Naruto: The New Beginning

15. Kimimaro

It was an ordinary day. Kushina had not returned from her mission, and Minato was too busy to come home for lunch.

Naruto had lunch at Sasuke's house and, after the meal, shouted, "Sasuke, I want you to help me practice!"

Since Kushina and Mikoto had a close relationship and even referred to each other's children as godmothers, the two families knew each other well. So, it was nothing unusual for Naruto to come over for a meal.

The two nearly four-year-old children happily practised shuriken together, engaging in a "friendly" practice duel. The result... Sasuke was quite upset about losing.

When it came to shuriken and physical strength, Naruto was superior. However, Sasuke's agility and physical endurance were greater than Naruto's, and the exceptional reflexes inherited from Minato ensured that Naruto could barely hold his own against Sasuke.

' hmm, maybe I should practice more' Naruto thought while thinking about his strength.

Sasuke's pouting expression was undeniably cute, and Naruto couldn't help but feel ' disgusting '

Fortunately, Sasuke's mood quickly shifted when Itachi arrived and waved to Sasuke.

According to Sasuke's complaint, ever since Oni-chan graduated and became a Genin, he hadn't had much time to spend with him.

Usually, Itachi would either go on missions with his team or be "borrowed" by Big Brother Shisui. Well, it was more like "borrowed." Every time they would say, "Lend us your brother for a while," but Sasuke never agreed!

Sasuke was so frustrated that his eyes were practically shooting fire. Now he cherished the time he spent with Itachi. Whenever Itachi appeared, he completely ignored Naruto, Naruto? Who's that?

Naruto couldn't be bothered to get to know him either, so he simply greeted Itachi and left.

Lost in thought, Naruto eventually returned to his residence.

"I'm back~~ huh?"

When he saw the young man sitting in the living room, Naruto felt like his brain wasn't working properly. The man had grey hair, green pupils, and a red dot on each eyebrow... What was going on?

The boy stood up as Naruto entered and calmly looked at him.

"Naruto's back?" Kushina had just returned and hadn't even had time to change out of her ninja uniform. She took the boy's hand and introduced, "This child's name is Kimimaro, and from now on, he'll be your brother."

"Brother?" Naruto was still in shock. Wasn't Kimimaro kidnapped by Orochimaru and turned into his top henchman, responsible for helping Orochimaru kill the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa? Why was he here in Konoha now?

"Yes, that's right, Kimimaro this is Naruto, so please get along with him."

"Yes, please take care of me." Kimimaro's tone and expression remained remarkably steady.

"Uh, hi," Naruto replied hesitantly, his guard up. He wondered if Kimimaro had been sent by Orochimaru to carry out some mission. But then again, Kimimaro appeared to be only seven or eight years old and likely didn't possess that kind of strength.

Naruto couldn't figure it out. Perhaps he should discuss it with his parents when he has the chance. After all, he had conversed quite a bit with Kyuubi.

…

That evening, Naruto sneaked into his parents' room, closed the door, and wore a serious expression. "I have something very important to discuss, and it involves many secrets. Can mom set up a barrier to prevent eavesdropping?"