With Kumogakure already withdrawn, Konohagakure had been freed of its rear concerns, and the Second Northern Command Headquarters could now be dismantled.
That very night, before departing, Minato discussed the matter with Hiashi and the other jōnin, then made the decision.
Early the next morning, Hiashi led a portion of the Konohagakure shinobi who had long remained on the front lines, along with the wounded, back to the village. A certain number of branch family shinobi were left to proceed to the First Command Headquarters as tactical support.
Hiashi had no objections and readily accepted.
In this battle, the Hyūga Clan had taken the lead. Not only had they held off the Kumogakure shinobi within the Land of Hot Water in the north, but under his command they had now essentially eliminated that contingent of Kumogakure forces.
The credit that could be gained had already been secured. He was fully satisfied. Continuing to remain on the front lines held no meaning and, in fact, posed greater risk to him than to other Konohagakure shinobi.
It was not only Kumogakure that coveted the Byakugan of the main family. Anyone who saw an opportunity would not let it pass.
Hiashi was more clear-headed than Fugaku. The Hyūga Clan's position within Konohagakure was fixed. The Byakugan would always serve as a strategic pillar of the village—reliable and controllable. No matter who became Hokage, they would have to rely on the Hyūga's strength. Their status was secure regardless of circumstances.
For that reason, even though Konohagakure consistently proclaimed the Will of Fire, it could ignore the existence of the main-branch and branch-family system, and it had never made an issue of it.
As for the ambitions of the Uchiha, he naturally understood them. But that was not something the Hyūga should take the initiative to involve themselves in. At the same time, Hiashi also believed that Fugaku was engaged in futile effort.
Was it not good enough to remain a prestigious clan of the shinobi world? Whoever became Hokage would still have to rely on the great clans' strength. Why insist on climbing to that position and bearing everyone's scrutiny?
The wisdom of clan survival, passed down for a thousand years in the shinobi world, told him that if one desired certain things, one should simply prepare and wait for the proper timing. To force matters blindly often led to poor endings.
Those great shinobi clans that had vanished into history were proof of that.
...
Makoto and the group of shinobi who had only just arrived at the northern front were naturally not among those returning to the village.
The next day, their squad departed with the main force for the Konohagakure Northern Command Headquarters camp, located at the junction of the Land of Fire, the Land of Rice Paddies, and the Land of Hot Water.
Their mission was to replace some shinobi who had already served on the front lines for too long.
The Third Shinobi World War was visibly approaching its end, and Konohagakure finally had enough strength to carry out rotations.
The two locations were not far apart, and there was no need for the troops to march in haste. Maintaining a relatively steady pace, they reached their destination at noon.
The moment Makoto arrived, he was subjected to an extremely intense gaze attack. Although the attacker possessed neither the Sharingan nor the Ketsuryūgan, he wielded a certain dōjutsu of the shinobi world with formidable lethality.
[Bloodline Secret Art: The Loving Father's Gaze]
Inside the camp barracks, Higashino Jirō—whom he had not seen for some time—stared at his own son and mocked him aloud: "Not bad, Makoto. I'm truly gratified. You've already far surpassed me—you even dared to challenge the Raikage one-on-one."
In truth, it had not been that long since the father and son last saw each other. After all, the front lines were not fighting every single day, and from time to time they would accommodate certain shinobi's needs to return to the village to visit family or recover from injuries.
At a jōnin's speed, a round trip between the front lines and Konohagakure did not take too long.
However, after years of war, compared to before, Jirō—now close to thirty—looked far more weathered. There was a scar on the left side of his face that extended down to his neck, left behind after a battle with Iwagakure's Explosion Corps.
Back then, he had very nearly been blown to death.
Even a jōnin could lose his life on the battlefield if he was not careful—let alone chūnin, or even genin.
Makoto spread his hands. "No choice, Father. I just mocked that guy a few times—who would've thought the Raikage, of all people, would be so petty? When he couldn't win the argument, he just started throwing punches. I can't exactly turtle up, can I? Didn't you teach me from childhood that shinobi need the courage to face battle head-on?"
"When I taught you that, I didn't tell you to go face a village's Kage. A Kage should be dealt with by someone of Kage level. What's shameful about you, a brat, turtling up? Dying would be the real joke."
"But I didn't die, did I?"
"…"
Jirō suddenly got stuck, then felt a bit wistful.
Yes—his son had not only withstood the Raikage's assault, but in the end he had been completely fine, even reaping the title "Shield of Konohagakure" for free.
A shinobi gaining a name in the shinobi world was extremely difficult. He had fought on the front lines for so long, and aside from scars, he had nothing.
He sighed inwardly. He used to think his son was a genius comparable to Kakashi. Now it seemed he had misjudged—his son's genius had already surpassed his understanding.
Thinking of that, he could not help feeling proud. As expected of my son. But then, thinking of the fact that he had fought the Raikage one-on-one truly made people worry. And so happiness and worry intertwined—neither emotion could be fully released—leaving him feeling extremely stifled and uncomfortable.
For a time, he had nothing to say.
"All right, Jirō—Makoto is perfectly fine, isn't he? He's been mature since he was little. He won't do anything he isn't confident about," Uzuki Yūya offered a word of reassurance. Then he looked at Makoto with the eyes of an appraiser. "Not bad, Makoto—oh, no, that's not right. It should be 'Hero of Konohagakure,' 'Shield of Konohagakure.' Oh my, when you put it that way, you've already got two titles."
"Yūya-ojisan, just forget it. They don't sound good."
"Oh? You're even picky? A genius's brain really is different. Come on, genius—show us those amazing ninjutsu you developed yourself. Let us broaden our horizons."
"No problem."
These were the people closest to Makoto in the shinobi world, those at the very innermost circle of what he defined as his Konohagakure companions. Naturally, there was nothing to hide. He immediately demonstrated each technique one by one and explained the principles in detail.
Even when the so-called Konoha F4 had asked before, he had not concealed anything. The same rule applied—anyone in Konohagakure who wanted to learn could come to him. The premise was that they had to be capable of learning it.
Only the special natural energy training was his true foundation. That, he had never told anyone.
Before he had grown to a certain level, he would absolutely not speak of it. That was protection for the people around him.
Jirō and Yūya were jōnin, after all. Their insight might not compare to Danzō's, but it was not poor. They quickly discovered the crux of the issue.
All of Makoto's ninjutsu demanded chakra control to an extreme, almost perverse degree. It was not something ordinary shinobi could handle.
How was one supposed to learn that? Learn it with one's head? Sure enough, ordinary people and geniuses operated on different frequencies.
Yūya suddenly felt that the jōnin title he had finally fought his way to no longer felt so impressive. Compared to Makoto's control over chakra, he seemed like a fool waving a blade around at random.
But he could not be the only unlucky one. If someone had to be foolish, everyone would be foolish together.
He looked at the person leaning against the doorway and asked, "Hey, Kumomi-nii, after half a year as a team leader jōnin, have you learned anything from your own student?"
Can't outdo the student, but I can't outdo you? Kumomi replied, "Have you learned the 'Vacuum Blade' I developed? If you haven't, then shut up."
Yūya: "…"
So infuriating. He shifted targets and bullied his daughter instead. "Yūgao, Makoto isn't just your teammate—he's your sensei too. What have you and Hayate learned?"
Hayate, Yūgao: "..."
Yūgao felt that this father was probably no longer worth keeping. She might as well change her surname to Higashino. It would happen sooner or later anyway.
Jirō looked at his son with eyes full of gratification and said, "Makoto has shown unparalleled control over chakra since childhood. That's innate. Let's not force it."
"Let's first practice 'Vacuum Blade' properly. As for reaching Makoto's level, I doubt anyone can. If Makoto's future child inherits that talent, perhaps it might be possible."
Hearing this, Yūya's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, you're right."
He thought of the close relationship between Uzuki Yūgao and Higashino Makoto and felt secretly satisfied. The descendants of your Higashino family would also be descendants of my Uzuki family, wouldn't they?
Blood profit!
Thinking of this, the look he cast toward Kumomi unconsciously became superior again, leaving the latter completely baffled.
If not for the two families being old friends, I would have drawn my sword and cut you down already, you bastard.
...
After arriving on the northern front, Makoto joined the mobile patrol unit where his father served. After a few days, he discovered that it was even more idle than when he had been on the eastern front.
Every day was either training or wandering along the border.
Iwagakure and Kumogakure had suddenly lowered their banners and drums, seemingly unwilling to continue the war.
But that was impossible. Because of the Third Raikage, the enmity between both sides had grown too deep. Unless Kumogakure made Ōnoki bleed enough, they would not let it go.
Konohagakure remained on guard, preventing itself from being drawn into it.
Under such circumstances, Minato was recalled to Konohagakure by a single order, and the northern front was handed entirely to Jiraiya.
Makoto calculated the timing and knew that Sarutobi Hiruzen was probably preparing the latter to assume the position of Hokage.
Although in the Third Shinobi World War Konohagakure had beaten its opponents one by one and emerged as the greatest victor of the shinobi world, it had paid a tremendous price, suffering heavy casualties.
Not only that, but in negotiations with Sunagakure, it had not gained much benefit. The main reason was that the other side was too poor. The Third Hokage feared that pressing too hard would obstruct the path to peace.
Talks with Iwagakure were also stalled. Even regarding Konohagakure's not overly excessive demands, Ōnoki kept delaying, refusing to budge.
During this period, some unfavorable rumors began to spread within Konohagakure. Shinobi and villagers alike had accumulated considerable resentment and needed an outlet.
The Third Hokage knew whose handiwork it was, but he did not order it forcibly suppressed. He decided to hang the villagers' anger upon himself and bear it alone, acting as the pressure valve, then resign in due course to clear the path for Namikaze Minato's ascension.
As for the other candidates who could compete for the Hokage position…
His beloved disciple, Orochimaru, had been pushed to Danzō under the pretext of restraining the Root, which also served as a warning regarding Danzō's petty maneuvers. But it seemed that matters had developed beyond his control. Intelligence indicated that the two were getting along rather well—so there was certainly something being kept from him.
Jiraiya had no interest in politics and was wholeheartedly promoting his disciple Minato.
As for the accompanying candidate, Uchiha Fugaku? If the frontline intelligence was accurate, he had already made arrangements.
You like to accumulate merit? I will satisfy you.
No matter what, he trusted his teacher Tobirama's judgment. The Uchiha Clan was a powerful force—usable, but not suitable to be Hokage.
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