Chapter 262 My Favorite Big Brother
The chirping of birds drifted in through the window in the early morning. Minato Namikaze pulled out a chair at the dining table and sat down, then opened the newspaper on the table to read it.
Not hearing any movement from upstairs, he asked, "Has Naruto not gotten up yet?"
Kushina placed the plate on the table, looking gentle and virtuous in her apron.
But the next second, her furrowed brows and hands-on-hips gesture immediately revealed her true colors.
"Yesterday he had a party at home with Haruko and Sasuke. When I came back, I saw that he had cleaned the living room, and I thought he had finally listened to me. But today he just stayed in bed!"
She walked a few steps to the door frame and shouted upstairs, "Naruto! Naruto!"
The roar, clearly laced with anger, instantly woke Naruto Uzumaki, who was curled up in bed. He sat up, yawning, and scratched his messy hair.
As yesterday's memories slowly returned, he lay frozen on the bed, completely still.
A blush crept onto his stunned face. Before shame could engulf Naruto, he abruptly burrowed back into the covers, wriggling around like a silkworm in bed.
Lovers! Lovers!
Still caught up in his excitement, he was completely unaware of the approaching danger. The arrogant red-haired Kushina, holding a spatula, strode heavily into the room step by step.
"Get out of bed!!!"
Trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head, Naruto Uzumaki shoved the sandwich into his mouth, looking rather annoyed.
Stealing a few glances at his mother tidying up in the kitchen, Naruto reached out and tapped the newspaper in Minato's hand, beckoning him with his finger as he put down the newspaper and looked over.
"Dad, are two people who love each other the only relationship they have?"
"Of course, why are you suddenly asking this?"
"It's like... I finally understand."
Naruto's eyes darted around, but the sudden, clear feeling of excitement continued to pound in his chest.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze observed his state for a while and revealed a meaningful, probing expression. Naruto Uzumaki noticed this and tried to make amends for himself, feeling guilty.
"Kakashi-sensei teased me before, saying that pets are the only relationship between two people. He went too far!"
"Haha, Kakashi is actually right."
Seeing through his attempt to change the subject, Minato Namikaze didn't press the matter further and continued the conversation along with him.
Thinking that his father hadn't noticed, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand, expressing his understanding of Kakashi Hatake's lack of consideration.
"I can understand. He's so old and has never been in a relationship. How could he possibly think about a romantic relationship?"
"Speaking of which, Kushina used to think that he liked Rin, but it turns out that wasn't the case at all."
As Minato Namikaze spoke, he turned slightly to the side and glanced at his wife, who was focused on cleaning the kitchen behind him.
"Lin? Is she Dad's former student?"
"right."
Seeing that he had become interested, Minato Namikaze left his seat and went to the cabinet next to the sofa to look for photo albums.
After Naruto was born, they changed to a new photo album, and the album containing photos of Kakashi Hatake and the others was placed at the bottom of a drawer.
"Found it."
Minato Namikaze took out a not-too-thick photo album and invited him to sit on the sofa and look at it.
"This photo was taken after Kakashi and the others joined my team."
Naruto Uzumaki curiously moved closer, scanning the various photos on the screen, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
As a child, Kakashi Hatake wore a black mask, had silver hair, and stared blankly at the camera.
To be honest, he does look quite like the grumpy-faced Uchiha Sasuke.
The other two people in the photo are a girl with short brown hair and a sweet smile, and a sunny boy wearing orange goggles.
Minato Namikaze pointed them out to him, "This is Rin Nohara, and this is Obito Uchiha."
The document records many aspects of their daily lives, including photos of them making peace signs for the camera and catching fish in the water...
One sheet at a time, page by page, happiness overflows in every little detail of life.
Looking at these photos, Naruto Uzumaki's mind drifted back to the daily life of him, Sasuke Uchiha, and Haruko Hayama after joining Kakashi Hatake's team.
Infected by the emotions conveyed in the photo, Naruto Uzumaki unconsciously smiled as well.
Until you flip to the very front, there's only one photo that takes up the entire page.
It was taken with their dad; judging from their poses, it should be their first photo after they formed a team.
Minato Namikaze bent down and placed his hands on the shoulders of the two boys standing on either side. The girl, who should have been standing in the middle, was instead standing slightly to the right, leaving a space empty on the left.
Naruto pointed curiously at the spot and asked, "Why is there an empty space here?"
Hmm...maybe it's because it's too crowded?
After replying to him uncertainly, Minato Namikaze touched his chin in confusion.
I don't think I noticed this problem when I took the photos...
"Did the other two become teachers like Kakashi-sensei?" After asking, Naruto Uzumaki contradicted himself, "No, I don't think I've ever seen them."
"Because they are not teachers."
Minato Namikaze closed the photo album, got up, and sealed it away in the drawer again.
"Rin studied medical techniques under Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin. It seems like it was about two years ago when she left the village to pursue further studies elsewhere, saying she wanted to find a way to conquer the field of disease."
"Where is the other Obito brother?"
Minato Namikaze, who had straightened up, had his back to him and did not answer for a moment. Only after Naruto asked again did he speak in a calm voice.
"He...is missing."
"Missing?"
Naruto was somewhat stunned by the unexpected result.
"It happened more than ten years ago. You were still young then. He went out on a mission alone and disappeared without a trace. The people sent to look for him also found nothing."
In the ninja world, disappearance often means the worst possible outcome—death.
Despite Obito Uchiha's formidable strength, it's reasonable to assume he's not easily sentenced to death.
But he has been missing for more than a decade, not just a year or two, and there has been no news of him. Even Minato Namikaze had to accept the fact that he might be dead.
If Obito Uchiha hadn't disappeared, he would definitely be Naruto's favorite older brother.
Minato Namikaze suppressed the sorrow in his eyes, turned to look at Naruto Uzumaki, who was sitting rather improperly on the sofa, and stared at him with a grinning expression. Minato was stunned.
In a flash, he seemed to see that child wearing orange goggles, confidently shouting that he wanted to become Hokage.
That sunny, enthusiastic, and courageous child.
...
"Huh? Naruto?" Yamanaka Ino, who had never expected to see someone in her flower shop, stood up, leaning on the table. "What brings you here?"
Finding her question strange, Naruto rubbed his nose and said, "Of course I come to the flower shop to buy flowers."
"Buy flowers? You?"
Yamanaka Ino stared wide-eyed, her mouth agape, clearly incredulous.
Feeling like he was being looked down upon, Naruto squinted, put his hands on his hips, and said resentfully, "Don't I look like someone who would buy flowers?"
"Completely unlike them!"
Yamanaka Ino's resolute words left him speechless.
"Anyway, that's how it is!" Naruto Uzumaki spread his arms wide, gesturing exaggeratedly, "I want the most, most, most—pretty bouquet of flowers!"
"ha?"
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