"So Minato-senpai has officially been confirmed as a candidate for the Fourth Hokage."
When Hagoromo said this, his voice sounded slightly off.
Because of Obito's and Rin's deaths, he was still staying in Konoha, and his condition was clearly poor. The blow he had taken had not faded in the slightest.
Inside Kushina's home, he was sitting on the floor with his legs stretched out, arms hanging limply as he leaned forward, half his face pressed against the tabletop. His gaze was directed out the window.
It was not a very shinobi-like posture.
But considering Kakashi's current state, Kushina felt Hagoromo was already doing relatively well. Besides… when all was said and done, he was unconsciously mimicking how she herself had looked earlier. Even as his teacher, she didn't really have the standing to scold him for it.
Suddenly—
Clang.
The sound of ceramic shattering rang out.
With some effort, Hagoromo slowly shifted his line of sight, turned his head, and pressed the other side of his face against the table instead.
This way, he could still watch her movements.
…She probably dropped another plate.
Why "another"?
In any case, Hagoromo had long since surrendered when it came to things like this.
Kushina's expression hadn't changed at all. She looked perfectly calm—clearly used to it. Her cooking skills hadn't improved either, and after trying seriously for a while, she had evidently given up entirely.
Some things really did require talent.
…Like being a ninja.
"To be honest, the entire village knew about it this morning," Kushina said. "If not for what happened to Rin and Obito, Minato would probably be much happier."
As she spoke, her long red hair fell forward slightly, obscuring her face. Hagoromo could only see a few strands of hair, her chin, and the curve of her lips—but not her eyes.
They were probably showing an expression he never wanted to see on her face.
If this weren't such a time, she would have been far happier.
Becoming the Fourth Hokage was something worth celebrating for Minato. As for Kushina's childhood declaration that she would one day become Hokage herself—that had likely been something blurted out in defiance. She never had a deep obsession with the title, and after meeting Minato, she had long since abandoned that dream.
Being Hokage was no longer part of what defined her happiness.
What Konoha announced now was not merely that Minato had become a candidate for Fourth Hokage—
—but that he was the only candidate.
The meaning of that was obvious.
In truth, Namikaze Minato was no longer just a candidate. He had effectively become Hokage-designate. From here on out, the Third Hokage would gradually begin transferring authority to him.
Confirming the Fourth Hokage after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was no coincidence. Iwagakure's defeat was already all but certain, and even more importantly, news had arrived that Konoha and Kirigakure had officially signed a peace treaty.
Minato's appointment was good news piled atop good news.
After years of accumulated reputation, the name "Yellow Flash" was known to everyone in Konoha. Combined with Minato's natural affinity for people—and the closeness he inspired as a shinobi of civilian origin—the Third Hokage's decision faced almost no opposition within the village.
In fact, the more ordinary the civilian or shinobi, the stronger their support tended to be.
Of course—
That was only mostly true.
"Did anything go wrong during the process?" Hagoromo asked quickly, trying to prevent the conversation from sinking back into heavy emotions.
Kushina paused slightly before answering.
"There weren't any major problems."
No major problems meant plenty of minor ones.
And from the way she hesitated, Hagoromo could guess that those "minor" issues were anything but small.
There were things Kushina clearly didn't want Hagoromo to get involved with at this time—perhaps a form of protection, in her own way.
How could there have been no resistance at all? Appointing someone so young as Hokage would naturally draw objections from conservative elements among the higher-ups.
In fact, even if Jiraiya had been chosen, those same people would have found something else to criticize—age replaced by temperament.
Power struggles surrounding the Hokage position were always fierce, especially in an era when all the great villages were undergoing generational change.
The Fourth Raikage.
The Fourth Mizukage.
The Fourth Hokage.
Each of them faced resistance in ascending to power.
Konoha was fortunate—under the Third Hokage's suppression, things would not escalate into large-scale bloodshed.
After Minato's appointment was announced, Hagoromo was immediately assigned a new duty.
For the foreseeable future, he would serve as Minato's personal guard.
Where Minato went, he would go. Unless under special circumstances, he would not be assigned to any other missions.
And during this sensitive transition period, those assigned as guards—including Hagoromo—were granted extraordinary authority.
Not only could they kill enemies on sight—
—but even fellow Konoha shinobi.
If any shinobi, even from within the village, displayed hostile intent toward Minato, the response was simple:
Kill without hesitation.
Even accidental killings were acceptable.
Protection did not stop at external threats. Internal threats were included as well.
The mission order had been personally written by the Third Hokage.
Through it, the village's shadow was laid bare—and so was the Third Hokage's ruthlessness.
Hagoromo's first instinct upon receiving the order had been to refuse.
Not because Minato didn't need protection—
—but because the unknown bred unease, and partial knowledge bred fear.
He wanted to resign all duties and remain in Konoha, so that no matter what happened, he could stay by Kushina's side.
The temptation was strong.
But in the end, he abandoned the idea.
First, it was still too early. Even if Obito had somehow survived, judging from the injuries Hagoromo had seen with his own eyes, recovery would not come easily.
Even if certain events he vaguely knew about were still destined to occur—
—it wouldn't be now.
If he wanted to act by waiting, he needed to keep waiting.
Don't panic.
That was what he kept telling himself.
New techniques were still under development. Everything required time.
Watching Kushina bustle about for no apparent reason, Hagoromo knew—
This was not yet the time for him to remain in Konoha.
The village wouldn't allow someone of his combat strength to sit idle without cause—especially now, when the war was approaching its decisive end.
And staying by Minato's side also meant he could subtly influence him, step by step, raising awareness of what lay ahead.
"Hagoromo?" Kushina asked suddenly. "Why are you staring at me like that? Lost in thought?"
She had noticed his unfocused gaze.
"…Ah, it's nothing."
It really was nothing.
As long as she could remain like this, it was enough.
Then Hagoromo continued,
"By the way… how is Kakashi?"
Even though he tried to avoid the topic, the conversation inevitably circled back to it.
"Kakashi… isn't doing well," Kushina said softly. "The shock hit him hard. Obito and Rin… both happened right in front of him."
"Minato's squad no longer exists either. From what Minato's said, he seems to be considering transferring Kakashi to ANBU…"
Sending Kakashi into ANBU at a time like this?
Minato might have his reasons—but was that really a good idea?
Wasn't Kakashi's heart already dark enough?
Was this some kind of poison countering poison approach?
"…Would that really be good for him?" Hagoromo said. "Maybe it would be better to let him stay with Guy."
Due to differences in personality and experience, it wasn't that one of them was mentally stronger than the other. And Might Dai's death was fundamentally different from Rin's.
Dai had died willingly, without regret.
Rin had left behind nothing but pain and sorrow.
Kushina shook her head.
"Minato probably has his own considerations."
In truth, Hagoromo knew he was just offering empty suggestions.
He wanted Guy's positivity to influence Kakashi—but someone who sealed themselves off couldn't be reached by anyone.
Right now, Kakashi felt like someone quietly waiting to disappear.
The reason was understandable—but people in that state…
To be honest, Hagoromo didn't want to deal with him.
What had happened was reality.
Whether one accepted it, ignored it, or pretended not to see it, nothing would change.
Everyone responded differently.
As for Hagoromo—
He would not stop.
Soon enough, he would return to the battlefield.
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