Katsura smiled faintly and clasped Minato's outstretched hand.
"I didn't expect someone as young as Mr. Katsura to already be passing on his will to the next generation. Compared to you, I seem a step behind."
Minato chuckled wryly, glancing at the determined trio—Yahiko and the others—standing behind Katsura, then at the three youngsters behind him.
The gap was indeed quite large.
"Don't worry, Minato-sensei! I'll definitely inherit your last will and become Hokage!"
Obito, who had survived the war without the tragedy of Kannabi Bridge and awakened his Sharingan during minor missions near the war's end, clenched his fists and declared earnestly.
"It's will, not last will!"
Kakashi corrected him with a sigh, rubbing his forehead.
"Isn't it the same thing?"
"Same thing, my foot! A last will is inherited from the dead! Minato-sensei isn't dead yet! You can only talk about inheriting a last will after he dies!"
"Oh, got it!"
Listening to their banter, Minato couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly.
Though he knew they meant no harm, the conversation still gave him an odd feeling.
...
After leaving Amegakure, Team Minato encountered Danzo and a Medical Ninja accompanying him near the border of the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire.
Danzo's head was wrapped in layers upon layers of bandages!
Upon inquiry, they learned that Lord Danzo had suffered amnesia during his mission!
Since Root's missions were beyond his authority to question, Minato pieced together a plausible theory based on what he knew.
Danzo, leading Root Ninjas on a covert mission in the Land of Rain, had been ambushed and knocked unconscious—his head injury proved it!
Afterward, severely wounded and with only one Medical Ninja left, Danzo had gone into hiding.
Meanwhile, the assailants impersonated him in Amegakure, attempting to sabotage the hard-won peace.
However, their scheme was foiled by the sharp-eyed Hanzo-sama, whose forces annihilated them!
These people—utterly despicable!
Whether their scheme succeeds or not, it brings no benefit to Konoha.
Even if Hanzo-sama sees through it, the blame will ultimately fall on Konoha.
Because they were disguised as Konoha Anbu.
After seeing those corpses, he knew immediately—they weren't Konoha Anbu at all!
He met every single Konoha Anbu operative dnd didn't recognize any of those people!
The only Konoha Anbu he wouldn't know would be from Lord Danzo's Root division, but Lord Danzo had already been ambushed earlier, so it couldn't possibly be his Root operatives.
What a sinister move!
They're making sure no one comes out unscathed!
Minato cursed bitterly in his heart before stepping up to guard Danzo, whose head injuries were severe both inside and out.
...
Konoha, Hokage's Office.
After hearing Minato's report on the Danzo incident, the Third Hokage and the two advisors were completely stunned.
Danzo… got ambushed?
To the point of losing his memory?
And someone impersonated him and the Konoha Anbu to stir trouble in Amegakure, tarnishing Konoha's reputation?
Each piece of news was more shocking than the last!
The three of them were utterly dumbfounded!
Their first reaction was that they must still be dreaming!
After all, they knew Danzo better than anyone—how could someone like him, who always schemed against others, be the one ambushed?
But after reviewing the medical report from Konoha Hospital, the Third Hokage and the two advisors finally accepted this unbelievable reality.
Danzo truly had amnesia, and his brain had indeed suffered severe trauma!
.....
Half a month later, on the day after the successful signing of the ceasefire agreement with Iwagakure—marking the end of the Third Shinobi World War—Konoha held a public memorial for the many shinobi who had sacrificed their lives in the war.
As if the heavens themselves mourned, dark clouds loomed over Konoha that day, with distant thunder rumbling within the thick overcast sky.
Every surviving shinobi who had fought in the Third Shinobi World War gathered before the Memorial Stone to bid farewell to these fallen heroes.
Of course, alongside the fallen heroes, there were also living legends.
The Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, and the Shiroyasha, Hatake Gintoki—their reputations had resounded throughout the Hidden Leaf and the entire Shinobi World during the war!
There were others, of course, but none could compare to these two, especially Gintoki!
At just fourteen years old, as deputy commander, he led his forces to crush Sunagakure head-on!
Even when faced with the dishonorable Chiyo unleashing a tailed beast, he reportedly charged forward without hesitation.
In short, the title of Shiroyasha alone would ensure Gintoki could live lavishly in the Hidden Leaf for at least two months!
...
After the memorial service, Gintoki, dressed in black mourning attire, stood alone before his mother's grave in this life, hands in his pockets as he lingered silently in the drizzle.
"What kind of person… was Mom?"
Kakashi approached and stood beside Gintoki, asking only after a long silence.
Gintoki rolled his dead-fish eyes and thought for a moment.
"Pretty much like every other mom in the world."
"I see…"
Kakashi didn't ask further.
He had been too young at the time and had no memories of his mother—nothing beyond photographs.
After a while, Kakashi asked again, "What does it feel like to be a hero?"
Gintoki let out a soft sigh and replied calmly, "There's no such thing as a hero. That kind of thing disappears once the war is over. After the war ends, heroes just turn back into ordinary people and face the next real battlefield."
"The comrades you couldn't protect, the enemies you killed, the sins born from war—bearing these heavy burdens is another war you have to fight. A lifelong battle against yourself."
"Gintoki-san, does war... have any meaning?"
The black-haired, black-eyed little boy, Uchiha Itachi, who had quietly approached and listened to Gintoki's words, suddenly asked.
Glancing at the future bro-con, Gintoki shook his head lightly and looked up at the distant sky.
"There's no meaning to it. Whether you win or lose, no matter what you protect or lose, war has no meaning."
"No matter how you dress it up, all that remains in the end are corpses strewn across the fields and deep-rooted sins. Nothing is worth protecting at such a cost."
Seeing Kakashi lost in thought and the four-year-old Itachi, Gintoki continued, "If you really have to find meaning, then it's the belief in creating an era without such meaningless wars. But in that case, the battle isn't against the enemy—it's against yourself. Beliefs like that will eventually be worn down by time, so while they're still strong, pass them on to the next generation, old man."
"Hehehehe..."
At that moment, the Third Hokage walked over, hands clasped behind his back while chuckling.
"Hokage-sama!" ×2
Kakashi and Itachi both bowed respectfully in unison.
"Gintoki, do you have any recommendations for the Fourth Hokage candidate?"
Hearing this, Kakashi and Itachi were both shocked.
The Hokage was already considering candidates for the Fourth Hokage!
And they were hearing this firsthand!
"Hokage-sama, I still have training, so I'll—"
"Hokage-sama, my father asked me to run an errand—"
Kakashi and Itachi spoke at the same time, but the Third waved his hand dismissively.
"It's fine. This is just a casual chat. Besides, the times are moving forward, and the opinions of young ninja and the next generation are important too."