Both of them wanted to take the moral high ground and accuse the other—but neither had the right.
If Minato had known Ren had already figured out his little trick, he might not have felt guilty. But the truth was, he didn't. He really thought Ren still believed he was no match for him.
So the two locked eyes. No words needed.
You not backing down?
Then let's settle it.
The next second, both of them grabbed their weapons and charged at full speed.
But as the "duel" went on, things took a very strange turn.
"You poked me in the eye!"
"You pinched my butt first!"
"You spat on me!"
"Well, you threw a fart bomb at me!"
At this point, it wasn't a duel anymore—it had devolved into a full-on playground scuffle.
Eventually, Minato had Ren in a chokehold with his legs, pulling at his ankles. Ren had locked Minato in the exact same position. It was a total deadlock.
The only difference? Ren was on top.
"Let go!" Ren yelled through gritted teeth, his face red with effort. But his voice came out muffled since his neck was being squeezed.
"You first!" Minato fired back, his own face red—especially obvious with his blond hair making it worse.
"No way! You let go first!"
"You first!"
"You're such a brat!"
"You're the brat!"
"..."
What started as a fight ended as a slapstick mess.
In the woods, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the scene from the shade, expression unreadable. Even with his years of experience and wisdom, he was at a loss for words.
These two were supposed to be the best students in their class… and this was how they fought?
He was speechless.
Then again, looking at them now—tangled up like that—he suddenly recalled his own childhood, back when he and Danzo were kids.
The Sarutobi and Shimura clans were close back then. He and Danzo grew up inseparable. They got into fights and caused trouble just like these two.
Of course, they never did anything as shameless as eye-poking or fart bombs. Their teachers would've killed them.
Honestly, part of him was jealous. He and Danzo never had this kind of silly freedom growing up.
"Ahem…" Hiruzen finally cleared his throat, stepping forward with a cough.
"Enough fighting! You're friends, aren't you? Let's not bicker like this!"
Both boys froze mid-grapple. The grip on each other loosened just enough for them to twist their necks and look.
"Third Hokage?!"
"What are you doing here?" Minato quickly unwrapped himself and scrambled to his feet, looking properly embarrassed.
Ren stood up as well, brushing the dirt and grass off his clothes. He eyed Hiruzen with a wary look.
At this point in time, Sarutobi Hiruzen was still in his prime—strong, sharp, and respected. He wasn't yet the man who would one day lose his edge and falter as a leader.
Ren didn't hold much malice toward this version of Hiruzen.
...Not yet, anyway.
As long as Minato became Hokage before Hiruzen's ideals started to rot, the Uchiha clan would have less reason to rebel.
Hiruzen approached with a smile, his eyes kind as he looked at the two boys.
Watching them had reminded him so much of his youth. How he and Danzo had once sparred in fields just like this. Of course, they didn't act this ridiculous… they didn't have the freedom to.
He chuckled at the memory.
"Nothing important. I just finished paperwork and lunch, thought I'd go for a walk, and ended up here," he said mildly.
Minato believed him. He beamed. "Third Hokage, you're amazing! Under your leadership, Konoha's future looks brighter than ever!"
Even as a student, Minato knew about the tensions outside the village—the border skirmishes, the casualties. But Hiruzen made him feel safe.
Hiruzen smiled back, but corrected him gently, "Minato, I'm not the official Hokage yet. Just the acting Hokage."
His teacher had died too soon, and the Fire Daimyō had been hesitant to approve him due to his age. So they gave him the title of "acting Hokage" to evaluate his capability first.
Minato didn't argue. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, Ren picked up his wooden sword, watching Hiruzen closely. He didn't believe for a second the man had "just happened" to pass by.
Hiruzen noticed the suspicion in Ren's eyes and smoothly shifted the topic.
"You seem to really enjoy sword practice, Ren."
He'd seen it earlier—both through the crystal ball and now in person.
Ren nodded. "That's right, Third Hokage."
"Good, good. It's important for young shinobi to have focus and determination. I'm glad to see it."
Hiruzen didn't have any deep fondness for the Uchiha, but as long as a child wasn't a threat to the village, he had no problem being warm to them.
"Hehe…" Ren gave a sheepish smile.
Hiruzen glanced up at the sky and hesitated. There were things he wanted to say, plans he was forming—but now wasn't the time.
"Well, I'll leave you boys to it. Just don't start rolling around like before!"
"Got it!"
"We won't!"
They watched Hiruzen walk off into the distance, then exchanged a look.
What was that all about?
Surely he didn't just show up because he got tired of spying through the crystal ball?
After a long pause, Minato looked over and asked, "So… do we keep sparring?"
Ren rolled his eyes. "Sparring? After that mess? I'm taking a nap."
"Oh." Minato quickly followed. As they walked, he noticed Ren was covered in weeds and dust. His long black hair had leaves and sticks tangled through it. The guy looked wrecked.
"Wait a sec!" Minato called out.
Ren stopped and turned. "What now?"
Minato stepped over, brushing the weeds and branches from Ren's hair and shoulders.
"Geez, how did you get this messy?"
He'd been the one underneath during the fight, but Ren looked like he'd been dragged through a forest.
Ren pulled his long hair forward and frowned. The waist-length locks were filled with grass and twigs.
He sighed. "Honestly, I kinda wanna cut it all off."
Minato blinked. "Then why don't you?"
Ren looked even more bitter.
He reached out, hooked an arm around Minato's shoulders, and leaned in, temple-to-temple.
"Minato… have you ever heard of 'family hierarchy'?"
Minato tilted his head. "Uh… like, being head of the household?"
That's what he assumed anyway. He'd never had parents, but he figured the dad led the family and the mom supported from behind.
Ren gave a crooked smile.
"In my family, it goes like this—my mom is the boss, then my sister, then my dad… and dead last is me."
Minato was speechless. "Wait, seriously?"
"Yup. They didn't even want another kid after my sister. I'm what you'd call… an accident."
He looked up at the sky with a mix of sarcasm and acceptance.
"Stormy night, a little too much sake… and boom. Here I am."
Ren had heard the story himself when he was a toddler. His dad hadn't thought he'd understand and had vented right in front of him.
Minato stared at him in stunned silence. "So… you're basically a mistake?"
"Exactly."
"Okay, but what's that got to do with your hair?"
Ren's face darkened.
"When I was little… they dressed me up as a doll."
Minato: "!!!"
"The girly kind."
His sister's old clothes. Even his mom's accessories.
He was their personal dress-up toy.
Tears of shame welled up in Ren's eyes (metaphorically, of course).
"Crying inside…" he muttered. "So much crying…"
(╯﹏╰)