The three of them left quietly.
By the riverside, Tsunade remained standing alone.
No one knew how much pain she was holding inside.
On the way back, Kushina fell into silence. The festive joy from the celebration had completely vanished.
People only saw the arrival of peace—not the sacrifices that came before it.
Suddenly, she looked up and asked the other two a question.
"Will there be another war?"
A single war had taken away so many loved ones—friends, lovers, family.
Everything.
If another war came, would she lose everything again?
She had already lost everything once before. Now, she had finally regained so much.
She didn't want to lose Minato, or Jiraiya-sensei, or Tsunade-nee. Not even the infuriating Uchiha Kin—though she really did want to strangle him sometimes.
He was a decent person, if only he didn't have that mouth of his.
But these people were her only remaining bonds to Konoha.
If they were to disappear before her eyes, Kushina knew she would break.
You only realize what you have once it's gone. But to lose it again after regaining it? That would drive anyone mad.
Namikaze Minato opened his mouth to comfort her.
But Kin spoke first.
"War never truly stops. It's only delayed. When the time is right, the next one will come."
There was still the Third Shinobi World War ahead.
Though, Kin's existence had already altered history. It might not be Sunagakure starting the war over the Third Kazekage's disappearance.
But Kin was certain the Third War would happen.
Because of hatred. Because of Uchiha Madara lurking in the shadows.
And even—
Because of him.
"So if you want to survive, keep getting stronger." Kin's gaze held a deeper meaning as he looked at them.
Kushina and Minato fell silent.
Kin changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, if Jiraiya-sensei were here, this would've been a great opportunity."
He rubbed his chin. Jiraiya's lingering feelings for Tsunade were common knowledge.
If he had put in some effort now, he might've actually had a chance.
Too bad.
He was currently in the Land of Rain, training Nagato's trio.
Even if given the chance, he wouldn't have seized it.
"What a failure, Jiraiya-sensei."
Kin shook his head with a sigh.
"How can you say that about Jiraiya-sensei?" Kushina grumbled.
Kin gave her a disdainful look. "What do you know about men's affairs? Go play with your dolls, brat."
Minato awkwardly scratched his cheek.
Truthfully, he didn't really understand either.
He glanced cautiously at Kushina.
When it came to matters of the heart, he was still a bit clueless.
Kin glanced at Minato's reddening face and smirked.
"I'm heading off. You two have fun."
He was starting to feel like a third wheel in this team.
Were three-man squads designed just so one person could suffer as the odd one out?
What if it was three guys?
As soon as he stepped through his front door—
He saw Orochimaru and Hizure playing a game of shogi.
"Kin-kun seems to be in high spirits," Orochimaru remarked with a faint smile.
"Not really. But Orochimaru-sensei, what are you doing here?"
Kin was puzzled.
"Hizure-kun's experiment hit a bottleneck. I came to assist."
Orochimaru had been invited by Hizure.
"Fine."
What else could Kin say? His place had practically turned into a public dormitory lately. One more person didn't matter.
Though Little Miao and Little White weren't having an easy time.
Speaking of which—
"Where are Little White and Little Miao?"
Kin scanned the room but saw no sign of the two summoning creatures. Their massive sizes had long since made the second floor off-limits for their antics.
"Ah, your summons? They went to Ryūchi Cave," Orochimaru informed him.
"Tch." Kin's eyes widened. Little White going to Ryūchi Cave made sense, but Little Miao? Was it trying to get itself killed?
That was a den of snakes.
"They'll probably survive."
Little White was there, after all.
Kin fell into thought, then remembered Tsunade by the lake and asked Orochimaru curiously, "Orochimaru-sensei, Tsunade-sama is crying alone by the lake right now. Aren't you going to comfort her?"
At Kin's words, Orochimaru paused, his shogi piece hovering in midair.
Katō Dan's death had been unexpected for all of them.
The Soul Transformation Technique had far too glaring a weakness.
But comforting Tsunade?
"That's Jiraiya's role."
Orochimaru shook his head. He wasn't the type to console others. This might've been Jiraiya's best chance.
Too bad he was still in the Land of Rain.
He placed the piece down.
"Checkmate."
Hizure sighed. Another loss.
How did chatting with Kin make him lose focus?
Was he really this weak?
"By the way, Kin-kun, I'll be moving my lab here soon."
Kin: "???"
Orochimaru had so many labs—why did he suddenly need this one?
"Danzo has uncovered all of my other labs. Yours is the only one he can't easily find."
Orochimaru was genuinely exasperated. No matter how many new labs he set up, Danzo always tracked him down.
All he wanted was to research in peace. Was that so hard?
Now, Danzo was breathing down his neck about Hashirama's cells, leaving him no room to study anything else.
Only the Uchiha compound was off-limits for Danzo's prying.
Kin's lab had remained undiscovered so far.
"I don't mind."
Kin shrugged and glanced at Hizure. The lab was mainly in Hizure's use now.
"I don't mind either."
Hizure rolled his eyes. His research was already exposed to Orochimaru—it didn't matter as long as it wasn't leaked further.
"Besides, Orochimaru has already moved in."
Kin gave Orochimaru a deadpan look. You've already done it, and now you're asking for permission?
Orochimaru offered an awkward smile.
"Ah, one more thing." Orochimaru recalled a certain request. "The Third Hokage asked me to persuade you to develop more jutsu that could strengthen Konoha's foundation."
The longer Konoha used Kin's techniques, the more evident his incredible research abilities became.
Even now, no one had fully mastered the Six Styles or the Three-Colored Haki.
Yet Konoha's strength was steadily growing.
Kin stroked his chin.
"Did he offer anything in return?"
He was famously self-serving in Konoha—everyone knew he wouldn't lift a finger without benefits.
"As long as it's not excessive, the Third Hokage said he'll try to accommodate."
Though the war had ended, the next phase was an arms race. Konoha needed to continuously showcase its strength to other villages and the Five Great Nations.
Beyond deterring other villages, it was also about securing more missions for Konoha.
And right now, the best method was Kin's jutsu.
"Then we have a deal."
...
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(End of Chapter)