"An acquaintance from Konoha?"
Hearing this, Kushina and Asuka both became curious about who the visitor might be.
Ryun looked somewhat helpless, but in the end, he invited the three of them into his home.
"Kushina..."
The moment Mikoto saw Kushina, she immediately started crying.
"Kushi... Huh? A... Aunt Asuka???"
Asuna originally wanted to greet Kushina, but when she saw Asuka, her aunt, she was completely stunned...
"Eh... You're little Nana, right?" A look of surprise also appeared on Asuka's face.
"And little Mikoto... You've both grown so big!"
Asuka obviously knew Mikoto too. Little Mikoto used to often go to her flower shop to buy flowers, even occasionally helping out. She got along very well with Kushina, was quite well behaved and sensible, and was very likable to Asuka.
Her memory seemed to be stuck over a decade ago. The two young girls from back then had now become middle aged women.
It was only because Kushina had the Yang Seal that her appearance still looked beautiful and moving, retaining a hint of a youthful feel.
"You are... Aunt Asuka???" Mikoto subconsciously covered her mouth, her expression equally shocked.
"It's me!"
Asuka smiled and nodded at the two women. The next moment, both women could not hold back their tears and threw themselves into her arms.
Watching this scene, the corner of Ryun's mouth twitched slightly.
Looking at this situation, he might be forced to release the prisoners soon...
Sure enough, not long after the two women caught up with Asuka and expressed their joy at this elder's revival, they began to 'complain'...
Moreover, Uchiha Mikoto not only complained to Asuka, she also complained to Kushina...
"You... You're already an uncle figure, how can you still be so unreasonable. Quickly release those two children..." Asuka looked at Ryun and instructed.
"Mom, you don't know. Those two brats are incredibly mischievous, especially Naruto. He dared to call me an evil guy, and said I'm not worthy to be his elder..."
Ryun also took the opportunity to complain to Asuka.
Hearing this, Asuka instinctively looked at Asuna.
"It was my fault for neglecting Naruto's discipline. I'm sorry, Ryun nii san..." Asuna cried and admitted her mistake. Seeing this, Asuka's heart immediately softened...
Minato stood honestly to the side with a bitter smile on his face. The battle with Ryun was a clash of positions and beliefs. Fighting was inevitable. They couldn't just raise their hands and surrender without any resistance... After all, they were still Konoha ninja. Principles and positions still mattered.
As for whether Ryun was an evil guy... The world had become like this, and he still wouldn't admit to being an evil guy... Minato thought, you won, so whatever you say is right...
"Hubby, release them quickly. Look how much you've scared Mikoto chan and Nana chan... They each only have this one son. Don't joke around with something like this..." Kushina rolled her eyes at Ryun and said with displeasure.
Hearing this, Namikaze Minato smiled bitterly again, lowering his head to look at his toes, not daring to speak.
Only he knew that Ryun was not joking at all, and had genuinely tried to kill them... His own son and Sasuke had even died once already.
He hadn't dared to tell his wife about this.
Having their entire heart destroyed... Could that be a joke? If not for the Sage Force Regeneration Talisman, they probably couldn't have been saved...
This was a war, not child's play. Minato understood this, so naturally he didn't hold any resentment towards Ryun. However, after Naruto died and was revived, Minato couldn't help but feel a deep sense of fear towards this former acquaintance.
When the younger generation was 'mischievous', he really would not indulge them.
"Alright, alright, alright. I'll release them, release them..." Faced with the urging from his mother and wife, Ryun ultimately had no choice but to relent.
The world was so big. Having their chakra didn't make much difference, and not having their chakra didn't make much difference either. Moreover, the chakra of Indra and Asura had already been absorbed by the Divine Tree. Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't be able to cause any more waves in the future.
Ryun originally wanted to extract the chakra seeds from their bodies, making them ordinary people from then on... In fact, the chakra seed within each person was not easy to extract. This was also why Ryun hadn't yet dispelled the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Now, releasing Naruto and Sasuke meant they could continue to be ninjas.
Of course, if they wanted to be ninjas in the future, they could only be ninjas of Otogakure, because the world could no longer accommodate the existence of a second ninja village.
"Ryun kun, could you also release everyone from Konoha..." Minato finally couldn't help but speak up to plead.
"I will release the people of Konoha, but not now. Also, I need to make something clear to you. The great ninja villages will no longer have ninjas. I am going to reclaim everyone's chakra. From now on, there can only be one ninja village."
"What. Ryun kun, you..."
Minato's words were cut off by Ryun raising his hand.
"The ninja world has been plagued by constant war. Nations stand divided, hostile and attacking each other. I want to unify all nations, to create lasting peace for this scarred world..."
"Konoha Village can be preserved, but Konoha ninja cannot. And you, along with Naruto and Sasuke, if you want to be ninjas in the future, you can only join Otogakure, because this will be the only legal ninja village in the future."
After Ryun finished speaking, Minato and the three women all showed expressions of shock and awe.
Seeming to sense Ryun's determination, even Asuka and Kushina, these two women who came from Konoha, did not speak up at this moment.
Of course, Uchiha Mikoto and Asuna also did not dare to take advantage of Asuka's presence to bargain with Ryun.
"I am willing to join Otogakure. I also guarantee that I will make Sasuke join Otogakure..." Mikoto decisively stated her position.
"Our family is also willing to join Otogakure..." Minato said with a bitter smile. Ryun hadn't really given him a choice, and he understood this.
Insisting on past principles was meaningless now, because Konoha Ninja Village was about to cease to exist. Minato was powerless to stop Ryun. For the sake of his family's future, since he couldn't win, he could only choose to join...
Of course, having this choice was only possible because of his past acquaintance with Ryun. Other Konoha ninja might not even get a choice.
"Can you persuade Naruto. If you can persuade him, I'll release him. If you can't, I'll extract his chakra seed. From then on, he can live well as an ordinary person..."
Ryun's cold words made Minato and his wife turn pale.
"Yes, Ryun nii san, I guarantee I will persuade Naruto." Before Minato could speak, Asuna hurriedly gave her assurance.
Although she didn't know what a chakra seed was, she could imagine that a ninja couldn't lose that thing...
The reason Minato didn't speak immediately was because he knew his son was stubborn. Persuading him to join Otogakure would be very difficult.
Ryun understood this point, which was why he was stating the harsh truth upfront.
Naruto could either be a ninja in Otogakure in the future, or he could continue to cling to his principles and position, living as an ordinary person in Konoha Village. There was no third option.
They were the defeated in this war. The defeated must obey the arrangements of the victor. This is the eternal law of the jungle.
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