Dark clouds loomed overhead, and a gentle rain fell steadily.
Though it looked like a stormy day, not a single bolt of lightning cut through the sky.
The three small figures, gathered at Kushina's house as planned, gazed out at the drizzling rain through the window.
As for why they chose Kushina's house—well, that was Kushina's decision.
"I mean, when guests come over, shouldn't you at least prepare some snacks?"
Gin slapped the table in frustration.
Clatter! Kushina tossed a plate onto the table. Fruits scattered everywhere, clearly showing she wasn't in a great mood—probably thanks to a certain annoying idiot.
Namikaze Minato sat properly, but his face had a dopey, lovestruck expression.
Gin couldn't help but ask, "Minato, how can you wear such a pervy look on that adorable little face of yours?"
"Ah?" Minato blinked at Gin, puzzled. Then, catching Kushina's disgusted expression, he forced a stiff smile.
"Even creepier now," Kushina muttered, looking even more disgusted.
Minato slumped face-down onto the table, feeling like his life was over.
At that moment, Kushina pulled out a scroll from behind her back and tossed it to Gin.
"Here, this is for you."
Gin caught it in one hand and immediately opened it. Inside were sealing techniques not yet archived in his family's records.
"I'm not owing you a favor or anything!" Kushina huffed, turning her head proudly and sitting down next to Minato.
"You can read it here—but you can't take it with you."
Although these sealing techniques originally belonged to the Uzumaki Clan, after their destruction, they had become Konoha's property.
If Gin took it back to the Uchiha, it could cause trouble. Kushina, living alone in Konoha, understood this well enough.
"So that was your plan all along, huh?" Gin chuckled in realization. No wonder Kushina had invited them over.
He picked up the scroll and started carefully studying it.
Thanks to his golden finger ability, he now had a deep understanding of sealing techniques. Although he hadn't understood much at first, once he deduced the basics of internal energy cultivation, any related knowledge would automatically integrate into his mind—like a foolproof, instant learning system.
Honestly, calling himself a master of sealing techniques at this point wasn't an exaggeration... though he still couldn't actually use them properly yet.
"By the way, why do we have a day off today?" Gin asked, memorizing the scroll's content at lightning speed. With his golden finger's ability to simulate and backup any information, he could study it properly later.
The three of them had gathered today because the Ninja Academy had suddenly declared a day off. But today wasn't even the weekend yet.
The room fell silent. Nobody answered Gin's question. Curious, he looked up—and found both Minato and Kushina staring at the ground.
"Senior Nawaki..."
"My brother... he sacrificed himself," Kushina said in a sorrowful voice.
From now on, she would never see her gentle, caring older brother again.
"Today is Senior Nawaki's funeral," Minato added quietly.
"What!?" Gin slapped the table with a loud bang, his expression shifting rapidly.
"Nawaki... actually died..."
"Did you know Senior Nawaki?" Minato asked, surprised to see Gin so grim.
"I knew of him. We weren't close," Gin shook his head.
Although they were from the same school year, Gin was from Class B—he barely interacted with elites from Class A like Nawaki.
Still, Minato and Kushina found it strange that Gin seemed even more upset than they were about Nawaki's death.
Gin fell into silence, his eyes quickly scanning the scroll's content.
To him personally, Nawaki's death meant nothing. But the timing of Nawaki's death had massive implications.
He vaguely remembered the timeline of the original Naruto story—but one thing he knew for sure: after Nawaki's death, it wouldn't even take a year before the Second Great Ninja War would break out.
Most importantly, after Nawaki's death, that old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi would lower the Ninja Academy's graduation age and difficulty, forcing a ton of kids to graduate early—and die as cannon fodder on the battlefield.
The First Ninja War hadn't drained Konoha too badly. But the constant conflicts afterward steadily bled the village dry of shinobi.
Soon, there wouldn't be enough people for the front lines.
Which meant... Gin would get the "opportunity" to be sent to the battlefield.
And who the hell would want that!?
"I've got something to do. I'm leaving," Gin said, setting down the scroll. He had already memorized it completely with his golden finger.
"You haven't finished reading..." Kushina tried to say.
But Gin was already bolting out the door.
The two stared at each other, completely bewildered about Gin's sudden behavior.
...
The heavy rain soaked the earth.
Gin crouched on top of a telephone pole, peering down below.
In the grass, a man wearing a tight green bodysuit struggled to retrieve a cat.
"Don't be afraid, I'll get you back to your owner," the bearded man said gently, tucking the cat inside his jacket to shield it from the rain.
His soaked clothes didn't offer much shelter, but the kitten stuck its little head out from the man's collar and stayed there quietly.
"So he really came here," Gin thought.
Might Duy.
Gin had been searching for this man for a while. As a low-profile genin with little fame, Might Duy wasn't exactly easy to track down.
He had effort—but nowhere near the relentless, all-consuming training that his son would one day become famous for.
Gin knew: some people, no matter their talent, could still catch up through sheer hard work.
And in Konoha, nobody was more hardworking than the Might family.
That's why Gin had set his sights on Duy.
It would've been weird for a mere Academy student to approach a random genin. So Gin had patiently plotted opportunities.
The missions where Duy had to find lost cats? Gin had arranged them himself. Including this one—where the "lost cat" was actually a disguised ninja cat.
Gin had begged Granny Cat for a long time before she agreed to help.
Originally, he'd intended to meet Duy "by chance."
But Nawaki's death had thrown everything off.
Now, for the sake of survival, Gin couldn't afford to wait for a perfect setup anymore.
He lightly dropped down from the pole.
"Hey, mister—that cat is mine," Gin said, lifting his face into the pouring rain.
At his current height, he had to look up at Duy.
"Huh?" Might Duy was stunned. How did his employer show up right here?
While Duy was still dazed, Gin called out softly:
"Little Meow."
The white kitten poking out from Duy's collar leaped onto Gin's shoulder, meowing loudly.
Thanks to his golden finger, Gin could understand cat language.
"One year's worth of premium cat treats—or I'll expose everything you've been doing," the kitten threatened.
"Alright, alright!" Gin agreed helplessly.
Man, these cats were ruthless too.
Maybe it counted as blackmail if Granny Cat found out.
"Thank you for finding Little Meow, mister. Since you're all soaked, why don't you come to my house for a cup of hot tea?" Gin offered brightly.
Before Duy could react, Gin grabbed his hand and started dragging him along.
"Wait, it's fine—I'm on a mission!" Duy protested, trying to resist.
"I'll get your mission reward too!"
"But—"
"No buts, mister. Are you looking down on me?" Gin raised an eyebrow in mock anger—making sure Duy could see the Uchiha fan crest on his back.
"Or... are you looking down on the Uchiha Clan?"
"Uchiha!!" Duy practically jumped in fear.
Man, the Might family really was born to be comic relief.
"I would never dare!"
"Then let's go."
Fooling honest people was surprisingly fun.
The two of them entered the Uchiha Clan district.
Thanks to the heavy rain, the usually bustling district was deserted—only some shops were still open.
As for attending Nawaki's funeral... not likely. The village wouldn't allow it, and the Uchiha Clan didn't want to be linked with the Senju either.
As they walked through the clan's lands, Duy trembled nervously, half-expecting Konoha's police force to pop out and arrest him.
But thankfully, nothing happened.
Gin led him into a large, traditional house.
"This place..." Duy looked around, amazed.
"Don't worry. It's just me living here," Gin said casually.
After removing his shoes at the entrance, Gin first bowed respectfully to two black-and-white photographs at the altar.
Then he turned to Duy and said, "Make yourself at home. I'll get some snacks."
"Thank you for your hospitality," Duy replied, sitting carefully in a spot where his wet clothes wouldn't drip.
Soon Gin returned with tea and sweets.
"There's a bathroom upstairs if you want to change into dry clothes. I'll lend you something simple to wear."
"Sorry for the trouble."
...
After washing up, Might Duy changed into a plain outfit without a clan symbol and knelt politely on the tatami mat. He didn't dare touch the snacks or tea.
Gin pushed a scroll toward him.
"This is your reward."
"A scroll?" Duy blinked.
"It's a little jutsu," Gin said.
Duy hesitated—then gritted his teeth.
"Could I... exchange it for the mission payment instead?"
He had only come for his cat retrieval reward. He didn't want to take advantage of anything extra.
"Sorry," Gin sighed sadly. "I don't have enough money. This jutsu is all I can offer."
"Then it's fine, really!" Duy smiled warmly, giving a thumbs-up. "Young man, keep striving! No need to pay me this time!"
Gin beamed just as brightly: "Wait, are you saying the Uchiha Clan defaults on their debts? You're looking down on us?"
Duy panicked.
"No, no, that's not what I meant!"
"Then..." Gin gestured at the scroll.
Duy finally gave in, carefully accepting the scroll.
"Mister, you must train hard. This jutsu can be learned as long as you're willing to work for it."
"Thank you very much," Duy said earnestly.
And so, Might Duy—Gin's third "victim"—left, dazed and confused, holding the jutsu scroll and a rain umbrella Gin had stuffed into his hands.
After Duy left, Gin pulled out a small notebook.
Inside, a list of names—he circled Might Duy's name carefully.
The others already circled? Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.
"That's it for now," Gin muttered.