Naruto: I'm Really Not an Evil Uchiha!

"Whether you dislike something or not isn't determined by words, but by actions."

A crimson gleam flashed in Shimizu's eyes. Hyuga Natsu suddenly felt as if something had been added to her, yet at the same time, nothing at all.

"Take your time to comprehend the gift I've given you. Once you've figured it out, come find me—I will grant you what you desire."

Shimizu waved his hand dismissively. Although Hyuga Natsu was filled with confusion, she chose not to ask further, believing that curiosity often led to trouble.

After bidding Shimizu farewell, she opened the door and stepped outside.

Outside, Hyuga Tokuma was waiting. As soon as he saw Hyuga Natsu come out, he immediately straightened up, springing to his feet from where he had been sitting on the ground.

"A-Natsu, how are you feeling? Any better?"

His face was filled with concern.

"Mm, I'm fine now."

Hyuga Natsu discreetly closed the door behind her, not wanting Hyuga Tokuma to see Shimizu and potentially cause any unnecessary trouble.

The two then walked back toward the Hyuga clan compound together.

--

The Next Day.

At Konoha's Dessert Shop.

"You want to know what Shimizu likes?"

Kushina looked puzzled, unable to understand why her best friend, Mikoto, would ask such a thing.

"That child... has lacked love since he was young. Fugaku is the clan leader, after all, so he asked me to look after Shimizu a little more."

Mikoto smiled faintly, her expression calm.

She had just told a lie.

Even though Kushina was her best friend, Mikoto had decided to tell a small, harmless lie for Fugaku's sake.

Yesterday, Fugaku had been summoned by the Third Hokage for a private conversation. When he returned, he remained silent for a long time.

It was only during dinner that he finally spoke, instructing Mikoto to find ways to draw Shimizu in—cater to his preferences.

He mentioned that Shimizu was likely being favored by the Third Hokage and might even be groomed as part of Namikaze Minato's inner circle.

As for why they needed to win Shimizu over and what Fugaku's true intentions were, he didn't say. He only told Mikoto to foster a good relationship with Shimizu and invite him over for meals more often.

And so, today, Mikoto had asked Kushina to meet up.

Her reasoning was simple—Kushina was close to Namikaze Minato, and since Shimizu was Minato's subordinate, they must spend a lot of time together. Surely, Kushina would know what Shimizu liked.

If Kushina could ask around for her, she'd have her answer in no time.

"Ah, that makes sense," Kushina nodded firmly in agreement.

She recalled how, during one of his massage sessions, Shimizu had mentioned that, like her, he had lost both his parents at a young age and grown up as an orphan.

"Hmm, let me think..."

Kushina furrowed her brows in deep thought, but after a long moment, she realized something surprising—she actually knew very little about Shimizu.

Whenever she needed something, she would just call for Shimizu to help her.

Even when they talked during his massage sessions, it was always her doing the asking, while Shimizu would only answer passively. Their conversations revolved around her—rarely ever about him.

"This isn't right! I've never truly treated Shimizu as a friend… how could I be so selfish?"

Kushina scolded herself internally.

A wave of guilt washed over her.

She despised the thought of failing a friend, so without hesitation, she declared, "I don't know what Shimizu likes to eat right now, but I'll find out right away!"

She clenched her fist with determination, fired up.

"Sorry to trouble you," Mikoto said, covering her mouth as she chuckled softly.

This saved her a lot of effort—if Kushina asked Namikaze Minato, she was sure to get the answer quickly.

"I'll cover the cost of these desserts," Mikoto added.

Looking at the beautifully arranged sweets on the table, she waved her hand generously, treating this as a way to make it up to Kushina.

"Really? Yay!"

Kushina happily picked up a dessert and took a few bites.

As the sun climbed to its highest point, blazing down upon the village, the two women parted ways, each heading home from the dessert shop.

"What does Shimizu like? Food… or something else?"

Kushina walked along the road home, deep in thought about what boys Shimizu's age typically liked.

From what she had observed, Shimizu didn't seem to spend much money outside. The few times she happened to run into him, he was always on his way to the hospital.

"Kushina!"

Minato Namikaze waved enthusiastically and jogged over to her.

"Wanna grab some Ichiraku Ramen together later?"

"You sure have a lot of free time, huh?"

Kushina turned her head away, still looking visibly upset.

Ever since that incident at the Third Training Ground, she had been fuming.

Minato had been coming to find her every now and then, hoping she would forgive him.

Truthfully, she wasn't that mad anymore—it was just that she couldn't bring herself to drop her pride and didn't know what to say to Minato.

Normally, she would have just walked away stiffly like usual, but today, she suddenly remembered that Minato was Shimizu's squad leader.

"Do you know what Shimizu likes?"

Kushina asked.

"Uh… huh?"

Minato was momentarily caught off guard. Why had the topic suddenly shifted to Shimizu?

"Well…"

Minato realized he had no idea what Shimizu actually liked.

--

[Contract Sealing Scroll *1 has been issued…]

A gray scroll suddenly materialized in front of Shimizu, with the words "Contract Sealing" written on it.

"I actually pulled a secret sealing technique from the Uzumaki Clan?"

Shimizu caught the scroll.

In the past, he had rarely drawn anything related to his clan's secret techniques or bloodline limits.

"My experiences influence the items I pull from the simulator, increasing the probability of obtaining related skills."

Recently, he had given Kushina a lot of massages. The sheer number of times, along with their improving relationship, likely played a role.

But their bond wasn't strong enough yet for her to outright teach him the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques.

Teaching sealing techniques to an Uchiha was a complicated matter.

Kushina had been able to teach Minato Uzumaki sealing techniques mainly because Minato was a civilian-born shinobi—an ideal Konoha village loyalist whom Hiruzen Sarutobi held in high regard.

Only after that came Kushina's personal relationship with Minato.

To put it bluntly, Kushina was nothing more than a "nuclear weapon" vessel. In Konoha, she had no real voice or authority.

Every person she interacted with was monitored by Konoha's higher-ups.

Only with their approval could anyone get closer to her.

Minato's deep connection with Kushina—some might even say their entire relationship—could very well have been orchestrated by Konoha's leadership.

A staged "hero saves the damsel" scenario.

Kushina's chakra was unique, highly effective at suppressing tailed beasts, so Kumogakure had sent shinobi to kidnap her.

On the surface, it all made sense.

But the entire situation was full of suspicious details.

Kumogakure's forces supposedly bypassed Konoha's outer defenses with ease, infiltrating all the way to the Hokage Building.

They managed to snatch Kushina effortlessly, without being detected, leaving no trace behind.

Then, they traveled all the way to the border, and still, no one noticed? Their infiltration and counter-reconnaissance skills were absolutely top-tier.

And yet, these supposedly elite Kumogakure shinobi somehow failed spectacularly.

Kushina had been dropping strands of her red hair along the way as a trail.

Despite this, the ninja walking behind her never once noticed that she was leaving a trail.

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