Hakusei Tōya thought for a moment, then put on a serious expression and bluffed solemnly,
"Of course I saved him with the power of love."
"The power of love?"
Kurenai repeated blankly, confused but vaguely impressed by how profound it sounded.
"Exactly. The power of love, it's limitless. I believe Kakashi, having grasped the essence of love, will become even stronger from now on."
Tōya continued spouting nonsense with a straight face.
"The power of love is that strong? I feel like my youth is burning!"
Guy's eyes sparkled with passion. If this were an anime, flames would definitely be flickering around him by now.
"I feel like you're full of crap, but I've got no proof,"
Asuma muttered, eyeing Tōya suspiciously.
"How could you say that?"
Tōya put on a hurt expression. "If not for the power of love, how could an average chūnin like me possibly change someone like Kakashi?"
"…That… kind of makes sense,"
Asuma frowned in thought, slowly beginning to nod.
Watching the group of teens fall into their own mental rabbit holes, Tōya chuckled quietly to himself.
No wonder all those novel protagonists loved bluffing and acting humble, it really was fun.
Especially when he thought about who he was bluffing: these kids were the future teachers of the Twelve Young Ninjas.
Tricking them really gave him a sense of accomplishment.
After the shop owner brought over his custom-loaded dango, Tōya stopped chatting and ate quietly.
Before leaving, Tōya turned to Might Guy and said,
"If Kakashi comes to you again for taijutsu advice, have him train with you in that technique. Just tell him I said so."
Before Guy could ask anything, Tōya had already stood up, bought a few more regular dangos, and left.
Guy was one of the few people Tōya genuinely admired.
So he figured it wouldn't hurt to help him a little, give him and Kakashi a head start learning Rokushiki.
Despite having no talent for chakra, Might Guy never wallowed in self-pity.
Instead, he poured his heart into taijutsu and, in the Fourth Great Ninja War, delivered that world-shaking kick.
Tōya truly respected Guy.
Before opening the Eighth Gate, Guy had no idea Naruto would awaken god-tier powers and save him.
He kicked Madara fully prepared to die.
…
…
Tōya walked into the Konoha Orphanage, still holding the dango he'd just bought.
Yakushi Nono was in the middle of telling a story to the children.
When she saw Tōya arrive, she stood up and smiled warmly.
"Your big brother Tōya is here! Aren't you going to welcome him?"
The children, who had been listening intently just moments ago, immediately jumped up and ran to surround him.
"Big Bro Tōya, what goodies did you bring this time?"
A slightly older child in the group asked with eager eyes.
Tōya thought for a second, then sneakily hid the dango behind his back.
With a mock-surprised face, he said,
"Did I bring anything? I don't remember that at all."
"Liar! You were just holding it. Now it's behind your back!"
His clumsy lie was instantly exposed.
"…Alright, you got me."
Tōya sighed with exaggerated defeat and pulled out the hand holding the dango.
"This is dango from Watanabe's shop. Don't fight over it, there's enough for everyone."
After handing out the sweets, Tōya dodged the kids' hugs and headed over to Nono and young Kabuto.
He gently rubbed Kabuto's head with his left hand.
"Don't like dango, Kabuto? Why didn't you grab one?"
Kabuto struggled free from Tōya's hand and grumbled,
"Brother Tōya, the dango you bring is always too sweet."
Tōya laughed.
"Last time was Watanabe's mistake, he gave you my special extra-sweet batch. This time, it's the regular kind."
Kabuto's eyes flickered slightly as he stared at him.
Tōya sighed dramatically and shook his head.
"What a shame. You were too slow, they're all gone."
Kabuto's eyes showed a trace of disappointment, but he still stubbornly mumbled,
"It's just dango. Not even that tasty. Probably gives you cavities anyway."
"Oh, really?"
Tōya smiled slyly at Kabuto. Then, like a magician, he suddenly revealed a skewer of dango in his hand.
"This one was meant just for you. But I guess if you don't like dango, I'll have to eat it myself…"
He opened his mouth and pretended he was about to take a bite.
Kabuto panicked. He almost said something to stop him, but right before the words came out, he realized how embarrassing it would be.
So he just stood there, staring helplessly.
Why… why did a child like him have to suffer such emotional torment?
Nono gave Tōya a playful scowl.
"Stop bullying Kabuto and give it to him already."
Tōya chuckled and handed Kabuto the dango, ruffling his hair again while he was at it.
He thought,
Kabuto becomes one of the major villains in the future. And so does Madara. Which means… by ruffling Kabuto's hair now, it's kind of like ruffling Madara's. What a rare opportunity.
Only after thoroughly messing up Kabuto's hair did Tōya pull his hand back with satisfaction.
He turned to Nono and asked casually,
"How are things lately? Now that the war's calmed down."
Even while hiding and training, Tōya hadn't been idle.
He'd tried many different approaches. Supporting the orphanage was one of them.
He came here often, hoping to instill some positive values in Kabuto and steer him toward a different future.
There was no doubt Kabuto was a genius, whether in medical ninjutsu or research, he could pick things up effortlessly.
How could Tōya just stand by and watch him fall into Danzo and Orochimaru's hands like in the original story?
Kabuto was only six years old right now, freshly picked up by Nono.
Under her guidance, he'd already shown impressive talent and grasped the basics of medical ninjutsu.
Nono smiled, brushed a lock of golden hair behind her ear, and sat beside Tōya.
"It's been good. As long as I see the children smile every day, I'm happy."
Tōya looked around at the slightly run-down orphanage and stayed quiet.
The building was small.
The place they were in now was a shared classroom and dining hall where Nono taught the kids to read and told them stories.
The tables were long and rough, clearly hand-crafted by Nono and the children themselves.
There weren't many rooms either. The kids all had to squeeze together to sleep.
Because of her former ties to Root, Nono only held the rank of genin on paper.
She couldn't take on high-level missions to earn money, and looking after the kids left her little time anyway.
So she relied on Root's meager subsidies to barely keep the place running.
Later, Danzo would use this to force Nono and Kabuto into becoming spies.
And under his manipulations, the two would eventually turn against each other, pushing Kabuto down a dark path.
Tsk, tsk.
Tōya tapped the table with his fingers.
Then he spoke.
"Why not apply to have this place recognized as Konoha's official orphanage? That way you'd be eligible for proper funding, and the kids' lives could improve."
"Is… is that even possible?"
Nono looked at him, puzzled.
Tōya nodded.
"It should be. Leave it to me."
If this were before, he wouldn't have spoken so confidently. After all, he was just an average chūnin.
But now? His best buddy Minato was the Hokage.
Something like this? A single signature would do.
Tōya wasn't the type to play coy. If there was someone who could help, he'd ask for it.
And it's not like he was asking Minato to do anything shady.
On the contrary, this would actually help Minato's reputation.
So why not?
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter