"I haven't seen Kakashi around lately. I hear he's a powerful Jonin."
"It would be great if he were our sensei."
At that moment, Sasuke spoke up. "Of course, it would be best if Master were our sensei."
Naruto stuffed the last bite of ramen into his mouth, patted his belly, and broke into a satisfied smile.
Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he said, "I also wish Kawasaki could be our sensei, but that's impossible."
Hinata quietly agreed. "Master Kawasaki is your clan head, right? A clan head must be very busy."
"What exactly is Master busy with?"
Sasuke thought for a moment. It felt like his master was always busy, but he couldn't say with what. He suddenly realized how little he actually knew about him.
After finishing their meal, the three of them returned to the Academy.
This afternoon would be their last day at school. In the past, Sasuke and Naruto had always wanted to leave as soon as possible, but now they felt a little reluctant.
Along the way, Naruto and Sasuke greeted their friends, while Hinata followed quietly behind them.
Hinata was quite popular in her class. Many of the girls envied her for being placed in a squad with two handsome classmates, but no one ever gave her any trouble.
The time for assigning the Jonin instructors had arrived.
This year's team assignments were special. Because this graduating class included several clan heirs, the supervising instructors were all elite Jonin. Even the students who weren't from famous clans were guaranteed at least a Special Jonin as their sensei.
Other grades had some smaller teams led by Chunin, but they couldn't compare. This year, to balance the disparity, even the teams composed of ordinary students were led by Special Jonin.
As for the renowned Jonin, they were assigned to lead the students with prominent backgrounds.
Most of the Jonin were familiar faces, but Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi noticed someone new. The man was standing alone in a corner, seemingly uninterested in interacting with anyone else.
Minato appeared cold and distant, but his mind was racing. "Asuma finally won Kurenai's heart after all these years. He's even grown a beard now. I think he looked better without it..."
While Minato was lost in his thoughts, the teacher in the classroom had already begun announcing the team assignments.
"Naruto, Dad's here..."
"Team 7, your Jonin instructor is... Ikeda Shingo."
When Iruka read the name, he was deeply puzzled. The Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, an Uchiha, and a Hyuga... why would they be assigned a sensei he'd never heard of? Still, the list had been personally approved by the Hokage, so all he could do was wonder.
Just then, Minato walked into the classroom. "Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, come with me."
The three children stood and followed the strange man out of the room.
Although Naruto didn't recognize him, he felt an indescribable sense of familiarity, especially with the man's back. He just couldn't remember where he had seen him before. Sasuke and Hinata simply saw him as their new sensei.
Despite the powerful seal on Naruto, as he drew closer to Minato, the Yang Nine-Tails within him suddenly opened its eyes.
"Huh!? How can he be here?"
"Is he inside someone else's body?"
"No, wait... is that Minato?!"
"There's no mistaking it! That's definitely Minato!"
Ever since Obito's identity had been revealed, the Nine-Tails had stopped antagonizing Naruto as much. In fact, Naruto's rapid growth over the past few years was largely thanks to the reinforcement from the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Their relationship was decent now, and the Nine-Tails would sometimes even make requests of Naruto. It could sense the outside world and remembered what Kawasaki had told Naruto before.
Hmph, so Kawasaki had deceived Naruto.
I'm going to tell him the truth!
Just as the Yang Nine-Tails sensed its other half, the Yin Nine-Tails within Minato reacted at the same time.
"Minato, my other half has sensed my presence. We might not be able to hide this from Naruto."
Minato continued walking steadily ahead, replying in his mind, "Kawasaki didn't intentionally hide it from Naruto. As long as Naruto doesn't tell anyone, it shouldn't be a major problem."
The Yin Nine-Tails chuckled. "I bet Kawasaki didn't count on this."
As expected, the Yang Nine-Tails had made up its mind to expose Kawasaki's lie.
"Naruto!" the beast's gruff voice boomed in his mind.
Naruto subconsciously touched his stomach. "What's wrong, Nine-Tails? Are you bored? Want to watch TV?"
Thanks to Kawasaki's early efforts in persuading the Nine-Tails, Naruto had become much more familiar with it. At first, the beast refused to acknowledge him, but after a talk with Kawasaki, it realized that its stubbornness was only making itself miserable. After all, Naruto could interact with many people, while the Nine-Tails could only communicate with the outside world through him.
Sometimes, when they were at home, the Nine-Tails would ask Naruto to turn on the television to pass the time. Naruto had used his savings to buy a new TV, years earlier than in the original timeline. He never lacked for money and, with Sasuke often joining him for shopping, had saved up quite a bit with nothing to spend it on.
Initially, Naruto was interested in the TV, but he soon spent most of his time training or eating out, coming home only to wash up and sleep. It was thanks to the Nine-Tails' love for television that Naruto turned it on so often. His sleep was sound; if he couldn't sleep, it just meant he wasn't tired enough, so he'd simply train more.
Naruto thought the Nine-Tails' newfound hobby was the result of being bribed, so he treated it with extra patience.
"It's neither of those things," the Nine-Tails replied, a warm feeling spreading through its chest. There wasn't much Naruto could do for it, but he was trying his best to make the fox feel less lonely.
"Don't you think that guy up ahead looks a little familiar?" The Nine-Tails narrowed its eyes, its foxy face looking like it had just stolen a chicken.
Naruto grew excited. "Right? You think so too, Nine-Tails?"
"I keep getting this really warm and familiar feeling from this Shingo-sensei, but I just can't remember where I've seen him."
The Nine-Tails let out a hearty laugh. "Try picturing him with yellow hair."
Huh?
A thought struck Naruto. He stared at Ikeda Shingo's back for a moment, imagining his hair turning yellow.
Naruto's body trembled as an unbelievable idea flooded his mind. "No way... But the resemblance is uncanny."
"Impossible, impossible. Kawasaki wouldn't lie to me. It's impossible."
The Nine-Tails snorted. "Kawasaki did lie to you. This Ikeda Shingo is Minato!"
"He carries the scent of my other half. I'm certain of it."
Naruto's body shook. He took a deep breath and asked, "Nine-Tails, what do you mean by 'other half'?"
The Nine-Tails spoke in a cold, matter-of-fact tone. "Back when Minato sealed me, he was worried you wouldn't be able to handle my full power, so he split me in two."
"The half inside you is my Yang half. The half inside Minato is my Yin half."
Though being split in two was supposed to be a secret, both parties involved were well aware of it. There was no point in hiding it, so the Nine-Tails laid the truth bare.