Ringing Bell
As soon as the alarm clock rang, a lazy hand suddenly stretched out and instantly turned it off.
Then, Shinomiya Yuzuki rolled over and continued drifting into dreamland.
Time passed slowly, and the sun gradually rose toward the center of the sky.
Until...
Ding-ding-ding!
"Gates of opening! Gates of opening!"
"Hey! Are you still asleep? You're only sleeping three hours a day!"
There was knocking on the door followed by shouting.
Shinomiya Yuzuki suddenly opened her hazy eyes and mumbled:
"Ugh..."
Although clearly displeased, Yuzuki lazily got up from bed and went through her morning routine: washing her face and brushing her teeth.
Just as the knocking on the door was about to become banging, she slowly slid the latch open.
"Ten whole minutes! If you'd been any slower, I would've thought something had happened in your room!"
When the door opened, a small delicate face came into view—gentle like jade.
Her green eyes sparkled, and her long golden hair was tied in a high ponytail. Even though she was still somewhat of a child, there was no denying that Yamanaka Ino was already beautiful.
Yuzuki and Ino were neighbors who had grown up together. Yuzuki's house was above Ino's flower shop.
Naturally, they'd known each other since childhood.
"Ino, don't you know it's a day off today? You're here just to stop people from sleeping."
Yuzuki said this and turned to go back inside.
Ino followed, closed the door behind her, and helplessly said:
"Graduation exams are coming up soon. How do you expect to pass if you don't even know basic techniques like Substitution, Transformation, and Clone Jutsu?"
Yuzuki flopped onto the couch with a carefree attitude:
"Why are you so worried? Naruto's still downstairs."
Ino shook her head in exasperation:
"Why are you comparing yourself to him? His father—"
Just as she was about to finish her sentence, Ino realized her mistake and quickly stopped.
"Anyway, stop lying around! Get up and train!"
"I came up with a little trick last night that will definitely help you understand the Three Basic Jutsu better."
Before she could get too excited, Ino's face darkened as she realized Yuzuki wasn't listening to her at all.
"Shinomiya Yuzuki!"
Ino grabbed Yuzuki by the collar.
But before she could get angry, Yuzuki grabbed her hand, and a strange light flickered in her eyes.
"Shhh, don't make a fuss. I just got rich again!"
"What nonsense are you spouting again?"
"Come here, sit down, I'll explain later."
Yuzuki pulled Ino toward her and leaned back on the couch, staring into the air in front of her.
"This is really confusing..."
Yuzuki ignored Ino's complaints.
His attention was completely focused on the virtual chat screen in front of him.
A new message had just appeared in the group:
[Ding, you have unread messages]
[Member Namikaze Minato has drastically altered the course of history]
[Reward the member with 100,000 gold coins]
[Group leader will receive the same reward]
— Amazing.
Shinomiya Yuzuki was overjoyed, and her previously empty wallet was suddenly overflowing.
All thanks to Minato.
Shinomiya Yuzuki @ Namikaze Minato in the group chat:
"Fourth Hokage, what did you do last night? The group chat suddenly exploded with gold coins!"
--- Konoha, Year 48 ---
As soon as Namikaze Minato stepped out of Amegakure, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato followed closely behind.
Minato had decided to take all three of them back to the Hidden Leaf Village.
After all, Konoha not only had better conditions and more resources, but it was also the leader in the ninja world—a place where their safety and development could be better ensured.
As a result, the Akatsuki organization was naturally dissolved.
After everything that happened, Yahiko's dream of achieving peace through nonviolence was nearly shattered, and he simply chose to trust Minato.
The original Akatsuki members had once served Hanzo.
Now that Hanzo had lost his rivals and gained this group of strong fighters, he was naturally happy with the outcome.
He even used the opportunity to form an alliance with Konoha.
"Brother Minato, what's wrong?" Yahiko asked curiously when he saw Minato suddenly stop.
"It's nothing. Let's keep moving."
Minato replied with a gentle smile, though inwardly, he was slightly disturbed by @Yuzuki in the chat.
Seeing the questions in the chat, Minato thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth. After all, the prophecy came from Yuzuki's video.
Namikaze Minato:
"Lord Yuzuki, thanks to your future revelations in that video, I saved Yahiko in advance and dealt with Danzo without any issues."
Yuzuki couldn't help but admire the answer.
Shinomiya Yuzuki:
"Wow, your timing is top-notch! No wonder the reward was so generous—it was because you saved Yahiko."
If Yahiko died, it would signal the rise of Pain and change the entire ninja world's storyline.
But now he was saved—and transformed.
As for that old man Danzo, Yuzuki only wanted to say:
"Rest in peace."
That guy never did anything good.
Shinomiya Yuzuki:
"Minato, have you thought about how to spend those 100,000 gold coins?"
Namikaze Minato:
"Gold coins? What gold coins?"
Shinomiya Yuzuki:
"Just check your inbox—you'll see."
Soon, Minato discovered the source of the coins and eagerly awaited the gold coin shop's opening.
Even as Hokage, he was stunned by the shop's variety of items.
While browsing, Minato came across a shocking product...
"This...!"
The Nine-Tails Fox Kurama—and the other eight tailed beasts!
"You can actually buy tailed beasts?" Minato could hardly believe it.
Clearly, he had underestimated the group leader's abilities.
Creating an interdimensional chat group was already miraculous, but now even legendary tailed beasts—symbols of destruction—were being sold like ordinary items.
Namikaze Minato:
"Lord Yuzuki, if I buy a tailed beast, wouldn't that mean there are two of the same beast in my world?"
Shinomiya Yuzuki:
"That's correct."
Minato could only sigh:
"Unbelievable," and exited the shop.
For now, he didn't want anything in particular.
The conversation ended, and Yuzuki returned to reality.
When he looked up, a pair of delicate legs was nearly touching his face.
At some point, Ino had also laid down on the couch, resting her head on the opposite armrest.
Yuzuki lay in the middle—becoming a natural "human footrest."
Yuzuki stared for a moment, then smirked and said:
"Hey, how come I never noticed you had such beautiful legs before?"
"Tsk, Yuzu."
Hearing this, Ino lowered her head and glared at him, then lightly kicked Yuzuki.
"You're such a pervert!"
Yuzuki suddenly sat up and offered:
"Hey, I've got an idea. You've got two legs, and coincidentally, I've got a mouth. So how about we—"
Ino quickly pulled her legs away with a disgusted look:
"Ugh, it's no fun being around you."
"Eh... I was talking about making some pickled cabbage. After all, to make the real stuff, you have to press it down."
"I won't let you down. This isn't anything formal." Ino rolled her eyes.