Minato walked at a steady pace, his hands tucked into his flak jacket pockets, while Arashi strolled lazily beside him, arms folded behind his head. His posture was relaxed, completely unbothered by the fact that he was walking into a hidden village that had no idea he existed.
"So," he started, his tone casual, but his sharp blue eyes flickered toward Arashi, "you don't have a home, you don't have a village or any allegiance, and you don't have a team. That leaves one question."
Arashi arched a brow, glancing at him. "Oh? Do tell, what's the mystery question?"
Minato smirked slightly. "Where exactly did you come from?"
Arashi let out a low whistle. "Straight to the big questions, huh? Didn't even buy me dinner first."
Minato's eyes looked unamussed. "I'm serious."
Arashi sighed, though it wasn't because of irritation, more thoughtfulness. For a long moment, he didn't speak. His eyes flickered toward the canopy of trees stretching above them, like he was trying to dig through his own memories.
Finally, he said, "Truth be told, I have no clue."
Minato's steps slowed slightly, his brow furrowing. "You don't know?"
Arashi shook his head. "Nope. No idea. Don't remember a damn thing about where or who I came from. No family, no village, no tragic origin story. Just…" He shrugged. "Wolves."
Minato's lips parted slightly before he frowned. "Wolves?"
Arashi grinned at his expression. "Yep. Big ones. Mean ones. But they raised me all the same for whatever reason."
Minato wasn't sure if he was joking.
Then again, he had watched this young man turn into a bird and command a forest to move. It wasn't the strangest thing he would've had to wrap his head around today.
Arashi chuckled at Minato's expression. "Relax, Blondie. It's not as bad as it sounds. I had food, a pack, and honestly? Wolves are way more reliable than humans most of the time, at least from my experince."
Minato stayed quiet for a moment, letting that sink in. No village. No memories. Raised by wolves.
It explained a lot, really. The way Arashi moved was different from most shinobi. It was a mix between fluidity and instinctiveness, like he was hunting instead of fighting. His playful, untamed attitude suddenly made so much more sense. He wasn't a trained shinobi. He was something else entirely.
Still, Minato pressed. "How did you learn to use jutsu then?"
Arashi hummed, his fingers brushing against the leaves of a passing bush causing bright blue flowers to bloom from it. "Picked it up, I guess. You spend enough time in the wild, you start understanding how the world works. The way the earth breathes, the way the rivers pulse, the way trees talk, the way your body communicates with the energy in and around it."
Minato gave him a look. "Trees… talk?"
Arashi snickered. "Not in words, genius. But everything in nature has a rhythm. A balance. And if you listen long enough, you start learning how to move with and within it."
Minato processed that for a moment before asking, "So what do you call your jutsu then? It's evident that it isn't just wood style so what else is it and what can you do?"
Arashi grinned. "Ah, you wanna talk about the fun part now, huh?" He stretched his arms out in front of him and yawned slightly. "I call it Plant Style."
Minato blinked. He had never heard of anything like that before.
Arashi continued, clearly enjoying Minato's curiosity. "Never really had a name for it before. But then I ran into this Kiri shinobi a few years ago, tough bastard. Kept throwing water at me like it was going out of style. And he kept calling it Water Style this and Water Style that, so I figured, hey, might as well call mine something too if this was going to be a common occurrence."
Minato chuckled at that. "So you modeled your naming scheme after a random enemy shinobi?"
"Pretty much," Arashi confirmed shamelessly.
Minato shook his head, but he was intrigued. This wasn't just a variation of Wood Release, it was something else entirely.
"So, what exactly can it do?"
Arashi smirked, spinning on his heel to face Minato as they walked, walking backward effortlessly. "You sure you wanna know?"
Minato gave him a dry look. "Obviously."
"Alright, alright." Arashi held up a hand, his palm facing upward.
At first, nothing happened.
Then, something grew.
Right from his skin, a small pink flower with a yellow center sprouted, its petals unfurling like fingers slowly stretching from a clenched fist. It blossomed in seconds, swaying gently in the breeze of the forest.
Minato stared.
Arashi flicked his wrist, and the flower dissolved back into his skin, vanishing without a trace.
"I can control and manifest anything that grows naturally," he explained, voice casual, as if he weren't saying something impossible. "Vines, trees, roots, flowers, moss, fungi—you name it. If it grows, I can use it."
Minato's mind raced with the implications.
Hashirama Senju's Wood Release was legendary because of its ability to create forests, mold landscapes, and even suppress tailed beasts. But this?
This wasn't just wood. This was everything.
Arashi grinned at his stunned expression. "You should see what I can do with mushrooms. Spoiler alert: it's nasty. I try not to use that aspect too often."
Minato ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. "You're telling me you can use every aspect of plant life? Just like that?"
Arashi shrugged. "Not just plant life though. Food, too."
Minato froze. "What?"
Arashi looked far too pleased with himself. "You heard me. Fruits, vegetables, anything edible that grows naturally. It's why I never have to hunt unless I really want to eat meat. I can just grow a meal."
Minato opened his mouth, then closed it, only to open it again, resembling a fish gasping for air. "You—you can just create food? From thin air?"
"Yup."
Minato rubbed his temples. "Do you have any idea how many villages would kill to have that kind of ability?"
Arashi snorted. "Yeah, which is exactly why I avoid villages. The moment they see me do that, I'd never get a moment's peace, and I happen to enjoy my sleep for your information."
Minato had no words for that. This wasn't just a rare bloodline ability. This was something better. Something that should have been impossible. And yet, here Arashi was.
The conversation settled for a moment, both men walking in comfortable silence. The trees around them whispered in the wind, leaves rustling softly as if the forest itself was listening.
"You're insane."
Arashi grinned. "I know right."