Minato blinked. And blinked. And blinked some more as he stared into the mirror. Pale blue eyes, so similar and so different to what he was used to, stared back. Pale skin marred his body and white, flat hair sat on his head—traits so different to the sun-kissed skin he was used to and the golden, spiky locks he used to wear with pride.
Something had happened. Something. He had no idea who's body he was in. This was clearly not his body. This youthful face was not his. These uncalloused hands felt beyond foreign.
No, this was not him. He was not of this body, that was for sure. Minato had just said goodbye to his son, he'd left the future of the world to Naruto and Sasuke. This pale, blue scorched room showed no signs of that having occurred.
So, then, who was he now? He'd been given another life, that was for sure. An opulent one at that.
He paced his? room slowly, the weak muscles in his new body feeling strange. Who is he? He knew he was now rich—this was given by the sheer volume of wealth portrayed in this room and the fact that his body had uncalloused hands and weak muscles.
A knock came from the door. Minato's head snapped towards it, hand reaching for a kunai that did not exist. Hesitating, he cautiously told the person to come in.
A mostly bald man peaked his head in through the door, his brown mustache quirking upwards with his lips. "Master Whitley—I am glad to see you awake. Your father has told me to get you."
Master Whitley…Minato mused over those words, mentally tasting them. So, he was rich and born into it. The name, though, was odd. He'd never heard a name like Whitley before.
Clearly, he was not near Konoha.
Using all of his acting skills, he put on a cold facade. After all, most of the old money people he'd met as Hokage were immensely serious and standoffish. Minato's features tightened, his pale face perfectly donning the expressions that gave Minato the title of Yellow Flash.
"Very well." Minato emotionlessly said, narrowing his eyes at the…butler? Servant? "Bring me to him."
A startled look crossed the mustached man's eyes. The servant quickly settled himself, giving a curt, serious nod. "As you wish."
Minato moved to follow the servant, trailing behind him. As he began to move through the walls, he couldn't help but be impressed by the scale of it. Whoever his new family was, they must've been richer than anyone Daimyo he'd ever met.
They walked through lush halls and past gorgeous gardens, eventually reaching this body's father's office. The servant opened the door and Minato walked in.
"Whitley." This body's father called out to Minato, a tight expression on his face. The man in front of him looked cold, like he rarely was happy or smiled. The sheer lack of smile lines pointed to this. The man almost reminded him of Danzo, in an odd way.
Minato walked forward until he was directly across from the white-haired man. "Father." He said, giving his head a light bow. He might not know their exact customs, but old money tended to act in certain ways. "You called for me?"
The man nodded. "I did." He affirmed, his face closed off. There was a subtle twinge of anger hidden behind those eyes. They were not, however, pointed at Minato. "Sit. We have much to discuss."
Minato obeyed, pulling out a seat and sitting across from the wealthy man. He waited for Whitley's father to talk, letting the man dominate the dynamics here.
The older man rested his hands on the desk, letting out a frustrated sigh—it was the most emotion Minato had seen from him so far. "As you are well aware, your sister has gone off to Beacon to be a huntress. Both of your sisters have decided to pursue this path—this is a stain against the Schnee name."
Minato had no clue as to what a Beacon or a huntress was. Obviously, it was not a huntress in the sense he was aware of. Beacon was maybe, then, an academic institute? A huntress could be comparable to a shinobi; most of the Daimyo he'd met were disgusted when one of their children decided to become a shinobi. The same could, maybe, be the same here.
He was just speculating. He'd got some good information, though. He has two sisters, ones who are likely older than he is. Along with that, their family name is Schnee. He is in the body of Whitley Schnee, whomever that is.
Minato nodded along with the Schnee…patriarch? The elder Schnee took this as a sign to keep talking. "Your sisters are a disgrace to our family name. First Winter runs off to the military and now Weiss thinks she can just…become a huntress with no consequences!?" The Schnee slammed his fist into the table, spittle flinging from his mouth. His composure seemed to be lost.
Minato prodded, trying to gather more details. "Why'd you let her go to Beacon then, Father? Surely you could have jus—"
"—you know of the deal, Whitley. She beat the Arma Giga. I am not one to go back on my words."
Minato nodded his head, pretending he knew what an Arma Gigas was. "So how will you punish her, Father?"
He hated having to speak like this. Pragmatism wore out.
The Schnee's lips turned slightly upwards. There was almost a hint of pride behind those cold eyes, but Minato couldn't gleam why. "This is why you are my choice now, Whitley. Your sisters have betrayed their legacy by going off to fight like barbarians." A cruel hint of pleasure played behind the man's eyes. "Weiss will learn to play nice once she loses her heirship."
Power plays. That's what this was. Interesting, very interesting—actually, it's very likely that this Winter was the heiress before Weiss. Now, Weiss acted out and is going to end up losing it. Minato had been put into an intriguing life, that's for sure. "But you can't just take the position, can you?"
If the man could, he'd have already done it.
"Do not doubt me, Whitley…I could take her position now. But, I'll let her play around for a bit. When she messes up, does something bad, she will lose it then. Your sister will have no one to blame but herself."
Minato was forced to come to the conclusion that this is not his world. It's not. The world map is radically different. There is no chakra. There are no shinobi or kage or anything remotely similar to what he was used to.
It was exciting. He had long since accepted death. Being given the chance to live again, even in a different world, had his blood pumping.
No one wants to be dead. No one. He'd always lived life willing to die for his nation, for his family. That didn't mean he wanted to do it. Now, he gets to try living again. While he'd prefer to live with his son and wife, he was pragmatic. This was the best he'd get.
Didn't hurt that this world is incredibly fascinating. Their technology far surpasses his world's. They have more people. They lack chakra, but have aura. They don't have kekkei genkai, but they have semblances. They don't have wars every other day, but they have grimm slowly trying to take over the planet.
This world is interesting. He wants to see what he can do in it. To do that, though, he'd have to completely ditch the life views that his body had. Whitley Schnee hated hard labor, hated the idea of fighting. Not because he was a pacifist, but because he was a coward.
Minato is nothing like that. It's why he is now meditating on his bed—he needs to activate his aura.
See, aura is only kind of similar to chakra. Both aura and chakra involve the soul. Both allow supernatural effects. Thing is, aura is just so much worse than chakra.
But, well, it's all he has to work with. He'd figure out some interesting ways to use it.
Focusing within himself, he searched deep. The usual feel of his chakra coils and the burning flow of energy in his veins was gone. It was odd, but he kept looking. He searched beyond where he was missing coils, looked beyond the lack of energy. He needed to find the small, sealed in part of himself. That is where his aura is.
It was in his gut. It was funny, because that's where yin and yang energy combine to form chakra. Maybe aura had connections to yin energy? Eh, unimportant. He prodded at the sealed ball of energy, ramming his consciousness into it. It gave up, a bloom of energy soaring into life within him.
It didn't compare to what his chakra felt like, but that might be because it felt different. It had a different flow to it. Where chakra had moved and thummed and ebbed through him, aura simply pulsed within his veins. It didn't move, it just warmly beated inside of him like a second heart.
Time to get used to this and figure out his semblance. If the records were to be believed, he should have glyphs like Whitley's mother and sisters have.
He had doubts, though.
Time to get to work.
It took days of work, but he figured out what his semblance is. It's…kinda like glyphs? Kinda. Sort of.
Not really.
His semblance, Super Duper Redux Interwound Coatings of Glyph-Like Energies, worked much more like seals than glyphs. Glyphs, apparently, produced a repulsive force. His markings…they didn't do that. They did nothing.
He could move his fingers through the air or on the ground and ethereal, white lines would appear where his fingers passed. He could draw in the air. From what he could guess, they would do things when made into specific symbols, much like seals.
He'd need to actually get to drawing seals, then. But, that was for later. Now, he had to go over his plans.
Jacques Schnee has to die.
Minato was going to do patricide. He'd read up on what the man was doing to the people working in his company. It disgusted Minato. He'd killed, he'd done horrible things, yes. Yes, he had. Minato would never regret what he had done to save Konoha…
…but slavery? Cruelty to innocents? It all seemed so…pointless. It was nasty, and Minato could not condone it. And so, Jacques has to die. Minato just needs to figure out how to get his semblance to work and get his body into shape.
Oh! On that note, he plans on getting his hair to be spiky again. His skin may refuse to tan, but he will remember his old life in some way.
Back to drawing, then. The sooner Jacques dies and passes along the heirship to Minato, the better.
He couldn't wait to meet his sisters! They were probably so adorable and cute, he'd spoil them rotten. Minato had always wanted a family, and even if he was technically possessing their brother, he'd try to make the best of it.
Jacques is a rotten egg in a nice batch, though.
Minato stared intently at the piece of paper he was drawing glowing markings onto. In theory, this should work like the Flying Thunder God jutsu. In practice?
It was useless!
Whenever he put aura into it, the glyph refused to activate. It was like aura was missing something that was integral towards activating it—
—ah. Right. Aura is pure yin, no yang. He'd need to redesign all of his seals to work with pure yin energy.
A grin cracked across his face. He was excited. It'd be a fun challenge. He loves challenges. Why else would he have married the most challenging woman to exist?
Gods, he loves Kushina so much…
When he dies again one day, he can't wait for her to beat his ass for keeping her waiting.
"Whitley!" A strong voice called from somewhere off to his side, dragging Whitl—Minato out of his thoughts. He'd been running, trying to train his body back into shape. Aura had the nice ability to heal him, so it greatly accelerated the rate at which his muscles grew.
Minato stopped and turned towards where the feminine voice had come from. He was out of the manor right now, something Jacques didn't much like letting him do. He'd convinced the man, though, to let Minato out.
The woman who called out to him was a fairly attractive, tall, busty woman. She looked dignified, her white hair held up in a bun. This was Winter Schnee, Whitley's older sister. He gave a smile, twitching his lips up lightly. "Hello, Winter. What brings you home?"
The white haired woman looked mildly stunned, surprise crossing over her face. "I see that you are training. I thought you considered being a huntsman beneath you?"
Minato shrugged, a friendly, small grin playing across his face. "Well, I've since changed my mind. I've acquired quite lofty goals, you see."
Winter hummed. "Yes, you changed, have you?" She tilted her head. "Is Father aware of your new ambitions, little brother?"
His smile strained a little. Minato wanted to start on good footing with his new sister, but he wouldn't let her ruin his plans. "There are some things that Father knows. There are some things that he does not. What he knows he knows, what he does not he does not."
"No, then. He does not." Winter amusedly confirmed.
Minato gave a nod. "He does not. And, given the amazing sister you are, you won't snitch…right?" He gave her a piercing look, features growing serious. "After all, we are family."
Winter eyed him carefully, a taken aback look on her face. She walked up to him, looking down at Whitley. After a moment, a slight smile crossed her lips and she pulled Minato into a hug. "Very well, little brother. Your secret is safe with me."
Then, she left. He oddly felt touched. It must be nice to have siblings. He wished he could have given Naruto that opportunity.
Heh…heh…
Kushina probably wanted that as well…
Damnit, Jiraiya had gotten to him.
Well, he has things to do. He got back to running
He never found out why Winter was at the manor.
Minato held a knife in his left hands, glowing white symbols engraved on its base. It was less than he was used to, but it'd do the job.
A month of training wasn't long. Not for most people, that is. He couldn't do a fraction of what he wanted to be able to do, but he had enough for now. Namely, the Flying Thunder God. He'd gotten yin glyphs to work. Or, rather, a yin version of the aforementioned glyph.
Minato couldn't just remake any seals from his old life. It'd be nice, though, if he could.
Now, the nice thing about teleportation is that it makes a stellar alibi. Whitl—Minato had done several assassination missions where the target was killed in a place that seemingly no one else was in. He'd do the same with his Father.
There is a ball tonight. Minato had been required to go to it—Jacques, however, was not. Jacques is at a major meeting for the SDC.
So, when he kills the man in a place he logically could not have been at, it'd make him not even a suspect
It was twenty-two hundred right now. Jacques's meeting should have ended minutes ago…Minato vanished to a marking that he'd put on Jacques's shirt. The interior of an aircraft met his eyes.
Slamming a fist forward, he pushed Jacques against the cushy couch the white haired man sat on. Whitley's Father…his Father? met his eyes with widened ones. He pushed a hand over the man's mouth, preventing him from screaming.
Minato gave a friendly grin. "Hey! So, I need you to update that will of yours. We can, of course, do this the easy way or the hard way."
His…Father? thrashed in his hands, eyes glaring hatefully. Minato kept smiling. "Well, hard it is."
The pair vanished, appearing on the top of an airship hundreds of miles away. The nice thing about his tags is that he could place them on vehicles, meaning he could basically stowaway on any ship.
Jacques thrashed even harder as wind rammed at the two, trying to knock them down into the city below. Minato just tossed his knife down, letting it land on the top of a building.
They soon appeared on top of that same building.
"Pull out your Scroll and update your will. I know you can do it from there. I can find more painful ways to encourage you!" Minato's voice remained cherry, a playful grin resting on his face.
Hate filled eyes stared back. Slowly, Whitley's Father pulled out his Scroll.
Shortly after, Minato was back at the ball and the Schnee patriarch was dead.
It took weeks for the body to be found. While some considered it odd that Minato had been made Jacques heir so soon before the man's death, no one had a clue how Whitley's father had died.
No one even rationally thought of blaming him.
Winter had visited. It'd been a strange meeting, one where she tried to comfort him of emotions he wasn't feeling. He took the opportunity to get to know his sister better. It was nice.
Weiss had also called him, but he'd been busy at the time. He'd need to make an effort to visit her. Whitley wanted to meet his sister for the first time. Having family was exciting to him. He wanted to do well by them.
Speaking of family, he apparently has a mother. He hadn't even realized Willow Schnee was still alive, given the fact he never saw her. She was a drunk, always drinking some kind of liquor in some part of the manor.
He had yet to talk to her, though.
Life had been busy since Jacques had died. Taking over the SDC was major—it almost reminds Minato of when he was Hokage. The sheer volume of paperwork was comparable, that's for sure.
He just wishes he could make clones to speed the process up. Once he could use glyphs to convert aura to chakra, he'd probably be able to.
For now, though, paperwork. Lots of it.
Whitley hummed as he sat in a lab. He'd noticed a major flaw in the SDC's weapon productions—everyone working in it was stupid. It was like they didn't know how to efficiently kill.
Minato is a killer. He was born a killer, raised a killer, and died as a killer. His second life already had bloodied hands. He was a killer.
Given the fact that he is a killer, the stupidity of the SDC irked him. He spent time researching all the new sciences of this world. He might not be an expert on everything, but he had a decent overview.
Why are the airships designed to be so slow? They focus on transport, sacrificing combat capabilities to act like a boat. It's stupid. He was going to be forced to design his own aircraft—ones that actually move fast. The science was there.
The Jubilant Expeditious Transport Systems would be decent compared to this…trash.
It was fair to call it trash. Why didn't they use chemical weapons launched from aircraft against the grimm? The beasts still needed oxygen. Napalm would work. Gods, even barrages of thousands of bullets would work!
Minato was disappointed in this world's military technology. He'd fix that.
Whitley was going to have to see his sister. Weiss had kept calling him whenever he was busy…it meant he hadn't had a conversation with her—that was probably pretty bad when you consider he stole her heirship.
You snooze, you lose?
Minato sighed. That's mean of him to say. Well, he wanted to meet her anyways…and he did manage to get a marker in Vale…and he did have some free time…
He looked down at the papers on his desk. They were filled with hundreds of different sealing formulas. He couldn't figure out how to make aura become chakra—it was amazing! He hadn't had a challenge this hard since he made the Rasengan!
That is why it was going to be hard to ditch his work to see his sister…
Whitley despondently looked away from his papers and vanished, appearing thousands of miles away on top of a Valean roof.
"Well," Minato mused with a light smile on his lips. "I guess it's time to meet Weiss."
He just needed to figure out how to get to Beacon…eh, he'd just lob a knife and pray it didn't kill someone.
He did just that, appearing in the Beacon entrance a moment later. It was…a lot more crowded than he expected. There was also a fairground…
Whitley's ears soon picked up the sound of fighting, blades clashing against one another. He perked up, adrenaline running through his veins.
He might not have been an adrenaline junkie like so many other shinobi, but Minato did like the thrill of a good fight.
Sprinting, he ran through a crowd of people. Pushing people away, he made his way into the center of…whatever they were surrounding.
"Winter?" He said in surprise, looking at the guy she was fighting. He looked like a drunk—the man would fit in quite well with his mom.
Minato crouched, bolting forward to block a strike the man launched at his sister. The man's massive scythe was shoved back by Minato's knife. Whitley's foot caught on a rock.
What a time to have bad luck.
Stumbling, he jumped over a slice of the man's blade. Landing on the blade, his foot struck the drunk's skull.
The black-haired man groaned. "You're a rowdy brat, ain't ya? What, mad that I hurt your…mother?"
Minato hummed, stepping back. "Sister, actually. How're you doing, Winter?"
Winter just stared at him in open shock, mouth held wide open. "Whi—"
"—Whitley!" Another voice called out.
Minato smiled at Weiss. "I hope I showed up in time."
The scythe-wielding maniac chuckled. "Oh look, the family is all here! Well, besides the drunk and the dead one. Ah, well, you can't have it all, can you?" The man spun his weapon around, placing it on his back.
A red blurb slammed into the man. "Uncle Qrow!" The girl cheered excitedly.
The man, Qrow, laughed and ruffled the teen's head. "How're you doing, kiddo?"
Weiss marched up to Minato. "What're you doing here, Whitley?" She bit out, glaring daggers. "And what is up with your hair?!"
Minato smiled, running a hand through his hair. "It looks great, doesn't it?"
"You look like a ruffian." She said with a huff, crossing her arms. "This is the one supposed to run the SDC?" She managed to look even more annoyed, devolving into a pout. "I don't know what Father was thinking."
"He had a lot on his mind, I imagine."
Weiss managed to look even more ticked. "How've you become even worse since I've gone to Beacon?" She practically whined. Minato could take pride in that—being more annoying than the previous Whitley is nice.
He'd spent years annoying his students, after all. He was a master.
Whitley ruffled Weiss's hair. It always got Kakashi angry when he did that…Weiss was kinda just like a female Kakashi.
Turning his head back towards Winter, he gave her an inviting smile. "Let's walk, shall we?"
The three Schnees went to chat.
Minato liked having a family again.
AN: Comment if y'all want more. I don't think I'll write anything more for this, but I will if enough people want me to.
