Namikaze Minato really was a great guy!
Sage Mode was probably the best ability he could get his hands on so far.
Although Haori had obtained Obito's spatial talent from Kakashi, it hadn't come into play yet.
He didn't know how the ability worked, or what kind of effect it would have.
Perhaps the talent would only manifest once his Mangekyo Sharingan awakened.
But Sage Mode was different. It was an immediate boost to his combat strength!
And it was a power he could use from the early stages all the way to the end.
"Still, Namikaze Minato's Sage Mode has some stability issues."
In the original story, Namikaze Minato had said he wasn't very good at Sage Mode. Haori had thought he was just being modest.
After all, right after saying that, the guy had activated Sage Mode and Nine-Tails Chakra Mode at the same time. Haori had almost lost his composure.
But after gaining this ability from him, Haori seemed to understand what was going on.
Simply put, Namikaze Minato wasn't very efficient at blending in natural chakra.
That meant he could only maintain it for a limited time in battle, so it made sense that he said he wasn't good at it and had never used it in combat while alive.
But Impure World Reincarnation was different. Infinite chakra meant he could keep gathering it, and his immortal body gave him unlimited room to make mistakes.
That was why he could let loose and use Flying Thunder God so recklessly.
"Still, at least I have a way to train. I can figure out the rest later."
As he walked back to Konoha, Haori watched Might Guy force Kakashi into a race up ahead.
Aoba stood off to the side, reluctantly refereeing, while Rin followed beside him with a smile. Haori stopped worrying about the matter.
As long as he could use it for now, that was enough. Besides, Sage Mode was a power he needed to acquire in the future anyway.
Getting it now was practically like taking a shortcut.
After all, Haori had a great "teacher." He could use Madara's power structure as a reference to improve his own strength!
"We're finally back."
Standing at the edge of the forest and gazing at Konoha in the distance, along with the towering Kage Rock, Rin couldn't help sighing.
Kakashi and Might Guy stopped fooling around, too, and quietly gazed at Konoha in the distance.
Their mission hadn't lasted long, and they hadn't encountered all that many enemies behind enemy lines.
But the past few days had left them with vivid memories, especially for Might Guy and Aoba.
They all knew the reason everything had seemed so easy was entirely because of Haori.
Without Haori, how could they have returned so easily, let alone earned the title of Konoha hero?
Kakashi and Rin felt the same way.
But this time, they didn't thank him again. Just as Haori had said, they'd thanked him enough already.
Some things were better left treasured in their hearts.
"Let's have a race."
Kakashi, who had been getting a little carried away after being pestered by Might Guy, suddenly spoke with a grin.
"Let's see who can get to Konoha first. What do you say?"
"Huh?"
Kakashi's words left the others confused. It didn't sound like something he would say.
But Might Guy immediately got excited and shouted,
"Sure, let's do it! But what happens to the person who comes in last?"
"No punishment. Whoever wants to race, race. Starting now."
To their surprise, Kakashi spoke and immediately took off.
"Damn it, wait for me!"
Might Guy hurried after him. Yamashiro Aoba glanced at Haori and Nohara Rin, then suddenly grinned, too.
"You two, slow down! Wait for me!"
"Those guys..."
Watching the others scatter like a flock of birds, Haori couldn't help laughing.
He turned and looked at Rin, who had lowered her head beside him, and for some reason, he thought of Obito.
Kakashi was making an opportunity, while Rin stood to the side, blushing.
If Obito were still alive to see this, he'd probably be furious enough to climb out of his grave—
"Things really... turned out this way?"
In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage rubbed his eyes, then set down the document in his hands.
Jiraiya had sent it over. The contents were obvious.
To be honest, the Third Hokage was overjoyed. The war was finally coming to an end.
At the same time, though, he was taken aback. This wasn't how he'd imagined it would end.
If Jiraiya's signature weren't on the document, he would have suspected it was fake.
"That Haori... has he really grown that quickly?"
The Third Hokage knew about Haori.
The boy's parents had died in the war. Though he'd been an average student at the Academy, he'd awakened his Sharingan on the battlefield.
At the same time, he'd begun his path to a comeback, gradually going from a "poor student" to a "Uchiha prodigy."
But no matter how talented Haori was, the Third Hokage hadn't thought he could surpass Kakashi.
Now, Kakashi could still surprise people endlessly, but next to this boy, he seemed rather ordinary.
"Three-Tomoe Sharingan..."
From the intelligence report, the Third Hokage already knew Haori's eyes had evolved.
His progress was truly astounding. Apart from Haori's achievements, his existence also reflected Konoha's strength.
The problem was that Haori's background was a little complicated. The person behind him was Uchiha Setsuna!
"Uchiha Setsuna is far too extreme..."
Just thinking of that man gave the Third Hokage a headache. Even his own teacher had thrown Setsuna in prison.
If his teacher were still alive, he would never have let Setsuna out. But now he needed the Uchiha's strength.
Haori was one of Setsuna's people. The Third Hokage couldn't help but worry.
And besides Haori, there was something else that worried him even more: Kakashi's eye.
"Uchiha are a bunch of lunatics!"
At the thought of it, the Third Hokage couldn't help cursing.
Obito had died saving Kakashi. That was certainly a moving act.
But if you're dead, you're dead. Why give your eye to Kakashi?
As a gift for Kakashi becoming a jonin?
Was Uchiha upbringing that bad, or were you really so stupid you couldn't be helped?
Had he not considered the consequences at all? Or did he simply not realize what kind of disaster his actions could cause?
The entire Shinobi World coveted the Sharingan, but no one had succeeded in getting one. One reason was that it was difficult to obtain the eye; the other was that fusing with it was extremely difficult.
And then you went and created a walking test subject for the entire Shinobi World to study, is that it?
And did you even consider whether your clan would tolerate this, or whether they would just let it go?
"I hope the Uchiha don't cause any trouble now of all times."
He was seething, and there were problems everywhere, but the Third Hokage could only grit his teeth and deal with them.
He could only think of happier things to calm himself down, too.
"Thank goodness. Once Iwagakure can't hold out any longer and agrees to negotiate, the war will be over.
"But it's also time to start thinking about a new Hokage, Orochimaru."
The Third Hokage had already anticipated that he would bear the responsibility for the losses in the war, so he was now considering the Fourth Hokage.
But at the thought of Orochimaru, his spirits sank again.
After returning to Konoha, Orochimaru had gone straight into the laboratory. He seemed to be behaving himself.
But the Third Hokage knew that his student had taken part in Danzo's Wood Release research project, which the Third Hokage had already ordered stopped.
Recently, he'd also received some information from Anbu: Orochimaru had secretly taken away some prisoners of war, and no one knew where they'd gone.
That made him uneasy. A Hokage couldn't have any stains on his record!
The Third Hokage's headache only worsened.
He really hadn't expected there to be so many troubles after the war.
Thanks to NGG for the tip! Thank you, thank you~
A newbie humbly begs you to keep reading. Right now, readership determines everything for a book, and letting it sit unread can easily kill it.
Thank you, everyone! Onz