Minato wasn't thinking about why they had to kill the Rain ninja—he was thinking about the fact that Amegakure and Konoha weren't officially at war.
"Don't be stupid, Minato." Yuki Seisui spoke calmly as he dragged the bodies together, then tore off a strip of cloth to wipe the blood from his blade.
"We've already taken off our headbands. No one will ever know."
With that, he sheathed his tang dao, formed seals in rapid succession, and said, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
To make sure nothing was left of them, Seisui poured a large amount of chakra into the jutsu. A massive fireball erupted from his mouth and swelled at an alarming rate.
When it reached over five meters in diameter, Minato fell silent.
Uchiha Haru was silent too.
Was this really the Great Fireball Technique?
Most people's fireballs were barely over a meter wide. Seisui's was five times that.
"You're not even human…" Minato muttered.
When the corpses were reduced to ash, Seisui finally said, "Let's go. It'll be dark soon, and I'm not about to spend the night in some random shack."
Not long after they left, a few people emerged from the nearby houses, looking at the smoldering remains. Some swallowed nervously.
"Strong… really strong," someone whispered in awe. Others spat toward the ashes. "Tch. Serves them right."
To the people here, Rain ninja were no different from common bandits—bringers of war to Amegakure who lorded over them with arrogance.
"All these ninja should just disappear," someone spat.
Amegakure was small. By traveling at full speed, the three reached Jiraiya's location before nightfall.
Looking at the small house ahead, Seisui rubbed his chin.
"Old perv—wait, I mean, Jiraiya-sensei should be in there, right?"
"We'll know once we check," Haru replied, already walking toward the door.
Before they could knock, the door swung open and Jiraiya stepped out, looking over the three of them—clearly changed from when he'd last seen them.
"Hahaha! That was fast. As expected of my disciples!" he boomed.
"And you've all grown taller, too."
Standing in the doorway, Seisui also noticed three kids about his own age.
"Sniffle… Sensei, did you abandon us?" Seisui covered his face dramatically, voice trembling. "Am I no longer your favorite student?"
"Sniffle, sniffle…"
"Are those our seniors?" Konan peeked shyly from behind the doorframe, her eyes curious. "They look so cool…"
Nagato and Yahiko glanced at the "weeping" Seisui and felt a twinge of guilt.
Had they stolen their teacher's affection? Look at how heartbroken their senior was…
"Cut the act, brat!" Jiraiya's eye twitched as his fist clenched.
"Fine." Seisui instantly dropped the act and grinned. "Long time no see, Sensei. I missed you. Looks like you've aged three more years."
"…You didn't need to say that last part." Jiraiya sighed. Three years apart, and he still couldn't bring himself to hit the kid.
"Come inside."
"Sure!" the three chorused.
Inside, Jiraiya looked over his six disciples with undisguised pride.
"Since it's your first time meeting, let's have introductions," he said, glancing at Seisui.
"My name's Yuki Seisui. I like patting people's heads, I dislike people patting my head, and my dream is to become Hokage and bring a little change to the ninja world."
Jiraiya nodded, then turned to Minato.
"I'm Namikaze Minato. I like sanshoku dango, I dislike a certain jerk who pats my head, and my dream is to become Hokage and crush said jerk."
Minato shot Seisui a glare.
"Change your dream," Seisui smirked. "It's never happening."
"Damn you, Seisui!"
Haru stood up next. "I'm Uchiha Haru. I like patting heads…" She glanced at Seisui, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I dislike a certain yellow-haired hedgehog. And I'm a woman aiming to be Hokage."
Jiraiya gave her a strange look but didn't comment.
"I'm Yahiko. I like getting stronger, I hate being powerless, and my dream is to conquer the world and bring peace to everyone."
"I'm Konan. I like origami, I hate going hungry, and my dream is to protect the people close to me."
Konan's was the shortest, and she finished with a sweet smile toward the others.
"I'm Nagato. I have no likes, I hate war, and my dream…" He glanced at Konan and Yahiko, then lowered his head. "My dream is to protect the people close to me."
"Come on," Yahiko said. "That's just copying Konan."
"Enough," Jiraiya interrupted. "Protecting your comrades is a great dream."
He noticed Seisui staring intently at Nagato. "Why are you looking at him like that?"
"Same clan."
"…What?" Jiraiya blinked. Same clan? You're supposed to be a civilian!
Nagato, however, looked at Seisui in shock. He hesitated, then bowed his head.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to hide it. My name is Uzumaki Nagato."
"He's an Uzumaki!" Minato shot up, excited. "Seisui and Kushina are Uzumaki too!"
Haru nodded. "Mito-sama said Seisui and Kushina will inherit the Uzumaki legacy. Konoha's been searching for survivors… but hasn't found any."
Jiraiya stared at Nagato, then at Seisui's black hair, baffled. "You're… an Uzumaki?"
"Yep!" Seisui said without a shred of guilt. "Mito-sama told me my ancestors were Uzumaki. The bloodline just hadn't awakened—until now."
Jiraiya was at a loss. Two of his students suddenly turned out to be Uzumaki—it was a lot to process.
"It's fine, Nagato," Konan said, tugging his sleeve.
"Yeah, you must've had your reasons," Yahiko added.
"Sorry!" Nagato still kept his forehead pressed to the table.
Jiraiya sighed, thinking of the news of Uzumaki's destruction. "It's not your fault."
Yahiko tilted his head. "Seisui-senpai, if you and Nagato are from the same clan, why do you have different surnames?"
Seisui grinned. "That's not a problem, right? It's like the 'Four Heavenly Kings' actually being five people. I'm an Uzumaki, I just don't use the name. Totally normal."
"…That's weird," Yahiko muttered.
"Alright," Jiraiya cut in, his tone turning serious. "Now that you've all met, it's time for business. Three years ago I told you—when we meet again, I'll test you. And that time is now. The three of you, together."
"Three on one?" Seisui's eyes lit up. "Seriously?"
"Of course." Jiraiya cracked his knuckles and smiled.
"Are you going to fight?" Yahiko asked.
"Yeah. I'm testing their strength."
"Can we watch?"
Jiraiya glanced at Seisui.
Seisui nodded. "Of course! Watch closely, and you'll see just how powerful your senior really is!"
"Seisui, don't get cocky," Minato muttered, tugging his sleeve. "Sensei's strong. If you embarrass yourself—"
"Impossible!" Seisui waved him off grandly. The stage for battle was set.
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