Minato wasn't sure how this happened, but he was about eighty percent sure most of it was Kakashi's fault. After all, wasn't Kakashi some sort of high level ninja? He probably had Minato walk to Iruka first so he'd be the victim of the pink paint rather than Kakashi himself. As Minato dried his hair with a cloth given to him by Iruka, he heaved a small sigh. At least there was a proper shower in the academy to rinse off the paint before it dried completely.

"You can keep the set of clothes for compensation if you'd like. I'm terribly sorry for all the trouble that Naruto has caused," Iruka bowed in apology for the thousandth time that day. After the pink disaster, he had immediately guided Minato to rinse the paint off and gave him a fresh set of clothes to change into. Minato stared at the paint stuck in his fingernails and had the urge to sulk for a while. So this was what Shikamaru meant by 'something stupid'.

"It's alright, Iruka-sensei. He's just a child. Pranks like these happen," Minato smiled in assurance, at which Iruka gave a nervous chuckle. The chunin wondered for a second how Minato was used to this level of chaos. Well, he has yet to see the painted Hokage monuments.

"By the way, I haven't been able to ask your name. I'm Iruka Umino, a chunin instructor at this academy, and Naruto's homeroom teacher. What about you?" Iruka introduced himself with a smile.

"Ah, I'm Mi- Mizuki... Nice to meet you," Minato almost let his name slip, but thankfully the alias he picked had the same first syllable as his own name. Iruka raised his eyebrows in surprise and Minato frowned in confusion.

"Ah, no. It's just that I have a colleague here with the same name. What a coincidence," Iruka chuckled. "Still, what brings you here? With Hatake-san, nonetheless."

"Well...actually, we were looking for Naruto," Minato smiled nervously, glancing over towards Kakashi. Iruka seemed even more surprised at that, but his surprise quickly turned into concern and suspicion.

"Has he caused any trouble for you? I'll be sure to discipline him if he has, I do apologise for him again," Iruka sighed, scratching his head.

"No, no, it's just that-" Minato's words were interrupted by the door slamming open. What greeted their sight was a huge stack of towels, and behind the towel tower stood the blonde boy Naruto Uzumaki.

"I've got the towels!" The boy declared, stepping out from behind the tower with his chest puffed out in pride. As his gaze moved to land on Minato, his grin faltered a bit, as he put his arms down by his side from what seemed like nervousness.

"Naruto! I said one towel, not twenty of them," Iruka sighed, rubbing his temples. This boy was going to be the end of him. "Either way, come here and apologise to Mizuki-san."

"Mizuki? You have the same name as that-" Before Naruto could finish his sentence, he was silenced with a whack on the head from Iruka. He pouted, rubbing his head in pain before muttering quiet apologies to Minato, who couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly at the scene. He handed a towel to Minato, unwilling to look him in the eye. "Sorry. Your towel."

"Thanks a lot, Naruto. I appreciate it," Minato accepted the towel with a soft smile directed towards Naruto. Hearing the man's kind tone, Naruto hesitantly looked up to meet his gaze, slightly taken aback by the warmth in his eyes. No one has ever seemed to look at him that way, not even old man Hokage. It was either pity or hatred, well- mostly hatred. But never...this.

"Naruto, apologise properly. You dumped a bucket of paint on him," Iruka sighed. The boy's demeanour shifted as he turned to his teacher, sticking a tongue out at him only to get whacked on the head again. The boy begrudgingly turned back to Minato, hesitantly giving his apologies, except this time he actually looked Minato in the eyes.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. It was trouble for you, but I swear it was aimed at Iruka-sensei, believe it."

Minato stifled a chuckle as he felt irritation from Iruka's side, but the chunin decided to stay silent this time. Hearing Naruto's familiar catchphrase, Minato felt his heart throb. It felt as if nostalgia washed over him in waves- The catchphrase his wife had been using, and the same phrase that his son adopted. But he hadn't heard it since Naruto rid himself of it at the age of eleven, deeming it 'embarrassing'. Little did he know, it was such an endearing little word to Minato. If he could talk to Naruto more, he'd swear that he wouldn't let that phrase die again. "Oh, it's quite alright. You should ease up on the pranks on your teacher though, he seems tired."

Naruto looked back towards Iruka in uncertainty. Iruka crossed his arms as he let a small smile slip onto his lips. "Getting used to your antics takes hard work, you know?"

The boy huffed as he turned away from his teacher, refusing to give the man a single apology. Iruka heaved a silent sigh defeatedly, expecting the outcome. To his surprise, Naruto turned around slowly again, head low. "...Sorry, Iruka-sensei. B-But...I'll still keep them coming, just so you know!!"

Iruka stared at Naruto for a moment, his eyes widened slightly before he broke into chuckles. "Alright, alright. Expect my punishments to keep coming as well, then. Either way, Mizuki-san. You said you wanted to see Naruto? Shall I give you some space?"

Minato glanced up at Iruka then back at Naruto. It was only his first time meeting Naruto, a conversation alone would probably make the boy uncomfortable- especially when Minato himself doesn't know where this conversation should head either. He just wanted to get to know Naruto. He racked his brain thinking of a response, coming to a quick decision. "No, it's alright. Actually, I'm getting a little hungry. Shall we get some food together? What do you like, Naruto?"

That moment felt unreal to Naruto. No one had ever asked about his interests other than the old man Hokage and Iruka. For Iruka's case, the man was only trying to bribe him into studying harder, and the old man Hokage just asked, had one meal with him and didn't show up much. But here was a random man, whom he poured paint on, but still looked at Naruto with that warm gaze. What did the man want? He couldn't possibly be wanting to eat with the outcast boy with no reason in particular.

"...Ramen. I like ramen," Naruto answered, enthusiastic even though he was a little wary. It's ramen! Ramen makes everyone happy, how could Naruto not beam at the thought of it? "I know this really good stall- Ichiraku Ramen!"

And so they headed to 'The Greatest Ramen Stall Ever' as Naruto claimed it to be. And if Naruto says it was true, Minato was sure it would be. How could Minato claim for anything else to be the truth when he sees the gleam in Naruto's eyes? He couldn't keep track of the amount of times he was close to shedding tears that day as he continued casual conversations with the boy.

The night streets of Konoha were beautifully lit, and seeing the colour reflect off Naruto's eyes warmed Minato's heart more than anything. He couldn't keep his eyes off the boy, who had gradually begun to warm up to him even though they'd only met for a few hours.

"I keep a few plants in my room as well. And lots of training stuff on the walls for my kunai and shuriken training, 'cos I'm boutta become the Hokage, believe it!" Naruto rambled on in excitement. He didn't know who this stranger was other than his name, but he was probably a friend! Mizuki was friendly and he doesn't interrupt Naruto at all, he just listens with a nice smile on his face. He only talks to ask questions when Naruto runs out of things to say or feels nervous to continue. He didn't know how, but this stranger made him feel something nice- It's like magic, believe it.

He was even so caught up in talking to Mizuki that for the first time, Naruto didn't mind the villager's glares at all. For the first time, they were buried far away at the back of his mind, as he sprung in happiness at the warm feeling in his heart. He didn't want to stop talking to Mizuki. Well, old man Hokage and Iruka-sensei do listen, but it's just not like Mizuki, believe it. Old man Hokage is always checking the time with his ninja people, as if he wasn't actually listening to Naruto. Iruka-sensei listens sometimes, but ninety percent of the time he was scolding Naruto and reprimanding him. He does try, but Naruto just isn't feeling it.

When it was time to part, Naruto found himself hesitant to leave Mizuki's side. What if he doesn't come back again? What if he's the only one who will ever treat Naruto this way?

"I'll be back again, Naruto. I promise," Minato assured, giving the boy's hair a ruffle as he knelt down to his level. It was hard for him to leave Naruto too, but he knew it was too soon to bring Naruto to sign the adoption forms. Naruto didn't even know who he was yet. "I'm definitely going to come back, so promise me you won't cause trouble for Iruka-sensei?"

Naruto pouted but hesitantly nodded, and Iruka's eyes beamed in gratefulness. "When will you come back? Tomorrow? And can we have ramen again?"

Minato nodded with a smile, and Naruto's eyes lit up in glee.

"See you, then. Rest well, okay? You've got to pay attention in class to be the Hokage."

Minato watched as Naruto walked down the streets, Iruka walking the boy home. He had offered to walk 'Mizuki' home as well, but of course, Minato had to reject it for obvious reasons. The man sighed with a smile as he glanced over at Kakashi who stood by his side in silence. "...Thanks, Kakashi."

It wasn't hard to figure out Kakashi's quickly improvised plan to allow Minato to strike a conversation with Naruto. Getting pink paint dumped on him would immediately affiliate him with the boy, and at that point, there'd be an excuse for their interaction. Mischievous as it was, Minato had to admit that everything went smoothly because of him.

Kakashi raised his eyebrows at the thanks, before smiling right back at him. "Anytime."

The walk back to the Sarutobi compound was peaceful, and Minato couldn't look any happier. Kakashi felt himself yawn, and took that as a sign to switch shifts with Yugao after returning to the Sarutobi compound. He'd taken two days worth of shifts with no rest out of guilt for attacking Minato, and it was clear it had taken quite a toll on him.

Out of sheer exhaustion, the two Uchihas who'd been closely watching them went completely unnoticed. Things were already weird enough with the pink disaster, but as they watched the two enter the Sarutobi compound, things seemed to get even more complicated.

"...Does this mean Hokage-sama knows?" Itachi muttered with narrowed eyes. There was no way they could just walk straight in without notice. As he watched a servant of the Sarutobi clan walk out to greet them, the answer was clear.

Shisui's eyebrows furrowed at the friendly looks they exchanged with the servant- they seemed pretty familiar with each other. "I wonder if this has been going on for a while. Why would Lord Third hide something like this?"

"...I have no idea," Itachi responded quietly. The two exchanged looks before retreating back into the shadows, heading back to the Uchiha compound.

It wasn't Konoha's best time. After the discrimination the Uchiha had faced for the past 7 years, they were just planning a coup d'etat on the village. Even though he didn't know Shisui's stance, Itachi sided with Konoha- he always has. His own clan's plans just seemed absolutely insane to him. But this secret of the Fourth being alive could give light to a different perspective- could he truly trust Lord Third? Could he truly trust this village?

For now, he had to see properly for himself what was going on- They had to tell Fugaku-sama.