More than a month had passed since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War.
Every village had suffered heavy losses. Compared to the previous wars, the Fourth Shinobi War had driven the cruelty of war into the hearts of the people of every village in a far more direct way.
Konoha had been relatively fortunate. Most of the people Ye Zi had revived with the Reanimation Technique had come from Konoha, so after the war, Konoha remained the strongest shinobi village.
After more than a month of work, Konoha's reconstruction had finally achieved clear results. The buildings in every district were basically complete, and all that remained was to improve the details, such as streetlights and landscaping. But a lack of funds was a serious problem.
The repeated wars had consumed a great deal of the major nations' funds. Compared to the past, the funding they currently provided had been drastically reduced. Combined with the reconstruction costs, Konoha's finances were facing a severe test.
Because of this, not just Minato, but many others were also worrying themselves sick.
"Jiraiya-sensei... sigh."
At his desk, Minato covered his forehead and sighed. The innocent, dream-chasing expression Jiraiya had worn when leaving the village a few days ago surfaced in his mind.
Well, as expected of Jiraiya-sensei. Even his act had been so flawless that it left no trace.
It had been nothing more than an excuse to slack off, along with that crucial reason...
Thinking of this, Minato felt another pang of sympathy for Jiraiya-sensei. After all, Lady Tsunade's wedding was coming up soon.
While feeling sorry for Jiraiya-sensei, Minato could not help feeling sorry for himself as well. After all, just like Jiraiya-sensei, he had fallen for someone he could never catch up with no matter how hard he tried.
The only