"Ugh… this kid."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, rubbing his temples.
Asuma had become more rebellious than ever—
Losing his temper at the slightest provocation.
But deep down, Hiruzen knew—
This was his own fault.
He had neglected Asuma, so now, the boy wanted nothing to do with him.
If he pushed too hard, their father-son relationship would only deteriorate further.
That—was not what he wanted.
"You…"
At that moment, Biwako Sarutobi—his wife—spoke up with a helpless shake of her head.
"Honestly, Hiruzen…"
She sighed, her tone filled with disapproval.
"Because of Uchiha Gen, Asuma has been training harder than ever. His strength has improved rapidly, and even his relationship with you has softened somewhat."
"So why… why would you do something like this?"
"Don't let other people's opinions cloud your judgment."
"You are Hokage. You are the leader of Konoha."
"As Hokage, how can you allow yourself to be influenced by others? Just because a young genius has emerged—just because some people are jealous and afraid—you suddenly become wary of him?"
Biwako didn't need to ask to know who had planted these ideas in her husband's mind.
It was Danzo Shimura—without a doubt.
That man's hatred of the Uchiha clan was borderline obsessive.
But Danzo's paranoia should not dictate Konoha's future.
Suppressing geniuses out of fear was a dangerous mindset.
Hiruzen needed to think for himself.
"Just drop it," Hiruzen replied impatiently, waving her off.
"I know what I'm doing."
If he were a man who could let go of power so easily—
He wouldn't be the Third Hokage.
Biwako sighed heavily.
"…Fine. Do as you wish."
She had said her piece.
Cloud Shinobi Battlefield
Under Hatake Sakumo's relentless assault—
With Minato and Jiraiya backing him up—
A and Killer B were being pushed further and further back.
It was turning into a disaster for Cloud Shinobi.
At the main camp, C—one of Cloud's elite strategists—urgently addressed A.
"Ai, we can't keep this up!"
"I know you want to use this war to solidify your position as the new Raikage—"
"But at this rate, you're going to lose support instead."
"Look around. Even our own people are beginning to doubt you."
"Back home, the village council is already divided. Some factions want to cut off our supply lines."
"If we continue fighting, we're only making things worse for ourselves."
Cloud Shinobi's supply routes were at risk of collapse.
And Konoha—having already defeated Sand Shinobi—was gaining momentum.
They could turn their full attention to Cloud at any moment.
"This war should've ended two months ago," C added.
A clenched his fists.
"Damn it!"
Cloud's internal politics were a nightmare.
His father—Third Raikage—had died to protect their retreat.
And yet—
Now, people were questioning his leadership?
"Those fools in the village…"
"They criticize my father's decision to invade the Land of Frost—but they ignore the benefits it brought!"
"They refuse to see how we weakened Rock Shinobi!"
"They don't even understand that my father died for them!"
A was furious.
"How dare they undermine everything we fought for?"
C sighed.
"This is just how people are, Ai."
No matter how much one accomplished—there would always be those who wanted more.
A took a deep breath.
"…Fine."
He exhaled sharply.
"We're pulling out."
"Once I secure my position in the village, we'll regroup—and then we'll take the fight to Konoha and Rock again."
"Understood!"
C bowed.
That night—Cloud Shinobi abruptly withdrew from the battlefield.
By the time Konoha noticed, they were already gone.
"Senior Sakumo, should we pursue them?" Minato asked.
Sakumo shook his head.
"They've already crossed into the Land of Lightning."
"If we push too far, we'll walk into an ambush instead. We're better off returning to the Land of Fire."
"This war is over."
Minato smiled faintly.
He had been traveling from battlefield to battlefield for years now.
Finally—
It was time to go home.
The Country of Hot Water
During their retreat, Minato's group stopped in a small village.
Then—
Minato sensed something unusual.
"This feeling…"
"A powerful life force?"
"Red hair?"
"An Uzumaki?"
He immediately went to investigate.
Konoha – Uchiha Gen's New Ability
[You have combined Kirlia's telepathy with your own spiritual power and successfully developed Mind Reading.]
[Mind Reading]:
Allows the user to read the thoughts and memories of anyone with lower mental power and willpower.
Gen's eyes shone with excitement.
"This… is a game-changer."
"With this, gathering intel will be effortless!"
"And I won't even need to knock people out anymore!"
In just one day, he mastered the technique.
Soon after—
[You have analyzed various Shadow Clone techniques and upgraded Divine Clone Technique to Divine Clone Technique 2.0.]
[Divine Clone Technique 2.0]:
Allows the user to maintain two clones at the same time.
Gen sighed.
"Only two? I was hoping for more… but it's a start."
Still—this was perfect for what he had planned.
He immediately created one clone and gave it an order.
"Your mission is to go to the Land of Rain."
"Find a way to infiltrate the Akatsuki and make contact with Nagato."
"Be discreet—don't let Madara notice you."
"Understood!"
The Divine Clone nodded before vanishing in a flash of Flying Thunder God.
Just as Gen was about to return to his research—
A sudden memory surfaced in his mind.
"Minato invited me to dinner?"
"He specifically asked me to bring Kushina and Rena…"
Gen raised an eyebrow.
"What is this guy up to?"
Kushina and Rena had the same reaction.
"Is he still not over it?" Kushina muttered.
But they decided to go and find out.
Meeting Uzumaki Mia
At Akamichi BBQ, they spotted Minato waving them over.
Next to him—
Sat a red-haired girl.
Kushina's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Wait a second…"
"Are you from the Uzumaki Clan?"
The girl hesitated.
Before she could answer—
Rena's eyes widened in shock.
"…Mia?"
Uzumaki Mia turned, equally surprised.
"Rena?"
For a moment—both girls just stared at each other.
Then—
Rena rushed forward.
"It's really you!"
She grabbed Mia's hands, eyes filled with emotion.
"We were separated years ago! What happened to you?"
Minato laughed sheepishly.
"I found her in the Land of Hot Water."
Uchiha Gen smirked.
"You really do have a thing for redheads, huh?"
Minato scratched his head, grinning.
"Guess it's just fate!"..
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