What the hell is making games in the Ninja World?

Uchiha Kai walked away.

In the end, he didn't accept Uchiha Fugaku's kindness.

However...

He didn't outright reject it either, leaving it up in the air.

After all, some things can be optional, but they can't be lacking.

It wasn't just about treatment, but a symbol of power.

And right now, Uchiha Kai needed these things—he needed things that could earn him the support of the Uchiha clan.

"Phew... Now, I won't be able to be neutral anymore. Some things, once you get them, also represent a choice of stance."

Muttering to himself, Uchiha Kai returned to his residence. After resting for a bit, he immediately headed to the home of Namikaze Minato.

At this point, the time was exactly 5:30 PM.

Just two minutes later, Uchiha Kai arrived at Namikaze Minato's house.

Like him, Namikaze Minato lived in a small apartment building. This building would later be the place where Minato and Uzumaki Kushina would live after their marriage—at least that's what was shown in the original manga.

Thanks to the fact that this area was farther from the core of Konoha, it wasn't destroyed during the Nine-Tails attack in the original story.

He knocked on the door, and it opened.

A beautiful young girl, with long red hair, around fifteen or sixteen years old, appeared at the door.

She had her red hair tied in a long ponytail, with rare silver-gray eyes that reflected Uchiha Kai's figure in the sunset. Her pupils shone with a bright and cheerful light.

On her delicate and beautiful face, a genuine, joyful smile appeared.

Though she was dressed in somewhat boyish black jackets and pants, it didn't look bad at all, and instead, it highlighted her very good figure.

And on the girl's forehead, the distinctive Konoha ninja headband revealed her identity as a Konoha ninja.

Such an image would surely make Uchiha Kai's past Naruto fans exclaim, "Could this be Uzumaki Kushina? How could she be so cute?"

However, in reality...

"Kai-nii!"

The girl greeted Uchiha Kai with a bright, radiant smile, using her special nickname for him.

Uchiha Kai smiled as well and reached out to pat the girl's head: "Good evening, Kikyo."

The gentle touch brought a pleasant sensation, and Uchiha Kai couldn't help but sigh. Indeed, the feeling was excellent, and just a touch could make a person feel relaxed both physically and mentally.

The young girl, having her head petted, puffed up her cheeks and showed an unhappy expression. "Honestly, I've already grown up, don't pet my head like that..."

Although she complained, the girl didn't push Uchiha Kai's hand away. Instead, she seemed to have a hidden longing, something habitual in her demeanor.

At that moment, another warm, cheerful female voice rang out. "Kai-kun, you're here too? Kikyō, let your Kai-nii in!"

Along with this, a beautiful woman walked out from the kitchen. She looked somewhat like the red-haired girl with a single ponytail—she too had long red hair and was wearing a green dress. Her personality was less cute but gave off a feeling of being warm and carefree. She seemed to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.

This woman was none other than the current girlfriend of Minato Namikaze, and the current Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails in Konoha—Kushina Uzumaki!

Upon hearing Kushina's words, the girl named Kikyō immediately responded with a quick "Yes, yes," and then went to the shoe rack, taking out a pair of slippers specifically for Uchiha Kai, a regular guest at the Namikaze household. 

She placed them directly in front of him, performing the action with practiced ease, clearly something she had done more than once and enjoyed doing.

As the one being served, Uchiha Kai was used to this and accepted it without hesitation. After changing into the slippers, he walked into the Namikaze household.

However, as he absentmindedly glanced at Kikyō's smiling face and noticed the unmistakable affection and admiration she had for him, he scratched his head.

It was quite a cliché—the girl he had saved when she was young, growing up and developing a crush on her savior.

Yes, the girl named Kikyō was someone Uchiha Kai had saved. Her full name was Uzumaki Kikyō, a member of the Uzumaki Clan, and a character who never appeared in the original Naruto series. She was a result of the butterfly effect that Uchiha Kai had caused.

After graduating from the ninja academy, Uchiha Kai didn't directly join the Konoha Police Force but followed the standard procedure, becoming a regular ninja and teaming up with others to carry out various missions.

At that time, Uchiha Kai and Minato Namikaze were in the same team. With Minato's strength, the team's mission success rate was exceptionally high—they were basically winning effortlessly.

However, when Uchiha Kai was fourteen, he went on a mission to the Land of Grass. During this mission, they encountered some dangerous individuals and Grass ninjas, and it was there that they met Uzumaki Kikyō, a lost member of the Uzumaki clan. 

The twelve-year-old girl, due to the unique physiology of the Uzumaki Clan, was targeted by Grass ninjas, who intended to use her as a "human medicine."

The Uzumaki clan, known for their powerful vitality, has some members who can even allow others to absorb their life force by biting their bodies, helping to heal injuries. Uzumaki Kikyō is one such member of the clan who possesses this unique ability.

For this young Uzumaki girl, who would undoubtedly suffer greatly if left in the Land of Grass, Minato Namikaze, the boyfriend of Uzumaki Kushina, naturally stepped in to help. Uchiha Kai also chose to support her, even risking his life to personally rescue Uzumaki Kikyō in the end.

Afterwards, Uzumaki Kikyō was brought back to Konoha. Thanks to the efforts of the then-powerful Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, she was successfully removed from the Land of Grass and allowed to settle in Konoha. She was even arranged to live with her fellow clan member, Uzumaki Kushina.

For the Uzumaki clan, who had lost their homeland and saw both their country and clan destroyed, finding other clan members in a foreign land and living together was a rare moment of warmth and luck in the midst of great disaster.

Both Uzumaki Kikyō and Uzumaki Kushina were extremely happy and even moved by this turn of events.

It must be said that during that time, Sarutobi Hiruzen truly deserved the title of Hokage. While his methods of gathering allies may not have been particularly sophisticated, he knew when to use them, achieving the best possible results.

This is the full story of how Uzumaki Kikyō came to Konoha. Afterward, her interactions with Uchiha Kai continued, and their relationship, largely thanks to Minato Namikaze, never ceased.

Years of getting along, combined with the life-saving bond, meant that Uchiha Kai held a place in Uzumaki Kikyō's heart similar to that of a "white moonlight" or a "true hero." It's no wonder the young girl secretly fell for him.

In fact, for the passionate Uzumaki clan, after going through something like this, the only reason they wouldn't be moved is if their life-saver was so unattractive it was impossible to look at—after all, even the Akimichi clan, known for their round physiques, is considered attractive in situations like this.

As for Uchiha Kai, his looks were far from lacking. Although his talent as a ninja was not remarkable, he was still an Uchiha, and in the Uchiha clan, there were almost no unattractive people. They were all handsome or beautiful.

Even Uchiha Obito, who was often teased for bringing down the Uchiha clan's average attractiveness, was actually quite handsome when properly groomed.

In this situation, it was only natural that Uchiha Kai, who was just two years older than Kikyo, would end up being liked by her.

For Uchiha Kai, being liked by an active, kind-hearted, and beautiful girl was not something he could easily reject. After all, he wasn't some super "steel straight man" who had no interest in beautiful girls.

However, Uchiha Kai harbored a rather subtle concern in his heart, which was...

The important character from the original story, and Sasuke Uchiha's future important companion, could possibly be gone—Kikyo Uzumaki, Karin's mother, might actually be the very same woman who died early in the original story.

**********

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