The next day.
Hokage Office.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
A dull knocking sound echoed, and Minato, who was working with his head down at his desk, stopped his pen and looked towards the door.
"Come in."
The next moment, the door was pushed open, and Ren, dressed in Anbu attire, walked in from outside.
"Hmm?"
Seeing him, Minato raised an eyebrow and said with a half-smile.
"What's the situation today? Why are you using the door?"
Unlike normal people who use the door, his teacher, Jiraiya, liked to climb in through the window, and now Ren was the same.
At first, the surrounding Anbu would try to stop him, but now, even Minato himself had gotten used to it.
"What are you talking about? I'm the dignified Anbu Vice Captain, what kind of behavior is it to climb in through a window?"
Ren walked closer, propped his hands on the desk, and said playfully.
"Look, my reward…"
"I know, I know."
Minato responded helplessly while raising a hand to summon an Anbu, and after giving a few instructions, the Anbu disappeared from the room.
"It seems you've fully adapted."
Looking at the tidy desk, Ren walked to the window sill, sat down, and teased.
Compared to the slight chaos when he first took over a while ago, Minato was now clearly fully accustomed to these tasks, and his efficiency was no less than that of the retired Third Hokage.
"It's alright."
Minato smiled slightly, then seemed to remember something, fumbled around his body for a moment, and then took out a small scroll, handing it to Ren.
"Hmm, what's this?"
Ren asked curiously as he took it.
"The Sealing Jutsu you've been asking for recently."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Ren's eyes immediately lit up. He quickly put the mask he was tossing aside, then eagerly opened the scroll and began to read it in detail.
Looking at the delighted Ren, Minato picked up the water cup next to him and smiled.
"Your Kushina-nee didn't spare any effort in researching this. She even improved a Sealing Jutsu from the Uzumaki clan to successfully develop it."
"My Kushina-nee is reliable after all!"
After roughly reading it, Ren couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Indeed, there is specialization in every field. Although his Sealing Jutsu was passable, it was truly incomparable in front of the master of Sealing Jutsu, Uzumaki Kushina.
This thing alone took Kushina dozens of days to successfully conquer; if it were him, half a year wouldn't even be enough.
Perhaps Madara didn't expect that his meticulously planned scheme would encounter a variable like himself.
"Hey, Ren, what's wrong?"
Just as Ren was lost in thought, Minato's voice suddenly rang out, immediately bringing him back to his senses. He looked up and saw Minato looking at him with a strange expression.
"Nothing, just spaced out for a bit."
Ren sat up straight, his gaze naturally falling on a new scroll that had appeared on the desk, and then he didn't move it again.
"Don't lose it."
Looking at Ren's fervent gaze, Minato picked up the scroll and handed it over, while also admonishing him.
"Tsk, don't you trust me?"
Ren took it smoothly, an undisguised smile on his face.
According to the catalog he had copied from the book of sealing last time, he had already learned most of them, and the remaining Sealing Jutsu were not of much help to him.
However, if he had the chance, Ren still wanted to get his hands on all the remaining Sealing Jutsu, after all, who made him a perfectionist?
"It's precisely because it's you that I don't feel at ease."
Minato rubbed his temples, speaking helplessly.
No matter what, as long as it involved Ren, it was almost certainly nothing good.
"Hokage-sama, if you talk like that, I'll sue you for defamation."
Ren rolled his Byakugan, then jumped off the window and walked out.
"Alright, alright, you go on and be busy, I'm off work."
"…"
Minato twitched his lips, looking at the closed door again, a faint hint of envy in his eyes.
Although he had already completed today's tasks, as the Hokage, he couldn't leave his post before quitting time.
Should I ask Shikaku again…
Minato shook his head vigorously, quickly dispelling the thought.
Shikaku's wife was already nine months pregnant, and the child would be born in another month. It was better to bother him less during this time.
Ah, another day of working and thinking about Kushina.
At this moment, Ren had already walked out of the Hokage Building, continuously leaping across rooftops. After a short while, he stopped on a spacious rooftop, standing at the edge and looking down.
Looking at the many children below, Ren's gaze began to search, but after a full circle, he didn't see the figure he was looking for.
"Is he in class…?"
Ren murmured for a while, then squatted down, retracting his diffused perception and extending it all downwards, quickly covering the teaching building beneath his feet.
A moment later, a familiar Chakra appeared in his perception.
"Found him."
Although he had found his target, Ren had no intention of moving. Instead, he just sat down on the edge of the rooftop, took out a compiled small book from his person, and began to read it with great interest.
"Ding-a-ling-a-ling!"
A clear bell rang, interrupting Ren's thoughts. When he looked up again, the children playing below had changed to a new group.
"Let me see, he's over here…"
Ren muttered as he disappeared with the Instantaneous Body Technique. When he reappeared, he was already at the entrance of a classroom.
It was lunchtime, and most of the children were sitting in their original spots, taking out lunchboxes made by their parents or themselves, eating and chatting in groups of three or five with their usual friends.
Only a figure by the window sat quietly, with no one within three meters of him, forming a stark contrast to the lively atmosphere in other parts of the classroom.
But strangely, most people's gazes would linger on him for a while, then move away with various emotions.
The boys' faces mostly showed jealousy and envy, while the girls' expressions were uniformly those of admiration and adoration.
"Um…"
In the strange atmosphere of the classroom, a pretty girl with a ponytail slowly walked up to him, fidgeting.
"Hmm?"
Itachi put down his rice spoon, looked up at her, and politely said.
"May I help you?"
"Excuse me, may I…"
Seeing Itachi's gaze meet hers, the girl suddenly felt a dizzy spell, quickly lowered her gaze to avoid his eyes, and said timidly.
"Sit here?"
"No."
Itachi refused without the slightest hesitation.
"Oh, well, excuse me then."
The girl, hearing this, paused, then turned and left somewhat dejectedly.
The children not far away also saw this scene, and the classroom became lively again, with constant sounds of argument.
"See? What did I tell you?"
"As expected of Itachi, he even rejected Yuumi."
Itachi, however, automatically filtered out these gossips about him, quietly eating his meal.
Although Brother Ren told him to make friends at school, he still didn't know how to do it, which made him feel a bit troubled.
Just then, another figure stood in front of him. Itachi, thinking it was one of those girls again, instinctively opened his mouth to refuse him after looking up.
Unexpectedly, when he saw who it was, his expression turned to one of surprise.
"Brother Ren?"