That night, deep within a damp cave located in the Land of Rain, a young girl with blue hair slowly drifted back into consciousness. As she felt the comforting warmth radiating from a nearby fireplace, a brief flash of confusion flickered in her eyes. Her high fever, which had been ravaging her body for days, had finally subsided. She forced herself to sit up with a groan, only to realize that someone had changed her into clean, dry clothes while she was unconscious. Recalling the blurry image of a blond figure she had seen right before fainting, a faint blush unconsciously crept onto her small face.
"Are you awake?"
A gentle, melodic voice reached her ears. The girl turned her head toward the sound and saw a remarkably handsome face. That head of warm, golden hair seemed to instantly ignite a spark of light in her eyes.
"My name is Minato Namikaze. What is yours?"
"Konan—"
Her voice was slightly raspy from disuse. She sat up straight awkwardly, clutching the blanket to her chest. "Um—thank you very much for saving me."
Seeming to notice the girl's obvious embarrassment, Minato offered a reassuring smile. "Do not worry, I asked a kind auntie from the fruit shop in town to help change your clothes. You were almost dying, so what is there to be shy about anyway?"
A blunt, gruff voice suddenly interrupted from the shadows at the side. Yahiko walked forward, carrying a steaming bowl of fish porridge which he placed firmly in front of Konan.
"This is Yahiko. He is quite blunt and lacks a filter, so please do not mind him."
Minato spoke warmly, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "You have just recovered from a very serious illness, so your stomach might have trouble digesting heavy food. Please, have some porridge first."
"Mhm, thank you—"
Konan reached out and took the bowl. It was warm to the touch, kept at the perfect temperature to eat immediately. Feeling the sharp pangs of hunger from her empty stomach, she quickly finished the porridge. Seeming to have eaten far too quickly, she let out a soft hiccup and immediately lowered her head in shame, her face turning a deep shade of red.
"You are—an orphan, right?"
Seeing that Konan had finished the meal, Minato asked the question softly.
"Mhm—"
Konan's face darkened instantly as painful memories resurfaced. "My mom and dad—they were caught in the crossfire of a battle between Ninjas."
Minato leaned forward slightly, his expression sympathetic. "Do you know which Village those Ninjas were from?"
Konan looked dejected, her shoulders slumping. "I heard they were Rogue Ninjas from the Land of Birds—"
"The Land of Birds—"
Minato frowned slightly at the mention of the neighboring nation. The current situation in the Land of Rain was incredibly chaotic. Even before the official war between Sunagakure and Konoha had fully ignited, Hanzou had launched military expansions into neighboring small countries multiple times. This was the primary point of friction between Konoha and Amegakure. Countries like the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers were essentially allies of Konoha. Although Konoha publicly advocated for peace, it could not simply turn a blind eye while its allies were being invaded. Villages like Sunagakure and Iwagakure were trapped in similar political situations, which was why they had all tacitly established the main battlefield right here in the Land of Rain.
"Do you have any other relatives left?" Minato asked.
"No."
Konan shook her head slowly. She looked up at Minato tentatively, her fingers fidgeting with the fabric of her sleeve. "Can I follow you?"
"Ha, so you have already taken a liking to Big Brother Minato!" Yahiko laughed loudly.
Konan's face turned beet red. She stole a quick glance at Minato and then lowered her head in a silent, bashful retreat.
"Do not talk such nonsense, Yahiko."
Minato felt a slight headache coming on as he dealt with the children. He reached up and tapped the metal forehead protector resting on his brow. "As you can see, I am a Konoha Ninja, and this body is just a Shadow Clone of mine. It is not very convenient for me to take you along on a mission."
Upon hearing this rejection, the light in Konan's eyes immediately dimmed into a dull gray.
"However, I can offer you two different choices."
Minato continued his explanation smoothly. "The first is to stay here like Yahiko. I will teach you Ninjutsu for a short period of time until you have the basic ability to survive on your own, and then I must return to Konoha. The second choice is that I can take you back to Konoha with me right now. With me acting as your legal guarantor, I can guarantee you a life free of worry regarding food or clothing. You could even join the Ninja Academy to study properly—"
"I choose the second one!"
Hearing the possibility of staying near him, the light returned to Konan's eyes with a vengeance.
Just as I thought—
My damn charm is truly a curse.
Minato sighed imperceptibly within his own mind, maintaining his perfect facade. "What about you, Yahiko? Will you not reconsider my offer to go to the village?"
"No."
Yahiko shook his head and spoke with fierce determination. "I want to stay right here. One day, I will change this country from the inside!"
"I understand. Then I will take her back first."
As Minato spoke, he placed a hand on Konan's shoulder and used the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport her directly to the Konoha Orphanage. The current Orphanage was no longer the desolate and dilapidated ruin it used to be. The small building, originally created by Minato's Four-Pillar House Technique, had since been painted a warm, inviting yellow. Behind the main building was a small vegetable patch, and further away, one could see livestock pens and a well-stocked fish pond. Bursts of children's laughter echoed from the building, creating an atmosphere full of vitality.
Minato knocked gently on the front door, and the Fat Nun opened it. Seeing Minato standing there, she was pleasantly surprised. "Oh my, is this not Minato-kun? Are you here to see Yakushi Nonou?"
"Good evening, Sister."
Minato nodded slightly with his signature polite smile. "I am actually here to see the Priest. This is Konan, an orphan I happened to meet during my time in the Land of Rain."
"Is that so? Come with me!"
The Fat Nun understood the situation immediately and led Minato through the halls to find the Priest. After learning of Minato's intention, the Priest agreed to take her in without a moment of hesitation. "There is no problem at all, Minato-kun. Rest assured, we will definitely take very good care of this child."
"Then I will have to trouble you, Priest," Minato thanked him with a polite bow.
"What are you talking about?"
The Priest pretended to be displeased by the formality. "If it were not for Minato-kun's generous help, these children might not even have enough to eat. There is absolutely no need to be so formal with us."
As they were talking, there was a sudden knock on the door. The Fat Nun led Yakushi Nonou into the room.
"Minato! The Sister told me you were here, so I thought I would come by and say hello."
Seeing Minato, Yakushi Nonou's eyes lit up, and then her gaze quietly swept over the young Konan standing timidly behind him. A young girl, quite pretty, and clearly dependent on Minato. Instantly judging the situational elements with her trained medic-nin eyes, Yakushi Nonou gave Konan a cheerful, welcoming smile. Konan was slightly startled by the warmth, and her defensive expression quietly relaxed a bit.
"Long time no see, Yakushi Nonou."
Minato greeted her and then introduced the newcomer. "This is Konan. I met her in the Land of Rain. Please help take care of her while I am away."
"Of course."
Yakushi Nonou nodded cheerfully. "Leave this child to me. Your name is Konan, right? How old are you, dear?"
"I am seven—"
Konan looked at Minato expectantly, her voice small. "Can I really not follow Minato?"
"Minato has many dangerous missions to attend to usually."
A hint of helplessness flashed in Yakushi Nonou's eyes, and she gave Minato a meaningful, knowing look. This guy is really far too popular with girls—first Kushina, then Mikoto, and now a Konan has popped up!
"By the way, there is one more thing."
Minato led Yakushi Nonou to the side of the room and spoke in a low, conspiratorial voice. "Please do not tell Kushina about this girl."
"Oh—"
Yakushi Nonou looked at Minato meaningfully, a small, playful smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. "And why is that?"
"I—I am currently dating Kushina."
Minato smiled with a look of feigned embarrassment. "I just promised her that I would not mess around with other girls."
"Eh?!"
Yakushi Nonou's pupils suddenly shrank in shock. "Then—the Uchiha girl who came back with you—"
Minato replied calmly, "I am dating both of them at the same time!"
Yakushi Nonou: "???"
No, how can it even be like this?
"Does Kushina actually know about that?"
"She knows."
"!!!"
Hearing this, Yakushi Nonou's eyes widened in total disbelief. This simply was not right, was it? If even a situation like that was acceptable to them—then if you really looked at the timeline, she had been the first one here, had she not?!
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