"Pull up this Uchiha girl’s file."
Watching Izumi sit beside Naruto, Kakashi calmly gave the order.
"Yes, sir."
The ANBU vanished in a Body Flicker.
Meanwhile...
Naruto looked at the dango.
Then at Izumi.
Does this girl not know who I am?
...No.
The shopkeeper literally called me the demon fox just now.
Naruto decided to test her.
"Do you know who I am?"
Tilting her head adorably, Izumi answered,
"The demon fox?"
"You know that..."
"And you still came over?"
"Aren’t you afraid I’ll eat you?"
Naruto asked with genuine curiosity.
"Itachi said..."
"...You’re not actually a demon fox."
Naruto almost laughed.
Itachi says I’m not, so I’m not?
You trust him that much?
No wonder she didn’t resist even when Itachi eventually killed her in the original timeline...
She’s way too trusting.
Seeing the skepticism on Naruto’s face, Izumi realized her answer hadn’t been very convincing.
She straightened up and spoke earnestly.
"Besides..."
"If you really were a demon fox..."
"Why would you pay for things?"
"And why would the shopkeeper dare chase you away?"
"I’m sure..."
"There’s a reason things turned out like this."
After a brief pause, she smiled.
"So..."
"Do you want to trade?"
"Your fish is already cooked."
"...Deal."
Naruto estimated how much a seven- or eight-year-old girl could eat.
Then he picked up a medium-sized grilled fish and handed it to her.
"Here."
"...Thank you."
Izumi accepted it with a faint blush.
Originally...
She had planned to insist on taking the smallest one.
But...
Her growling stomach won the argument.
She still felt guilty, though.
If Naruto had been her own age...
She wouldn’t have minded.
The problem was...
He looked so little.
It made her feel as though she were taking advantage of a child.
After struggling with her conscience...
She placed all the dango in front of Naruto.
"You can have all of these."
"This one fish is enough for me."
"I only want two skewers."
"I just want to know what they taste like."
Naruto wasn’t interested in taking advantage of her.
He picked up two skewers.
Taking a bite...
The dango was soft.
Sweet.
Pleasantly chewy.
Izumi thought Naruto was just a little kid.
But...
Naruto felt exactly the same way about her.
"Hehe..."
Watching Naruto act like a tiny adult...
Izumi couldn’t help smiling.
A child this considerate...
How could he possibly be some demon fox?
She gently blew on the grilled fish before taking a bite.
"...Mmm!"
"So hot!"
"So good!"
She fanned her burning mouth with one hand.
Her eyes sparkled.
It had smelled delicious.
But...
It tasted even better.
She glanced at Naruto, who barely reached her shoulder.
Her surprise only deepened.
How did he do this?
How could someone so little grill fish this well?
People couldn’t help making comparisons.
Once again...
She thought of a certain clingy little brother who could only cry in his older brother’s arms.
Compared to Naruto...
The difference was almost embarrassing.
"By the way..."
"What’s your name?"
Izumi asked as she ate.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
His answer was short and cool.
"...Uzumaki?"
Izumi’s eyes widened.
The Uzumaki surname...
Was anything but ordinary.
The Ninja Academy’s history classes specifically covered the friendship between Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan.
Even Konoha’s history books mentioned it.
After all...
The spiral emblem stitched onto every Konoha flak jacket...
Was the crest of the Uzumaki Clan.
A symbol of that alliance.
"Yeah."
"What about you?"
Naruto asked.
"My name’s Uchiha Izumi."
"Do you know about the Uchiha Clan?"
She turned slightly, revealing the fan-shaped clan crest on the back of her clothes.
"I do."
"Konoha’s largest clan."
The Third Hokage had taught Naruto how to read.
His apartment even contained copies of Konoha’s historical records.
Of course...
The very first book Hiruzen had used to teach him literacy...
Had been his own collection of Will of Fire teachings.
"..."
Izumi almost choked.
She didn’t enjoy hearing people call the Uchiha the largest clan.
Unlike many other clan members...
She didn’t take pride in that title.
Because...
Whenever people said those words...
Their voices always carried either fear...
Or mockery.
Elsewhere...
"Senior Kakashi."
"She’s not a ninja."
"Only an Academy student."
"Neither parent was a shinobi, so there isn’t much information."
Kakashi accepted the file with mild surprise.
Neither parent was a shinobi?
For an Uchiha...
That was unusual.
Without another thought, he opened the file.
Uchiha Izumi.
Ordinary appearance.
Ordinary personality.
Ordinary grades.
Ordinary ability.
No matter how he looked at it...
She was simply an ordinary Academy student.
Her mother belonged to the Uchiha Clan.
Her father had been a civilian.
She hadn’t grown up in the Uchiha compound.
As a child...
She had carried her father’s surname.
Her father had died during the Nine-Tails’ attack.
Only afterward had her mother moved back to the Uchiha Clan with her...
Changing both of their surnames to Uchiha.
Kakashi vaguely remembered her parents.
Years ago...
He had heard that an Uchiha woman with no talent as a shinobi had married a civilian.
At the time...
The marriage had caused quite a stir throughout Konoha.
The Uchiha Clan had always preferred marriages within the clan to preserve their bloodline.
Even when they married outsiders...
It was usually male clan members taking wives from outside the clan.
Female Uchiha marrying civilians...
Was virtually unheard of.
At least...
This was the only example Kakashi knew.
Because she hadn’t been raised within the clan...
And because her father had been an ordinary civilian...
Izumi never truly fit in among the Uchiha.
Some clan members didn’t even acknowledge her as one of them.
She lived on the outskirts of the clan’s social circles.
Most of her friends were ordinary Academy students.
The only remarkable thing in her file...
Was that she happened to be classmates with Uchiha Itachi.
She was also one of the very few Uchiha children who got along well with him.
Based on the information...
Kakashi quickly reached a conclusion.
Izumi wasn’t some pawn deliberately sent by the Uchiha Clan to approach the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki.
The Uchiha were an exceptionally proud people.
Schemes and subtle manipulation...
Weren’t really their style.
If conflict arose...
They preferred confronting it head-on.
There were naturally exceptions.
But the clan’s leadership generally favored direct and forceful methods.
Approaching the Jinchūriki without authorization would immediately attract the Hokage’s suspicion.
If the clan elders had truly approved such an operation...
It certainly wouldn’t have been carried out in such a gentle, innocent manner.
Closing the file...
Kakashi quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Who would have thought...
The very first person willing to accept Naruto...
Would be an Uchiha.
He looked toward the two children sitting by the river.
A thoughtful look flickered across his eyes.