"Minato..."
The black-robed figure spat out the name through gritted teeth, eyes locked on Minato and his companions, fists clenched tight, gaze growing even darker and more venomous.
"Shin, I will take away everything from you, little by little, bit by bit, until you wish you were dead. I will make you into something neither man nor ghost."
The black-robed man removed the black mask he had been wearing. The right half of his face was a grotesque, twisted mess of pale white flesh, warped into spiral-like folds.
The other half looked normal, but the expression on it was so ferocious it hardly seemed human, more like a bloodthirsty beast.
This visage had already strayed far from the realm of humanity, yet if Shin were here, he would have recognized him instantly.
It was none other than Hanma, once crippled by him.
After a long moment, his fists loosened and his expression relaxed slightly, though the seething hatred in his eyes did not diminish.
Having witnessed Minato's power with his own eyes, he was forced to calm down.
He knew that his chances of a successful attack at this moment were slim. The Flying Thunder God Technique was too troublesome; it could easily ruin all his plans. To have his revenge, he would need the right opportunity.
He was no longer the man he used to be, he had learned patience.
But thinking of this only deepened his hatred for Minato.
Why was it that he had to lose so much, endure every agony in this world, just to gain his strength, while someone like you could have it all without losing anything?
Damn you. Damn you!
But don't get too pleased with yourself. This is only the beginning. You are in the light, I am in the shadows... and with the power I now possess, I will make you understand the true meaning of regret.
As his emotions boiled over, the tomoe patterns in his Sharingan eyes shifted under his control, finally transforming into a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, radiating a scarlet glow.
He watched for a while longer, then sank into the earth and vanished.
Throughout it all, Minato, despite his extraordinary sensory abilities, did not notice a thing.
After calming the situation and having Hizashi treat the family that had been held hostage, Minato and the others departed.
Hizashi was now a medical-nin. Though his training time had been short and his healing skills still developing, his talent was undeniable.
The Hyūga clan was naturally gifted at precise chakra control.
Byakugan could see through the flow of chakra, the opponent's meridians and acupoints, and could even inject chakra into another person to manipulate the flow within their body.
This gave them a natural advantage in learning medical ninjutsu, making things like CT scans, X-rays, or MRIs completely unnecessary.
However, the Hyūga clan had strict rules: every member could only learn the Gentle Fist, and no other jutsu.
Yet he had not only learned medical ninjutsu, he had studied other techniques as well.
By now, it would be no exaggeration to call him the strongest of the Hyūga clan.
He could fight up close, attack from range, scout, and heal, a true all-rounder.
---
In an empty field outside a small town, Minato and his two companions sat on the ground.
But none of them spoke.
Minato felt heavy-hearted, and so did Hizashi and Fugaku.
As his thoughts wandered, Minato recalled something Mito had told him not long ago:
"To become an outstanding Hokage, you must have an unshakable heart."
"Did Hashirama want to raise his hand against Madara? That was his dearest friend."
"Did Tobirama want to disband the Senju clan? They were all his beloved kin and friends."
"But for the sake of the village, there are times when you must make decisions that cause you great pain."
"The position of Hokage has never been about power, only about the weight of responsibility."
"When you truly understand this and carry it out with firm resolve, that is when you are qualified to become Hokage."
"Hiruzen never understood this truth, and that's why he ended up in such a pitiful state."
When Mito had said these words, Minato hadn't felt their weight very strongly. After all, when something hadn't happened to you personally, it was hard to truly empathize.
But at this moment, he understood completely.
"All right, enough being sad!" Minato, having adjusted his mood, turned to his two companions. "Takahashi and the others passed away peacefully."
"In the future, we'll definitely face this kind of situation again. It's time we start getting used to it."
"And there's one thing we must understand."
Meeting his companions' eyes, Minato said, "What we did was the right thing, wasn't it?"
At his words, a glint flashed in the eyes of Hizashi and Fugaku, and the knot in their hearts loosened a little.
"As long as it's the right thing, we must do it, even if it hurts inside. We can't allow ourselves a moment's hesitation."
"That's the resolve a real man should have!" Minato said with a serious face.
"Arrogant!" Fugaku snorted, feeling much better inside but pretending to be unimpressed.
"Always so full of yourself," Hizashi added.
The three of them exchanged glances, and then burst out laughing.
Two days later, the three-man squad returned to Konoha.
After taking the bodies of Takahashi and the others from the storage scroll and handing in their mission, Minato headed straight for the Hokage's office to request permission to handle Takahashi's funeral arrangements.
After he recounted the mission in detail, Tsunade's mood grew heavy as well. But she knew that anyone who did wrong would have to pay the price.
"I approve your request to take care of their funeral arrangements," Tsunade said with a hint of comfort. "However, it must be done in secret. No one can know."
"Heh, I knew you would agree!" Minato scratched his head sheepishly and grinned.
"Enough, drop the act in front of me. For the next week, you have no outside missions."
"I'm giving you one day off. After that, report to the office."
"Huh? Only one day?" Minato's face fell immediately.
I'm only ten years old, who works a kid this hard?
"Complain any more, and you won't even get one day."
"Fine..." Minato felt like crying.
Ever since he showed exceptional talent on the battlefield, no one's treated him like a child, and whenever there was a problem, they came straight to him.
After burying Takahashi and the others, Minato and his companions set up a blank gravestone for them, then informed their families that they could come to pay respects at any time.
They deliberately left off the names, worried that the families of comrades who had died because of them might dig up the graves and, like his brother, grind their bones to dust.
After visiting the Senju clan compound to chat with Mito and Kushina, he used the Flying Thunder God to leave Konoha.
"Minato-nii?" Seeing Minato suddenly appear, Konan, who was in the middle of training, immediately ran over, overjoyed, and threw herself into his arms.
"Heh, Konan, how was your week?" Minato asked, ruffling her hair.
"It was great!" Konan couldn't wait to share everything she had done over the past week with him.