On the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, Konohagakure was thrown into chaos.
That very night, while Konoha's shinobi were busy evacuating civilians and dealing with the tailed beast, unable to spare attention elsewhere, some people with ulterior motives began making their moves.
Some used contact methods that would normally be easily detected to send Konoha's intelligence back to their respective villages as quickly as possible.
They were spies planted in Konoha by other forces. There were quite a few of them, and they were deeply hidden. Unless a major incident occurred in Konoha, they would not reveal themselves.
Some witnessed the terrifying power of a tailed beast and drooled with envy, attempting to claim that world-destroying power for themselves.
But they did not have the courage to rush forward and seize the Nine-Tails directly. Taking advantage of the chaos to collect some of the Nine-Tails' chakra, however—that courage they did have, and in great measure.
Makoto knew of people like Kazuma, but he did not care.
The other party did not belong to Konoha's shinobi ranks. Rather, he was a ninja who served the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, occasionally traveling between Konoha and the capital due to official duties, and he had happened to be present when the Nine-Tails incident occurred.
This fellow was an extreme Daimyō loyalist. He had always been dissatisfied with the dual-gem system in which the Hokage stood on equal footing with the Daimyō. Unfortunately, his strength and foundation were insufficient, so for the moment he had not yet revealed his ambitions.
For now, he was quietly preparing his plans in secret.
Just a clown who could not see the bigger picture—thinking that by collecting a bit of chakra and creating a pseudo-jinchūriki, he could threaten Konoha.
He probably left the house without his eyes that day, unable to see that even the Nine-Tails itself was tied up by Konoha like a dog.
The Third Hokage naturally knew that news of the Nine-Tails' rampage could not be contained. So that very night, after ending his brief meeting with Danzō and the other two, he used the contact toad Jiraiya had left behind to send an order to his disciple to return to the village.
But not immediately. He still had to find a way to bring back Konoha's number-one healer.
Hiruzen believed that Tsunade would return. If there was still anyone in the village that she cared about, that person would certainly be Uzumaki Kushina.
It definitely would not be him, her teacher.
...
All the major powers of the shinobi world received the news immediately. Yet no one made any move—they were still observing.
They were waiting for more detailed follow-up intelligence to assess the extent of Konoha's losses. They were also waiting for someone to lose patience and make the first move, helping them test Konoha's true condition.
These forces did not include Sunagakure. Those sand-playing fellows were currently eager for everyone's attention to shift elsewhere and focus on Konoha, because earlier this year they had also replaced their jinchūriki, and at the moment they were at their weakest.
Amid this strange peace and quiet in the shinobi world, five days passed in the blink of an eye.
As a hero who had fought the Nine-Tails that night and saved many companions, Makoto naturally received free time to rest because his chakra had been "excessively depleted."
He could recuperate for as long as he wished, and the Third Hokage and the others would have absolutely no objections.
This also gave him time to become familiar with his brand-new power.
Just as he had predicted, after his natural energy training entered the third stage—the permanent Sage Mode—his previously almost stagnant training in chakra yin-yang control and attribute control also began to show visible progress.
Now, when he used ninjutsu, it felt far more effortless. After all, the chakra inside his body no longer contained those chaotic, unknown wills—it had become a power that completely belonged to him.
Sometimes he even wondered whether it was precisely because the wills within chakra were so mixed that it was easy for shinobi to refine it, yet extremely difficult to control it with precision.
The vast majority of shinobi could only reach the stage of casting ninjutsu in their lifetime. It was very hard for them to push the training of the five elemental nature transformations to a deeper level, and yin–yang attributes were even more difficult.
Near noon, at the training ground near the Higashino residence, Makoto—who appeared to be sitting cross-legged on a tree trunk but was in fact floating—opened his eyes. He withdrew from his Wind Release training, slowly descended, and sat down on the tree trunk.
A white-haired ANBU suddenly appeared beside him.
"So tell me, Kakashi-senpai—what's the point of you wearing that ANBU mask?"
"Well, just because you can recognize me doesn't mean others can. And even if someone does recognize me, does a white-haired ANBU necessarily have to be me?"
That was true. Creating the habitual impression that any white-haired ANBU must be Hatake Kakashi of Konoha could produce unexpected effects at critical moments. It was a common method of misdirection used by shinobi.
Since Minato and Kushina had not died on the night of the Nine-Tails, Kakashi was now far more cheerful and had not become that gloomy man wrapped in darkness who refused to let anyone approach him.
"What did you come to see me about?"
"My sensei wants to see you."
"Alright then. Let's go together."
When they arrived outside Minato's house, Kakashi automatically returned to his post, hiding in the shadows and carefully carrying out his duty as a guard.
Even though Kushina had already given birth successfully and no longer required such strict protection, Kakashi would not relax in the slightest.
He never wanted to lose anyone close to him again.
The door to the residence was open. From outside, Makoto could see another white-haired man sitting by the table, staring seriously in one direction.
Jiraiya had returned. Makoto was not surprised.
He was merely curious about what kind of troublesome situation he could have encountered in Minato's home. Too lazy to sense things carefully, he simply slipped quietly into the room, stood beside Jiraiya, and instantly became just like him.
His expression turned extremely serious.
This matter… was very serious.
In the living room on the other side of the table stood a baby cradle. With her back to them, Kushina sat beside it, holding a bottle as she fed little Naruto.
Her intense motherly affection had absorbed all her attention, and she did not even notice Makoto's arrival.
There was infant formula in the shinobi world, used as a nutritional supplement for babies besides breast milk. However, it was expensive and currently considered a high-end consumer product. Aside from places like Konohagakure or large cities, most civilians in the shinobi world could hardly afford it.
But that was not the main point.
On the other side of the cradle stood a mature woman with a broad chest and a pair of golden twin-tails.
She was bending down to tease Naruto, facing directly toward this side.
Tsunade sensed that another pair of eyes had joined in peeking at her. She suddenly lifted her head, her gaze blazing like fire.
Jiraiya flushed and quickly turned his head aside, pretending to look like a proper gentleman. Makoto inwardly scoffed—what a lecherous coward, bold in lust yet timid as if afraid of a dog bite. Bah!
Tsunade took two quick steps and walked up to Makoto.
"Kid, have you seen enough? Does it look good?"
"It looks good!"
"And what do you feel?"
"Really beautiful—big and round."
Tsunade's anger was already close to bursting. Her brows were furrowed so tightly they could have crushed a fly.
"You're quite honest, aren't you? Not even trying to hide the fact that you're a little pervert."
"This kind of toy seems pretty popular in Konoha. Quite a few mothers buy one for their children."
"Kid, what are you talking about?"
Makoto pointed at the pile of toys Kushina had bought during her pregnancy in a burst of reckless spending.
"I'm talking about the ball. Huh? You're Tsunade-sama, right? Why do you look so unhappy? Did someone make you angry?"
"Heh." Konoha really wasn't a good place. She shouldn't have come back.
At that moment, Tsunade felt like she had been played—but she had no proof.
But as a hot-tempered older single woman, when had Tsunade ever needed proof to hit someone?
"Go to hell, you dishonest brat."
Her snow-white fist came smashing down toward Makoto's head.
Jiraiya sat to the side, secretly delighted. Finally, he wasn't the one getting beaten. Having someone else take the blame felt wonderful.
Then his eyeballs almost dropped to the floor.
Thud!
A small patch of earth-yellow chakra suddenly appeared above Higashino Makoto's head, forming a shield that blocked Tsunade's punch.
Earth Release: One-Horn Great Wall had now automatically joined his Sage Technique package.
Makoto swore he hadn't done it on purpose. It was simply an instinctive reaction. Ever since entering the third stage—the permanent Sage Mode—casting ninjutsu had become much easier for him. A mere thought was enough. He didn't even need to rely on his hands anymore; any part of his body could release it.
Just like the Hyūga clan's strongest defensive technique, Rotation.
Jiraiya was extremely envious.
"Amazing!"
He swore he would definitely learn this move. Once he did, he could let Tsunade hit him as much as she wanted.
Tsunade rubbed her fist, glanced at Minato's house, and gave up the idea of throwing another punch with monstrous strength. She was afraid the young couple's hearts might not be able to handle it.
But no matter what, she had to vent this frustration.
So she casually punched Jiraiya on the head instead.
"Bastard, this is all your fault for teaching him."
The old white-haired man hadn't expected that he still wouldn't escape in the end. He felt extremely wronged.
"I didn't teach him that!"
At that moment, after feeding Naruto, Kushina came over.
"Makoto, you're here. Looks like you already know Tsunade-nee-san, so I don't need to introduce you."
When she was young, she had lived together with Uzumaki Mito and had called her "grandmother" alongside Tsunade, so calling Tsunade nee-san was perfectly natural.
It even made her appear one generation senior to Minato.
"Kushina-senpai, Tsunade-sama's features are so distinctive. Of course I recognize her."
"Stop calling me senpai all the time. Your fūinjutsu was taught by me—you should call me sensei."
"Alright, Kushina-sensei."
At that moment, Minato said: "Makoto, you came at just the right time. Stay and have a meal with us."
Poor Fourth Hokage—before Makoto arrived, he had the best cooking skills among everyone there. Even while recovering from his injuries, he had become the cook for the group, and his family status had sunk to the basement.
Tsunade silently observed the casual way they interacted.
It seemed Jiraiya hadn't been wrong—this kid really did have a very good relationship with Minato's family.
She and Jiraiya had just arrived in Konoha. The moment they returned, they came straight to Minato's house.
As for their teacher, the Third Hokage…
Who was that again?
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