Minato sat back down in the recliner, but at this moment, he felt tormented in his heart.
This chair wasn't comfortable to begin with. It felt more like a torture device than a place to rest.
Minato's mind raced, deducing countless possibilities.
The Second Great Ninja War had ended not long ago, and Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, had committed suicide only a few years back.
Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure were all still eyeing Konoha, eager to strike again and seize the Land of Fire's resources.
Recently, several small-scale skirmishes had already broken out on the Fire Country's borders.
And the future promised only more escalation.
This mission to Rōran had been given by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, with the goal of earning the favor of Rōran's queen and preventing the Wind Country's Sunagakure from joining any future wars.
After all, since the Second Ninja World War, Konoha had lost two of its most powerful figures—White Fang and Tsunade.
If another war erupted now, Konoha would once again become the target of everyone's aggression.
In Minato's opinion, Konoha's current combat strength couldn't compare to what it had before the last war. Winning another full-scale conflict would be extremely difficult.
His thoughts spiraled until he arrived at what he believed to be the most logical outcome.
"Assistant-sama... could it be that after I become the Fourth Hokage, the Third Great Ninja War breaks out?"
"Kushina happens to be pregnant, but is still forced onto the battlefield..."
"The Jinchūriki is at her weakest during pregnancy. The seal must have failed at that moment."
"And that's when the Nine-Tails broke free and attacked..."
"In the end, I won the war, but I had no choice. I had to sacrifice myself and seal the Nine-Tails into Naruto... Is that right?"
Uchiha Hikaru quietly listened to Minato's reasoning. Although Minato's assumptions were mostly wrong, his conclusion about the Nine-Tails was surprisingly spot-on.
Hikaru didn't know whether to praise Minato for his insight or sigh at his ignorance.
"Minato, you're partly right," Hikaru said calmly.
"The Third Great Ninja War did break out. But with your mastery of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, you turned the tide of the war almost single-handedly."
"You and Kushina died not during wartime, but during the era of peace that followed. And yes, it was because Kushina was pregnant."
"On the day Naruto was born, Obito removed the seal. You fought him—and won—but to seal the Nine-Tails, you still... well, you know the rest."
Minato's mind buzzed. For once, the normally composed shinobi felt utterly out of control.
Hikaru's few short sentences left him drowning in doubt.
I improve the Flying Thunder God so much I can end a war by myself? Am I really that amazing...?
But why would Obito attack Kushina and the village? That's his teacher's wife!
Kushina treated him like a brother—reminded him to be careful before every mission. I was even jealous of how close they were... That bastard betrayed all of that? He attacked Kushina??
Minato's hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked from the force.
The usual warmth in his expression vanished. After learning of Kushina's future death, Minato's calm exterior was overtaken by a deadly aura.
He now radiated the full fury of the "Yellow Flash."
Although he looked like a gentle big brother in the village, Minato was feared by his enemies on the battlefield.
In the future, he would be known as the Golden Flash.
Suppressing the rage boiling in his chest, Minato turned to Hikaru and bowed.
"Thank you, Master Assistant. I understand this might affect the timeline…"
"But I suppose you and I aren't from the same time anyway. After all, I've never heard of you in the village before."
"Don't worry. I'll watch over Obito more closely from now on."
With that, Minato turned and walked away.
He was tempted to abandon the mission right there and then, but he knew that if he wanted to become Hokage, he couldn't afford even one failed assignment.
And so, all of Minato's fury turned inward—into resolve.
As he headed to regroup with Shikaku and Choza, he muttered to himself repeatedly:
"Obito... you traitorous bastard..."
"If you behave, I won't interfere."
"But if I ever find you crossing the line... I, the future Fourth Hokage, will personally—"
Uchiha Hikaru watched Minato's figure fade into the distance. He almost called out to stop him.
But then he remembered that he'd meet Minato again soon—and would need him to avoid sealing the Dragon Vein.
He didn't want to spend three days breaking that godforsaken seal again (￣︿￣).
Better to save the full explanation for then. Although... leaving him in suspense is kinda fun. But just in case Madara goes nuts and really decides to nuke Konoha... better not risk it.
Hikaru packed up the two lounge chairs and looked up at the blazing sun. He mentally calculated the time.
The ceremony should be starting soon. Might as well check it out. If Mukade has backup plans, I need to catch them early.
After all, this was his second time messing with the timeline. If he hadn't made extra preparations, that'd be way too careless.
Cautious as always, Hikaru dashed away from the ruins, flickering between buildings at lightning speed toward the center of Rōran.
It wasn't long before he saw the puppet-infested civilians down below. Queen Sāra stood among them, dressed in a flowing purple gown trimmed with red that matched her hair.
She wore a white top hat perched atop her head.
Hikaru glanced at the hat and grimaced slightly. That thing's so weird—it ruins the whole aesthetic (´-ω-`)...
Just then, he noticed something strange about the two puppet soldiers behind her.
One of them—on the right—suddenly extended a hand from beneath its cloak and shoved Sāra in the back.
Caught off guard, she stumbled forward.
The moment her feet hit the edge of the platform, the stone beneath her gave way and collapsed.
Sāra screamed in shock, panic seizing her voice:
"Ahhh! Help~!!"
―――
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