An Unusual Year

Call...

Stepping out the door, Minato took a deep breath. He hadn't dared to breathe loudly inside the room, and now that he was out, he finally felt relieved.

He turned his head to look at Yemo and found him deep in thought, chin in hand. Minato couldn't help but ask, "What are you thinking about, Yemo?"

Startled from his reverie by Minato's words, Yemo subconsciously replied, "Oh, I wasn't thinking about anything."

Seeing that Yemo didn't want to talk about it, Minato didn't bother to press further and continued, "You're always getting into trouble. Just going out on a mission, and you've already brought back such astonishing news."

Yemo rolled his eyes at Minato, then clasped his hands behind his head and said bitterly, "You think I know about this? I wish I didn't know and was kept in the dark. This kind of thing involves too many people. Whoever gets involved will get into a lot of trouble, but..."

Before Yemo could finish speaking, Yemo Minato completed the sentence he was about to say, "But I never expected to be caught up in it, and right in the middle of the vortex at that."

Waving his hand, Yemo comforted himself, "It shouldn't involve me. I'm just a nobody; I shouldn't even be worth the attention of those higher-ups."

Seeing Yemo's self-comforting expression, Minato couldn't help but smile. Sometimes Yemo seemed like an adult, and other times like a child. Kushina's younger brother was truly unpredictable.

Just as Yemo was trying to comfort himself, Minato suddenly said, "Don't think like that yet. You should think about how you're going to explain things to your sister Kushina when you get home. What you did this time has really angered her. She said she'll ground you for a while when you get back."

Upon hearing this, Yemo cried out in despair, "No way, Minato, you're so heartless! How could you tell my older sister? I'm doomed, I'm really finished now!"

Holding his head, Yemo could almost see himself returning home, his older sister's furious expression, and another long, drawn-out nagging session.

"It's impossible to hide this. I received your message and came all the way here. How could I possibly keep it from Kushina? Good luck when you get back," Minato said, Minato and looking at Yemo with a sympathetic expression.

"No, no, I absolutely can't go back so early," Yemo muttered to himself, shaking his head and stroking his chin. "I should stay here a little longer; that way, my sister's anger should subside a bit."

Yemo heard what Minato Mo said clearly and laughed gleefully, "You're probably going to be disappointed."

"What do you mean?" Yemo looked at Minato with a puzzled expression. Could something else have happened?

Minato replied, "After what just happened, Jiraiya- sensei and Lord Orochimaru will absolutely not let you stay here any longer. Moreover, with your information, this war will probably be over soon. Besides, what do you think I'm here for? To take all of you Genin are experiencing war back with me?"

"No way," Yemo cried out in despair. It was truly a case of good things never coming together, but bad things just kept happening one after another. "Can't we just stay here?" Yemo was still somewhat unwilling to give up.

Minato shook his head slightly, his helpless expression clearly indicating that it was absolutely impossible. "Don't even think about it. Anyway, you're all coming back with me tomorrow. Quickly clean yourself up of the blood and grime, then change into clean clothes. Get a good night's sleep tonight; we're leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

Looking at himself, Jiraiya Yemo had forgotten that he was still dressed in Orochimaru, looking like a beggar on the street. However, he was even worse off than a beggar. Through the holes in his clothes, one could see wounds of all sizes, some of which had already scabbed over, while others were still bleeding.

Seeing the untreated wounds on his body, Yemo used his Chakra. In the next second, the bleeding wounds on Yemo's body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. The scabs on the wounds also recovered quickly, and the black scabs fell off. In just a few seconds, all the wounds on Yemo's body, large and small, had been completely healed, and there was no trace of injury left.

With Sage Body superhuman regenerative abilities and the creative power of Yin-Yang Release, Yemo's recovery from injuries is monstrous. Unless the injury is severe, he can recover almost instantly.

Minato didn't notice any of this. He exchanged a few words with Yemo and then left. As Jonin, he had a lot to do during the war.

Seeing Minato leave, Yemo put his hands in his pockets and strolled leisurely towards his resting place, humming an unknown tune.

Yemo returned to the forest, it was still the same playground, and the same bored kids were still doing their own things, exactly the same as when he had arrived that day.

The only difference was everyone's gaze. When they first arrived, no one cared about Yemo, but this time, as soon as Yemo out, everyone's eyes were drawn to him. Seeing Yemo's miserable state, most of the kids had strange looks in their eyes, and some even whispered in surprise.

Shikaku Nara and the other two immediately surrounded him, curiously inquiring about his questions. It took Yemo a while to answer all his doubts before he sat down on the ground to catch his breath.

Just then, another person returned. Yemo turned around and saw Kakashi walking over, dressed in tattered clothes and looking exhausted. Of all the kids, only Yemo and Kakashi could go out. However, Kakashi didn't say a word and went straight into the room.

Watching Kakashi's retreating figure, Chōza sighed, "Out of this large group, only the two youngest are capable of carrying out missions, while the Tenten of us just sit here, bored out of our minds day after day."

"Then you can go challenge Chunin. He's standing right there. You can go over there now, and if you win, you can carry out the mission," Shikaku said, pointing to the Chunin not far away.

Chōza glanced at Shikaku with a frustrated look, but didn't say anything. Shikaku was doing it on purpose; he knew he couldn't beat him, yet he still made me go.

"It's really embarrassing," Inoichi sighed from the side. "Kakashi is so much younger than us and he's already Chunin, while we're still Genin."

At this moment, Shikaku joined the two, saying, "Not to mention Kakashi, Yemo gets to carry out missions. It's so unfair!"

Yemo smiled at the three's complaints but said nothing. Everyone felt an inner pressure in front of a genius.

Seeing that Yemo ignored them, it was like punching cotton, with nowhere to land, so the three of them stopped talking.

Suddenly, Inoichi said, "Speaking of which, Kakashi seems to be a bit older than Yemo. By the way, Yemo, how old are you this year? Five or six?"

Inoichi vaguely remembered Yemo mentioning his age, but couldn't recall exactly. Yemo replied, "I'm six years old this year."

"You are indeed a little younger than Kakashi. Kakashi is seven years old this year. But it's quite a coincidence that you two were given a ninja Forehead Protector by the Third Hokage Kakashi you were six years old."

While they were talking, Shikaku didn't notice that when Yemo heard that Kakashi was seven years old, his expression changed drastically, as if he had thought of something terrifying.

Seven years old? If Kakashi is seven years old, then that shocking event in Konoha will happen this year. It's truly unexpected. Yemo was secretly surprised.

Seeing that Yemo hadn't spoken for a while and had that strange expression, Shikaku asked suspiciously, "What's wrong, Yemo? Is something the matter?"

"Oh, no," Yemo smiled, realizing what was happening.

He spoke in a voice only he could hear, muttering to himself, "It seems this year in Konoha is quite unusual. Something earth-shattering is about to happen. It's truly unexpected. I thought my arrival changed the future, but it turns out it's just that the time hasn't come yet."