At a secluded training ground, over a hundred Kadoya clones moved in sync, each one practicing different sets of techniques.
Thanks to his skill [Uzumaki's Strong Vitality], which drastically enhanced his stamina to rival that of a true Uzumaki, Kadoya's chakra reserves had reached ridiculous levels. Not only could he train longer, but his chakra pool had grown to match, or even surpass, some elite shinobi.
"Your chakra reserves... Are you sure you don't carry Uzumaki blood?" Naori asked in disbelief, glancing at the real Kadoya, who was lounging beneath a tree, basking in the cool shade.
"Nah, I'm just the Clan Head by title," Kadoya replied lazily, inhaling deeply as his Hamon-charged lungs accelerated his recovery.
"I don't believe you," she muttered, clearly thinking he was full of it.
How could a nine-year-old Uchiha create over a hundred Shadow Clones and still look like he could pump out more?
Even Naori, who had once stood at the pinnacle of the Uchiha as a Kage-level shinobi, couldn't form that many clones without showing signs of chakra exhaustion.
Kadoya didn't bother arguing. There was no point in explaining the mechanics of a skill system to someone from the old world. And she also understands this, not looking more at his clones and direct return to his inner world, trying to look for some damn land in that empty black void.
He just enjoyed the perks of [Uzumaki's Strong Vitality]. If anything, he figured that if he ever obtained [Uzumaki Bloodline], this stamina boost would naturally be bundled with it, and maybe even unlock more unique abilities from the Uzumaki lineage.
For now, though, the vitality boost had supercharged his laz- ahem - "serious"-training methods.
Where he once could only manage three clones at a time, recharge with Hamon, and repeat... Now, he could spawn over twenty in a single burst, then keep going, rapidly compounding his training efficiency.
Combined with his Sharingan and [Photographic Memory], which allowed him to perfectly memorize and recall everything he saw, Kadoya's learning curve had become something truly absurd.
At this rate, calling him a prodigy would be an understatement.
He was a one-man army in the making.
A monster, wearing the skin of a nine-year-old boy.
Kadoya closed his eyes and looked into his system.
Name: Kadoya Uchiha
Gender: Male
System Point: 4
Ninja Point: 5920
Evil Point: 12920
Shop System Point: 57
Sharingan Level 12 (3131/9000)
Chakra Level 14 (8232/15000)
Taijutsu Level 9 (12/4500)
Throwing Level 10 (630/5000)
Hand Seals Level 11 (903/8000)
Ninjutsu Level 11 (3163/8000)
Genjutsu Level 9 (1/4500)
Hamon Level 10 (3105/5000)
Fūinjutsu Level 12 (2131/9000)
Kenjutsu Level 9 (3072/5000)
Wind Attribute Level 7 (2200/3500)
Fire Attribute Level 3 (10/1500)
Lightning Attribute Level 8 (220/4000)
Water Attribute Level 12 (6309/9000)
Earth Attribute Level 1 (0/500)
Yang Attribute Level 8 (1000/4000)
Yin Attribute Level 8 (2000/4000)
Ice Attribute Level 7 (1000/3500)
Flower Attribute Level 8 (100/4000)
String Attribute Level 5 (703/2500)
Leaf Attribute Level 8 (316/4000)
Mirror Attribute Level 4 (1020/2000)
Kadoya smiled as he glanced over his base stats, finally reaching the level of a Chunin, even approaching that of a Special Jonin. His attributes had all seen significant growth.
Well, almost all of them.
The only two he hadn't bothered training were his Fire and Earth chakra natures.
Sure, the Uchiha Clan had an abundance of Fire Release techniques, but Kadoya had zero interest in learning any of them.
Why waste time mastering fire when he was fire?
His Flame-Flame Fruit didn't just grant him control over fire, it turned him into fire itself. Trying to supplement that with regular Fire ninjutsu felt redundant.
As for Earth Release, he lacked both the nature and the jutsu library to pursue it. And honestly, with how much time he was already investing into creating new techniques for his other chakra natures, piling on more just felt unnecessary.
Then, a flicker of foreign memory surged through his mind, a feedback from one of his Shadow Clones dispersing.
In the memory, his clone had been experimenting, trying to combine a Rasengan with Water Chakra. The result is a spectacular explosion... and the birth of a prototype ninjutsu:
Water Style: Rasengan Hyper-Speed Water Shuriken Zero-Style, a name proudly coined by a certain blonde nearby.
Wait. Blonde?
Kadoya's eyes snapped open as he sat upright, glancing toward the edge of the training ground.
Sure enough, there in the distance, was Minato, calmly practicing Wind and Lightning Chakra transformation alongside his clones. The "Little Sun" doesn't seem to be bothered by the large number of Shadow Clones.
Kadoya: "..."
Of course, Minato was here. No matter how many Containment Seals he set up, that sunshine-haired tracking missile always managed to find him.
By now, Minato hadn't even asked Kadoya about his large number of Shadow Clones or the special, weird styles he was showing.
Minato has fully comprehended the phrase "Don't ask too many questions if you know what's good for you", so he didn't ask or question anything. He already knew his best friend was strong, so he could only train alongside him and get stronger through his effort.
...
As the war raged on outside the village, Kadoya and his friends spent their days in the relative calm of Konoha, by "calm," of course, meaning they were actively skipping class. Minato, Saiguu, and Kushina had perfected the art of leaving behind Shadow Clones to take their places at school while they enjoyed their freedom.
Kadoya was once again under suspension for sending an entire classroom of students to the hospital.
At Ichiraku Ramen, the four of them were crammed into one booth. Kadoya and Minato sat in stunned silence as Saiguu and Kushina inhaled bowls of ramen like their lives depended on it.
The two girls were neck-and-neck in a self-declared ramen-eating competition. By this point, ten empty bowls were stacked beside Kushina. Saiguu? Sixteen, and counting.
"...Uhhh, Kadoya," Minato muttered with a weak smile, watching the tower grow. He had offered to pay for lunch, but now it looked like he might need to wash dishes until graduation just to cover the tab.
"I got this," Kadoya said simply, already fishing out a thick wad of ryo. He knew full well Minato couldn't afford this kind of feast. His friend could barely cover five bowls with his monthly allowance.
"Aaah~ so good!" Kushina let out a blissful moan as she set her twelfth bowl down, sighing in satisfaction.
After Kadoya had hospitalized her during training, she'd vowed revenge. Since beating him in a fight was impossible, she turned to financial warfare, blissfully unaware it was Minato footing the bill until Kadoya intervened.
As for Saiguu, her case was more… intense. Ever since the Hyuga branded her with the Caged Bird Seal, she had refused to eat or drink anything from the clan. She had gone several days without food. They don't even give her money for her to go out and buy her own food.
So when her friends invited her out?
She didn't hesitate.
The Hyuga's elegant table manners were forgotten. She dove into ramen like a starving wolf.
Kadoya and Minato could only sit and watch in stunned silence as the bowl count beside Saiguu hit thirty-two.
"She's… still going?" Kadoya murmured, eyes wide. He knew she was hungry, but this? This was bordering on historic.
The four of them were still nine years old, but their physical growth was ahead of their peers, thanks to high-protein diets, chakra training, and sheer willpower. Even so, watching Saiguu pile up bowl after bowl reminded Kadoya of someone else entirely…
Hinata Hyuga, future Queen of Gluttony, and record-holder of 46 bowls.
Saiguu had just hit 33.
At nine.
Kadoya gulped.
What happens when she reaches Hinata's age?
At the front, Teuchi's father was happily stacking up the mountain of empty bowls with one hand and holding a pile of ryo in the other. He looked both grateful and drained.
Looks like Kadoya Tsukasa needs to work harder.
Kadoya Tsukasa: Damn it! Three casinos shut down because of me already! At this rate, just rob the Daimyo and call it a day!
Then, without much thought, Kadoya turned to Minato. "By the way, come by the Uchiha Compound. There's something I want to give you."
Minato nodded, casual and clueless.
Saiguu: "!???"
Kushina: "!????"
Naori: "!??"
All three girls froze.
For some inexplicable reason, that sentence hit them like a thunderclap. It sounded exactly like: "Minato, come to my house. There's something special I want to give you."
Just as Kadoya stood to leave, Saiguu's hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back into his seat with surprising force.
"Uncle! Four more bowls of miso ramen!" she shouted, and the owner smiled, already making another bowl.
Kadoya: "…Heh!?"
Minato: "Hah!?"
Kushina: "Ehh!?"
Kadoya's ahoge: "?"
Naori: "…"
...
After Saiguu devoured seven more bowls, raising her personal ramen record to 40, the group finally made their way to the Uchiha Compound.
Upon stepping into Uchiha territory, the shift in atmosphere was immediate. Where once the clan's members would glare coldly at Kadoya, now they greeted him with respectful nods and slight bows.
The other three couldn't help but notice.
The change wasn't subtle, it was night and day.
Word had spread among the clan: Kadoya Uchiha had officially assumed the position of Uchiha Clan Head.
"Come on, have a seat," Kadoya said, ushering his friends into the main room of the compound.
As everyone settled down, Kadoya turned to Minato with a grin.
"Minato, join the Uchiha."
"Uhhh… sorry, what?" Minato blinked, a nervous smile twitching on his lips.
Kadoya's smile didn't waver. He repeated it with all the seriousness of a man asking someone to join a blood pact.
"I want you to become an adopted Uchiha."
Minato stared. "Uhhh… is that even allowed?"
"Of course it is," Kadoya said nonchalantly. "I'm Clan Head. All it takes is my approval and yours."
Minato hesitated. His family name might be Namikaze, but besides giving birth to him, his parent never did anything to him, so he doesn't feel too attached to it.
He had always dreamed of becoming Hokage. And Kadoya has been one of the people who supported him in his dream.
Now, Kadoya was offering more, and Minato almost couldn't hold back his tears.
"It's simple. The Uchiha want an Uchiha Hokage. You want to be Hokage. So if you become Uchiha, they'll back you completely, you don't need to change your name if you don't want to, but the Uchiha will most likely call you an Uchiha." Kadoya explained, reaching out his hand. "I see that's an absolute win. So, what do you say?"
Minato's eyes widened, then he smiled. A big, genuine smile.
"I see. I won't disappoint you." He clasped Kadoya's hand in a firm shake.
From the side, Saiguu's eyelid twitched.
"Did you seriously just invite him over to ask him to join your family?" she asked, trying her best to keep her voice calm despite the storm raging in her soul.
"Uh, yeah? What were you expecting?" Kadoya asked innocently.
Naori sighed, rubbing her temple.
You dense idiot, she thought. She understood Saiguu's feelings loud and clear. And now, right in front of her, Kadoya had just offered his family name to another man, with all the sincerity of a proposal.
It was like watching the boy you liked get down on one knee… for someone else.
"...Nothing," Saiguu muttered, clenching her fists and holding back the overwhelming urge to punch him.
"Wait… does this mean I can come over and sleep with you?" Minato asked suddenly, eyes shining.
Kadoya nodded without hesitation. "Sure."
Saiguu nearly coughed up blood.
Resist the urge to kill… resist the urge to kill…
Naori let out a groan and facepalmed. Kadoya's obsession with power was beginning to remind her of Naki Uchiha, one of his intense ancestors, and a friend of hers.
Meanwhile, Kushina suddenly remembered an old tale: how Hashirama would sneak off in the dead of night with Madara, leaving poor Mito to sulk alone in bed.
Something about this felt way too familiar.
"…Kadoya," Saiguu said, steadying her voice, "can I move in too?"
"Huh? Uh, sure," Kadoya said, blinking in confusion. He doesn't know why, but he really didn't care. They are friends after all.
Her face lit up instantly. She shot up, grabbed Kushina's hand, and sprinted out of the compound like a girl on a mission.
Kadoya and Minato both stared after them.
"…What was that about?" Minato asked.
"No idea," Kadoya replied.
Then, with a grin, he pulled out a large ceramic jug of sake, freshly created through his [Drink Mixer Mastery].
"Hey Minato, did you know we can become brothers if we share a drink of sake?"
"Brothers? Is that real?" Minato blinked in surprise.
"I've heard of it. Not exactly sure how the tradition works… but hey, sounds fun." Kadoya poured the sake into two small cups. "Even if we're not on the same squad when we become shinobi, our brotherhood will always be with us!"
They each picked up a cup.
Kadoya said, "Wherever we are, whatever we do, we'll always be connected."
Their cups clinked together.
"So from now on, we're brothers."
"Yeah."
Congratulations! Quest Complete: "We're Brothers!"
Reward: + Brother's Bond
[Brother's Bond] - As blood brothers, the host and the selected target, "Minato Namikaze" now share a main trait between each other. The host has gained [Ultra-Fast Reflexes] and the target has gained [The Sharingan].
Kadoya read the skill's description with a smile. He never expected that just clicking cups and declaring brotherhood with Minato could give him such a useful skill.
Although the future Minato is known for his Flying Raijin, to be able to use it like him, one needs fast reflexes, so to say Minato's main trait is his fast reflexes isn't too far off.
As for him, despite his cheats and other abilities, in his core, he is still an Uchiha with the Sharingan.
Now, Minato has the potential to unlock the Sharingan, Kadoya wonders how others would react facing the Yellow Flash, now armed with his own Sharingan.
After some time, both Saiguu and Kushina actually return carrying Saiguu's luggage, and much to Kadoya's shock, Saiguu actually moved into his home and is now taking over the extra room in his house.