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Minato walked across the street, pushed aside the curtain, and entered the ramen shop.
Under the dim yellow light, her red hair was especially striking.
He slowed his steps, looking at his wife, a smile unconsciously curving his lips.
"Is this all you are eating?"
Kushina was slurping noodles, her mouth still stained with green onions and soup.
"Minato."
"Come sit. Teuchi's ramen is the best."
Her voice was full of energy, and as she ate her noodles, she called out to Minato.
"I just love it. It is the best in the whole world." Kushina replied righteously, holding up her bowl like a treasure.
Teuchi, behind the counter, poked his head out with a proud look.
"Lord Fourth, young Miss Kushina is a true connoisseur. Her tongue does not lie."
"My ramen is definitely the most delicious in Konoha... no, in the entire Land of Fire."
Minato chuckled. The vexation that had weighed on his heart for days was diluted by the lively, down-to-earth atmosphere.
He took off his Hokage robe, carefully folded it, and set it aside, then sat next to Kushina.
"Then I will have a bowl too, the same as hers, Uncle."
"Alright. Please wait a moment."
Soon, a steaming bowl of ramen was served, creamy white broth and a fragrant aroma rising.
Minato stirred his noodles, but his mind wandered.
"What is wrong?" Kushina picked up a piece of chashu and, without asking, placed it in his bowl. "Try this. Uncle stewed it especially tender today, it melts in your mouth."
He took a bite. It was indeed delicious, but his thoughts drifted.
He quietly watched Kushina.
Watching her narrow her eyes, take a bite of noodles, then a sip of soup, eating with relish...
That pure joy made guilt rise in his heart.
After finishing their ramen, the two walked side by side on their way home.
It was late, and the streets were empty.
The moonlight spilled down, casting their shadows long.
Kushina hummed an off-key tune, her steps light, but after a few steps she noticed the person beside her was unusually silent.
Minato walked beside her, the smile on his face gone at some point, worry clouding his features.
Kushina stopped and looked up at him.
"Minato."
"Hm?"
"You have something on your mind, do you not?"
Kushina's eyes sparkled in the moonlight.
She reached out and gently smoothed Minato's furrowed brow.
"I have heard about what has been happening in the village recently."
"The Daimyo's matter must be very difficult for you, right?"
Minato fell silent.
He did not want to bring these troubles to Kushina.
He wanted her to always be as carefree and happy as she had been eating ramen just now.
"It is nothing, just some village matters..."
"Minato Namikaze."
Kushina interrupted him, her tone more serious than ever.
"We are husband and wife, are we not?"
"Your troubles are my troubles. I will not allow you to bear them alone, understand?"
Looking at her persistent gaze, the softest part of Minato's heart was touched, and he finally sighed helplessly.
"Alright."
He explained in detail the two decisions from the Daimyo Manor and the severe internal division they had caused in the village.
From the Genius Cultivation Program to the selection of the Guardian Ninja Twelve.
From the fervor of the Uchiha to the despair of the two advisor elders.
His voice grew lower, filled with powerlessness.
"Konoha is being torn apart. The Will of Fire I was proud of is being corrupted by money and power."
"I do not know what to do to stop this."
"As Hokage, I feel like a puppet, hands and feet tied, only able to watch the village slide into an unknown abyss."
After speaking, he irritably ran his hands through his hair, pain on his face.
For days, this problem had tormented him, leaving him restless.
Kushina listened quietly, without interrupting.
Only after he finished did she ask seriously, "Minato, what exactly are we protecting Konoha for?"
Minato was startled.
"Of course, to protect everyone in the village, to guard our shared home."
"Then," Kushina asked again, "now, is the life of most people in the village getting better or worse?"
This question left Minato speechless.
He remembered the excited, flushed faces of those civilian shinobi when they received their first extra subsidy.
He remembered the joy of those small families spreading the news, celebrating their children having a better future.
"But the village's autonomy... the Hokage's authority is being weakened."
Kushina did not let him evade, pressing on. "Are those ninja clans wrong?"
"They want their family stronger, they want their children to have a better future. Is that wrong?"
Minato shook his head with difficulty.
"What about those civilian shinobi?"
"Are they wrong too? They do not want to spend their whole lives doing D-rank missions. They want to become stronger, make a name for themselves, earn more, and give their families a good life. Is that wrong too?"
Minato shook his head again.
He could not refute it.
Because it was not wrong at all.
"I can understand." He closed his eyes in pain. "But they have all forgotten that everyone used to fight for Konoha as a collective. Was the selfless dedication of the Will of Fire wrong?"
"That is because there were no other options before."
Kushina's voice suddenly rose, clear in the quiet night.
"Before, all resources were controlled by the Hokage and a few large clans, so of course they could only fight for the village."
"Because if they did not, they would get nothing. That is not dedication, that is having no choice."
"Now, the Daimyo has given them another choice, one that lets them live better through their own efforts."
"Everyone is striving for a better place. Why should we stop them?"
Minato's mind was in chaos.
Every word from Kushina struck hard at the beliefs he had held since childhood.
The things he had upheld, the Hokage's responsibility and Konoha's traditions, were crumbling inch by inch.
Seeing the lingering confusion and pain on her husband's face, Kushina's heart ached. She stretched out her arms and gently embraced him.
Her cheek rested against his broad, warm chest. Her voice became incredibly gentle, yet full of strength.
"Minato."
"Do not forget."
"You were once a civilian shinobi too."
Boom.
This sentence, like a thunderclap, exploded in Minato's mind.
He froze, his body trembling violently.
Yes.
He had forgotten.
How could he have forgotten?
He had forgotten that he too was once the most ordinary civilian, desperately taking missions to save money for a C-rank ninjutsu scroll, eating only the cheapest military rations for a month.
He had also hidden in the corner of the training ground, enviously watching shinobi from great clans.
They possessed innate bloodline limits, seemingly endless resources, and could effortlessly learn the ninjutsu he yearned for but could not attain.
He had reached where he was thanks to the Third Hokage's recognition, Jiraiya-sensei's guidance, and his own exceptional talent and hundredfold effort.
But in the village, how many could have his luck and talent?
More people struggled at the bottom, never touching the edge of their dreams in their lifetime.
The Daimyo's appearance gave them a chance.
A chance he too had once yearned for.
He had always stood from the Hokage's perspective, high above, thinking about maintaining the village's balance and traditions.
Yet he had forgotten that, for the shinobi struggling at the bottom, this so-called balance was the greatest injustice.
Was the Konoha he wanted to protect truly the Konoha everyone desired?
Under the clear moonlight, Minato's gaze shifted from confusion, to struggle, and finally, to clarity and determination.
He slowly lowered his head and held his wife tightly.
Kushina's smile returned, still gentle.
"Kushina."
"Thank you."
His voice was gentle and firm, no longer confused.
"I... know what to do now."
"For a... Konoha that truly belongs to everyone."
(To be continued.)
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