The next morning, Tsunade took Minato and Kushina to the Hokage Building. After taking photos, they entered their ninja data with the help of the staff. The paperwork was processed quickly, marking their official transition from students to active shinobi of the leaf.
News of the intensifying conflict on the front lines had already reached the village, causing the atmosphere on the streets to be much more oppressive than usual. The lively air of the marketplace had been replaced by a heavy, somber silence that weighed on the hearts of the civilians.
Most people on the road were in a hurry, with a hint of worry in their eyes. They moved with a sense of urgency, as if trying to outrun the shadow of the coming storm.
Because of the war, many ninja were being deployed to the front lines. The gates of the village saw a constant stream of flak-jacketed warriors departing for the borders.
Among them were husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, and children whose parents were worried for them. The bonds of family were being tested by the call of duty, and the village felt the strain of every departure.
Minato, however, had never worried about the war. To him, the conflict was not a source of fear, but a series of variables to be managed and exploited for his own advancement.
Although he was still far from reaching his peak, with the Pika Pika no Mi powers and the Hiraishin, he could come and go as he pleased on the battlefield. His mobility was unmatched, granting him a level of safety that no other shinobi could claim.
In fact, if he wanted to, he could easily take down Hanzou in an instant. The legendary leader of the Rain would be little more than a target for his light-speed strikes.
Below the level of the Six Paths, Minato was confident he could remain absolutely invincible. With a $100\%$ synchronization rate with his powers, very few things in this world could truly threaten his life.
However, Minato didn't plan to show off too much in the war; he wouldn't forget how his original self died in the source material. He knew that being a hero often led to an early grave, and he had no intention of sacrificing himself for a village he viewed with cold detachment.
He was invincible, yes, but the people around him were not. He needed his pawns to be sturdy enough to survive the opening moves of the Great War.
At least until Kushina and Nawaki grew stronger, Minato didn't plan on standing out too much. He would play the role of the talented prodigy, but he would keep his true lethality hidden beneath the surface.
Compared to the Third Ninja World War, where Konoha was besieged by the Four Major Nations simultaneously, during the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha's direct opponents were only Sunagakure and Amegakure, so the pressure on the front lines wasn't that great. The strategic situation was manageable, allowing Minato room to maneuver.
"It feels like everyone is so tense."
Kushina looked at the expressions of the people passing by, her tone a bit low. She could feel the collective anxiety of the village, and it dampened her usual spirited mood.
Tsunade's brow furrowed slightly, not in a great mood: "After all, there hasn't been a war for over ten years. The peace we've known is a fragile thing, and people are realizing how easily it can shatter."
Kushina looked at Tsunade in confusion: "Sister Tsunade, why must there be war? Why can't everyone just stay in their own lands and be at peace?"
Hearing Kushina's simple question, Tsunade sighed softly, her eyes reflecting the weariness of a woman who had seen too much blood: "Probably because of hatred? It is a cycle that feeds on itself, generation after generation."
Minato suddenly spoke up, his voice cutting through the emotional weight of the conversation with cold, analytical precision: "War is a means, not an end. Politicians only consider how to seek benefits through war, either to satisfy themselves or to satisfy a group."
"Things like land, economy, and resources can all become the fuse for war, while hatred is precisely the most insignificant factor among many. It is merely the tool used to motivate the masses to kill one another."
As his voice fell, the air suddenly fell into silence. The raw pragmatism of his words hung in the air, stripping away the romanticized notions of "Will of Fire" or "protecting the home."
Tsunade and Kushina both cast amazed glances at Minato. They were struck by the depth of his insight, which seemed far too advanced for a boy of his age.
Kushina's eyes sparkled with admiration: "Minato, you're so amazing! You understand things that even the adults struggle with!"
"Is... is that so?"
Minato gave an awkward smile, maintaining his humble facade. He just wanted to establish a normal cognitive concept for Kushina; he didn't expect the two of them to react so strongly to basic political theory.
Is this really such a difficult thing to understand? In his mind, the motivations of nations were as transparent as glass.
Seeing Tsunade also nodding in agreement, as if she quite identified with those words, Minato was momentarily speechless. He realized that even the elite of this world were often blinded by the very propaganda they served.
He felt that the Ninja Academy really should add a course on political ideology... "What? You think it's strange?"
Noticing Minato's speechlessness, Tsunade chuckled, her mood lightening slightly at his apparent modesty: "You're thinking that such a simple truth in your eyes is something others don't understand, aren't you?"
Minato gave a sheepish laugh: "Uh... pretty much. It seems like the logical conclusion to any conflict over resources."
"Stinky brat, you really underestimate people."
Tsunade pinched Minato's cheek, a gesture of affection that belied the seriousness of her next words: "What ruler would publicize their means of rule? Not everyone can systematically organize these thoughts like you can."
"These theories you mentioned, if put out there, would be more dangerous than Forbidden Techniques! They have the power to dismantle the very foundations of the hidden village system."
Minato was slightly startled, realizing that was indeed the case. In a world built on loyalty and unquestioning service, objective analysis was a threat to the status quo.
First of all, his ideology was different from that of people in the Ninja World. He didn't view the world through the lens of clans or hidden villages, but through the lens of systemic power.
His thoughts were fully armed by an education from a more advanced and forward-thinking era! He possessed the intellectual heritage of a civilization that had already deconstructed the nature of war and governance.
They even had a damn strong offensive nature... If Madara tried to fool him with the 'this world is hopeless, only the Eye of the Moon Plan can bring peace' theory, Minato could talk to him from the Analects all the way to the connection between human social development and war.
He'd even throw a political science book at him, pat him on the shoulder, and tell him: the path to salvation lies within material dialectics, not a giant eyeball in the sky.
But the thoughts of people in the Ninja World were different! They were trapped in a feudal mindset, searching for individual saviors in a world that required structural change.
At least the ninja had never established a relevant knowledge system, and the fatal part was that they happened to love thinking particularly much. They were philosophers without textbooks, leading them into dark spirals of despair.
As the saying goes, learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.
Like those several Uchiha in the original story, they were basically in the latter state; it'd be strange if they didn't go crazy! They had the power of gods but the emotional and intellectual maturity of children.
Thinking of this, Minato felt incredibly lucky. His past life had given him a shield against the existential dread that plagued the "geniuses" of this world.
These things that seemed like common sense to him had another name in his past life.
It was called the Art of Dragon Slaying!
He had lived in a country—the only one, in fact—that taught you how to revolt even in times of peace, told you who to unite with and who to lead, and where everyone received this kind of education as a matter of course.
Thinking about it now, it really was quite incredible. The tools for revolution were handed out like candy in his old world, while here, they were the most guarded secrets.
Of course, Minato didn't have the idea of letting the red star's light illuminate the Ninja World. He was only a half-baked expert in this area, having only received a basic education in his past life and lived through an era of information explosion. He was more interested in personal power than social upheaval.
Moreover, the situation in the Ninja World was different from his past life. With his meager reserve of knowledge, he certainly couldn't pull off a total global transformation, nor did he care to try.
On the way home, Kushina kept pondering Minato's remarks about the nature of war. Her young mind was trying to reconcile his cold logic with the warmth she felt whenever he looked at her.
Tsunade, on the other hand, thoughtfully observed the little blond boy next to her who always managed to surprise her. She saw a maturity that surpassed even the Hokage himself.
If before she still held the idea that whether he became Hokage depended entirely on Minato's personal will, then things had changed.
Then now, she truly hoped Minato could sit in the Hokage's seat. She saw him not just as a powerful ninja, but as a leader who could actually change the system.
She felt that if it were Minato, he would definitely have a way to end this chaotic world. He possessed the clarity that the current leadership lacked.
The three of them returned home with different thoughts. Before they even entered the door, they suddenly heard a burst of frantic laughter from the yard, breaking the contemplative silence of their walk.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"It's done!"
"I've done it!!"
"This idiot, what has he done now?"
Tsunade strode into the yard. As soon as she entered, she saw Nawaki standing under a large tree laughing wildly, his face covered in soot and sweat, with a basin-sized circular crater on the trunk in front of him. The wood was shredded in a spiral pattern, smoking from the friction.
"Ah—it's this."
Minato showed a smile, though his internal thoughts were merely noting that his student had finally reached the minimum threshold of usefulness. "Congratulations, Nawaki."
"Hmm?"
Hearing Minato's voice, Nawaki turned his head. Seeing the three of them back, he immediately became excited again, his chest heaving with exertion.
"You brat, what are you doing?"
Tsunade glanced at the large crater on the tree trunk, her eyes narrowing slightly as she sensed the residual chakra in the air: "This kind of power... it's purely concentrated kinetic energy."
"Look, Older Sister!"
Nawaki couldn't wait to come before Tsunade. He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and held his right hand up in a claw-like shape, the classic posture of someone trying to stabilize an immense amount of energy.
Then, he took a deep breath and concentrated his attention on his right palm. He channeled $2,500$ Chakra Units into the focal point, forcing the energy to rotate at high speeds.
In an instant, a strong surge of chakra gathered rapidly in his palm, whipping up a gust of wind in the yard that ruffled their clothes and kicked up dust.
The disordered chakra spun and condensed rapidly, eventually being compressed into a deep blue chakra ball that hummed with a low, vibrating frequency!
Seeing this, a flash of shock passed through Tsunade's eyes: "To be able to compress chakra to this extent? This level of chakra control... what ninjutsu is this?"
"It's called the Rasengan!"
Nawaki raised his chin proudly, the glowing blue orb illuminating his face. "It took me more than two years to learn this ninjutsu!"
"Very impressive! With this level of chakra control, it's already very impressive that you could learn it. You truly are my younger brother!"
Tsunade praised. She reached out to sense the density of the technique, her heart swelling with pride at her brother's growth.
She mastered the Monstrous Strength, which also required extremely high chakra control, so she naturally understood the difficulty of this ninjutsu. It was an A-rank technique in all but name.
"Haha, hahahaha~"
Receiving praise from his sister, Nawaki grinned foolishly, suddenly feeling that these two years of hard cultivation and constant failure were worth it!
"So, Minato taught you?"
"Older Sister, you really are no fun... you could have at least let me pretend I came up with it myself."
----------------
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion