The young man wore a dark blue mask that only covered his lower face. His grey hair color stood as one of his most distinct features while his headband extended from his forehead to his left eye.

Staring at the old woman who had been lying in bed this whole time, he took one step forward in her direction. With a laid-back attitude, he said in a moderate tone. "Also, irrespective of the fact of you being audacious or not, you'll be coming with me."

Minko's eyes widened and her crease became increasingly bigger. "Do you know who I am?! How dare a junior like you talk to me like that!

I've served the village for more years than I can count. It's more than just for me to use its resources now that I've retired!"

Surprised by her outburst, Kakashi's eyebrows went up and his right eye started to gain some emotion. "To think that you would consider children as resources…

I suppose that the Yamanaka have done a terrible job with you. Besides, it doesn't matter whether you agree with me or not."

As his words fell in the room, something strange happened. Another Kakashi had been up on the ceiling with senbon between his fingers.

Without wasting a second, this clone launched a sneak attack on Minko in her non-lethal vital spots only to the point where she would fall unconscious.

Minko couldn't even move before the senbon had come into contact with her body. Her chakra had been too low to do anything as of now. She had experienced chakra exhaustion when dodging the Nine-tails 'attack' and used more than 90% of her small restored reserves to attack Raijin with a chakra-augmented scalpel.

She slumped on the bed with her body unresponsive. Kakashi squinted his right eye to look for any signs of deception, but couldn't find any.

Relaxing his tense shoulders, Kakashi then turned to Raijin. The boy had been silent this whole time while watching the events unfold.

But seeing that he didn't have much to say with the boy, he figured that he would just make his clone take the woman to the T&I department for interrogation and leave the room. "You've done a good job, kid. I'll handle this matter from now on."

As Kakashi's clone took Minko on his shoulders to carry her to the Konoha Intelligence division, his real body walked out of the patient room with a clear destination.

But as soon as one of his feet crossed the door, Raijin turned to him and inquired in an unsure tone. "Where are you taking her, Mister?"

Kakashi turned his head to the boy in question and scanned him. He analyzed that the boy had a distressed look and seemed very anxious to get an answer to his question. "I'll be taking her to the Torture and Interrogation Force of Konoha.

Rest easy, kid. If the story you spoke about matches up with the evidence, then you can be sure that she will be treated per what she has done."

With that said, Raijin promptly asked. "And… If it might not trouble you, sir, but with the collapse of my orphanage, do you know where I will live from now on?"

This information was crucial to Raijin, since if he somehow got early access to private housing before the Academy, then it would be a great development for his future.

Kakashi glanced at the ceiling to find an appropriate answer. He wasn't responsible for these matters, but he felt like he could deduce possible interventions the village might take. "Well, for one, the village could anticipate the Academy entrance exam to house the orphans in private houses.

But that is pretty unlikely seeing the unrest the previous attack has caused. What I predict will happen is that they will arrange for each of you a home in one of the existing orphanages. As a result, it would cause them to be crowded. But I suppose that's better than not having a home, right?"

Raijin felt a bit bummed. But he felt like he had already stalled Kakashi for too long, so he bowed a little to express his gratitude.

The man then turned and left to his destination. His business in the hospital wasn't to protect the people inside, but actually to see someone. That's why he sent a Shadow Clone to get Minko's unconscious body to the T&I department and didn't go there for himself.

Taking turns and going up the stairs, Kakashi continued his walk. 'That boy… He's strange. It just seems like he was talking for someone else to hear him and take action. '

Thinking about the previous event, Kakashi could only speculate. 'Also, those chakra threads I saw… They were connected to every sharp metal in the room like they were prepared to be launched on command. If that's a result of the work of that kid, then things might get a little interesting in the future.'

As he continued to tread through the hospital, he arrived in a room. In there, he saw a spiky-haired blonde newborn who slept peacefully inside a small makeshift bed.

With a complex expression, Kakashi could only recall his sensei's appearance when looking at Naruto. "Minato-sensei…."

~~

Raijin made his way to one of the temporary shelters that gathered orphans who had been stripped of their housing due to their collapsing. In there, they would receive the news of where they would reside for the time being.

With his backpack, Raijin was in deep thought. 'I've managed to get most of the books from that bookshelf that I find that could add to my skill set.

Still, it's a pity that I won't be able to read them while in the orphanage since if someone sees me with them they could either try to steal them or confiscate them from me thinking that I stole them from some shop.

I could also try to read them while hiding, but that's still too risky. I can't risk losing such important possessions.' Raijin knew from his past life that books were the best source for acquiring knowledge, so he knew that people in the Shinobi world might get even greedier than normal seeing the books he had.

The things he got from Minko's book collection were many. However, most of them didn't touch the topic he needed the most — jutsus. While many things interested him, he could only master so many with the time he had.

With a frown, his gaze seemed a little distanced from his surroundings. 'I suppose I can try to somehow get the Shadow Clone Technique as soon as possible. If so, I can improve by leaps and bounds in a short period.'

But a remaining question seemed to linger in his mind. 'But how would I even be able to do that…? Tricking Hiruzen or stealing the Scroll of Seals would be a nigh impossible task.'

His attention then moved elsewhere. What made him refocus on his surroundings was the building made as a shelter for the kids who lost their families or had their orphanages destroyed.

While filled to the brim with lots of people, the staff responsible for providing information and food to the orphans made their announcement as soon as Raijin arrived.

"Those without a home will now be reallocated elsewhere. Please form a line in front of the staff members and report your situation accordingly. Make sure to not leave any details out. In a few days, you will be assigned to a respective orphanage."

The lines formed quickly. Luckily, Raijin could make it in time and be in a somewhat good position.

After a few moments, it was his turn. He made the report of his current situation and informed the previous orphanage of which he had been a part of.

Seeing that every piece of information was checked out, the staff member quickly cleared him and informed him to wait until everything was finished for further instructions.

This procedure was tailored to pluck out some spies that could have infiltrated in times of chaos inside the village, as well as find anyone who wasn't a citizen of Konoha. This shelter was just for orphans, but there were other ones for all kinds of people.

In a few hours, Raijin was finally informed of his assigned orphanage. While he wasn't happy to change locations, he also knew that as soon as the academy was rebuilt, he would pass the entrance exam to quickly get his own home. That's why he didn't mind it much.

While in deep thought, Raijin couldn't help but think ahead. 'The academy… That will be my first step into the ninja world.'

~~

~~

A/N:

Now, no more stalling. Academy starts next chapter!

Also, thank you for your continuous support. I really do appreciate you people!

Alright, getting back to work. Peace!