"By then, you, me, and Kushina will form Konoha's invincible team. I've already thought of the name, Fiery Annihilation Swift Gale All Purpose Squad. Just listen to it, doesn't it sound nice?" Minato continued to coax earnestly.
"Believe it or not, when my brother sees us then, he'll have to go out of his way to avoid us."
"Don't be fooled by how unknown Kushina is right now. She already has the strength of a chunin, and she's improving rapidly."
"My brother even said that her power will soon skyrocket, and she won't be any weaker than me."
"So, what do you say? Join my team, I got your back!"
At this moment, Fugaku felt completely uncomfortable. He truly had no experience dealing with someone so shameless.
What surprised him even more was that Minato, who always looked honest and simple, scratching his head and laughing like a clueless dork, was actually a complete chatterbox in private.
With just the two of them there, Minato seemed like a different person entirely, his eyes gleaming with mischief.
Was this his true nature showing?
And what the hell kind of name is Fiery Annihilation Swift Gale All Purpose Squad?
With a name that embarrassing, how do you have the nerve to ask me to join?
After a long silence, he finally declared resolutely, "There's no way I'm joining your team."
But the very next moment, he seemed to fall into a painful internal struggle, and muttered in a voice full of shame, "Unless… you change the team name."
"Haha! Sure! I'll change it right now!" Minato was overjoyed and threw his arm around Fugaku's shoulder, dreaming excitedly about the future.
Not far from them, behind a tree, stood a slightly older boy, looking completely dejected.
This ambush battle hadn't been carried out by the Uchiha clan alone, it was a joint operation between two clans.
The other clan cooperating with the Uchiha was the Hyūga clan.
Their encounter had been unplanned. Minato had specifically sensed it, this wasn't a premeditated scheme by the Hyūga; the joint action had simply been to minimize casualties.
The boy hiding behind the tree was Hizashi.
The reason he was here was because he had really wanted to come say hi to Minato and get to know him.
Earlier on the battlefield, Minato's dazzling moves had left him completely stunned.
A boy two years younger than him, yet already stronger than everyone else present, it was just unbelievable. Coupled with Minato's sunny and outgoing personality, he couldn't help but feel admiration and longing.
But throughout the entire time, Minato hadn't even noticed him, and now, he was inviting Fugaku to join his team instead.
His heart was full of self-mockery and sadness.
Someone like that… wasn't even someone he had the right to know, was he?
Just then, Minato grinned widely and shouted toward the tree, "Hizashi! What are you doing, hiding there? Come on out, I've already seen you."
Hizashi jumped in surprise and quickly looked around.
The next moment, he realized, it was Minato's voice.
With a red face, Hizashi stepped out from behind the tree, head lowered, saying nothing.
"What are you doing? Standing there like a post. Come sit."
Hizashi's heart pounded wildly, overwhelmed by a strong feeling of happiness.
Let's be clear, Hizashi's preferences were completely normal.
He was acting like this only because he was utterly caught off guard by the attention. He had thought that Minato hadn't even noticed him. After all, how could a man so powerful and radiant possibly spare a glance for someone as insignificant as him?
But to his shock, Minato had called him by name. And Minato's natural friendliness and warmth nearly brought him to tears.
He was a member of the Hyūga branch house, while his twin brother, Hiashi, belonged to the main house, and was even the next clan head of the Hyūga clan.
Though they were family, Hizashi had never felt any warmth or affection from his brother, father, or mother.
At the age of three, he had been branded with the Caged Bird Seal, and from then on, he could only live like an obedient dog. Before he had even graduated from the Ninja Academy, his own father forced him to go to war.
That Hiashi, because he wasn't as naturally gifted as Hizashi, would even, when no other clan members were around, activate Hizashi's Caged Bird Seal to torture him, just for fun.
He had once believed that no one in his entire life would ever notice or care about him.
But now, not only had Minato called his name directly, his enthusiasm and ease made Hizashi feel like he had been touched by warm sunlight in the dead of winter, thawing him from the inside out.
"You want me to come drag you over or what? Hurry up already," Minato said when he noticed Hizashi still hadn't moved. His tone became a little stern.
Snapping out of his daze, Hizashi quickly and obediently ran over to Minato. But he kept his head down the whole time, not daring to look him in the eyes.
"Sit down. You standing there while the two of us sit, it's awkward."
"What? Are you afraid of getting dirty? This is the battlefield. Why are you so picky?"
"N-No... not at all…" Hizashi hurriedly sat down but still didn't dare raise his head to meet Minato's eyes.
Of course, it wasn't anything against Minato personally.
He just always felt uncomfortable getting close to anyone outside of the Hyūga branch house.
He couldn't help but wonder, Are they staring at my forehead protector? Are they mocking me for being a branch house member?
Seeing the reason behind Hizashi's nervousness, Minato scowled and said, "The Hyūga main house is absolute cruel, turning a good kid into this mess."
"Lift your head. We are not making fun of you."
Hizashi's eyes instantly reddened, and tears began streaming down his face.
That one sentence from Minato made the warmth in his heart boil over. It felt like a gentle spring breeze was reaching every cold corner inside him.
Paying no mind to his own tears, he gathered the courage to look up and meet Minato's eyes, just for a moment.
Because he had a feeling, this boy was different from everyone else he'd ever met. He would never look down on him.
"That's more like it. Stand tall and proud," Minato said approvingly, clearly unfazed by Hizashi's tears.
"Oh, right!" As if remembering something, he pulled out a storage scroll from inside his shirt. After a quick glance around, he sneakily took out a bottle of alcohol and whispered, "Stole this from Tsunade-nesan's place."
"We met by fate today, we have to drink a little."
Fugaku, however, glanced around nervously and said, "This... isn't appropriate, is it?"
"What's not appropriate?" Minato replied, unconcerned.
"We're all underage. According to the ninja code…"
"Screw the damn code!"
"..."
"..."
Fugaku added, "But we're on the battlefield. What if someone catches us?"
"Then don't let anyone catch us." Minato shrugged, totally unbothered. He pulled out three cups, filled them all to the brim, and handed them over.
"The battlefield is the best place to awaken a man's spirit. In a moment like this, how can we not have a drink?"
"Cheers!" Without waiting for a response, Minato clinked glasses with them one by one and downed his drink.
Fugaku and Hizashi looked at each other, then copied him and downed theirs too. But the moment the liquid hit their stomachs, both of them froze.
Wait a second... This wasn't alcohol.
It was clearly just juice!