Chapter 165: Chapter 165 - Returning to Konoha.
[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Land of Fire, Year 39.
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...
"Minato Namikaze..." Minato was with Kushina in the middle of the forest as they walked together when anbu ninjas approached him. They seemed to be from Konoha.
"Yes..." Minato asked calmly, but he noticed that the gaze behind the mask kept glancing at Kushina, making Minato think these ninjas had been sent by the Hokage himself.
"Commander Sakumo has requested your presence at the main tent," one of them said as Minato nodded. Without warning, he took Kushina's hand, and they vanished, reappearing at the camp. He looked at her.
"Stay here. I'll go see what he wants, though I can already imagine what it is," Minato said, and Kushina nodded.
"He's here," a jonin announced Minato's presence, and Sakumo allowed him to enter the tent.
Minato had been spending his last few days studying sealing techniques with Kushina, as they had been spending all their time together. No one had disturbed them during that time, but today, with this summons, Minato finally came to the tent.
Sakumo looked at him, grabbing a scroll, and stood up, handing it to Minato. "An anbu ninja from Konoha called you here, so you already know a group has arrived here by the Hokage's direct order," he said as Minato took the scroll and read the Sandaime's command.
"I understand... it seems my time here is over," Minato commented.
"Over, are you sure?" Sakumo smiled at Minato.
"Well, probably not, but you never know..." Minato responded, returning the smile.
After all, they had talked a little in the last few days. Minato had expressed his desire to fight on this front against the Raikage as well since he wanted to spend a few months there, not only to contribute to the war against Kumo but mainly to train with a specific person he hadn't been able to see recently. He had techniques to develop, and this moment would be a great opportunity to start working on powers he hadn't yet achieved over the years.
Minato counted on what he would receive in Konoha, knowing that the Hokage would give him rewards after all he had done. He had never received any compensation for acting against Suna, but now, being in Konoha after having saved the village's Jinchuuriki, looking at things from a political perspective, the situation would be different. He had thought a lot about it and knew very well what he would ask for instead of asking for more jutsus; there were more important things at the moment.
"I hope so, kid. It would be good to have you around, obviously if you can get out of the battlefield against Iwa," Sakumo commented.
Minato nodded. "Then, I'll be going. I hope to see you soon, commander."
"Good luck, kid. I'll be waiting for news from you. If you have time, could you check on my son and see how he's doing?" Sakumo said as Minato began to leave the tent after hearing his request.
He went straight to his tent, passing by some ninjas who had also arrived from Konoha at that moment. Minato ignored them, as it seemed the Hokage had sent a lot of people due to what Kushina represented, but he didn't need them and continued to inform Kushina, who was already waiting outside the tent.
"We're leaving, aren't we?" she murmured in a slightly unhappy tone, knowing that Minato's time there was finally coming to an end. She would return to the village while he would head to war soon after, leaving her alone once again.
"Yes, let's pack up and head out. The Hokage must already be waiting for us now..." Minato replied. Kushina, a bit reluctant, nodded, putting all her belongings and tools back into the scrolls. She sent the last scroll to Sakumo through a ninja, as it contained a report she had to submit, and then bid farewell.
"Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki... we're here to take you back to the village." With Minato and Kushina ready, a group of anbu ninjas appeared, accompanied by another set of jonin right behind them.
Minato looked at the village ninjas who had come to escort them with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, guys, but I'll be going ahead," he said, as their mission was to escort them back to Konoha. Even though Minato had said he would take Kushina with his jutsu, the Hokage didn't know he could teleport such a long distance and had requested an escort. But, to the disappointment of the ninjas present, Minato and Kushina simply vanished before their eyes.
Recognizing the jutsu, they simply sighed and began leaving the camp shortly after, heading to Konoha as well, arriving a few minutes late.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the Senju clan grounds, where Minato had left a seal, he reappeared with Kushina. "We're back, but we must head to Konoha's main building. Let's go," he said, taking a few steps forward, knowing they wouldn't have time to do anything else except go straight to meet the Hokage.
Minato moved quickly over the rooftops with Kushina following closely behind. Since they were in the middle of the village, no one seemed to pay them any mind as they continued on without any issues. It was only when they entered the building that some anbu ninjas approached them.
"Notify the Hokage that Minato Namikaze is here and waiting for an audience," he said. The ninjas disappeared the next moment, reappearing a few seconds later.
"He's ready to see you!" the ninja responded, and Minato made his way to the second floor, opening the door. No one less than the two village elders were present in the Sandaime's absence, and as they left, they eyed Minato and Kushina with an intense gaze. They didn't seem too pleased, but certainly, after what had happened, they would be even more marked as incompetent.
Minato ignored their looks and continued toward the Hokage's office, where the Hokage sat alone at his desk.
"I've told you before that I don't like them," Kushina murmured, tilting her head toward Minato as the elders disappeared with the door closing behind them.
"No one does..." Minato replied, while the Hokage called out.
"Come in, boy, please," Hiruzen said, as Kushina and Minato approached.
The Sandaime looked directly at Minato, while Kushina was now perfectly fine. After all, the Kyuubi's chakra along with her Uzumaki heritage had healed her in just a few days, and she no longer even wore bandages, her skin as good as new.
"Hokage-sama," Minato greeted him, with Kushina following.
"It's good to see you both well..." the Sandaime began. "Well, it's good to see you in good health and back in the village. It seems everything turned out well thanks to you, Minato Namikaze," he said, his gaze falling on Kushina.
"I admit, when I heard about your capture, Kushina, I feared the worst. But this boy managed to surprise us once again," he remarked.
"Yes," Kushina murmured, not fond of the experience she'd gone through, but at the same time, looking at Minato with admiration. It warmed her heart knowing that, in the end, he had saved her, and she felt safe by his side.
"I'm sorry for what happened," the Sandaime continued, referring to the kidnapping, as the entire team guarding Kushina had been wiped out within the village without anyone realizing, by infiltrators. They had already dealt with infiltrators before, and Minato had defeated some of them. But never on this scale, to the point where they gathered valuable information, took down an entire team of Anbu ninjas, and still escaped with the Jinchuuriki... right under the village's nose. It was unacceptable to Sarutobi, and he was furious with his colleagues who had been overseeing the village in his place, giving them a severe scolding before Minato arrived.
'They almost made it to the border... if they had gotten the Jinchuuriki, the situation would have been terrible for Konoha, already facing enemies from all sides,' the Third Hokage thought before taking a puff from his pipe and turning back to Kushina.
"I promise that nothing like this will happen again. We'll keep you safe," he said, but Kushina didn't seem too pleased by this. After all, she hated all the surveillance. Minato knew that, despite them being right about securing something as important as the Kyuubi and its host, they would soon start implementing a barrier surveillance system—something that would trap Kushina within a barrier. He personally didn't like the idea, as it would restrict her, making it impossible for her to even leave the clan grounds. As soon as she stepped out of the barrier, the village's detection team would be notified, something similar to what happened in Minato's manga, where Kushina was confined to a house surrounded by a barrier.
"If I may speak, Sandaime..." Minato tried to ease the pressure being placed on Kushina.
"Well, I can already imagine what you're going to say," the Sandaime interrupted. "But still, I must insist that she needs more protection, even though you've placed seals on her. I can only imagine how you arrived before anyone else and took down all the enemies because of that." He commented, sighing.
After all, the report, after gathering all the information from the ninjas captured by Minato, showed that the infiltrated ninja acted as a common civilian who entered the village, gathered information, and captured the Jinchuuriki. At some point, he was defeated by Minato while trying to flee, but even he didn't know how. All he recalled was seeing Kushina touch his thigh, and suddenly he blacked out. Minato had appeared at that moment, and other reports from the Konoha ninjas in the area mentioned hearing explosions, while Minato didn't seem to hold back his chakra, sending large-scale jutsus and easily destroying the Kumo group.
Minato remained silent, still listening but not arguing for the moment. The Sandaime just sighed and looked at Kushina before continuing, as he had something to discuss with the young man.
"You may leave now. I'd like to speak with Minato alone. Besides, the boy and Miss Might are safe—they weren't harmed in the attack since they weren't there." He said, while Kushina sighed in relief. Since the boy had been with her, she thought he might have been hurt.
"Alright then. I'll be waiting outside..." she murmured, glancing at Minato, who nodded for her to go.
"I'll head to the clan as soon as I'm done here, if the Hokage doesn't send me straight to the battlefield," he said, looking at the Hokage.
The Sandaime gave a small smile. "How could I be so cruel after all the service you've done? You'll certainly have a few days off to visit some friends in the village." He remarked, and Minato nodded with a slight smile. Kushina left the room, closing the door behind her, leaving Minato and the Sandaime alone.
"Well, boy, now we must deal with your rewards. After all, you've done so much for the village and still haven't received proper recognition," the Sandaime said, picking up and opening a box, revealing a medal with the Leaf symbol. "This medal is given to war heroes. Usually, it's awarded at the end of a war, but in your case, we'll make an exception." He said as Minato stepped forward and took the medal, feeling a bit pleased by the recognition.
"Furthermore, you may ask for whatever you wish, even an S-rank mission at this moment..." the Hokage continued.
Minato examined the medal before placing it back in the box, closing it, and setting it on the table, then looked directly at the Sandaime. After all, now the real negotiation would begin.
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