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No matter how good and rational Minato is, he can't turn back now.
The person he feels most guilty toward is undoubtedly Kushina. As Hokage, he barely had time to spend with her, and yet she never once complained.
Thirteen years ago, on that fateful night, he protected the village, but let her die before his eyes. Although he managed to preserve a portion of her chakra using a special sealing formula, enabling her to occasionally appear before Naruto, Minato still feels an unrepayable debt.
Now that someone has told him that Kushina can be brought back, his reason is momentarily overwhelmed—he wants to say "yes" without hesitation.
"Actually, it's not a resurrection in the strictest sense," Sasuke explained. "It's more like creating a perfect vessel for Aunt Kushina's soul. This new body would be identical to her original one, so 'resurrection' is a fair term."
"Do I need to prepare anything?" Minato asked, resolute. As Hokage, he had given everything for the village—this time, he wanted to act for himself and for his family.
"All I need is some of Aunt Kushina's hair or DNA. Don't worry, Uncle Minato—this isn't some kind of forbidden technique. It's just an application of my soul-based abilities. You know my power specializes in spiritual-level manipulation—similar to the Yamanaka clan's Mind Body techniques, but far more advanced."
Sasuke added this explanation to calm Minato's concerns.
"Take this," Minato said as he stood and handed Sasuke a special kunai engraved with the words "Sword of Tolerance."
"When I've gathered what you need, I'll notify you using this. If you ever need to reach me for anything else, just channel your chakra into this kunai, and I'll sense it instantly."
Sasuke accepted the kunai, understanding that Minato had agreed.
"All right. Once I've got everything ready, I'll let you know," Sasuke replied.
"Keep that kunai on you at all times," Minato said with a small smile. "If you're ever in danger, just pour chakra into it—I'll come immediately. Consider it a personal favor, not one of the two you already owe me."
Sasuke gave a polite thanks. Even if Minato hadn't said that, Sasuke would've kept the kunai close—carrying a Flying Thunder God marker is like carrying a Kage-level bodyguard. Why wouldn't he?
They didn't say much after that. Sasuke left the Hokage's office and headed to the mission center to collect his reward.
He hadn't actually done much this time. Orochimaru had simply handed over the captured rogue ninja and asked, "Dead or alive?" Sasuke chose death—bringing them back alive was too much of a hassle. The mission was open-ended, so he sealed the body in a scroll and that was that.
Before leaving, Sasuke also helped himself to a full set of Orochimaru's experimental equipment for making synthetic bones. His system space—23m by 23m by 23m—was more than enough to store it.
At the time, Orochimaru looked at Sasuke strangely and asked multiple times about that space technique. Of course, Sasuke couldn't explain that—it was a system function, not something that could be analyzed or passed on. There was no way he'd let Uncle Snake start dissecting his abilities.
Not long after turning in the mission, Sasuke ran into two of Orochimaru's former teammates.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, Naruto, and Shizune were walking down the road. Shizune was holding Tonton in her arms.
During the Chunin Exams, Rock Lee had been gravely injured in his fight with Gaara, and the medical corps deemed him unfit to be a ninja. As a result, Might Guy asked Minato to bring Tsunade back to the village—but at the time, no one knew where she was.
Things played out much like in the original timeline—Jiraiya and Naruto left the village to find Tsunade. No one expected them to return alongside her so soon.
The moment Naruto spotted Sasuke, he sprinted over.
"Sasuke! My dad said you got promoted to Jonin?!" Naruto's expression was filled with disbelief.
"Yeah, just finished my first Jonin mission." Sasuke lifted his chin slightly, tilting his head in a way that made his nostrils face Naruto—a subtle but unmistakable air of arrogance.
Naruto instantly exploded with irritation, the whites of his eyes bulging as he pointed at Sasuke.
"Oi! What's that smug look?! Are you looking down on me!?"
Sasuke blinked in mock surprise. "Huh? Didn't expect you to notice, Chunin."
"AAARRRGGHHH! I'm gonna go apply for Jonin right now! Just wait!" Naruto roared and stormed off toward the Hokage's office.
"Jonin at that age... definitely a genius," Tsunade said with a hint of approval in her voice. "Seems like the village has made real progress."
"Hello, Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama," Sasuke greeted them respectfully with a slight bow.
"Oh? Well-mannered, huh? Doesn't act like a typical Uchiha," Tsunade remarked with surprise.
"Hahaha, a lot's changed while you've been gone. You'll see for yourself soon enough," Jiraiya added with a smile.
"You haven't exactly been around either," Tsunade said, glancing sideways at Jiraiya with suspicion.
"I'm the Toad Sage—I have my ways of keeping tabs," Jiraiya said, striking a flamboyant pose.
Tsunade couldn't help but laugh at his antics.
Sasuke decided to take his leave—if he stayed, he might start choking on the flirtatious air. As the saying goes, a wise man avoids danger... and a single guy avoids couples.
Besides, he still had errands to run. He hadn't bought dinner for Liu Huo yet, and he needed to grab two bags of dango for Itachi while he was out.
After his errands, Sasuke returned home—and to his surprise, the house was quite lively.
Fugaku and Itachi, who were normally busy, were both home. Shisui, Izumi, and Karin from next door were also gathered.
"Sasuke's back! Good timing," Mikoto said from the garden as she watered her flowers. "If you hadn't returned today, your brother was going to send a summoning beast to track you down."
"Sake~!"
Karin ran up and latched onto his arm.
Sasuke noticed that everyone seemed unusually cheerful. Even Fugaku was smiling. Itachi and Izumi, on the other hand, looked slightly flushed—perhaps a bit shy.
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