Yuki Seisui chuckled and shook his head. The last time he had been wandering around, he came across a book in the ninja academy's library that introduced the ninja clans. It wasn't very detailed, but it offered enough of an overview.
If not for that, he wouldn't have dared to say all those things to Minato. After all, if someone had asked, "How do you know that?" he wouldn't have had a good explanation.
"The library, huh?" Minato nodded thoughtfully. "Looks like I should spend more time reading too. There's barely anything useful in the textbooks."
"So, what kind of conflict existed when the village was first founded?"
Yuki Seisui waved his hands. "No idea."
"I just overheard a couple of Uchiha passing by saying something like that."
"Oh… okay." Minato looked a bit disappointed.
"Don't worry!" Seisui patted him on the shoulder, grinning. "Someday we'll change all of this. The Uchiha will be fully part of the village!"
Minato nodded firmly. "Yeah!"
"When the time comes, I'll be Hokage, and you can be my advisor," Seisui said playfully, ruffling Minato's spiky blond hair.
"I'm definitely going to be Hokage!" Minato shot back immediately.
Seisui didn't argue and instead changed the subject. "Can you believe it? Haru's grandfather is the Uchiha clan elder."
"What?!"
"But it's fine. He's actually pretty easygoing. Gave me her training funds, fed me dinner, and then I left."
"So seriously, don't wait around for me like that again."
"Come on, I'm treating you to a barbecue!"
"Let's go!"
The two boys walked off side by side, heading for the barbecue restaurant.
Unbeknownst to them, from the shadows behind, Sarutobi Hiruzen had heard their entire conversation.
"So that's how it is…"
Hiruzen subconsciously took a drag from his pipe. When he first heard Yuki Seisui had gone to visit the Uchiha clan, he was concerned, worried that that "sinister old Uchiha" might play some trick.
He had been preparing to come out and have a heart-to-heart with Seisui.
In the end, it was just a dinner and a training allowance.
He couldn't quite make sense of it, but... it was still a good thing.
Once Seisui and Minato had finished their barbecue and gone their separate ways, Hiruzen casually appeared in front of Seisui, as if by coincidence.
"Seisui, what a surprise seeing you here," he said with a smile.
"Just finished training?"
"Hokage-sama!" Seisui greeted him, while silently thinking to himself: Training, my ass. You literally just saw me come out of the barbecue place.
That shop was between Minato's house and his own. They had parted right after stepping outside, and here this old man was already waiting.
He probably knew I went to the Uchiha clan and wanted to check up on me.
Seriously, where does this old man find the time?
In Naruto's generation, he was so busy he needed shadow clones just to stay on top of things.
"I just finished eating," Seisui said truthfully.
"Oh?" Hiruzen pretended to be surprised. "Well, balancing rest and training is important for growth."
"Feel like walking with me a bit?"
"Absolutely!" Seisui nodded with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Of course, Hokage-sama!"
"Hahaha," Hiruzen chuckled. "After all, I am your teacher's teacher."
"Then I'll call you Grandpa Third!"
"Grandpa Third it is."
The two of them strolled down the village streets, passing homes whose windows glowed with warm light. Hiruzen looked around with a gentle sigh.
"This is what we protect."
"This is the vision we had when Konoha was founded."
"A safe and peaceful home for the people."
Seisui listened seriously, nodding along, looking every bit the attentive student.
"Seisui, I heard you were just over at the Uchiha compound," Hiruzen said casually.
"What did you think?"
Seisui paused. That was pretty direct.
Then again, from his perspective, I'm just a kid. He probably thinks I won't even catch on.
"I thought it was great," he replied. "They're really no different from the rest of us."
"But I did hear some ninja mention there's friction between the Uchiha and the village."
He put on a slightly worried expression, then quickly straightened up with a determined look.
"But I'm going to become a great ninja like you, Grandpa Third!"
"And I'll fix those divisions!"
Hiruzen laughed heartily and patted him on the head. "I look forward to that day!"
"Mm!"
After a few more minutes of chatting, Hiruzen said something to the air beside him:
"Sakumo, what do you think of that boy?"
From the shadows emerged a man with silver-white hair, wearing a mask, Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo. He gazed silently in the direction Seisui had walked off.
"He's good," Sakumo said finally. "But a bit naive."
"Haha…" Hiruzen lit his pipe, it had stayed away while Seisui was present.
"He is naive. But that's the essence of new leaves in this village."
"Wherever the leaves dance, the fire burns. And the fire's light will guide the new leaves."
"That kid uses a sword," Hiruzen continued. "And it looks like he's developed his own technique."
"You should check him out sometime."
Sakumo stayed quiet for a moment, then finally nodded. "I'll go see him in a few days."
He understood perfectly well what the Hokage wanted, to have him guide this young Yuki Seisui.
He didn't mind.
A bit of basic instruction was fine.
It wasn't like he'd be passing down the entire Hatake sword style.
And besides, the boy was part of the village's new generation.
Who knows, maybe he'll even end up being Kakashi's teacher someday.
==========
The next day in class, Seisui kept feeling like someone was staring at him.
But every time he turned around, he saw nothing.
Still, his gut told him it had to be that little brat Uchiha Haru staring at him.
"Yuki Seisui!" Yamanaka Yukiou stood at the front of the classroom, smacking the desk. "What are you turning around for all the time?"
"Is Uchiha Haru that pretty?"
As soon as he said that, the classroom exploded with laughter.
"So lame, Seisui!"
"Yuki Seisui is totally lame!"
"Oh yeah? You got guts saying that?"
"Joking! I'm super brave, alright?!"
"Then don't leave after school!" Seisui growled at the kid who called him lame.
"I'll show you what real fear looks like!"
"Uh…"
With that one sentence, the classroom instantly went dead silent.
Everyone still had fresh memories of his duel with Minato.
If you got on Seisui's bad side, it was a big deal.
I can't believe I brought the school bully's wrath upon myself…
The poor kid who had claimed to be "super brave" was now drowning in regret.
Why did I even open my mouth?! What a disaster…
Uchiha Haru's face was red with embarrassment. She couldn't even look at Seisui.
After he left her house yesterday, her grandfather had pulled her aside and said:
"If you like someone, then go ahead and love them."
She had been blushing nonstop ever since.
"Ugh! How could Grandpa say something like that?!"
"What did he say?" Uzumaki Kushina, sitting nearby, leaned in with a mysterious grin.
=============
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