"They did it!"
A brilliant, relieved smile blossomed on Kushina's beautiful face as the golden chakra cloak around her dissipated. All across Konoha, the tense shoulders of shinobi and civilians slumped in relief, their fearful gazes on the moon now replaced with awe and gratitude.
"Go," Minato said, turning to a nearby Anbu. "Inform the other four Kage. The crisis has been averted."
On the silent, scarred surface of the moon, Naruto landed gently in the crater he had created, still holding Hinata's hand. The adrenaline of the battle began to fade, replaced by a charged, awkward silence.
Hinata's face was flushed a deep crimson. She looked at their joined hands, then up at Naruto, her voice barely a whisper. "Naruto-kun… what you said just now…"
"Ah?" Naruto's mind went blank for a second before the memory hit him like a Chidori. Whether it's the Earth or Hinata, I won't let you take away what I love so easily! A panicked heat rushed to his own cheeks. "Oh! Uh, that! I just meant, you know, as a friend! A precious friend! And the Earth is precious too! So it's like… a double precious situation!"
At that moment, Minato's clone landed silently beside the broken form of Toneri. The flustered Naruto and the painfully shy Hinata followed, quickly dropping each other's hands as if they were hot coals. Seeing their youthful awkwardness, a knowing, fatherly smile touched Minato's lips.
He then turned his gaze to the defeated Otsutsuki. "Your plan has failed, Toneri."
Toneri, still struggling to process the totality of his defeat, answered with a trembling voice. "I never imagined… that a human from Earth could possess such power. It seems… I can no longer fulfill the legacy of my ancestors."
"That's because you never understood it," Minato explained, his tone firm but not cruel. "Lord Hamura never intended for the Earth to be destroyed. The legacy you received was a misinterpretation, twisted by generations of your ancestors."
"Why should I believe you?" Toneri shot back, a spark of his old defiance returning.
"Because the will of a truly great person is not so easily extinguished," Minato said respectfully. "Whether it was your ancestor Hamura or his brother, the Sage of Six Paths, their obsession—to protect the world they cherished—still lingers. How else would I have learned the secrets of the Tenseigan so quickly? In the last great war, do you think we could have resolved the crisis without the Sage's guidance?"
"You mean…?" Toneri's eyes widened, the implications of Minato's words dawning on him.
"I think you understand," Minato said, glancing at Naruto and Hinata. "You are right about one thing. Humanity has been caught in a cycle of conflict for centuries. And even though we have peace now, there is no guarantee it will last forever."
He crouched down, meeting Toneri's gaze. "But that is the nature of existence. Peace and war, survival and destruction… they are two sides of the same coin. It is because of loss that we cherish life. It is because of hatred that we can understand the preciousness of love. It is through struggle that bonds are forged, that people learn to understand each other's pain."
"Even if you had destroyed the Earth and created a new humanity, this cycle would have begun anew. You cannot change it, unless you can erase existence itself."
Toneri fell silent, Minato's words striking a chord deep within his isolated soul.
"As one man, what I can do is limited," Minato continued, his gaze distant. "Power fades, and generations pass. The only thing that can truly endure is one's will. The enemies I have faced—Akatsuki, Madara, Obito—they were not born evil. Their pain and their experiences forged their own sense of justice. It is the same for you. But by choosing to destroy the world Hamura sought to protect, you were, in fact, denying the very will you claimed to inherit."
A single tear traced a path through the dust on Toneri's cheek. "I was wrong," he whispered, his voice cracking.
Minato's expression hardened slightly. "You've hurt my friends. You've endangered my family and my entire world. An apology alone cannot mend what you have done." He was no longer the naive young man he once was. Justice required more than simple words.
"I know," Toneri nodded, accepting the weight of his crimes.
"Dad," Naruto interjected, his expression conflicted. He hated what Toneri had done, but looking at the last of a lonely, misguided clan, he couldn't help but feel a sliver of pity. Minato glanced at his son, offering him a subtle, reassuring look that said, I know.
"You will return Hanabi's eyes," Minato stated. "But in exchange, I will see to it that your own eyes are healed."
Toneri looked up, stunned. "You are the Hokage. This… this is not in accordance with the laws of your world, is it?"
"Perhaps not," Minato admitted. "But what's done is done. Simply punishing you is meaningless. Your knowledge, however, is not. I want to make a deal. I want information from you that may help prevent a future disaster."
"What information?" Toneri asked.
Minato's expression became deadly serious. "Everything you know about Otsutsuki Kaguya."
The battle on the moon was over. Minato learned from Toneri that Hamura's true mission was to guard the Gedo Statue sealed within the moon's core. Obtaining the Otsutsuki clan's knowledge of Kaguya and the Ten-Tails was a strategic prize far more valuable than the life of one broken man.
A week passed. Peace and stability returned to the world.
In Konoha's Hokage office, Minato was meeting with an elder. "Elder, thank you for overseeing the repairs to the nursing home."
The old man, a retired shinobi from the Sannin's generation, bowed with a smile. "Think nothing of it, Lord Hokage. It is my honor to serve the village." He left, and Minato stood, looking out the window at the bustling, peaceful village below. A thought, one that had been lingering for some time, finally crystallized in his mind.
Perhaps… it is time.
He turned from the window, his expression resolute. "Anbu," he said softly.
A masked guard appeared in a flicker.
"Gather the village elders. I have an important matter to discuss with them."
Elsewhere in Konoha, on the roof of the Hatake clan compound, Kakashi was lying on his back, doing absolutely nothing. With his hands laced behind his head, he stared lazily at the blue sky, enjoying a rare day off.
Just as he was drifting into a doze, a smiling, white-haired face suddenly filled his vision, blocking out the sun.
"Yo, kid! Taking it easy, are we?"
"Jiraiya-sama?!" Kakashi shot up, his single visible eye wide with shock and delight. "When did you get back?"
"Just now," the Sannin chuckled, taking a seat beside him. "You looked bored out of your mind." He reached into his robes with a theatrical flourish, pulling out a small, plainly-wrapped book. He gave Kakashi a lewd, conspiratorial grin.
"Since you've got nothing better to do," Jiraiya said, his voice dropping to a frivolous whisper, "I thought I'd let you have an early look… at the grand finale of the Icha Icha series!"