Konoha: Who's the good guy?

After Danzo Shimura was rushed to the hospital for treatment, the Hokage's office returned to calm.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood by the office window, watching the sunset on the horizon, and refilled his burnt-out pipe with fresh tobacco.

Smoke began to rise, obscuring his expression.

Danzo's words just now did remind him.

The Land of Whirlpools has been destroyed.

Konoha has also lost its most stable source of Jinchūriki.

If anything were to happen to Kushina Uzumaki, it would be very difficult to quickly find a suitable Jinchūriki.

Mito Uzumaki's words of advice still echoed in my ears.

Excessively suppressing the emotional needs of a Jinchūriki will only cause instability in the Jinchūriki, and will definitely do more harm than good.

The birth of a female Jinchūriki is indeed a difficult hurdle to overcome.

The practice of succession by sons following the death of their mothers can easily lead to unpredictable situations.

If Konoha had more Uzumaki clan members skilled in sealing techniques to assist during the birth of a Jinchūriki, it would not only maximize the stability of the seal but also ensure that the Nine-Tails would not have any problems.

Even if something unexpected happens, Konoha will still find a successor Jinchuriki.

Moreover...

"War..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long sigh.

Friction between the various ninja villages is intensifying, and war may break out soon.

The Land of Fire, with its abundant resources, fertile land, and prosperous economy, has always been a primary target for ninja villages from various countries.

Konoha has not yet fully emerged from the shadow of the Second Shinobi World War.

If it really comes to the point of no return.

The power of Jinchūriki may become indispensable.

----------

A normal ninja team would take about two days to travel from Konoha to the southern coastline of the Land of Fire.

It will take about two more days to reach the mission destination by sea from the southern coastline.

Because the intelligence for this mission is highly time-sensitive.

Therefore, Minato Namikaze, bursting with a sense of responsibility, unconsciously increased his speed as soon as he stepped out of the Konoha gates.

Even if Yamanaka Kei knew the current situation of Sunagakure Village.

There is absolutely no way to stop the search for the 'missing' Third Kazekage.

But he couldn't explain this to Minato Namikaze.

So all they could do was follow along, head down, with nothing to do but feel helpless.

Both of them are genuine Konoha Jonin.

While maintaining sufficient physical strength to deal with unexpected battles, we can skip the nighttime rest time and travel at full speed.

When thirsty, drink water; when hungry, eat rations.

They arrived at the port on the south coast of the Land of Fire around 9 p.m. on the second day.

They boarded the small sailboats that were used exclusively by Konoha ninjas at the port.

After confirming that the captain and two sailors were alright, Shan Zhongjing set up various warning signs and traps inside and outside the room.

Minato Namikaze then summoned two small toads from Mount Myōboku, one inside and one outside, to keep watch at night.

The two, who were quite exhausted, finally felt at ease and went to sleep to quickly recover.

The relatively calm winds and waves did not cause the ship to rock too violently.

The gentle shaking, far from causing discomfort, actually had a somewhat sleep-inducing effect.

I slept until the sun was high in the sky, and the mountain scenery was awakened by the noisy cries of seabirds.

I just did some quick personal hygiene.

Minato Namikaze, who exudes the qualities of a virtuous wife and loving mother, brought over two extra-large bowls of seafood rice porridge.

The seafood, freshly caught, was cleaned very thoroughly, with no fishy smell whatsoever, but rather a subtle sweetness.

The rice, soaked in broth, leaves a lingering fragrance in your mouth with every bite.

Such delicious food naturally received high praise from the mountain scenery.

The little sun, feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise, smiled shyly, her virtuous wife aura becoming even stronger.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two casually sat cross-legged on the deck of the sailboat.

They were able to enjoy a rare moment of leisure during their mission.

"Kei, I heard you and Kushina are getting married?"

Minato Namikaze covered his eyes with one hand, gazing at the vast, boundless sea.

A sentence that came out of nowhere left Shan Zhongjing completely bewildered.

I really can't understand where these rumors came from.

He hasn't even started dating yet, so how come other people are saying he's getting ready to get married?

"Where did you hear that from?"

"Huh? Yesterday morning at the temporary Jonin standby station, Brother Choza said that Kushina used all of the ten million yen wedding gift you gave her to pay off the Jonin standby station because she didn't have enough savings. Um... isn't that right?"

"How did Choji know that I gave Kushina ten million?"

"Ahem~ Senior Suzaku Nara, who is in charge of the Jonin standby area, said that your name is on the deposit slip."

"That doesn't prove it was wedding money."

"Um... Brother Hai said that you two are already living together and staying together every night."

"!!! Is it appropriate for you guys to be so gossipy all the time?"

Yamanaka Kei suddenly realized that it was perfectly reasonable for Danzo to be targeting him.

Look at what's been spread inside Konoha!

Also, he felt that all the Konoha Jonin were like badger!

Do you just sit around eating melons all day doing nothing?

It's one thing if it's someone else, but that bastard Yamanaka Inoichi actually brought up gossip about him and Kushina.

Is this something that can be gossiped about?

Are they really not afraid of being suspected by higher-ups at all?

and many more?

When Yamanaka Kei thought of Nara Shikaku, that guy with an off-the-charts IQ, he instantly realized what was going on.

It's likely that guy had already guessed what the Konoha higher-ups were thinking, which is why he had the members of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans deliberately spread this gossip.

This is also a way of telling Hiruzen Sarutobi that they don't have any other intentions.

Those guys were silently clearing away the obstacles between him and Kushina...

What a bunch of people who love to worry about others.

"Haha~ Since we're all in the Jonin waiting area and there's not much to do, we just chat."

Minato Namikaze chuckled dryly, scratching his head somewhat embarrassed.

"Have you really never experienced Kushina's iron fist?"

Yamanaka Kei sighed helplessly.

Although Yamanaka Inoichi and the others' intentions were absolutely correct, what if Kushina knew about it?

With her seemingly carefree and indifferent personality, but actually extremely thin-skinned.

Being teased like this...

Well, hopefully Haiyi and the others won't get beaten up too badly.

"No, we don't have that."

When Minato Namikaze brought up this topic, he smiled broadly.

His relationship with Kushina was also quite good.

For a time, the girl, influenced by Yamanaka's deception, kept calling him "Konoha's Little Boy Girl," which bothered him quite a bit.

But perhaps because of his kind personality, Kushina never raised her fist at him.

On the contrary, it's the scenery in the mountains.

Because he had to tease Kushina from time to time, he was always being chased and beaten.

"I mean, is it possible that Kushina thinks if she punched you, you'd cry for a long time, and maybe she'd have to come back and comfort you, so she didn't hit you?"

"???"