Return Journey

The next step was to assign specific tasks. The most important were sending reconnaissance units to monitor the Akatsuki's movements and... returning to report to the daimyō.

That was right. Although the daimyō usually had little presence, something this major still had to be reported to them. If things went badly, they would also need to be evacuated to prevent them from being taken hostage.

"You're Shibuki, the leader of Hidden Waterfall Village, right?" Minato finally looked warmly at Shibuki. "How do you plan to arrange things for that child?"

The other Four Kage also looked at him. They knew Minato was referring to the Seven Tails Jinchuriki, which was why Shibuki had been allowed to sit in on the meeting.

Shibuki subconsciously glanced in Fu's direction, then bowed. "Though this may be presumptuous, I hope Fu can visit Konoha.

"Compared to the Five Great Shinobi Villages, our village's strength is insignificant. We may not be capable of protecting her properly. After today's meeting, I have gained great respect for you. I also heard that she has made friends in Konoha. If she goes there, I believe she herself will be very willing."

"That won't be a problem." Minato readily agreed.

Taking the opportunity, Ōnoki asked, "The remaining Tailed Beasts are the One-Tail, Three Tails, Six-Tails, Seven Tails, and Nine Tails. Aside from the Kazekage and Mizukage, how does the Hokage intend to handle the other Jinchuriki?"

Minato said, "My wife and son are Nine Tails Jinchuriki. They will be participating in the war. As for Fu, I will assess her strength later before making arrangements. Mizukage, how is the Six-Tails Jinchuriki doing?"

Yagura answered, "Utakata's control over the Tailed Beast's power is not perfect. Forcing its use carries the risk of him going berserk, but his own strength is still decent. There is no problem with him participating in the war. Acting together with the troops should actually reduce the risk of him being captured."

"Come to think of it, I've wanted to ask this for a long time. Why are there two Nine Tails Jinchuriki?" Ōnoki suddenly recalled something that had troubled him for a long time. "Of course, if this involves some Secret Technique, then pretend I said nothing."

The Raikage and the others were curious as well. If Jinchuriki could be mass-produced, that would be far too frightening.

Minato shook his head. "There is nothing that can't be said. An accident occurred when Naruto was born, causing the Nine Tails to be split into two halves and sealed within the mother and son respectively. If possible, I truly would not have wanted to do that."

No one else pressed the matter, because there was no point.

Sealing a Tailed Beast inside a person was already extremely risky. Who knew how many children would have to die to create a single Jinchuriki? And splitting a Tailed Beast in half would certainly affect the Jinchuriki's eventual strength. There was no need to do something so thankless.

"Right." Minato pulled several Flying Thunder God Kunai from his Ninja Tool Bag.

Gaara needed no explanation, while the Raikage recognized them at a glance. "These bear the formula for your Flying Thunder God Technique?"

"That's right. As long as you contact me in an emergency, I can instantly reach the location of the formula. This can greatly improve efficiency when necessary."

After explaining their purpose, Minato smiled. "Of course, it also means I might suddenly appear and stab you at any time."

"Quit joking around. You..." The Raikage casually took a kunai, then froze. Hope suddenly burst into his eyes. "Hokage-sama, you once left a mark on Bee, right? Is that... still there?"

Minato shook his head. "I'm sorry. More precisely, the mark was left on one of the Eight Tails' octopus tentacles. If the Eight Tails is sealed away, I have no way to determine his location."

"I see. I know." The Raikage was deeply disappointed, but there was nothing he could do.

Naturally, no one took Minato's joke seriously. Everyone, including Mifune and Shibuki, accepted a kunai.

"Then hurry back and make your preparations. Be careful on the road, especially you, Kazekage and Mizukage. You are the most likely to be targeted on your return journey." Minato was not worried about the people around him.

"Understood!"

After a brief farewell, the guards jumped down and followed their respective Kage away.

Only Minato and Shibuki did not leave in a hurry.

The little wings on Fu's back fluttered as she floated before Shibuki. "Hey, Shibuki, is the meeting over? Can I go out and play now?"

Shibuki said helplessly, "Didn't you always want to visit Konoha? I already asked the Hokage, and he agreed to take you there as a guest."

"Really? That's amazing!" Fu happily did a somersault in the air.

"All right, quiet down and listen to me. Otherwise, you're not going!" Shibuki threatened.

"Yes!" Fu obediently landed and folded away her wings, then gave a playful salute.

Shibuki raised one finger. "Remember this. First, from now on, you must follow Hokage-sama's arrangements in all your actions. No sneaking off on the way. Second, once you reach Konoha, you are not allowed to cause trouble or disgrace the village. And you cannot barge into other people's offices like you do in the village. Third, you can't..."

Three minutes later, Fu's eyelids began to droop as sleepiness overtook her.

Five minutes later, Fu's little head suddenly dipped, and she immediately jolted awake. She raised her head and stared blankly at the endlessly talking Shibuki.

Fu protested unhappily, "That's enough, Shibuki! You're like this every time I leave the village. I can practically recite it by heart!"

Shibuki was not falling for it. "Then recite it for me."

"..."

Fu blinked her big eyes, grinning foolishly as she scratched her head.

"Ha, I knew it would be like this." Shibuki sighed. "In any case, don't cause trouble for them."

"Got it!" Fu shot over to Naruto's side and waved at Shibuki with a grin.

Shibuki covered his face and said somewhat awkwardly to Minato, "Sorry for the trouble. Fu's personality really is..."

Minato did not mind. "It's fine. Our village also has some... very energetic children."

Leaving the warm base and entering the wind and snow once more, Naruto could sense Kakashi and the others hiding nearby. It was truly hard on them.

Fu followed beside Naruto, chattering nonstop as she asked what fun things and tasty food Konoha had. Yet every time Naruto answered one question, she had already asked two more.

It made Naruto feel as though he was using a 2G network while she was using 5G.

As for why they did not simply use Flying Thunder God to return, it was because Minato rather hoped they would encounter someone trying to block their path and snatch a Tailed Beast.

Naruto was also curious whether anyone would dare jump out to ambush them halfway there. Honestly, he was rather disappointed that no one had caused trouble at the Five Kage Summit. Even a White Zetsu popping out of the ground would have been fine.

What Naruto didn't know was that this was all his fault.

Because Obito did not dare come out and show off at all now. In the past, he had the Kamui Dimension and could turn intangible whenever he wanted, allowing him to roam around freely.

But now, as Obito watched that group of Little Blondies taking turns without interruption since the Five Kage Summit began, dancing around in the Kamui Dimension to leave marks... oh dear, his head hurt.

At the same time, the Xuanyuan Crowd lying in wait along the Mizukage's return route had already chosen their location and waited for a long time.

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