"Hey, little girl, wanna come along too?"
Kyusei glanced at loli Rin, who was sipping her red bean soup in small, careful mouthfuls.
Rin looked at him seriously and replied,
"First, my name isn't 'hey.'
Second, my name is Rin—Nohara Rin.
Third, since you've invited me so sincerely, it would be rude of me to refuse."
She hopped down in one jump, nearly crashing into little Kurenai. Fortunately, Kurenai reacted quickly and caught her in time.
Watching Rin speak those oddly familiar lines, Kyusei couldn't help but feel her image overlap with someone from his memories.
"Alright, let's go."
Kyusei patted little Anko on the head, casually tossed some money onto the table, and led the four little brats toward the river near the Uchiha district.
"Brother Kyusei!"
The moment they stepped out of the shop, Anko looked at him with bright, expectant eyes.
Kyusei sighed helplessly, then squatted down in front of her.
Because Anko came from a single-parent household and Mitarashi Shishō was constantly busy with missions, she was often entrusted to Hatake Sakumo. And when Sakumo was on missions too, she'd sometimes be left with Hyūga Naori or Kyusei instead.
Over time, the outgoing, overly familiar Anko ended up getting along quite well with Kyusei, whose personality wasn't much different.
"Hehehe~"
Anko skillfully climbed straight onto Kyusei's shoulders.
"Hold on tight."
Kyusei actually liked Anko's straightforward, carefree personality quite a bit.
Even though in the future, she'd go from Mitarashi Anko… to Mitarashi Sweet Potato.
"Anko, don't be a burden to Kyusei-nii."
Kurenai said helplessly, looking at Anko riding on his shoulders.
"Huh? Hehe, Brother Kyusei is super nice—he definitely doesn't mind!"
Anko grinned as she hugged his head.
"Let's go."
Kyusei casually rubbed Kurenai's hair and didn't make a big deal out of it.
As one big figure and four small ones walked down the street, it looked exactly like an older brother taking his younger siblings out to play.
Anko kept chattering nonstop, sometimes even flailing her arms for emphasis. Kyusei reached up and poked her in the side.
"Ah! That tickles! What are you doing, Brother Kyusei?!"
"Sit still, idiot."
Rin watched their interaction with quiet envy.
Her parents had both died for the village, and she had no siblings. This kind of sibling-like warmth was something she had never experienced before.
"Huh?"
"Rin!"
Just as Rin slipped into a slightly melancholy mood, a lively, excited voice rang out.
A black-haired Uchiha kid wearing goggles ran toward them with a big grin.
"Oh, it's Obito."
Asuma said with a slightly smug tone.
But Obito ignored him completely and jogged straight over to Rin.
Kyusei glanced at Uchiha Obito but said nothing.
This kid had two sides—but at six years old, his true nature was still that of a good boy who'd help an old lady cross the street.
But when Kyusei recalled the memories within Naruto's body—of that man wearing Senju Nawaki's body—his gaze darkened.
This world was clearly not the same as the so-called original timeline.
The Obito who should've become the masked man had instead turned into a mysterious scarred man, still wielding Kamui.
And at this stage, Uchiha Madara wasn't even beneath Kannabi Bridge.
All of this told Uzumaki Kyusei one thing—
If he treated this world as the original Naruto world, he'd be making a fatal mistake.
Especially with the Namikaze couple and the Kakashi team appearing from entirely different worlds, it was clear that parallel worlds might also exist.
"Huh?"
"Kyusei, what's going on here?"
Hatake Sakumo, walking over with Kakashi, couldn't help but laugh when he saw Kyusei acting like a full-time babysitter surrounded by kids.
"Sensei?"
Kyusei snapped back to reality, looking at the white-haired father and son in confusion.
"Sensei, about what happened last time…"
"There's no need to mention it."
Sakumo interrupted him gently.
"You did very well, Kyusei. I'm proud to call you my student."
No one would imagine that this gentle, approachable young man—leading four or five kids around—was the same person who had single-handedly stormed a great ninja village.
"S-Sensei…"
"I need to go see the Third Hokage."
Sakumo then pointed at Kakashi.
"I'll leave Kakashi with you for now."
"What?!"
"I don't want to stay with this bastard!"
Kakashi instantly blew up, his usual cold expression cracking.
"Don't worry, Sensei!"
Kyusei patted his chest confidently.
"With me here, you can relax!"
Sakumo ignored Kakashi's protests.
"Kakashi, learning to get along with companions is also very important."
He gently rubbed his son's head.
"Kakashi, come with us."
Rin reached out toward him.
"Hmph. I don't like this guy, but since Rin said so…"
Obito crossed his arms, looking smug as he spoke.
"This is also a manifestation of the Will of Fire."
Asuma added seriously—still far from his rebellious future self.
"Kakashi, go."
Faced with his father's warm, expectant gaze, Kakashi finally gave in.
"…Fine. Since everyone's saying so."
"I'll stay with this guy for now."
Watching yet another kid join the group, Kyusei suddenly felt like the principal of a kindergarten.
But honestly?
As long as he didn't go home, anywhere was fine.
They quickened their pace and soon arrived at the river near the Uchiha compound.
By the riverbank sat a teenage boy feeding cats with a bag of dried fish.
Cats of all colors surrounded him, meowing happily.
"Yo, Naoriki. Long time no see."
Kyusei recognized him immediately and greeted him.
Uchiha Naoriki turned around, saw Kyusei bringing an entire army of kids, and instantly wore an expression that screamed I shouldn't have gone out today.
"Why the hell are you here?!"
"Hehe, just a coincidence."
Kyusei put Anko down, slung an arm around Naoriki's shoulder, and grinned.
Damn it—this guy really hasn't changed at all…
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