Mikoto also took out the lunch she had prepared earlier.
If Kushina were to cook, she wasn't sure she would make it back alive.
"..."
Mikoto shot Kushina an annoyed look.
Kushina, now recovered, wasn't stupid — how could she not understand Mikoto's meaning?
"Alright!"
"That's great!"
"..."
What's with that look of relief on your face? How much do you despise my cooking? That's really disheartening, you know!
A dejected Kushina glared fiercely at Mikoto but said nothing.
Mikoto had been taking care of her these past few days.
That alone made Kushina feel deeply grateful to Uchiha Mikoto.
"Don't worry, Mikoto. If Minato becomes Hokage, we'll definitely improve the Uchiha Clan's current situation!"
Kushina knew well how the Uchiha Clan was treated in the village.
"..."
Why do you still think Minato Namikaze can become Hokage?
Even if this label of Konoha's sinner were cleared someday, Minato Namikaze would never again be qualified to contend for the Hokage's seat.
But faced with her friend's earnest gaze, Mikoto couldn't bring herself to say it.
She simply nodded.
---
On the other side, after several days of travel, Jiraiya finally led a thousand shinobi to the Konoha forward camp near the Hidden Cloud Village.
What greeted his eyes was devastation — a camp bombed into ruins, with only a little over a hundred dispirited Konoha shinobi remaining.
Even though Jiraiya had brought reinforcements, their reaction was barely a flicker — just a faint lift of the eyes before they sank back into despair.
"Sigh…"
Jiraiya could tell at a glance that this defeat had struck them deeply.
Without saying much, he raised a hand.
At his signal, the thousand reinforcements began to rebuild the camp in an orderly fashion.
Though this battle was lost, Konoha had not yet been defeated.
The war had to continue.
"Lord Jiraiya!"
At that moment, Nara Shikaku — his injuries recently healed — approached, flanked by Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chōza.
In the past, Shikaku had shown deep respect toward Jiraiya of the Sannin.
But now, he only gave the man a cold glance, offered a curt greeting, and said nothing more.
"Uh…"
Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly.
He could feel it — they resented his disciple, Minato Namikaze.
"Uh, Shikaku, you…"
He wanted to defend Minato, but before he could continue, Shikaku cut him off.
"Lord Jiraiya, this time, our Ino–Shika–Chō formation sent many excellent ninja from our clans. Now, only the three of us remain alive."
"..."
This time, Jiraiya truly had no words.
Inoichi and Chōza said nothing, but they stood firmly at Shikaku's sides — silent, but united in their resentment.
Their eyes bored into Jiraiya.
Not only them, but almost every surviving shinobi in the camp looked at him the same way — cold, indifferent, not even a hint of joy that Konoha's legendary Sannin had arrived to reinforce them.
All because he was Minato Namikaze's teacher.
In their eyes, if Minato hadn't interfered — if Aoyama Ryuyun had remained commander — they would never have suffered such a devastating defeat against the Hidden Cloud.
"I…"
Jiraiya opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
That heavy silence, that powerlessness — it crushed him from the inside.
Finally, Shikaku stepped aside and spoke in a flat tone.
"Minato Namikaze is still in the command tent. His injuries have recovered."
"Thank you."
Jiraiya didn't hesitate. He immediately turned and strode toward the tent.
When he entered, he found Minato Namikaze sitting against the wall, looking utterly dejected.
"Minato."
Seeing his most gifted disciple in such a state made Jiraiya's heart twist in pain.
"Teacher…"
For the first time in days, Minato's eyes regained a flicker of life. Tears welled up instantly.
"Teacher, I'm a sinner! I'm Konoha's sinner! It's all my fault — everything is my fault!"
Unable to hold back anymore, Minato broke down and cried.
These past days, he hadn't dared to step outside the tent — he couldn't bear the hateful stares of his comrades.
More than once, he'd wished he had died beneath the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball.
"Teacher… I finally understand now — the pain that the White Fang of Konoha once felt."
A bitter smile twisted his lips, his eyes clouded with despair.
Back then, Sakumo Hatake had probably endured the same hopelessness — the same condemnation — that drove him to take his own life.
Sometimes, rumors and hatred could destroy a shinobi more completely than any jutsu.
Slap!
Jiraiya's hand cracked sharply across Minato's face.
"Teacher?"
Minato looked up in shock, meeting Jiraiya's furious glare.
"Pull yourself together, Minato! This is just one failure! Don't forget — you still have me! You still have Kushina! And even that old man Hiruzen still believes in you!
Do you really want to throw everything away and die here like a coward?!"
Minato froze.
His entire life had been smooth sailing — top of his class at the Academy, handpicked by one of the Sannin, recognized by the Hokage, creator of the Rasengan, and master of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He had never truly tasted failure.
"I…"
"If you think you've done wrong," Jiraiya barked, "then atone for it!"
"Atonement…?"
"Don't forget — the Hidden Cloud hasn't been defeated yet! The Third Great Shinobi War is far from over!
Are you really going to sit here sulking for the rest of it?"
"..."
Jiraiya's words hung in the air for a long time before Minato finally lifted his head.
The emptiness in his eyes slowly hardened into resolve.
"I want to atone. I'm a sinner now… so I must atone."
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