Hiruzen immediately thought of Roy.
The boy had already left the courtyard with Minato Namikaze, nowhere to be seen.
Hiruzen turned his head toward the window. Then his expression shifted, and he asked Fukasaku with great seriousness, "Did the Sage say who it was?"
Who was the Great Toad Sage?
The true master of Mount Myōboku, one of the three great sacred lands of the summoning world.
His exact age was unknown. His exact strength was unknown. In terms of foundation and depth, he even surpassed Hiruzen's own summoning beast, the Enma clan.
If he declared that the Child of Prophecy who would change the ninja world had appeared, then it was almost certainly true.
"Prophecy isn't prediction," Fukasaku said, stroking the little tuft of white goatee on his chin and glancing sideways at Hiruzen. "For the Great Elder to send down a revelation is already no easy thing. As for who exactly it is... if you care, go look for them yourself."
Hiruzen took another puff from his pipe and slowly nodded.
No matter who it was, anyone capable of changing the ninja world could not possibly remain unknown.
Best case—
that person belonged to Konoha.
As he thought, Roy's face—three parts like Fugaku, seven parts like Mikoto—floated back into Hiruzen's mind.
The old man knocked the ash from his pipe, came back to himself, and said to Fukasaku, "Tell me about the front line."
Fukasaku gave a noncommittal hum. On that bright morning, he leaned in close with Hiruzen and began explaining in detail...
Ding-a-ling-ling...
Near noon, the academy bell rang for dismissal.
Worried they might frighten passing children, Roy brought Minato out through a secluded alley, then decided they would walk home.
There was still a good distance from the shopping district to the Uchiha compound.
Along the street, shops selling food, clothes, accessories, hardware, and seasonings lined up one after another, packed with bustling crowds.
Roy and Minato walked side by side, one on the left and one on the right, strolling through the lively street. They watched the flow of people and traffic, smelled the everyday smoke and food of human life, and occasionally greeted passersby.
It had to be said—
even though Minato had not yet repelled the A-B Combo in the coming phase of the Third War and earned the title "Yellow Flash," his past achievements alone, along with his identity as the personal disciple of Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, meant that wherever he went, he was practically the center of the crowd.
Roy quietly walked beside him, watching him smile and greet people, and suddenly thought of a saying—
The foundation among the masses determines the upper structure.
Setting combat strength aside, just based on Minato's current popularity in Konoha, Orochimaru's loss in the original story was not unjustified at all. Even now, with Roy having exposed his live human experiments and forced him to defect early, Orochimaru probably still would not have been able to compete with Minato for the future Hokage seat.
"Whew..."
"Everyone's really enthusiastic."
At the end of the shopping district, the crowds gradually thinned. Minato finally got a chance to breathe and smiled wryly at Roy.
"Actually, Kushina likes this kind of liveliness even more than I do. Unfortunately, she can't come out..."
As the vessel containing the Nine-Tails, a jinchūriki was not allowed to leave without cause. This rule applied not only to Uzumaki Kushina, but to the jinchūriki of other villages as well.
For example, Gaara's movements were strictly restricted early on, and Sunagakure had even intentionally sent pursuit forces in an attempt to eliminate him.
Then there was Killer Bee. During the Third Raikage's time, if he wanted to go out, the Raikage's son had to accompany him. Later, after A inherited the Raikage title, his restrictions only became stricter in the name of protecting him.
Even though, among all jinchūriki, he bonded the best with his tailed beast and was the first person fully accepted by the Eight-Tails, he still had to sacrifice his freedom for the village.
That was the drawback of being a strategic weapon—
immense power, but a life under restriction.
Their existence was more about deterrence than anything else.
Roy thought of the chaos Konoha would later suffer because of the Nine-Tails outbreak, ultimately leading to the deaths of both Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Kushina. He looked up at the sky and said with some emotion, "Weak... all of it is because we're too weak..."
"Who's weak?" Minato stopped and turned to look at the boy.
Roy caught a strand of sunlight and played with it in his palm. Then he released his hand and let it return to the light. He pointed at Minato, then at himself.
"You. Me. Konoha. All of us are too weak..."
"If we were strong enough—strong enough to control and handle the Nine-Tails at will—then do you think Aunt Kushina would still be confined?"
Minato's expression shifted.
"You know about the Nine-Tails?"
Roy did not answer. He resumed walking. Up ahead was the ninja academy.
Without turning back, he said, "A man's incompetence forces a woman to bear fate on his behalf. Uncle Minato—"
The boy suddenly stopped by the academy wall, the same wall that had once been blown apart by one of his Fireball Techniques and later repaired. He turned back and looked at Minato.
"That is also why I really can't bring myself to like the current Konoha."
Minato froze.
He looked at the boy standing beneath the academy wall engraved with the Will of Fire, calmly meeting his gaze. His heart churned restlessly, like waves surging over the sea.
It was the first time in his life he had heard such an answer.
An answer that he, Hiruzen, the Hokage's advisers, and perhaps even all of Konoha had never considered.
And yet, from a certain perspective, it was the truth.
Kushina, and even Uzumaki Mito before her, had both been sacrifices born under that truth.
"But that's the Nine-Tails," Minato said after coming back to himself, looking at Roy seriously. "A Nine-Tails no one can control. You don't understand how terrifying it is..."
"Is that so?"
Roy no longer looked at Minato. He stuffed both hands into his pockets and walked along the academy wall toward the Uchiha compound.
The boy's back was not especially tall, but it definitely could not be called frail.
His black hair fell over his shoulders, glowing softly in the sunlight. Without turning back, he said, "Father told me that an ancestor of our clan once controlled the Nine-Tails. I believe he was the first, but he absolutely will not be the only one."
Creak... creak...
Inside Roy's panel, the Flesh Bud Technique faintly began twisting its body uncontrollably.
It was like a writhing lump of hunger, impatiently urging Roy to feed.
The only question was—
could a certain fox demon with nine tails withstand being parasitized?
A faint, cold smile flashed at the corner of the boy's mouth. His mind sank briefly as he soothed the Flesh Bud.
"Be good... soon. Very soon..."
Without realizing it, his steps quickened.
A gust of wind rose, shaking loose a few leaves.
Beside the academy, on that not especially wide shaded path, Minato stood dazed in place. He watched Roy walk away, wearing a sunlight-woven haori with the red-and-white fan crest stamped on the back.
Minato stood there for a long, long time. When he saw Roy was about to disappear into the distance, he quickly started after him.
Ren... will you be the next one?
His silent thought drifted away on the wind as the man hurried to catch up.
Not long after Minato caught up to Roy, a small courtyard hidden among lush trees came into view.
The gate was open, and faintly, they could hear a bright, fiery laugh coming from inside.
No mistake.
That was definitely Kushina.
A gentle smile appeared on Minato's face. He quickened his pace and arrived at the gate with Roy.
At a glance, two Anbu wearing cat and fox masks stood on either side of the door, guarding it. When they saw Minato, they gave him a slight nod and flashed aside, making way for him and Roy.
"I'm back..."
Two soft calls rang out at the same time.
One belonged to Roy.
One belonged to Minato.
The boy and the young man each removed their shoes and socks in the entryway and stepped inside.
At once, the kitchen curtain lifted, revealing a head of fiery red hair.
"Minato, Ren, hurry and sit in the living room. The food's almost ready."
Uzumaki Kushina wore an apron as she pushed Minato toward the living room.
Inside the small living room, beside a newly replaced tatami table, there was Itachi, who had returned from sword practice, and two women.
One sat casually, drinking tea while being served by Itachi. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought this was her home.
The other knelt properly behind her, occasionally glancing apologetically at Itachi, who had been turned into a child servant.
They were Tsunade and Shizune.
"Yo... you're back?"
"I came to check whether the new tatami table fits."
Tsunade drank a mouthful of tea. Her gaze passed over Minato and landed on Roy with a smile. When she noticed the necklace around the boy's neck, her smile bloomed like a flower, visibly brightening.
"Lady Tsunade..."
After being pushed into the living room by Kushina, Minato was clearly surprised to see Tsunade there. Then he nodded to Shizune and sat cross-legged beside the tatami table with Roy.
Uzumaki Kushina had not gone out in a long time, so this rare visit to her best friend's home had her rolling up her sleeves and volunteering herself, slipping into the kitchen to help Uchiha Mikoto.
At the side, Itachi seemed to have found his savior the moment he saw Roy return. He quietly let out a breath of relief.
For an introvert like him, crowded, lively spaces were not something he longed for. In fact, in the boy's eyes, the living room right now was far scarier than a battlefield filled with shuriken and kunai.
Itachi quietly moved closer to Roy, grabbed the corner of his clothes, and whispered into his ear, "Nii-san, Shisui-niisan left with someone wearing a cat-face mask..."
Roy's face did not change. He only gave a faint hum, as if he did not care about that at all and was only concerned about whether his little brothers had finished their sword practice and daily ten-thousand swings.
"I finished mine," Itachi whispered. "Shisui-niisan said he'll make it up when he gets back..."
Roy's expression darkened.
When he got back, he would not just make it up.
He would double it.
Minato and Tsunade's ears twitched. Pretending to drink tea, they quietly listened. For a moment, they both fell into a daze, remembering the days when they had trained.
Unfortunately...
the people from those days were gone.
Those old friends were no longer there.
If they wanted to hear that kind of scolding again, they no longer could.
"Yes. When I go back this afternoon, I'll tell Shisui-niisan..." Itachi silently mourned for Uchiha Shisui in his heart, then thoughtfully handed Roy a cup of tea.
Roy accepted it and took a small sip. At just the right time, he looked at Tsunade and said quietly, "Lady Tsunade, I think you can begin making preparations early."
The boy looked deeply at the woman.
"I may need some relics belonging to your younger brother and the man you loved. I'll need you to make arrangements for that."
Impure World Reincarnation did not directly call a dead person's soul out of hell.
For the technique to succeed, three conditions had to be met.
First, it required the target's DNA as a bridge to connect to their soul.
Second, it required a living person as the vessel to carry the revived person.
Third, the revived target's soul could not be sealed, such as if it had been devoured and imprisoned by the Shinigami.
In any case, the promise he had once made to Tsunade had reached the point where it could be fulfilled now that he had obtained Impure World Reincarnation.
This concerned Tsunade.
It concerned Roy himself.
And even more importantly, it concerned Great-Grandfather Maha, along with Brook Sell, Severus, and the countless men, women, old and young who were hidden in his memories and had perished together with their nation.
He had to proceed carefully.
There could absolutely be no mistake.
In the living room, beside the tatami table, Roy's light words fell.
Tsunade's hand trembled around her teacup. Tea spilled sideways, soaking one corner of the table.
The woman trembled. Her lips quivered as she stared at Roy.
The sudden change in her expression was keenly caught by Minato.
The young man's blond hair stood behind him like spikes. Silently, he looked from Tsunade to Roy, then quietly lifted his teacup and began drinking.
Hiss...
Tea steam curled upward.
Quick-eyed and quick-handed, Itachi grabbed a cloth and wiped away the spilled tea.
At that moment, Tsunade finally seemed to come back from her loss of composure. She drew in a deep breath through a dry, hoarse throat and looked at Roy solemnly.
"Tell me what to do, and I'll do it."
"Even if you tell me to die."
Her grandmother was gone.
Her younger brother was gone.
The man she loved was gone.
With no family left, Tsunade was the only one remaining, like a lonely ghost wandering the world. That was why she had to rely on drinking and gambling to find even a pitiful shred of meaning in life.
Now, sitting upright and shedding her careless attitude, Tsunade seemed in that instant to return to being the legendary Sannin whom others once feared and respected.
Looks like Ren's relationship with Lady Tsunade is even closer than I imagined...
To make her willingly say she would die for him—perhaps even Lord Third couldn't do that.
A gleam flashed through Minato's lake-blue eyes as he silently guessed at the reason.
Then he saw Roy wave his hand.
"It isn't that serious. And Lady Tsunade doesn't need to do anything special for now. I'll tell you the details later. As for right now..."
The boy patted his stomach and smiled brightly.
"Let's eat first."
Gurgle...
The moment his stomach rumbled, the food arrived as if by telepathy.
"Food's here!"
With a shout, the kitchen curtain lifted.
A head of fiery red hair appeared.
Uzumaki Kushina came out carrying steaming dishes. Drawing closer, she placed a freshly fried plate of tempura on the tatami table and smiled at everyone.
She truly lived up to her nickname, the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero—bold and straightforward, nearly on par with Tsunade.
Roy's gaze passed over Minato and Kushina, whose eyes were exchanging warmth, then calmly settled on the woman.
At close range, with a soft flare, two suns lit in his pupils.
The Eye of Truth pierced illusion.
First he saw skin, flesh, and bone.
Then tendons, membranes, and blood.
Finally, chakra.
He saw the seal branded on the woman's abdomen.
And locked behind that seal—
the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
Clatter...
Iron chains shook.
A faint sound of surprise suddenly exploded in Roy's mind as his gaze fell upon it.
Then, a gigantic crimson fox lying in its prison slowly opened its eyes.
[Notice: Unknown monster detected... Monster Index opening…]