"The Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"Lord Third Hok age, can I really learn this forbidden technique?"
Namikaze Minato held the jutsu scroll, eyes bright with surprise.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Minato, you've done much for the village. You've earned it."
Minato's smile faded, guilt crossing his face. "No… I failed to control the Nine-Tails. That's why the village suffered so much."
Now he finally understood why Kushina Uzumaki had resisted becoming the Nine-Tails jinchuriki in the first place.
A single moment of carelessness could mean countless deaths. He never wanted to live through that again.
Seeing Minato's expression, Hiruzen shook his head. "Don't blame yourself. Without a special constitution, it's nearly impossible to resist the Nine-Tails' power."
"Before you can control it, travel outside the village for a while."
"Jiraiya will go with you."
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Minato Namikaze's face was resolute. "I will definitely work hard!"
"Alright, you may go."
"Yes!"
After Minato left, Jiraiya body-flickered into the office. "Sensei, even without the Flying Thunder God, Reverse Summoning can pull Minato out of danger."
"I just prefer to be fully prepared," Hiruzen said coolly.
"Then I'll take my leave." Jiraiya turned away without a backward glance.
He couldn't be the kind of "mature" his teacher demanded. Leaving was the best choice.
——
——
Land of Lightning.
Hidden Cloud Village.
Thunder boomed over the mountaintops.
Dressed in black, Kushina Uzumaki faced the direction of the Land of Fire.
"Grandma Mito…"
"Rest well."
She carefully placed a white flower on the ground.
Footsteps sounded behind her. Kushina wiped the tears from her face.
Seeing that it was Yuzuru Uchiha, she gave a wry smile. "Yuzuru, am I being too weak?"
She'd prepared herself to say goodbye—but hearing the news of Mito's passing still brought tears she couldn't hold back.
Someone like Yuzuru must hate this kind of weakness, right?
"Strength isn't refusing to shed a single tear," Yuzuru said seriously. "It's drying your eyes and smiling at what comes next. And I told you before…"
"The reason I get stronger is so the people beside me can live exactly how they want."
Kushina blinked. "You still remember that after all this time?"
"Of course." Yuzuru tapped his chest. "Keeping my word is my ninja way, dattebane!"
"Pfft~"
Kushina rolled her eyes, pinched his waist, and twisted. "Don't you imitate me."
"Hahahahaha…"
As Yuzuru laughed, Kushina threw her arms around him and murmured, "Yuzuru, from now on, you're the only family I have in this world."
"Not 'from now on'—right now."
"Eh?"
At her puzzled look, Yuzuru explained, "Soon there'll be a little Yuzuru or a little Kushina too. They'll be your family as well."
"You—!"
"I'm done talking to you."
She buried her face in the crook of his arm and, flustered, gave him a bite.
Yuzuru hissed through his teeth.
'Such sharp teeth. I'll have to be more careful in the future.' (T/N: is he talking about....? :o )
——
——
Crunch, crunch—
Snow squeaked underfoot, oddly soothing, as Yuzuru strode into the Raikage Building.
In the Raikage's office, the Third Raikage and A were already waiting.
"Yuzuru, you're here," said the Third Raikage.
"Ohayō, Lord Raikage!"
A snorted. "You're late."
Yuzuru's eyes went wide. He stared at A. "How did you know Mikoto knitted me a scarf and Kushina knitted me gloves?"
Bro, seriously?
Who asked?
A stared back, dumbfounded that someone could be this shameless.
But before he could retort, the Third Raikage's large hand had already slapped the back of his head.
"Look at Yuzuru—then look at you!"
"All day long, you're either running around with rocks or fighting with that guy, B. You're worthless. At this rate, when will you ever find a wife?"
A bristled. "Father, you're no different!"
The Third Raikage flew into a rage. "I have my reasons for being like this, but if you're talking back like this, I'll beat you!"
The scene made Yuzuru chuckle.
No wonder A wore a scowl every day. With a dad like this, who wouldn't be dizzy?
"Alright, back to business."
At Yuzuru's voice, both Raikage fell silent.
"Yuzuru, is your plan moving forward?" A asked.
Yuzuru nodded. "Yes. Uzumaki Mito is dead. The new Nine-Tails jinchuriki lost control. The Leaf suffered heavy damage."
"Both villagers and shinobi are furious with the Third Hokage."
"Now is the perfect time to strike the Leaf village."
The Third Raikage and A exchanged a look, excitement glinting in both their eyes.
"Yuzuru," the Third Raikage said gravely, "if we go to war with the Leaf, can we win?"
Even with the Uchiha in the Cloud now, the Leaf still had many powerful shinobi. They couldn't be underestimated.
"It's a sure win," Yuzuru said with confidence. "With me, A, and Killer B, we're more than enough to handle their ninja."
The Third Raikage frowned theatrically. "And what about me?"
"My apologies." Yuzuru grinned wider. "Growing up in the Leaf, I forgot that a village's Kage is also top-tier combat strength."
The Raikage straightened proudly. "Because I'm Kage, I must shoulder that responsibility."
"As for village affairs, we just need a sharp secretary like Mabuma."
As the two got carried away, A cut in, "And the pretext?"
"We could attack outright, but having a reason would be better."
Yuzuru had planned this already. "Demand that the Leaf return all Uchiha assets within the Land of Fire."
"If they refuse, we'll have a reason to attack."
"If we win, the Cloud will become the strongest village in the shinobi world. Mission contracts and the daimyo's funding will increase exponentially."
"And…" Yuzuru swept his arm. "When it's done, I'll only take half of the Uchiha assets the Leaf returns."
"No need," the Third Raikage said heartily. "You've done the most. We won't take a single coin of the Uchiha's property. Worst case, after we win, we'll wring more war reparations out of the Leaf."
In the Raikage's office, Yuzuru, the Third Raikage, and A met each other's eyes—then threw back their heads and laughed.
"Hahahahaha…"