Life is Not Easy

"Thank you, but we're complete strangers. I'll have to ask my father for advice." Itachi said after a brief pause.

Itachi wanted to refuse. Even if the man in front of him was really strong, he did not know him. However, Itachi was afraid that Nagasawa would be displeased, so he chose to be more tactful.

"It's fine. Think about it carefully, but even if you don't want to become my disciple, I will still teach you that Ninjutsu. I promised, after all." Nagasawa also noticed that Itachi seemed to be a little hesitant, but he did not really care.

Then, Nagasawa grabbed Itachi's arm and used Flying Thunder God Technique to bring Itachi back to Dango shop.

This time, Itachi focused his attention and stared intently at Nagasawa, planning to see how Nagasawa did it.

But before he could figure out what was going on, the scene in front of him had already changed, and he found himself near the Dango Shop.

Itachi was confused. He didn't see Nagasawa do anything special, how did they suddenly come back?

However, Itachi was at least certain of one fact; Nagasawa's inhumane speed was not achieved through actual running.

As for how Nagasawa did it, even Itachi did not know.

"The day after tomorrow, wait for me at Dango shop. I will teach you that Ninjutsu." Nagasawa said before disappearing.

'What a weirdo.' Itachi thought.

He was about to say that there was no need to teach him that Ninjutsu, but before he could say a word, Nagasawa had already disappeared.

And he still did not tell him his name.

Itachi shook his head and went back to the Dango shop to buy a serving of Dango.

As he bought the Dango, Itachi suddenly had an idea. That person should be a regular customer of this shop. Maybe the owner knew his name.

"Do you know the name of that guy earlier?" Itachi asked owner Watanabe.

"That guy? You're talking about Nagasawa, right? Don't you know him?"

Owner Watanabe said casually as he handed the Dango that Itachi ordered to Itachi. Since he saw that Itachi walked up to Nagasawa, he thought that they knew each other.

"Huh? Naga… what?" When Itachi heard the words "Nagasawa", he did not react at first, but soon he remembered that it was the current Hokage Assistant, and Kabuto's Jonin Brother. It was the name of the man he wanted to see the most.

"It's Nagasawa." Owner Watanabe looked at the Itachi for a long time and was a little confused. Why was this child so surprised?

"You mean that Nagasawa?" Itachi couldn't help but ask. His eyes widened and his face was full of disbelief.

This news was too shocking to him.

It turned out that he had already met the guy he wanted to see the most two years ago, and he even taught him about desire back then.

And that wasn't the only time they met. Itachi also saw him during his younger brother's birth banquet.

"Even if you say that, I don't know other Nagasawa." Owner Watanabe said as he scratched his head in confusion.

'Maybe he simply had the same name.' Itachi thought to himself.

After all, the Nagasawa he encountered was clearly different from the Nagasawa in the rumo.

The Nagasawa he encountered didn't seem very reliable.

He treated him a portion of Dango for no reason. He also said that the Dango in Watanabe's Dango shop was more delicious. He also told him to mention his name to the owner to get the delicious Dango, but he didn't even mention his name.

Then he dragged a child into the forest, saying that he would teach him a Ninjutsu if the child ate his Dango.

From those facts alone, the Nagasawa he encountered already sounded weird. 

The Nagasawa that he had in mind was a powerful person, who was good at everything, gentle to others, and inherited the Will of Fire. In short, the most reliable person in Konoha.

That was what he could sum up from everyone's stories.

Suppressing the Nine-Tails proved that Nagasawa was strong.

'Captain Nagasawa was constantly thinking about how to make Konoha stronger. He was very concerned about the training results of each member,' This was Shisui's evaluation of Nagasawa, proving that Nagasawa inherited the Will of Fire.

There were also many others who thought highly of Nagasawa, such as Kabuto.

Even his father praised Nagasawa as a legendary Shinobi.

Because of that Itachi was really curious about Nagasawa. He was acknowledged by so many people, including his most trusted friend, Uchiha Shisui, his good friend Kabuto Yakushi, and his father, Fugaku Uchiha.

Such a person must be a capable and reliable person. That was how he felt about Nagasawa from the bottom of his heart.

Therefore, Itachi really wanted to ask how Nagasawa felt about war, how he became so strong, and whether one person's strength could eliminate the war.

But Itachi didn't think that the Nagasawa he just ran into could give a good answer.

"Little friend, do you want more Dango?" Owner Watanabe noticed that Itachi was in a daze and did not pick up the Dango he ordered, so he asked him.

"I'm sorry, I was distracted." Itachi was snapped back into his senses and apologized to owner Watanabe. Then, he took his Dango and walked out of the Dango shop.

Normally, Itachi would definitely have searched for a good place where no one else was around to taste the delicious Dango.

But right now, his mind was completely focused on whether the Nagasawa he ran into earlier was the same Hokage Assistant, or Kabuto's brother, or the reliable senior that Shisui spoke of.

'I should ask Kabuto if his brother likes Dango later.' Itachi thought in his heart.

He actually already knew the answer.

At the banquet for Sasuke's birth, Nagasawa was sitting next to the Fourth Hokage.

However, that answer was a bit cruel, so he did not want to admit it.

If it were true, then how should he refuse Nagasawa's offer to make him his disciple?

Because his mind was occupied with this thought, Itachi lost interest in the Dango in his hand and could not help but sigh.

...

After leaving the Dango shop, Nagasawa found a place to eat his Dango, and then walked to the Hokage building.

However, he did not enter the Hokage's office, nor did he enter his own office. He instead entered the Third Hokage's office.

He planned to ask for the Third Hokage's assistance in training Kabuto.

The Third Hokage had nothing to do anyway recently, so Nagasawa might as well find something for him to do so that he would not have to reminisce about the days when he worked hard with his old classmates.

Nagasawa first knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

After knocking on the door, the Third Hokage's voice immediately came from behind the door.

"Oh, it's Nagasawa." The Third Hokage was a little surprised to see that it was Nagasawa who came in.

Although their office was on the same floor, they barely talked. They only did during the meetings.

"Third," Nagasawa greeted the Third Hokage.

"Nagasawa, what is the matter?" The Third Hokage nodded and asked.

"I would like to ask for a favor. I wonder if you are free?" Nagasawa asked directly.

The Third Hokage exhaled a lot of white smoke. He smiled and said, "Let me hear it. I am a little curious about what can trouble someone like you that you even came to ask an old man like me for help."

After quelling the chaos of Nine-Tails last time, the Third Hokage changed his opinion about Nagasawa. In addition to his strength, the Third Hokage also acknowledged Nagasawa's Will of Fire.

Nagasawa leaped into the face of danger and even teleported away the enemy's Ninjutsu with Flying Thunder God Technique.

At the critical moment when Nine-Tails destroyed the village, it was also Nagasawa who arrived in time and turned the tide of the battle.

With people like Minato and Nagasawa in charge of Konoha, the Third Hokage was very relieved.

"Please don't say that, Third-sama. You're still in your prime. Even I can't let my guard down if my opponent is you." Since Nagasawa was the one asking for help, he made sure to praise the Third Hokage first.

Since the one that complemented him was the person who could easily beat Nine-Tails, take down Kumogakure's main forces despite Raikage and Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki being there, the Third Hokage naturally welcomed the complement.

"If I can help, then I will try my best to help." The Third Hokage smiled kindly.

"It's nothing major. It should be very easy for you. After all, you are very good at this."

"Oh, what exactly is it?" The Third Hokage was a little interested.

If Nagasawa had to ask for his help, that meant it was something that Nagasawa was not good at, and something that he was good at. Was it a governing affair?

"I have a younger brother. Recently, he hits a dead end on his Wind Release training, and I am not good at Wind Release. I believe that the Third Hokage excels in all five Nature types, so can you teach my brother for a few days. If it's you, he should be able to make a progress again."

"Teach your younger brother Wind Release...?" The Third Hokage was lost in thought.

Nagasawa said that he was good at it, which was not wrong. After all, he taught the famous Sannin.

Although the three of them had their own drawbacks, overall, they were all very outstanding Shinobi.

Among them, the Third Hokage treated Orochimaru as his successor and trained him.

Unfortunately, Orochimaru changed later, becoming cold-blooded and ruthless who didn't mind to do whatever he could to get what he wanted.

When he was young, even though Orochimaru was quiet and seemed a little cold, the Third Hokage could feel the love Orochimaru had for his companions. At that time, even though Orochimaru seemed cold on the outside, he was warm inside.

However, the Third Hokage could no longer recognize the current Orochimaru, so he nominated Minato as the Hokage instead of Orochimaru.

"Since he is your younger brother, he must be quite talented. I might as well take him as my disciple." The Third Hokage said.

Although he had three excellent disciples, none of them had inherited his unique skills.

Orochimaru preferred to invent new Ninjutsu.

Tsunade mainly used Medical Ninjutsu and Taijutsu.

And Jiraiya...

In short, none of them could combine Five Nature Types like him.

In all fairness, his Ninjutsu combination was much stronger than those gaudy Bloodline Limits. It would be a pity if no one could inherit it.

If he died, his Ninjutsu combination would probably be lost forever.

It just so happened that Nagasawa wanted him to teach his younger brother, so the Third Hokage had the idea of ​​taking another disciple.

The Third Hokage still wanted his Ninjutsu combination to be inherited if possible.

"Disciple? That's good. Then I'll have to trouble you, Third-sama." Nagasawa nodded.

It was be even better if Kabuto became the Third Hokage's disciple. Suddenly, Kabuto was Jiraiya's fellow apprentice, above Minato's generation.

After all, Minato's teacher was Jiraiya, and Jiraiya was the Third Hokage's disciple.

"My brother is called Kabuto Yakushi. I will bring him to the Hokage building the day after tomorrow." Nagasawa said.

"Kabuto Yakushi?" The Third Hokage felt that this name was a little familiar.

It didn't take him long to remember. Wasn't it the prodigy who graduated from the first grade some time ago? He didn't expect that it was Nagasawa's younger brother.

But if they were brothers, shouldn't his name be Fujiwara Kabuto? Were they distant relatives?

"Well, I'll have to excuse myself." After finishing his business with the Third Hokage, Nagasawa quickly excused himself.

The Third Hokage nodded. Nonetheless, his new disciple would be quite decent.

The only student who had graduated from the first year was Kakashi, who managed to subdue a Jinchuriki alone, albeit it was only Two-Tails.

...

"Itachi, you seem to be slightly late than usual today." Kabuto stopped his training when he saw Itachi.

"Can I ask you a question? Does Nagasawa-san like Dango?" Kabuto asked Kabuto with a dejected look on his face.

"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?" Kabuto saw that Itachi's expression was a little strange and did not answer directly.

"Kabuto, just answer it. This question is very important," Itachi said seriously.

Kabuto scratched his head and pondered about whether he should tell the truth. The strongest person in the village actually liked red beans and Dango despite being already in his twenties. No one would believe it.

Just as Kabuto was planning to fool him, Itachi added, "Kabuto, don't lie to me."

"He really likes Dango. And he likes the especially sweet red beans Dango." In the end, Kabuto spilled the truth.

"However, it has nothing to do with his strength..."

"So it really is him..." An extremely complicated expression appeared on Itachi's small face.

As he expected, the Nagasawa he ran into earlier was indeed the Hokage Assistant.

"Itachi, are you alright? What happened?" Kabuto asked worriedly.

Itachi looked a little off and looked very depressed.

"It's fine. Let's start the training." Itachi forced out a smile.

What exactly happened to him today?

Nagasawa was actually the "Dango weirdo."

He'd refuse Nagasawa's offer.