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Hikaru recognized that blue orb instantly.
It was Namikaze Minato's soul, without a doubt.
Seeing it slip back into Minato's body, Hikaru finally let out a quiet breath. From that alone, it was clear the method to undo the Reaper Death Seal hadn't been a lie.
Still—something bothered him.
Why hadn't his shadow clone dispersed yet? And why hadn't it summoned him over to deal with any remaining loose ends?
Hikaru still had mixed feelings about whether to let Tsugaya Hiroshi walk away. It wasn't that he cared about keeping promises—"credit" was just another tool to him, something he could raise or lower as needed.
The same went for his moral line.
His bottom line was always… flexible.
If keeping Tsugaya brought more benefit than releasing him, then breaking a promise was not only possible—it was natural.
In front ofinterests, there's no right or wrong.
He didn't think he was black-hearted enough to become that kind of monster… but in certain situations, he could absolutely go that far.
"Forget it," Hikaru murmured. "I'll deal with that later. First—Minato."
He shook his head and formed seals.
In seconds, trees surged and spread around them, wrapping the area completely like a sealed shell.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
This time, he didn't use senjutsu.
His sage chakra still hadn't fully recovered, and he wasn't about to gamble.
More importantly, this was to stop anyone else from barging in. Even though he'd used Water Release and Wood Release earlier to keep Sarutobi Hiruzen outside, who knew if someone might circle around from another direction?
Only after securing the perimeter did Hikaru place his palm over Minato's chest—right above the heart—and reach for the faint, controllable Yang Release inside his own body.
In the original timeline, Naruto had revived Might Guy as if it were nothing, and even extended Obito's life—using Yang Release.
But Naruto had done it in complete "cheat mode."
He'd received the Sage of Six Paths' inheritance and basically hit max level in one step.
Hikaru was nowhere near that.
He was still in the most basic stage—so basic that he couldn't even attempt anything like a true "Yang chakra mode."
That golden, glowing state Naruto once used—with Truth-Seeking Orbs behind him.
(And even Naruto's version required the power of the Nine-Tails plus the other beasts.)
"That level needs tailed beast power, multiple chakra sources… and above all, Yang Release itself," Hikaru thought with a quiet sigh. "Still a long road."
Golden chakra gathered in Hikaru's palm.
It flowed into Minato's body—steadily, carefully—like adding embers to a dying flame.
This couldn't be rushed.
He couldn't treat Minato the way he'd treated Sara, pouring in massive life force in one burst.
Sara had been alive.
Minato, right now, was—by many standards—already dead.
As the golden power continued, Hikaru felt himself growing weak.
But it was bearable.
And the weakness wasn't chakra depletion—it was physical. Yang Release, when separated from normal chakra flow, showed itself more through the body than through raw ninjutsu output.
Hikaru closed his eyes and focused on Minato's internal state.
Yang Release was terrifying.
Even with no breath and no heartbeat, Minato's "spark" began to swell and stabilize under Hikaru's influence.
When that spark reached the point where it could no longer be easily snuffed out, Hikaru finally pulled his hand away.
"…From now on, until my Yang Release reaches a combat-usable level," he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow, "I can't casually use it like this."
It felt awful.
He was still only at the beginner level. Getting this far already relied heavily on the system's support, and this was clearly his limit for now.
He didn't know what "intermediate" Yang Release would feel like.
But he was looking forward to it.
Then another thought surfaced.
"Does Yang Release grow through seeds… or only through bloodline development?"
"My bloodline development is already intermediate, but my Yang Release is only beginner."
"Does that mean there's an even higher layer beyond 'high-level'?"
His mind spun, but his hands never stopped.
He shifted his chakra flow, converting the control.
The golden glow in his palm faded into a soft green light—dense with vitality.
This was life force he had extracted earlier from trees.
And this was the second half of saving Minato.
"Looks like I took too much," Hikaru thought, glancing at Kushina. "Kushina doesn't need any of this."
In his sensory field, Kushina's life force had already returned to a stable state. Tailed beast extraction was devastating, but Uzumaki vitality wasn't a joke.
He couldn't sense every hidden injury—but he could sense life-force stability, and on that front she was fine.
Whatever lingering issues remained could be restored with recovery and time.
Besides… Hikaru had no intention of restoring Minato to peak condition.
He would control the infusion precisely:
Enough to keep Minato alive and stable—
But not enough to let him fully recover quickly.
A Minato who needed long-term rest, who couldn't manage the village, who lacked the energy to govern—
That was the "best Minato" in Hikaru's eyes.
When his senses told him it was enough, Hikaru immediately cut off the flow.
Then he frowned.
Minato's internal state was clearly "alive" now.
The spark was strong.
The life aura was stable.
So why—
Why hadn't Minato started breathing?
Why wasn't his heart beating?
Hikaru had never run into this before.
For a second, the word he hated flashed through his mind.
"Did I fail?"
But that made no sense.
By his sensory confirmation, Minato was alive.
So why were the lungs and heart still offline?
Then—like a spark of lightning—
Hikaru realized what he'd missed.
He clenched his fist.
And without hesitation, he slammed a punch into Minato's chest.
THUD!
Minato's body jolted slightly.
And Hikaru caught it—an extremely faint twitch of heartbeat.
So he kept going.
Punch after punch, hard and precise, forcing the body to remember how to start.
Minato's chest shuddered again.
The heartbeat grew clearer.
Then, after an unknown number of strikes—
Minato's entire body jerked violently.
He didn't need artificial breathing.
He suddenly snapped his eyes open.
Minato was confused.
He didn't understand what was happening.
His ribs felt broken.
His head was full of a strange memory—
A memory of being dragged into the inside shinigami together with the Nine-Tails.
Endless darkness.
Only him and the beast.
Bound together.
The Nine-Tails' rage felt like it could tear his soul apart.
And Minato had been ready to fight it forever—
To keep attacking, keep resisting, keep enduring—
But before it even began, the world around him shattered.
A blazing light crashed down.
The darkness cracked open.
Something yanked him out.
His thoughts suddenly became clearer.
And he realized he wasn't alone—
Even the Nine-Tails inside him had been dragged out too.
He felt himself flying, drifting, as if returning home.
To somewhere familiar, yet impossible to describe.
His memory returned in fragments.
He remembered the Reaper Death Seal.
He remembered it was supposed to be certain death.
So why… was he still here?
He felt full of vitality.
Yet he couldn't wake up.
Like he was dead—
But not dead enough.
Conscious—
But trapped.
A suffocating sensation gripped him, both mentally and physically, like drowning in air.
"What is this…? What am I…?"
The suffocation worsened.
He couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
He felt he was slipping past the line of death again.
Then his body suddenly became lighter.
He felt himself rising.
"Is this… the Pure Land?"
The sensation was strange—like some instinctive certainty that he knew where he was going.
He grew sleepy.
The desire to think faded.
He wanted to rest.
He wanted to sleep.
"Maybe… this is fine," he thought. "At least in the Pure Land… I might meet Kushina again someday. In the inside shinigami…"
His eyes closed.
And then—
Pain exploded.
His body shook violently.
A brutal ache tore through his chest.
The weight of the world returned, dragging him down.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Impact after impact.
He didn't know what was hitting him.
Only that his chest felt like it was being hammered.
The lightness vanished.
His body grew heavy.
He felt himself falling—
Then crashing.
Blood began to move.
A heartbeat thumped faintly.
His lungs screamed.
He tried to open his eyes.
He tried to breathe.
Finally—
"Hah—!"
Air surged into him.
He opened his eyes, gasping, and for the first time he understood how sweet oxygen was.
How beautiful it was to be alive.
But the moment didn't last.
Exhaustion flooded him.
His eyes closed again.
He needed rest.
Real rest.
He didn't know how long passed before Minato regained awareness again.
His chest still hurt terribly.
His body felt weak—an unfamiliar weakness, heavy and deep.
He could sense it: recovering from this would take a long time.
Then he heard a sound.
Beep… beep… beep…
Some kind of machine.
And another sound—
A woman's voice.
Soft, trembling, but overflowing with life.
"Minato… Minato…"
His heart calmed immediately.
He knew that voice.
The most important person in his world.
Then his mind snapped awake.
"Kushina… Naruto!"
He forced his eyes open.
It was hard.
But he did it.
A white ceiling.
The smell of disinfectant.
"A hospital…?"
"Minato! Minato! You're awake!"
Kushina's voice broke into joyful sobbing.
Minato turned his head slowly.
There she was—red hair, pale face, unstable breathing…
But her eyes were full of tears and happiness, so beautiful it made his chest tighten.
Minato tried to smile.
And then his gaze shifted—
To the cradle between their beds.
A baby sleeping inside.
His smile finally bloomed fully.
"Naruto…"
He tried to reach out—
But he was too weak.
Kushina cried harder.
"You're awake… finally…"
"Why were you so foolish? Why would you do something so dangerous?"
"Do you know… without you, what does this world even mean to me?"
"I'm sorry, Kushina…" Minato whispered, full of guilt.
But the words stopped there.
Because if time rewound…
He would make the same choice again.
He loved the village.
He loved his family.
Those were the things he swore to protect.
Even at the cost of his life.
No regret.
Never regret.
Then Minato's expression tightened as he remembered something.
"Kushina… the Reaper Death Seal—"
"Is there a way to undo it?"
Kushina froze, trying to answer seriously.
By all logic, Reaper Death Seal was certain death.
The soul was taken.
How could anyone return?
Yet Minato was alive.
She shook her head, confused.
"I… I don't know."
"But the seal succeeded, didn't it?"
"Did the jutsu have something I never learned…?"
Minato frowned.
"Then… who saved us?"
Kushina nodded. "I heard the nurses talking."
"An ANBU saved us."
"And they said that ANBU is… from the Senju."
"He fought beside you too."
"Minato… do you know who he is?"
Senju.
ANBU.
Minato's pupils tightened.
He already had a guess.
Then—
Knock knock.
The door opened.
An ANBU entered and bowed.
"Hokage-sama. The doctor will come for an examination."
"And the Third Hokage has arrived."
"I understand. Thank you."
Then the ANBU continued:
"Nightingale Captain is here. Does Hokage-sama wish to see him?"
"Nightingale…" Minato said quietly.
"Let him in."
"The examination can wait."
"And once he enters… all of you leave."
"I need to speak with him alone."
Hikaru walked down the hospital corridor toward Minato's room.
No mask.
This wasn't a formal situation.
Thinking back to last night, he couldn't help but smile.
Overall, it had been a complete success.
Even the "accident" with Tsugaya Hiroshi dying during the unsealing—
That was probably some kind of professional sabotage.
But it didn't matter.
Everything else had unfolded exactly as he wanted.
"The only problem is… Sarutobi Hiruzen probably hates me now."
Hikaru recalled Hiruzen confronting him last night, and his smile turned faintly amused.
After he punched Minato awake—yes, Minato passed out again immediately afterward—but Hikaru's checks confirmed the Fourth Hokage had survived.
To be fair, Hikaru had overlooked something:
Minato had already "died" once.
Even after reigniting the spark and restoring life force, he still needed a final push—
CPR-level stimulation.
Thankfully Hikaru reacted fast, or Minato would've become the unluckiest Hokage in history:
Dead, revived, not fully revived, dead again.
Once Minato's survival was confirmed, Hikaru withdrew every Wood Release technique.
The Wood Locking Wall.
The Wood Dragon.
Deep Forest Emergence.
All of it.
That let Hiruzen and the others finally approach.
As expected, Hiruzen arrived with the village forces.
They saw Minato and Kushina collapsed, and Naruto crying in Hikaru's arms.
Hiruzen fell silent.
The other shinobi cheered.
The Nine-Tails was sealed.
And when they confirmed the Fourth Hokage couple were still alive, the cheering grew even louder.
"Good work, Hikaru," Hiruzen had said in a low voice. "Very good work."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. It was my duty."
Hikaru had bowed lightly.
He'd already removed his mask then too.
His smile was warm, bright, and gentle—just like always.
But in Hiruzen's eyes…
That smile was not a sign of honesty.
It was simply another mask.
A mask Hikaru had always worn in plain sight.
A mask that made Hiruzen feel something close to fear.
"What do you want?" Hiruzen had asked at last, voice low and heavy.
"What I want… Hokage-sama has always known."
Hikaru smiled, glancing at the celebrating shinobi, then spoke calmly.
"Isn't this good?"
"I want it to be better."
"So I'm working for that."
"You're too impatient," Hiruzen had said, expression complex. "Won't the future belong to your generation anyway?"
"Perhaps," Hikaru replied, smile cooling. "But I'm preparing for my future."
"Opportunity favors the prepared. If the opportunity comes and I don't take it…"
"I can't forgive myself."
That was enough.
Hikaru had effectively drawn a line.
Polite, but firm.
A clear display of distrust.
Yes, it was dangerous—Hiruzen still held power.
But what could Hiruzen do?
Last night Hikaru had gained overwhelming prestige.
And the entire fighting force of Konoha had seen his Wood Release with their own eyes.
With that level of power and public impact, Hiruzen could not act rashly.
And Hikaru didn't fear him acting at all.
Because the number of shinobi in Konoha who still respected and would support the Senju…
Was not small.
Many were civilians.
Many were minor clans.
Big clans might fear a Senju return threatening their interests—
But Hikaru understood the so-called "great clans" of Konoha very well.
The Hyūga's internal rot would eventually make them hate Hiruzen on their own.
And the Uchiha?
Hikaru had already moved pieces there.
Even if tonight created new trouble…
So what?
Fifty years ago, Senju and Uchiha joined hands to build Konoha.
Why couldn't they "join hands" again now?
Even if Hikaru controlled the joint by hidden pressure—
Compared to collapse, compared to dying slowly while clinging to old power…
Any rational clan would choose survival.
"And if I push Hiruzen into panic…"
"Then he'll get desperate."
"And if I take the ANBU Minister position…"
"He'll panic even more."
Minato would need long-term recovery.
He remained Fourth Hokage in name—
But Hikaru's actions were already a form of standing in line, making the political split inevitable.
That meant Hiruzen would be forced to use every method available to pull people to his side.
And "every method" often meant:
Not caring how ugly it became.
Hikaru had never touched Danzō for exactly that reason.
He needed Danzō to help Hiruzen… destroy Hiruzen's own foundation.
The presence of "Senju Hikaru" would accelerate everything.
As Hikaru walked, the cries from downstairs drifted up the corridor.
The Nine-Tails' damage was enormous.
The hospital was overflowing—more crowded than wartime.
But Hikaru didn't linger on it.
In front ofinterests, there was no right or wrong.
And the Nine-Tails' attack, in a twisted way, also served as a warning:
Once a village truly tastes existential danger, its shinobi become far more strict and vigilant afterward.
"Still… I hope this never happens again," Hikaru thought quietly.
He stopped before Minato's ward.
The door was shut.
He adjusted his expression—
Then pushed it open.
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