- Kushina-chan! - Minato waved his hand as he saw the familiar red hair at the beginning of the street.
- Hello, Minato-kun," she said as she came closer, "have you been waiting long?
- No, I just got here a little while ago," he lied, smiling dazzlingly.
- Good! Sakumo-sensei delayed me a bit, that's why I was late," the girl said with a charming smile, and Minato involuntarily admired her, forgetting all his plans and aspirations for a moment.
But only for a moment.
- Shall we go? - He asked, almost physically agonizing with the urge to ask the obvious question, but holding back with a huge effort of will.
- To Ichiraku first, then! - Uzumaki raised his fist up and the genin felt that his wallet would be noticeably empty today, but the next phrase of his companion filled Namikaze with a sense of joy and anticipation. - Yes, I got you the textbooks, but they'll have to be returned to Sae-oba-san in a few days because Ryo-ni doesn't like his stuff taken for long periods of time without asking, I promised, so don't let me down, datebane!
- Okay, Kushina-chan, I'll try to go through them in a couple days and then give them back to you," the boy replied, gently taking the slightly tattered books and tucking them into a pouch on his belt, "now let's go.
Following the energetic and full of anticipation girl, Namikaze allowed himself to smile at the irony of the situation - his main opponent is helping, albeit unwittingly, to reach new heights of power. All that remains is to take the books he received to a good acquaintance and the next day, along with the original, an exact copy, money, techniques and training will be received at any suitable time.
All for the chance to copy any Fuinjutsu textbook or scroll that Minato could get his hands on. A great bargain for an orphan in need of any help not to end up as kunai grease in front of the clan kids.
***
Many kilometers away from Konoha, beneath the foliage of a giant tree, the shadows thickened slightly in one spot and a human figure gathered from them, pulling out a scroll. Unrolling it along the ground, the voluminous shadow unsealed the three shinobi and just as quietly and stealthily disappeared.
A handsome black-haired guy, a huge bald man and an unremarkable-looking young man with blond hair nodded to each other and disappeared into the forest, going in different directions.
Once set, the path was deviating further and further away from the original plan, and soon no one would be able to predict where it would lead.
Dear readers, Volume 3 of Red Nara is finished. Volume 4 will have to wait, but I think at the end of next week I will start publishing the continuation. Thanks in advance to all participants.
I've got more interesting stuff on patreon (+ 200 chapter)
patreon.com/Chill76