On the night of the Nine-Tails, I shattered the Tailed Beast Ball with a single punch.

But Kakashi knew exactly what Hana was thinking, so he deliberately turned his face away.

Kakashi lowered Hana's rolled-up sleeves, then looked her straight in the eye and said, "Don't do that again. No one is worth it."

I saved you because I didn't want this kind of thing to keep happening to you. If I had bitten them, how would I be any different from those people? Konoha isn't Grass Village; we have many medical ninjas.

Although Kakashi doesn't consider himself an absolutely good person, he does possess his own gentleness and kindness.

At that moment, Kakashi's body suddenly seemed much taller in Hana's eyes. Only after Kakashi stood up did Hana realize that Kakashi was actually just a thirteen-year-old boy.

"Your father must be an incredibly capable person to have raised you to be like this," Hua Ling exclaimed.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing Hana's words, Kakashi froze on the spot and fell silent.

Hua Ling looked somewhat bewildered; it seemed she had touched a nerve with Kakashi.

"I'm sorry, I..." Hua Ling was about to apologize.

“It’s alright. He is indeed a very powerful person, a hero of Konoha,” Kakashi said.

Now, he has come to terms with it. His good friend Obito believes that his father is a hero of Konoha, and Nagasawa-sensei also acknowledges and respects White Fang's ideals.

Why should he care what those irrelevant passersby think? His father is the hero of Konoha in his heart! He was, he is, and he will always be.

"Come on, I'll take you to register your household. After that, you'll officially become a resident of Konoha," Kakashi said with a smile.

Hua Ling nodded, a hint of anticipation beginning to form in her heart for her new life in Konoha.

Perhaps, this time I can finally live the peaceful and happy life I've always longed for.

Kakashi, with Hana in tow, quickly walked to the Hokage's office.

Why hurry? Because we have to get there before Shuimen closes for the day.

Normally, if Watergate finishes processing all the documents, they would leave work at 5 p.m.

He used to leave work at six o'clock at the earliest, but after being reminded by Nagasawa, he would leave work on time and go home to be with Kushina as soon as he finished his work.

As they entered the Hokage Building, Hana followed closely behind Kakashi, not daring to look around.

Because she could sense a lot of dangerous energy inside the building.

These presences made Hana Ling a little nervous. She didn't even realize she had entered the Hokage's office until Kakashi's voice brought her back to her senses.

"Minato-sensei, this is Uzumaki Karin," Kakashi introduced to Minato Namikaze.

Minato looked at the dazzling red hair and smiled gently, "Uzumaki Hana, are you willing to become a resident of Konoha and a part of Konoha?"

"I am willing."

Minato then pulled two forms from the table and handed them to Hana, saying, "After you fill them out, you'll be an official Konoha resident. Welcome to Konoha."

Hana quickly filled out the form and handed it to Minato.

Minato stamped the watch with the Hokage's seal, checked the time, and said with a smile, "Miss Hana, would you like to come to my house as a guest?"

My wife is also a member of the Uzumaki clan, and she's very interested in you, saying she wants to meet you.

Hua Ling looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi was a little troubled. Why was he looking at him? He was just a thirteen-year-old boy.

Minato seemed to have noticed something and offered, "Kakashi, why don't you come too? It's been a long time since you've eaten at my house. And what happened to your face?"

At this moment, Minato noticed that Kakashi's face was swollen and there was a bruise around his eye.

"I got it from training with Teacher Nagasawa," Kakashi honestly replied.

He lied to Might Guy because he felt a little embarrassed, and he lied to Hana because he thought it would be fun, but he told Minato the truth.

Because Minato was, after all, his Jonin instructor, and he was so good to him.

"Teacher Nagasawa? It seems you two get along very well. Study hard; there are many things you can learn from Nagasawa," Minato said with a gentle smile.

Kakashi nodded. Whether it was strength or cunning, Nagasawa was his role model.

……

……

Minato Namikaze's house wasn't as luxurious as Hana had imagined; it was just an ordinary two-story building, not much different from the houses of ordinary Konoha civilians.

This surprised Hua Ling.

In her eyes, the Hokage was equivalent to the leader of the Grass Ninja Village, or even a more transcendent being, and must live in a luxurious mansion.

Minato led the two inside.

Hua Ling looked around the room curiously. The room was furnished in a very ordinary way, except that there were some kunai with strange patterns in some places.

Suddenly, she sensed a powerful yet somewhat familiar aura approaching.

A woman carrying a large spoon, wearing an apron, and with striking red hair just like her, came into her view.

“Minato, you’re back just in time. I was just…” Kushina looked at Uzumaki Karin and was also stunned for a moment.

But she quickly realized what was happening and playfully punched Minato in the chest with her small fist, saying, "Why didn't you tell me earlier that we had guests? I could have made a couple more dishes."

"It was indeed my fault; I should have informed you sooner," Minato said with a gentle smile, readily admitting his mistake.

Kakashi looked like he hadn't eaten yet, but the dog food had almost filled him up.

At the dinner table, Kushina kept putting food on Hana's plate, chatting with her and expressing her feelings about how difficult things were for Uzumaki.

This caused Hana's affection for Kushina to rise sharply, and she felt that she had finally made the right decision.

Suddenly, Kushina noticed Kakashi, who had been eating silently without saying a word, and asked curiously, "Kakashi, what happened to your face? It looks a little swollen."

Kakashi was feeling a bit tired. He felt like he was wearing his mask for nothing; how come everyone could spot it?

"..."

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Snoring is fine, but don't use a machine gun.

With the information on the Grass Ninja Anbu brought by Nagasawa, along with the three captured Grass Ninja, Minato quickly dispatched ninjas and issued an ultimatum.

Either the Grass Ninja pays Konoha a sum of money and then renegotiates a peace and mutual assistance agreement, or Konoha declares war on the Grass Ninja.

The leader of the Grass Ninja had been prepared for this, since leaking the information was part of the plan. He pretended to hesitate for two days before choosing to pay compensation and renegotiate the peace and mutual assistance agreement with Konoha.

However, although it is said that compensation will be paid, the specific amount needs to be discussed carefully. Once the discussion is completed, the alliance can be signed.

Yongze is also a member of the Konoha negotiation team, and not just an ordinary member, but the deputy leader of the negotiation team.

His position as deputy team leader was hard-won; he almost got it by arguing with the higher-ups.

Initially, Minato said that Nagasawa should serve as the deputy leader of the negotiation team, and the Third Hokage asked with some doubt:

Who is Yongze?

Minato carefully considered his words before saying, "He is the newly joined squad leader of the Anbu team. He obtained the Kusanagi Anbu data this time. He is very capable and definitely qualified for this position."

The Third Hokage thought for a moment and then sent the Anbu to retrieve Nagasawa's information.

The Third Hokage looked at Nagasawa's file and frowned, saying, "Minato, the person you recommended isn't very good. First of all, he's too young, only 23 years old, and he's only a Chunin."

The number and level of completed tasks are too few. He's only done five B-level tasks, and not a single A-level or higher. He lacks experience and is probably not up to the task.

(That S-rank mission hasn't been completed yet)

Minato looked into the Third Hokage's eyes and said firmly, "Youth is not a problem. I'm only 23 myself, and you still believed in me and let me inherit the position of Hokage."

Moreover, although Nagasawa's abilities cannot be fully grasped from just that one document, he possesses extraordinary power.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his mustache, seemingly pondering Minato's words.

Actually, he had just seen in the documents that Nagasawa and Minato seemed to have a close personal relationship, which made him think of some unpleasant things.

He still thought highly of Minato, but he felt that Minato was still too young and needed his help.

Seeing that the Third Hokage was still hesitating, Minato said in a calm voice, "I, Minato Namikaze, guarantee with my own integrity that Nagasawa is absolutely capable of serving as the deputy leader of the negotiation team."

Seeing that even the usually mild-mannered Minato was like this, the Third Hokage didn't continue, and Nagasawa's position as deputy team leader was secured.

However, the position of head of the negotiation team was ultimately filled by recommendations from Konoha's high-ranking officials, followed by a vote.

However, as everyone knows, Konoha currently only has five true high-ranking officials: two Hokage, two advisors, and one elder.

Both advisors are from the same school as the third generation and are long-time supporters of the third generation. In fact, one person from the third generation can represent the entire senior management.

Therefore, the head of this negotiation team is basically chosen by the third generation.

However, the third generation didn't recommend any unusual candidates; instead, they recommended Nara Shikaku, who had recently become the lord of Nara.

Nagasawa had no objection to this; when it comes to matters requiring intelligence, you can always trust the Nara clan.

However, Danzo actually appointed someone as a deputy leader, which made Nagasawa somewhat wary.

He felt that anything bad was going to happen whenever Danzo got involved.

If he weren't worried about the negative impact, he could have stormed into Root's headquarters and killed Danzo with a single punch, saving him from his underhanded tactics.

But if he did that, he might end up becoming a rogue ninja.

In the past, it wouldn't matter if someone betrayed their ninja; it didn't matter where they went.

However, he is now bound to Konoha, and increasing Konoha's prosperity will earn him rewards and enhance his strength.

Therefore, he has to keep an eye on Konoha, become a high-ranking member of Konoha, and change Konoha.

No matter what, Danzo was still a high-ranking official in Konoha. You can't just kill him without any reason, or rather, you can't kill him openly and honestly.

However, Nagasawa isn't too concerned about Danzo right now. After all, his strength is undeniable, and no matter how cunning Danzo may be, he can defeat him with a single punch.

However, Danzo had left a very bad impression on him in his previous life, so he would be very happy to trip up Danzo if he could.

Just as Nagasawa was wondering how the Grass Ninja would retaliate against Danzo, the Grass Ninja delegation arrived in Konoha, and the two sides began their first round of negotiations.

In a room reserved for negotiations, Konoha and Kusanagi sat on either side of a rectangular wooden table.

Nara Shikaku was the first to speak up: "This operation by Kusagakure has caused enormous losses to Konoha, and it almost led to a deterioration in relations between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, and it has also harmed Konoha's best ninjas..."

The Grass Ninja negotiation team was speechless. How could a single Special Jonin with three Chunin cause such a huge loss to Konoha?

But ultimately they were the weaker party. Although they wanted to complain, the head of the Grass Ninja negotiation team just kept a straight face and quietly waited for Nara Shikaku to finish speaking.

After Nara Shikaku finished listing the crimes of the Grass Ninja, the Grass Ninja leader said, "We are also very sorry for what happened and are willing to compensate Konoha for its losses. We hope that the two countries of Konoha and Konoha can restore their former relationship."