"The paperwork is done. You’re now officially a mber of Konoha, but since you’ve just joined, your rank is currently Genin." Nagasawa handed over so docunts and identification to Honoka Uzumaki.
Honoka took the docunts, carefully placed them in her backpack, and then bowed and thanked Nagasawa with a joyful smile.
"I don’t mind the rank, thank you for your help. I’m really grateful."
With the 20 million Ryo compensation from Obito, if she spends wisely and does light work, she can live comfortably for the rest of her life. So, even if she were given a higher rank, Honoka wouldn’t take on dangerous S-rank or A-rank missions. Genin was just right for her.
"As long as you’re satisfied. Would you like to introduce you to your clan mbers next?" Nagasawa asked.
He had gauged her personality from his interactions with Honoka over the past few days. She was cautious to the point of paranoia, almost exhibiting symptoms of a persecution complex—likely a trauma from her past abduction. Without help in introducing her to people, Nagasawa feared that with her cautious nature, she might not make friends in Konoha for years unless others approached her first.
While Honoka might be okay with living alone without any social interaction, Nagasawa hoped she would make so friends. No one truly enjoys loneliness; it’s usually a result of being hurt or forced into it and then becoming accustod to it. Having a good friend is a great blessing, soone who thinks from your perspective, makes you laugh when you’re down and stands up against those you dislike.
Given that both Kushina and Karin were easygoing, Nagasawa believed they could understand the sadness behind Honoka’s cautiousness, especially Karin. Although Kushina had Uzumaki Mito to care for her when she ca to Konoha and later t Minato, Karin had experienced the harshness of wandering the ninja world firsthand, just like Honoka.
"Yes, please," Honoka thanked him, clasping her hands together, her eyes shining with anticipation.
Other than her parents, she had never t any other mbers of the Uzumaki clan. And one of them was the wife of the Fourth Hokage.
"She must be a dignified and intellectual elder," Honoka guessed internally.
Nagasawa decided to take her to Kakashi’s house to et Karin first. Since it was noon, Kakashi should have been ho. Honoka followed closely behind Nagasawa, occasionally lowering her head whenever passersby glanced curiously at her.
Despite getting married, Kakashi had stayed in his original small villa. This house, one of the first buildings constructed when Konoha was founded, had an ample interior space with a nostalgic, traditional style.
Kakashi had initially considered moving out because it felt too spacious for one person and was a hassle to clean. But after Karin moved in, she liked the traditional style, which reminded her of her old ho, so they decided to stay.
Walking into the yard, Nagasawa knocked on Kakashi’s door.
"It’s , Nagasawa."
Kakashi quickly opened the door. He was montarily taken aback to see Honoka standing shyly behind Nagasawa, showing only a third of her body. He couldn’t imdiately understand why Nagasawa brought a girl to his house, but seeing her red hair gave him a hint.
"Nagasawa-sensei is here. Karin, prepare so tea," Kakashi said, leading them to the living room and asking Karin to prepare tea.
Karin brewed the tea and brought it over, accompanied by Yukina, who had co over upon hearing the commotion.
Honoka sat upright, occasionally glancing curiously at Karin, though each look was very brief. Seeing Honoka’s striking red hair, Karin smiled, seeming to understand sothing.
"Hello, Nagasawa-uncle," Yukina greeted Nagasawa.
Nagasawa smiled and patted Yukina’s white hair in response.
"I’m here to introduce you to soone," Nagasawa said, pointing to Honoka.
"This sister’s hair is the sa as Mom’s," Yukina observed, noticing the resemblance in hair colour to her mother’s. Other than Naruto’s mother, Kushina, she hadn’t seen anyone else with such striking red hair.
"Nagasawa-sama, she must be another Uzumaki clan mber who has been wandering outside, right?" Karin sighed, then asked.
Honoka’s cautious movents and wary eyes reminded Karin of herself in the past.
"Yes, her na is Honoka Uzumaki. I t her outside and brought her here to help her beco familiar with the people of Konoha. We’ll visit Kushina next," Nagasawa explained.
Karin controlled her expression, making her smile even warr.
"Honoka, you can co to my place anyti. If you encounter any difficulties in life, don’t hesitate to ask . I was once in the sa situation."
"The sa situation?" Honoka was surprised. She thought Karin and Kushina were early arrivals in Konoha, but it seed Karin had also wandered the ninja world.
"Actually, I ca to Konoha only a few years ago. After our country fell, I wandered the ninja world," Karin shared her past.
"Yukina, let’s go for a walk," Nagasawa suggested, picking up Yukina. He gave Kakashi a aningful look, and Kakashi, understanding, followed him outside.
Outside, Nagasawa gave Yukina a lollipop, letting her play independently.
Yukina was initially a bit upset at Nagasawa for not keeping his word, but the lollipop soothed her, and she forgave him, wandering off to play.
"What do you think about the Sharingan?" Nagasawa asked Kakashi as they sat on a bench in the yard.
"What do I think?"
"The Sharingan is most powerful in pairs. Having only one limits its potential. Obito’s other Mangekyou Sharingan is in my possession. If you want, I can help you transplant it."
"A pair of Mangekyou Sharingan..." Kakashi pondered. Knowing the power of a complete set of Mangekyou Sharingan, he also understood the abilities of Obito’s other eye—likely space-related, allowing one to move their body into another dinsion to evade attacks and move through space like the Flying Thunder God.
Having both eyes would an he could attack by twisting space to cut opponents and defend by phasing to avoid attacks.
"It sounds great, but I don’t need it," Kakashi said after a mont. He had accepted Obito’s eye because it was Obito’s dying wish for him to see the world with it. Now that he knew Obito was alive, taking another eye would feel like exploiting Obito’s gift for power.
"If I could, I’d rather give this eye back to Obito," Kakashi added.
"I understand." Nagasawa nodded, realising Kakashi’s stance. So no Kamui Raikiri for now. Leaving Kamui alone felt wasteful, but the complete Kamui would be more powerful. Since Kakashi wanted to return the eye, they’d wait for the right ti to return it to Obito.
After all, with Kakashi’s talent, losing the Mangekyou Sharingan might affect him temporarily, but it wouldn’t be a long-term issue.
Nagasawa planned to wait to return it. Kakashi had transplanted Hashirama’s cells, and only two years had passed. Losing the Mangekyou Sharingan abruptly might cause an imbalance in his physical and ntal energies, leading to a backlash.
After an hour and a half, Honoka erged, smiling brightly, clearly in a good mood.
"Honoka, rember to visit often," Karin called as Honoka left.
"Okay," Honoka nodded earnestly.
On their way to Kushina’s house, Nagasawa remarked, "It seems you two hit it off even better than I expected."
"Yes, Karin is very kind. It was a pleasure talking to her," Honoka nodded.
They had much in common, having shared similar experiences of wandering. Moreover, Honoka felt pure, unadulterated care from Karin, the kind she hadn’t experienced outside of her parents.
She didn’t think Nagasawa’s intentions were impure; she was very grateful and trusted him deeply. But Nagasawa’s care was more detached, like soone powerful helping a pitiful girl they happened upon.
"This is a good start," Nagasawa thought, satisfied that things were going as planned.
Honoka was now looking forward to eting Kushina even more. Karin had ntioned how much Kushina had helped her when she first ca to Konoha.
"If even soone as gentle and understanding as Karin admires Kushina, she must be a quiet, gentle, and noble big sister," Honoka thought.
With her title as the Hokage’s wife and Karin’s praises, Honoka naturally assud Kushina was an elegant and refined traditional lady.
By the ti they reached Kushina’s house, it was afternoon. Minato was at the Hokage’s office, leaving only Kushina and Naruto at ho.
This ti, Honoka stood beside Nagasawa instead of hiding behind him, encouraged by her positive experience at Karin’s house.
Kushina opened the door, and though intrigued by Honoka’s red hair, she invited them in before saying anything.
"Is there a guest?"
Naruto’s voice ca from upstairs.
"Yes, it’s your uncle Nagasawa," Kushina replied.
Hearing it was Nagasawa, Naruto hurried downstairs and ran to his side.
"Uncle Nagasawa, who won the war between the Uchiha and the Senju? What happened to Hashirama and Madara..." Naruto bombarded Nagasawa with questions.
Patting Naruto’s head, Nagasawa casually replied, "I’ve been very busy lately, no ti to tell you stories. You can try guessing the ending based on what I’ve told you so far. It’ll be a good exercise for you."
"And by the way, I have sothing to discuss today. Why don’t you go back upstairs? I’ll tell you the rest of the story when I have ti."
Naruto’s happy expression froze, turning to one of reluctant acceptance. He wanted to say that Nagasawa always said he’d tell the story later, but when would that be?
Seeing Nagasawa and Kushina’s expressions, Naruto decided it was best to go back upstairs obediently. When angry, his mom could be scary, and his dad wasn’t ho.
"What’s the matter?" Kushina asked, looking at Honoka.
"She’s an orphan of the Uzumaki clan who will be living in Konoha from now on. I wanted to introduce her to you so you can take care of her," Nagasawa explained.
"Alright, what’s your na?" Kushina smiled.
"I’m Honoka Uzumaki. You can call Honoka, Kushina-sama," Honoka said shyly.
"Don’t call ’sama.’ We’re all family, so let’s be closer. You can call ’sister’ or just by my na," Kushina laughed heartily.
Kushina’s hearty laugh surprised Honoka, but she liked Kushina’s warm and approachable deanour.
"Okay, Kushina-sister," Honoka nodded.
Seeing them getting along, Nagasawa decided to leave and let them bond. He decided to have afternoon tea and return later to check on Honoka.
Coincidentally, he ran into Terumi i at the dango shop.
"The dango you recomnded was too sweet. The regular one is better," Terumi i pouted, suspecting Nagasawa had played a prank on her.
Nagasawa laughed and ordered two particular dangers from Watanabe, enjoying them with a look of bliss.
"It’s really good. Want to try another one?" He handed a fragrant dango to Terumi i.
Seeing Nagasawa’s blissful expression, Terumi i hesitated but decided to try it, as his previous recomndations had been quite good.
"You’re a liar..."
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