Chapter 42: Minato and Kushina
The next day, as promised, Kakashi brought Nan to visit Minato-sensei.
Kakashi and Nan arrived early at Minato's house. Kakashi knocked on the door, and a voice responded from inside:
"Who is it?"
Kakashi replied, "It's me, sensei's wife. I'm here to see Minato-sensei."
The door was opened by a young woman with striking red hair—Minato's wife, Uzumaki Kushina.
"Oh, it's you, Kakashi! And you brought a friend. Who's this little one?"
Kushina glanced over at Nan.
Kakashi introduced Nan, and at that moment, Nan put on his most innocent and adorable six-year-old expression and said to her:
"Hello, big sister, my name is Uchiha Nan."
Kakashi could only sigh at Nan's deliberate cuteness.
Nan hadn't intended to act cute, but the Uchiha clan's reputation in the village meant that he often had to deal with some prejudice. In these situations, his natural childlike charm—thanks to his young age—became his greatest asset. After all, who could hold a grudge against a child?
This was a skill he'd honed by merging two lifetimes of experience, and it proved incredibly effective.
"So you're Uchiha Nan! I've heard Mikoto talk about you—she says you're the Uchiha clan's prodigy. She even hopes her son Itachi could learn from you one day."
Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto shared a close friendship, so she bore no prejudice toward the Uchiha. She'd always been curious about Nan thanks to Mikoto's frequent praise.
Meeting Nan, who called her "big sister" and looked so sweet, Kushina quickly warmed to him.
She invited both Nan and Kakashi inside and found seats for them.
"So, Kakashi, what brings Nan here today?" Kushina asked.
Kakashi answered honestly:
"Nan has some questions about his training that he wanted to consult our sensei about, so I brought him here. Is Minato-sensei at home?"
"Oh, I see! Minato just went out to buy groceries. We're about to make lunch. He should be back any minute, so you two stay and eat with us! You can talk things over while we have lunch."
Kushina warmly invited them to stay. Kakashi, familiar and at ease with his sensei's wife, naturally accepted, and Nan was more than happy to accept as well.
While waiting for Minato to return, Kushina kept Nan company, asking him a multitude of questions and clearly showing how fond she had become of him. Maybe it was because she herself was preparing to become a mother that she found children especially endearing.
Although Nan felt a bit exasperated inside, outwardly he maintained his innocent and lovable act, tirelessly answering all of Kushina's seemingly childish questions. It wasn't that he disliked Kushina—she just treated him like an ordinary six-year-old and asked him questions that even an elementary school student would find silly.
It was tiring to keep pretending to be a six-year-old in both appearance and mindset.
Thankfully, Minato returned before long, much to Nan's relief.
This was Nan's first time meeting Minato Namikaze, and just as in the original story, Minato gave off an air of warmth and kindness that made him incredibly approachable, much like Nan himself.
As soon as he walked in, Minato greeted Kakashi and then turned to ask about Nan's identity.
Kakashi quickly explained who Nan was and why they had come.
When Minato learned that Nan had come to ask about the Flying Thunder God technique, he immediately understood. Only yesterday, the Third Hokage had mentioned that they'd be going on a mission together soon and had specifically asked Minato to give the Uchiha kid—Nan, who was trying to learn the Flying Thunder God—some pointers.
"The Third mentioned this to me just yesterday. I didn't expect you to show up so soon. So, what do you want to ask?"
Minato was actually quite pleased to see someone else learning the Flying Thunder God technique.
Nan explained to Minato the issues he'd encountered while practicing the Flying Thunder God, including how his shadow clone would vomit after using the technique.
Minato was so shocked by this that he dropped the groceries he was holding. He quickly asked Nan,
"Wait, are you saying you've already managed to use the Flying Thunder God?"
He had thought that Nan just wanted to ask about how to start learning the technique. He hadn't expected Nan to say he'd already successfully used it.
After all, it had only been a single day since Nan received the Flying Thunder God scroll. One day to use the Flying Thunder God? How could that be possible?! Minato, who knew firsthand how monstrous the training was, remembered that it had taken him months to master this jutsu.
He simply couldn't fathom what kind of talent Nan must possess to be able to reach this level just a day after obtaining the scroll.
In truth, it wasn't that Nan's innate space-time talent was leagues above Minato's. The real key with space-time jutsu was chakra control and spatial awareness.
When it came to understanding space, Nan's background in advanced physics from his previous life gave him a clear edge over Minato, whose world lacked such scientific development. On top of that, Nan's chakra control easily surpassed Minato's, which is why he was able to use the Flying Thunder God so quickly.
Still, Nan couldn't just say all this, so he modestly chalked it up to "exceptional natural talent, the likes of which has never been seen before or since."
Suppressing his inner shock, Minato answered Nan's questions.
The reason Nan got dizzy and nauseous after using the Flying Thunder God was because he hadn't yet mastered balancing himself during teleportation. His sensitivity to space-time needed more development, and he hadn't learned to control his body's movement during the instant of teleportation, which resulted in his organs and brain being subjected to severe pressure.
The solution was simply to use the technique more often and gradually increase his sensitivity to space-time. Once he could maintain bodily balance during the instant move, the dizziness would disappear—though this took time and effort to train.
He also explained that chakra management and improving one's sense for space both depended on talent and persistent practice.
Minato also shared some of the bottlenecks and solutions he'd discovered during his own training. Nan listened intently and was humble and eager to learn.
Afterwards, Nan stayed for lunch at Minato's home, and they chatted about all sorts of things at the table. At one point, Minato asked:
"Nan, what is your dream?"
Nan thought for a moment. He already knew that Minato's dream was to become Hokage—and it was a dream Minato was close to achieving. People with the same ambitions always feel a sense of kinship.
So Nan answered:
"My dream is, of course, to become Hokage! There's never been a Hokage from the Uchiha clan. I want to be the first, and help both the clan and the village reach new heights."
Just as expected, hearing that Nan's dream matched his own made Minato like him even more:
"Nan, my dream is also to become Hokage! In that case, I guess we're rivals!"
The two laughed heartily at that, but neither took it too seriously. After all, they were years apart in age, and Nan knew Minato would almost certainly become Hokage within the year.
During lunch, when Kushina learned that Nan was already a Special Jonin, it sparked another round of discussion.
Originally, Kushina had thought Nan was just a very gifted child—she hadn't expected he was already a capable, independent ninja.
After finishing the meal, Nan thanked Minato again for his help, then said goodbye to Minato's family and Kakashi, promising to meet up again in a few days when Shizune returned so they could set out together.
(End of Chapter)