and went to open the door. The sealing scroll was small, looking just like an ornament hanging on his hip.
"Hello, Kiyoshi, I am Minato Namikaze. I was too rushed before, so I didn't properly introduce myself." Minato displayed a pleasant smile, his short blond hair swaying in the wind.
"Hello." Kiyoshi nodded.
Frankly, Minato was considered a good person in the ninja world. Kiyoshi naturally had no ill feelings toward such a person. It was just a pity that being too good often equated to weakness.
The day Kushina gave birth, she was essentially killed by Obito. He even rigged a set of exploding tags onto the newborn, completely innocent Naruto. This was an act of killing his wife and his son.
Yet, Minato chose to forgive Obito during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Kiyoshi found it difficult to comment on this. He just felt it was unfair to Kushina.
"Kiyoshi, congratulations on becoming a Chūnin." Rin Nohara stood beside Minato, wearing a ninja headband, indicating she had graduated.
"Congratulations on becoming a ninja too, Rin Nohara." Kiyoshi replied.
In his mind, he speculated that since Rin and Minato were here together, they had likely already been assigned to a squad. Kiyoshi had been busy with the Chunin Exams and training lately, so he hadn't kept up with many other things or seen Rin much.
"You're much faster than me, Kiyoshi. You graduated so quickly; we just graduated, and you're already a Chūnin." Rin smiled, the purple markings on her face giving her features more dimension. She wore a fitted ninja combat suit, a light pink skirt tied around her waist, shorts beneath the skirt, and dark red knee-high socks.
"Hehe, Rin, I'm a ninja now too! Once I awaken my Sharingan, I'll shine brilliantly in the village." Obito Uchiha rubbed his nose and said. He also had a ninja headband on, though he was still wearing his orange goggles. "Listen up, Kiyoshi Uchiha! What happened at the Ninja Academy was an accident. Now we're all ninjas, and I, Obito, will definitely catch up to you!" Obito declared confidently.
He believed that since he had the Sharingan, just like Kiyoshi—except Kiyoshi opened his eyes earlier and got an advantage—once he awakened his Sharingan, he wouldn't be the dead last of the Ninja Academy anymore!
"Idiot." Kakashi's bored eyes quickly dismissed the foolish Obito.
He looked at Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi and his squad had already become Chūnin. Kakashi had become a Chūnin in the class before Kiyoshi. Among their peers, only civilian ninja like Rin had dutifully completed the entire curriculum. Plus, Obito, the dead last.
Other students usually chose to graduate early as they approached the end. Especially during wartime, the requirements for early graduation were greatly lowered. Kakashi could sense that the current graduation requirements were relaxed, and the number of Genin had increased significantly, seemingly in preparation for the war that was likely to break out.
"Let's go grab a meal. I arranged to eat at Yakiniku with Jōnin Yūki. He went to find Kurenai and Asuma." Minato said to Kiyoshi. He observed Kiyoshi's small yard. It was larger than a standard house but quite run-down.
"Huh, Kiyoshi, do you keep a summoned beast?" At this moment, Rin noticed a White Snake on the ground and was surprised. Just as Rin squatted down, intending to touch it, the White Snake flicked its tongue and showed its sharp fangs.
"She's not very friendly to outsiders." Kiyoshi waved his hand at the White Snake. The snake quickly darted onto his body and slipped into his sleeve.
"Doesn't it feel creepy keeping a snake? And it seems like a hassle to keep a summoned beast." Obito always felt that keeping a snake as a summoned beast was terrifying.
"Summoned beasts can increase a ninja's strength." Kakashi glanced at the snake tail occasionally dangling out of Kiyoshi's sleeve, recalling his own summoning contract. He kept eight ninja dogs as summoned beasts. These dogs possessed an excellent sense of smell, which helped him track enemies.
"I remember Kakashi keeps several ninja dogs." Rin looked at Kakashi, a hint of melancholy still hidden in her eyes.
Kiyoshi's terrifying insight captured her fleeting emotion. A slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. It seemed Rin and Kakashi's relationship wasn't progressing well. After all, the relationship between Kakashi and Rin, though dramatic, never truly came to fruition. Kakashi, focused entirely on missions, and later, due to the incident with Obito, it became impossible for him to accept Rin even if he wanted to.
"Let's go, Kiyoshi. I've already reserved a spot at Yakiniku." Minato said after letting Kiyoshi chat with the others for a moment. The Land of Demons was far away, and since this was Obito and Rin's first C-rank mission, Minato and Yūki had agreed to eat together. It was a chance for everyone to get to know each other, which would facilitate better cooperation during the mission.
Kiyoshi nodded and agreed to go.
***
A few dozen minutes later, at Yakiniku.
The restaurant was crowded with guests, not only from the Hidden Leaf but also from other villages. Not all ninjas who came to the Hidden Leaf left immediately; some foreign ninjas would stay for a few days.
This period was one of the highest alert for the Hidden Leaf. After all, such events were often linked to spies attempting to steal information.
"Kiyoshi, over here, here." Kurenai Yūhi waved. Asuma Sarutobi and Yūki Minazuki were seated next to her.
"Why are you so late?"
"There are a lot of people outside at this time." Kiyoshi replied.
The Hidden Leaf Village, despite being called a "village," was by no means small. It was the largest military gathering place in the country! The Forest of Death alone had a radius of ten kilometers, and the Hidden Leaf had over forty such training grounds. Not to mention a place specifically for tourism called the "Kikyō Castle." There were over ten thousand ninjas alone, and at least ten to twenty times more ordinary villagers living in the Hidden Leaf; it only appeared small in the manga drawings.
"Come quickly, I've already prepared your dipping sauce." Kiyoshi looked and saw an extra dipping dish next to Kurenai. He guessed she remembered his preference from the meal they shared after the Chunin Exams.
It seemed Kurenai had the potential of a deeply attentive wife, which explained her elegance in her future role as a wife.
He stepped forward and sat down next to Kurenai.
"Jōnin Minato, I heard that the Mōryō demon has been around for a thousand years and can only be sealed by the priestesses generation after generation." Yūki found this claim a bit outlandish.
If Mōryō was so strong, how could it be sealed by a priestess who wasn't even a ninja? Could the priestess possess some kind of Kekkei Genkai?
***
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