The Security Team quickly surrounded the mysterious ninja, but the ninja waved his hand urgently and said, "Wait a moment, it's me, Namikaze Minato."
"Wait..."
The team leader who arrived the quickest, Ooji Touya, stopped his subordinates and then exclaimed, "Jonin Namikaze? Weren't you dead!?"
"This must be an accident; I don't even know what's happening. Anyway, I'm in the state of Reanimation Jutsu, so I'm not really alive again."
Namikaze Minato replied helplessly. He couldn't make sense of many things; he only remembered being controlled after being reanimated, then the control was inexplicably lifted, and he saw Uchiha Madara fighting another person.
He watched for a while, noticing several pallid enemies planning to have other reanimation bodies attack him, so he used Flying Thunder God Jutsu to leave immediately.
After a long journey, Namikaze Minato finally returned to the village.
"Reanimation Jutsu... I'm sorry, please cooperate with our inspection."
Ooji Touya spoke, and then indicated for his subordinates to inspect Namikaze Minato's chakra, afterward reporting this situation to higher-ups.
After the inspection, receiving a reply, Ooji Touya then said to Namikaze Minato, "Apologies, Jonin Namikaze, due to duty, thanks for your understanding, you can go back now."
"No problem, thank you for the trouble."
After speaking, Namikaze Minato walked into the village.
While passing through Ninja Paradise, Namikaze Minato suddenly felt the village had changed a lot; many five or six-story buildings had been erected, and many old buildings were no longer visible.
There were quite a few tall buildings on the Hokage Rock, and most importantly, a new face was added to the Hokage Rock, which Namikaze Minato instantly recognized as Uchiha Yoichi.
"Fifth Generation Hokage, how enviable..."
Namikaze Minato sighed and then continued towards the Hokage Building. Upon arrival at the entrance, someone was already waiting to escort him upstairs.
Upon entering the Hokage Office, Namikaze Minato saw Uchiha Yoichi seated at the desk in the center and the place he once dreamed of sitting.
There were Hatake Sakumo and others in the room, numbering only four or five.
"Jonin Namikaze, I never expected you would free yourself from the Reanimation Jutsu and return."
Uchiha Yoichi said calmly; although he had just gotten up from Kushina's side that morning, he could face any situation without fluctuating emotions.
"It's been almost four years since you unexpectedly died during your mission. The last news we received about you was months ago when you and other reanimated bodies invaded Hidden Sand Village to capture the One-tailed."
"Sorry, I couldn't control myself at that time..."
Namikaze Minato replied with an apologetic expression; his actions must have caused a lot of trouble for the village.
"No, it's not your fault; it wasn't just you among the reanimated bodies. Besides, the Hidden Sand Village no longer exists; what remains is the Sate Ninja District of Konoha Village; it's not your blame."
Uchiha Yoichi shook his head and continued, "It's a long story, but let's first talk about your situation, Jonin Namikaze, how did you escape? What happened there?"
"Exactly how I broke free of control...to be honest, I don't know. I suddenly felt the control gone, so I used Instant Body Jutsu to leave the coffin."
Namikaze Minato shook his head and then continued, "Afterward, I saw Uchiha Madara seem to be fighting another person, and they used a Susanoo approximately several hundred meters tall..."
Namikaze Minato then shared what he saw, including Uchiha Madara and Otsutsuki Urashiki's battle, although there were many incomprehensible moments, like Otsutsuki Urashiki's inexplicable blocks.
Namikaze Minato lacked the Rinnegan to see or perceive Limbo Clones.
Even the battle between the two was barely comprehensible, and then reanimation bodies controlled by White Zetsu tried to control him, prompting Minato to leave hastily.
After listening to Namikaze Minato, Hatake Sakumo commented, "That weapon glowing red, could it be the enemy the Second Generation Hokage mentioned, Mr. Yoichi?"
"Yes, it's him. I never expected he'd seek out Uchiha Madara; his goal seems not limited to the Nine-tailed, but all entities with massive chakra amounts might be his target."
Upon hearing Uchiha Yoichi's words, Namikaze Minato couldn't help but ask, "Yo...Fifth Lord, did you say that guy's target includes the Nine-tailed? Then doesn't that mean Kushina..."
Uchiha Yoichi responded, "His initial target was the Nine-tailed, and later he wanted to seize the First Hokage's chakra after encountering him; but he failed after battling in Konoha's Sate Region...
Subsequently, as you witnessed, that guy likely sensed powerful chakra and thus sought out Uchiha Madara; reportedly, Uchiha Madara now gathered quite a few Tailed Beasts...."
"Then why doesn't the village stop him? It should unite the entire village's strength; no, unite the Five Great Ninja Villages to jointly prevent such actions."
Uchiha Yoichi held back a laugh and said to Namikaze Minato, "Jonin Namikaze, the village won't do that for now; current focus is on the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain; since you've been gone from the village for a long time, there's much you're unaware of...."
Having said that, Uchiha Yoichi noticed Yuhi Kurenai had organized the latest information, handed it to him, and then gave it to Namikaze Minato.
"Jonin Namikaze, compare the intelligence Kurenai noted to what you've stated to see if there's any difference."
Namikaze Minato accepted the scroll and carefully reviewed it, then shook his head and replied, "It's almost identical; I have no additions."
"Then, as the Fifth Hokage, I intend to assign you a mission, Jonin Namikaze."
Uchiha Yoichi said, "Though issuing this mission now seems inappropriate as I cannot leave the village, you're the most suitable for it...."
"Fifth Generation, by all means, though I may have died, I remain a Konoha ninja."
"Deliver this intelligence to the First and Second Hokage, and detail to them the information about that Otsutsuki enemy you witnessed; advise the First and Second to stay alert."
Uchiha Yoichi instructed.
Namikaze Minato knew immediately this task was his alone; others might carry the information, but they couldn't describe the situation personally, risking errors in the intelligence.
"Understood, Fifth Lord, I'll set off immediately....although, I was thinking..."
"I understand your thoughts; that child, Naruto, is now nearly four years old."
Uchiha Yoichi chuckled and continued, "However, you don't need to go to your old place; the enemy possesses a highly imperceptible space-time ability and targets the Nine-tailed as well, so I had Kushina take Uzumaki Naruto to live near my home in the Uchiha Clan Land, under the protection of a perception barrier; you can head straight to the Uchiha Clan Land....."
"Understood, thank you for taking care of Kushina and Naruto, Fifth Lord."
Upon hearing this, Namikaze Minato felt the Fifth Lord's considerations were truly thoughtful; he bowed to Uchiha Yoichi and continued, "After meeting Kushina and Naruto, I'll depart immediately without delay."
"Alright, then go; Jiraiya and the Third Hokage are also in the Sate Region, you can learn about the village's changes over the years from them."
"Yes, Fifth Lord."
Namikaze Minato finished speaking, took the intelligence scroll, and left the Hokage Office.
Although the Uchiha Clan Land had expanded once, no major changes were made; Namikaze Minato arrived at the Uchiha Clan Land and inquired about Uchiha Yoichi's home.
He walked in that direction for a while, turned a few corners, and happened to meet a mother and son coming his way, and that familiar voice.
"Mom, Auntie Minami said we could eat together, why bring me back? If we finish lunch at Auntie Minami's house, I can train earlier in the afternoon...."
"Stop the nonsense; if we eat there, then the lunch I made at noon would go to waste; you, my silly son, need to eat more of mom's nutritious lunch....."
Kushina finished speaking, then punched Naruto, not hard, but still causing Naruto to clutch his head in pain.
"Kushina!"
Namikaze Minato couldn't help but shout, his voice startled the mother-son pair, who turned to look in his direction.
Seeing the familiar figure and appearance, Kushina suddenly felt her breath quicken.
"Mi... Minato!?"
This feeling wouldn't deceive her; the person before her was indeed Minato; but Kushina suddenly felt a wave of fear, her hand involuntarily moved to her stomach, and her steps halted.