"System..." Uzumaki Jun sighed, silently called out to the system, and said, "Did we succeed?"
"According to the information collected..." the system's electronic voice sounded again, "We should have returned to the original time-space."
"What is the current time?" Uzumaki Jun fell silent after hearing this, muttering, "We came back after all."
"Early October, Year 48 of Konoha. We were gone for about a year."
"..."
I see...
A year has already passed. The child must be born by now...
A faint smile unconsciously appeared on Uzumaki Jun's lips as he murmured, "They should all be okay, right?"
He sighed inwardly...
He had been gone for a year. Who knows what state the Land of Whirlpools is in now...
He lifted his foot and walked deeper inside...
He remembered something should still be preserved inside...
Uzumaki Jun walked deeper in, looking at what appeared before his eyes, a coffin that was originally under the protection of the Dragon Vein, a...
coffin made of gold sand, covered in sealing formulas...
"I hope Chimiko ultimately followed my instructions!"
He should have realized it sooner...
In the current ninja world, aside from himself, there was probably no one else who could seal his chakra and cause him to briefly lose consciousness.
And...
Looking at the broken seal in front of him...
"I never thought I'd see this again after over a thousand years..." Uzumaki Jun said with emotion, "It feels like only an instant has passed."
"We indeed only experienced an instant. Time-space travel was completed in the blink of an eye." The familiar electronic voice sounded.
"..."
Shut up!
Don't speak unless I tell you to. Can't you see I'm being emotional here?
Uzumaki Jun expressionlessly removed the seal, pressed down hard, and it all turned to dust...
Now that he knew the Dragon Vein was something he left behind himself back then, there was no need to take it back to the Land of Whirlpools. Moreover...
The energy inside was already used up when he traveled back. It would probably take hundreds of years to fill up again...
He looked down at the golden coffin before him...
"Meeting again after a thousand years!" Uzumaki Jun's lips unconsciously turned up slightly as he murmured, "You're going to be very surprised later!"
For him, it might have been just a blink of an eye, but for Kaguya-hime and Chimiko, it was...
a wait of over a thousand years...
Uzumaki Jun took a deep breath, calming the excitement in his heart, reached out to undo the seal, and gently pushed open the coffin made of gold sand...
This coffin and the Dragon Vein were specially created by him for Chimiko's survival, after all...
Aside from the Ōtsutsuki clan who might be long-lived, or those who fused with the Chakra God Tree, it's far too difficult for others to achieve longevity.
"Chimiko..." Uzumaki Jun pushed open the coffin, about to wake Chimiko, when he suddenly froze...
He stared quietly inside the coffin...
"Where is Chimiko?"
There...
Lying there was only a single...
milk candy, commonly found everywhere in the Land of Whirlpools...
...
"How are things in the Land of Whirlpools?" Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff, looked at Danzō who was half-squinting, sighed, and said, "We can only succeed in this battle, otherwise..."
He stood up, placing his hands behind his back...
"The ninja villages will truly become history."
"That Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools isn't there, so it should be fine." Danzō yawned, nodded, opened his eyes, looked at the worried Hiruzen before him, and said, "After all, this time it's not just the Five Great Ninja Villages."
"Perhaps." Sarutobi Hiruzen looked out the window, his face calm as he watched the villagers coming and going outside, saying, "But remember, we must not let our guard down at any moment."
For some reason...
Since morning, his eyelid had been twitching, as if something bad was about to happen...
This feeling...
Was just like back when their teacher covered their retreat, and he sensed their teacher wouldn't return...
Sorrow mixed with a trace of fear...
"That girl Kushina is about to give birth, right?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen lifted his right hand holding the smoking pipe, took a puff...
"I've already told Biwako and Koharu to pay attention."
A faint, relieved smile appeared on his face as he said, "This is Konoha's future."
Where the leaves dance, the fire also burns endlessly. The fire's light will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout.
Therefore, for the sake of the Fourth Hokage's son being able to live strongly, become a pillar supporting Konoha, and shoulder Konoha's future...
As the Third Hokage, he was already prepared to let Minato's son grow up amidst hardships.
And this...
Is what a jinchūriki must experience.
Only then will their heart become stronger, not giving up when facing difficulties, and finally...
Take on the responsibility of Konoha, inheriting the Will of Fire!
"I..." Danzō, upon hearing Hiruzen's words, was speechless. He knew that when his good friend called him over alone for no reason, it definitely wasn't for anything good. He sighed and said, "The Fourth Hokage is still alive!"
Aren't you afraid he'll get mad if you mess with his son like this?
"This is all for Konoha." Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and said, "I treat Minato's son as my own grandson. Only this way will he not be corrupted by the Nine-Tails' evil chakra in the future."
He shook his head, looking at Danzō with disappointment...
"Minato will understand my difficulties."
And you...
As my best friend, you don't understand my good intentions?
"..."
Stop it. If that's the case, why don't you just say it directly to Minato?
Otherwise, just do it secretly yourself, wouldn't that be fine?
Why call me over?
Danzō looked helplessly at Sarutobi Hiruzen, fell silent for a moment, and said, "You are Konoha's light, I am Konoha's shadow."
But...
You can't set me up like this!
Tell me, as the shadow of Konoha, what dirty deeds have I done that you don't know about? Probably even my plots against your life, you know about them. And even though my reputation in Konoha is already mud...
Still...
I still have hope, I still have dreams to realize. You must understand...
He was already over fifty. If he doesn't work hard now, it will be too late.
Danzō had something he didn't know if he should say. He wiped the corner of his eye, lifted his head, and looked quietly at Hiruzen. Finally, he sighed and said, "You will regret this, Hiruzen!"
Then...
Bent over, his back hunched, he walked out of the office...
Because he knew, whether he agreed or not was already irrelevant. Hiruzen called him over just to tell him one thing...
This matter is handed over to you!!!
...
In a Konoha courtyard...
A woman with long golden hair stroked her swollen belly, a smile on her face as she looked at the courtyard dyed golden by the evening glow, murmuring, "Minato, when will you return?"
You've been gone for half a year already. If you don't come back soon, you'll miss the birth of your child...
...
"Konoha..." A mysterious man wearing a red cloud-patterned black cloak, with a yellow spiral mask on his face, looked quietly at Konoha shrouded in the evening, and said faintly, "Still the same as always~"
No matter when you look at it...
Konoha always appears so gentle, so peaceful, but...
The darkness buried deep beneath the roots of Konoha's towering tree...
Who has seen it, or experienced it?
He looked at this peaceful Konoha...
Remembering everything the Uchiha had sacrificed for Konoha in the past...
Blood, tears, and sweat...
In the end, what they received was nothing but infamy!
He sighed inwardly, murmuring, "Let..."
all the hatred end with him here...