"So, I've had a question on my mind since we met," Arashi drawled, arms still lazily folded behind his back as he walked, "how'd you sense me back in the forest?"
Minato glanced at him, "You weren't exactly hiding."
Arashi let out a short laugh. "Oh, please. You and I both know I was practically part of the damn trees." He grinned, "Most people walk right past me without even noticing. You, on the other hand? Picked up on me immediately. How'd you know?"
Minato considered the question for a moment before answering. "Your chakra was weird," he said simply.
Arashi raised a brow. "'Weird' is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, Blondie."
Minato looked back to the path they were on. "Your chakra is… different." He searched for the right words. "Most shinobi leave some kind of presence, a small sliver of a signature that can be sensed even if they try to suppress it. Yours doesn't feel like that. It's too natural, it was like it's a part of everything around you. That's what tipped me off. I felt something that wasn't supposed to be there."
Arashi hummed, nodding slightly. "Not bad. Guess I need to work on that if I wanna keep sneaky bastards like you off my tail."
Minato smirked. "I don't think that's possible."
Arashi rolled his eyes but grinned. "So, Konoha," he said, shifting the subject. "What's it like? What am I walking into?"
Minato's expression softened slightly as he glanced ahead. "It's home," he said simply.
Arashi gave him a look. "You do realize that means absolutely nothing to me, right?"
Minato chuckled. "Fair enough. Konoha is one of the five great shinobi villages, and it's probably the most balanced of them all. We have a strong military presence, but we're not as aggressive as Kumo or Kiri. The village itself is built into a massive forest, surrounded by natural defenses, and ruled over by the Hokage."
Arashi nodded, seeming interested. "I've been to small villages before," he admitted, "but they're never really guarded. No defenses, barely any structure or shinobi. Easy to slip in and out of. The great villages, though? Never been near one, it's always be too risky for me."
Minato understood why. A mysterious wanderer with impossible abilities? Someone like Arashi would never go unnoticed for long in a major village.
But now he was walking right into one.
Arashi squinted up at the sky. "So, what's the old guy in charge like? The Hokage has been around a while right?"
Minato smiled slightly. "Hiruzen Sarutobi. He's been Hokage for decades. Some say he's the strongest Kage to have ever lived."
Arashi let out a low whistle. "That's a bold claim."
Minato nodded. "It's not without merit though. The Third is a master of all shinobi arts; taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, sealing techniques. He knows every jutsu in the village excluding clan specific and kekkei genkai techniques."
Arashi arched a brow. "So he's like 100 years old then right? Because, you don't learn that much without having been alive for longer than 95% of shinobi in the village"
Minato gave him a dry look. "You might not want to say that to his face."
Arashi snorted. "Noted."
The conversation shifted back and forth, but Minato's thoughts didn't.
Arashi's hair. His features. His mannerisms. There was something… familiar.
The idea had flickered briefly through Minato's mind the moment he first saw Arashi. But now getting to know him more and more the question became more and more prevelant. 'This isn't just a coincidence right? He looks and acts similar to what Kushina described the Uzumaki before so it's gotta be right, right?'
The resemblance wasn't exact, but it was there. The wild red hair, the unusual chakra, the sheer natural affinity for strange abilities. Minato had seen firsthand what Uzumaki blood was capable of.
He was married to it.
That thought made Minato internally chuckle. 'Oh, this is going to be an interesting introduction. Kushina was going to love this. Or absolutely hate it.'
Arashi suddenly glanced at him. "What's that look for?"
Minato shook his head. "Nothing."
Arashi didn't look convinced. "You had this weird smile, like you were thinking about something really stupid."
Minato smirked. "I was just thinking about my wife."
Arashi's expression brightened. "Oh? You're married?"
Minato nodded.
Arashi grinned. "Who the hell married you?"
Minato gave him a dry look. "A very amazing woman."
Arashi snickered. "She must be a saint."
Minato internally thought, 'Far from it.' But instead, he said, "Her name is Kushina. You'll meet her soon."
Arashi didn't think much of it, but Minato was already mentally preparing for that inevitable interaction.
Kushina was not the type to stay quiet when meeting someone new, especially when that someone is going to vaguely look like her, and has comparable chakra reserves.
Still, Minato didn't push the idea of Arashi being an Uzumaki just yet. He needed more proof and more time to confer with Kushina on the subject.
The trip continued around an hour more, the time being filled with Arashi's usual playful commentary, and sometimes a lack of talking and just listening to the wildlife they were traveling through putting both men at ease.
Then, they reached the gates.
The giant wooden doors of Konoha loomed in the distance, standing tall and unwavering, flanked by shinobi guards. The village beyond them buzzed with life, the setting sun casting long shadows over the rooftops.
Arashi stopped.
For the first time since they started this journey, he went quiet and the easy going smile disappeared.
Minato slowed his steps, glancing at him. "Something wrong?"
Arashi exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Nah. Just… never thought I'd actually do this. Walk into a village like this."
Minato smiled slightly. "It's not too late to turn around."
Arashi snorted. "Oh, hell no. I came this far, might as well see what the hype's about."