Inside the Sealing Space

The Sealing Space was dim and gloomy.

Uchiha Shisui, whom Sarutobi Hiruzen had been thinking about, was clutching his now-empty eye sockets and kneeling on the ground in an orz pose.

Not far from him stood Yakushi Nonō, her long golden curls cascading down her back, glasses perched on her face, her expression one of utter disbelief.

Just moments ago, when Uchiha Shisui had been sealed inside, the sudden change in scenery before him had instinctively put him on guard. But his exhausted body, depleted Chakra, and barely remaining Dojutsu could not keep up with his mind. His vision blurred, and a flash of golden light suddenly appeared before him.

Then his last remaining eye vanished.

And then he orz'd.

"That should do it, right?"

Minato Namikaze looked bitterly at the bloody, still-warm eye in his hand.

He was no saint. His title of Yellow Flash had been earned on the battlefield, where he had killed so many that the other four ninja villages had issued a direct order: "If you encounter the Yellow Flash, you may abandon the mission as your first priority." That alone showed that Minato Namikaze was absolutely a decisive, ruthless man.

Just like when he had plucked out Uchiha Shisui's eyes—he had not hesitated in the slightest, acting even more cleanly than Danzo.

Still, stealing a friend's clansman's bloodline limit made his sun-like nature feel a trace of guilt.

As Minato Namikaze sighed inwardly, a wave of Chakra suddenly rippled through the air. To his astonishment, another ninja dressed in Anbu attire appeared.

That wasn't part of the plan, was it?

"F-Fourth Hokage?"

Just as Minato Namikaze was hesitating over whether to gouge out this person's eyes as well, a trembling female voice rang out.

Minato Namikaze looked at the ninja and saw that the mask on her face was unfamiliar. She must have joined recently.

"You are?"

Though he did not know how Naruto intended to deal with her, Minato Namikaze still politely asked for her identity.

Yakushi Nonō hesitated, then removed her mask. There was no point in hiding her identity before the Fourth Hokage.

"It has been a long time, Lord Fourth. I am Yakushi Nonō."

Yakushi Nonō could not help feeling emotional. "I never expected Lord Fourth to still be alive."

"So it's you."

Minato Namikaze recognized the orphanage director who often went to the Hokage Building to request supplies. He had simply never expected her to be a Root ninja.

"It has indeed been a long time, Director Nonō. I'm not truly alive either. This is only a bit of Chakra I left behind."

Minato Namikaze's answer surprised Yakushi Nonō. She had not expected him to remember her, but what truly startled her was something else.

"Chakra? Can someone still exist like this after dying?"

"That requires some special methods. But how did Director Nonō become a Root ninja?" Minato Namikaze smiled. Since Naruto did not seem to object, he was quite willing to chat with her. After all, there was only a big fox in this place. Whenever Naruto came in, he was always training. Minato Namikaze had been rather bored, and this was a chance to learn more about the outside world.

"This..." Yakushi Nonō wanted to explain, but her words were abruptly interrupted.

"F-Fourth Hokage? Why? Could it be that even you covet the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Uchiha Shisui, still clutching his eye sockets and lying painfully on the ground, could not help crying out. Though he did not know why the Fourth Hokage was alive, the Yellow Flash he had glimpsed in that instant earlier was enough to confirm that it was truly him.

And it was precisely because he was certain that he felt such pain. Compared to even the current Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was the Hokage who had truly been close to the Uchiha Clan. His wife, Kushina Uzumaki, had been very close friends with the current Clan Head's Wife of the Uchiha Clan.

Yet now, even such a Fourth Hokage wanted to take his eyes.

Only after hearing Uchiha Shisui did Yakushi Nonō come back to her senses. It was then that she noticed the bloody eye in Minato Namikaze's hand.

She too wore an expression as if she had seen a ghost. The Fourth Hokage had always been a tolerant, kind, sunny, and gentle man—warm as spring toward the villagers, cold and merciless as winter toward his enemies. Could he really do something that only Shimura Danzō would do?

"I'm sorry, Shisui... I had no choice but to do this."

Minato Namikaze's voice was full of apology. Looking at Uchiha Shisui, he suddenly thought of Obito. Uchiha Shisui could be considered Obito's junior.

"Director Nonō, please treat Shisui."

Minato Namikaze looked at Yakushi Nonō and asked her for help.

"Ah? All right..."

Though she also wanted to know Minato Namikaze's reasons, now was clearly not the time to ask. She had carefully observed the surroundings earlier.

The place was extremely dark, with a great deal of water pooled around it, resembling a sewer. Yet she had discovered that although the water beneath her feet looked like water, she felt nothing when touching it. Even when she stepped into it, her feet did not become wet at all.

Behind Minato Namikaze was an enormous iron cage. Although she could not see what was inside at all, she was certain that something was being imprisoned there.

Strange, there seemed to be the sound of pages turning as well.

Yakushi Nonō walked to Uchiha Shisui's side. Green Chakra enveloped her hand as she placed it near his eyes.

This was the Mystical Palm Technique, an A-rank Medical Ninjutsu that used Chakra emitted from the palms to enhance the healing of wounds or afflicted areas, and required considerable talent to learn.

"Lord Fourth, can you tell me your reason?"

Feeling a gentle, warm stream of Chakra coming from his eye sockets, Uchiha Shisui's emotions calmed considerably. He wanted to know why the Fourth Hokage had taken his eyes.

Minato Namikaze fell silent for a while before finally shaking his head. "Sorry, I can't tell you that. But someone will explain it to you later."

After hearing that answer, Uchiha Shisui also fell silent. It was clearly not an answer that satisfied him, but there was nothing he could do now. Leaving aside whether he could have beaten him when he still had his eyes, he did not even have eyes anymore. Other than silence, he had no choice.

For a time, the Sealing Space fell into an eerie silence.

At that moment, the sound of pages turning seemed to grow clearer.

Minato Namikaze also sensed that the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward. He felt that things could not go on like this, and he had no idea when Naruto would come in, so he decided to find a topic to discuss.

"Director Nonō, you still haven't told me why you joined Root. As far as I know, Root is not a good place."

Yakushi Nonō, who was treating Uchiha Shisui, gave a bitter smile.

"I was originally a Root ninja."

"..."