Minato, Kushina, and Yohei

When Taiichi returned to Konoha, the first thing he did was go to find Minato.

The information obtained from the Sage of Six Paths naturally had to be reported to the village immediately.

So, the moment Minato saw Taiichi, he heard something he never expected.

"I saw the Sage of Six Paths!"

Honestly, if Taiichi hadn't seemed serious, Minato would have thought Taiichi trying to lighten the mood.

After all, Konoha has had a lot more follow-up work to do these past two days because of the attack on the Capital of Fire.

Minato doesn't even know if he's smiled at all these past two days.

He probably only smiled when he was facing his son, Naruto.

"Are you serious?" Minato still didn't believe him and asked directly.

Taiichi knew this was rather bizarre, but the truth was the truth, and he nodded heavily.

"I also learned a lot of information from him, which is why I came to discuss it with you."

Minato raised his hand, interrupting Taiichi, then summoned his staff and ordered them to immediately fetch the Third Kazekage. Only then did he say to Taiichi, "This matter is of great importance; let's wait for the Third Kazekage Hokage to arrive before discussing it further."

He didn't care if Taiichi nodded; it saved him from having to say it twice and was more concise.

The two chatted idly for a while before Hiruzen Sarutobi walked in.

Minato briefly explained to the Third Kazekage why he had been invited, and the Third Kazekage's reaction was even stronger than Minato's earlier.

Taiichi heard this, and the pipe in the Third Kazekage's hand made a crisp "crack" sound. Although it didn't look broken, it seemed that cracks had been squeezed inside.

"The Sage of Six Paths, that's the legendary progenitor of ninjas, Taiichi, you really surprised me."

Taiichi modest smile, "I guess it's because of my strength that the Sage of Six Paths came directly to me. You don't know how difficult it is to even get a meeting with him; even my Chakra reserves were almost completely depleted."

Taiichi certainly wouldn't say that it was because his strength had broken through to the Six Paths Level that he attracted the attention of the Sage of Six Paths. After all, everyone needs some secrets, and he himself was no exception.

Next, Taiichi recounted the information he had heard from the Sage of Six Paths to Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi, bit by bit.

Regarding the Ōtsutsuki Clan from outer space, everyone had speculated about it before and had been making preparations. Now, they were just confirming it with the Sage of Six Paths, and there was no particular emotion involved.

However, upon hearing about the relationship between the God Tree, the Ten-Tails, and the Nine Tailed Beasts, both Hokage were intelligent enough to immediately connect it to the Akatsuki without Taiichi needing to remind them.

"Taiichi, is the Sage of Six Paths aware of the Akatsuki?" Minato asked seriously.

"It's unclear. The Sage of Six Paths only has a general understanding of the current situation in the Ninja World, and he didn't have any particular reaction to the Akatsuki's collection of Tailed Beast. According to him, this is an internal conflict within the Ninja World, and someone who has been dead for a thousand years shouldn't get too involved."

Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at each other in silence, but then they realized that what the other person said wasn't wrong.

Konoha, and indeed the entire Five Great Ninja Villages, had absolutely no connection with the Sage of Six Paths.

If the Senju and Uchiha are said to be descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, then the Akatsuki also has Rinnegan and Sharingan, so the relationship can't be too far off.

Helping this person is problematic, and helping that person is also problematic, so it's better not to help either side.

Fortunately, Taiichi never disappointed them; he managed to obtain more accurate information from the Sage of Six Paths.

"The Akatsuki possesses the Rinnegan. According to the Sage of Six Paths, they might be able to revive the Ten-Tails using the Nine Tailed Beasts."

This statement is tantamount to a definitive conclusion. Although the Sage of Six Paths only said "possibly," judging from the Akatsuki's actions, they were aiming to revive the Ten-Tails.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Minato with a serious expression, his tone more solemn than ever before.

"Minato, you must not leave Konoha before the Akatsuki is destroyed. This is not only for your own sake, but also for Konoha and for the entire Ninja World."

Minato gave a wry smile; he hadn't expected that he would be the first to suffer after this news broke.

"Third Kazekage Hokage, there's no need for that. I don't usually leave Konoha. Besides, I have the Flying Thunder God; the enemy can't stop me even if they want to."

Minato still wanted to fight for his rights, but he clearly miscalculated.

"The Second could also Flying Thunder God, yet he still died under enemy siege. The Akatsuki dared to attack Capital of Fire; they've completely lost their humanity. Who knows what kind of trap they've set up to deal with you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi became more and more convinced that he was right. Just like now, when the topic of traps came up, he immediately thought of the other two.

"And Kushina and Naruto, they shouldn't leave Konoha for now either. I know Kushina and Tsunade often go to Tanzaku Town, but absolutely not anymore."

Tsunade and Kushina, who were strolling through Tanzaku Town, sneezed simultaneously. They looked at each other, both seeing a hint of bewilderment in each other's eyes. Could it really be such a coincidence that they sneezed at the same time?

Naruto was walking in front of them, was four years old this year. He was looking around at this stall and that shop when he heard the voice behind him. He turned around and saw his mother and aunt rubbing their noses, and he called out to them.

"Mom, it must be Dad thinking of you!"

The next moment, he turned to Tsunade, "Aunt Tsunade, my dad can't miss you, or Mom will beat him up!"

His words made everyone around him burst into laughter, and also made Kushina blush deeply.

Regardless of whether Naruto's butt hurt or something else, in the Konoha office, Minato was at a loss for words.

He could imagine how furious Kushina would be if she heard the Third Kazekage's orders.

I finally gained my freedom, and now you want to lock me back in the cage? You're asking for trouble.

Minato felt a headache coming on just thinking about Kushina's menacing appearance.

He looked at Taiichi with pleading eyes, hoping he could help him out of this predicament.

But clearly, Taiichi disappointed him this time.

Taiichi looked at Minato's pitiful eyes, and while he found it amusing, he could only shake his head helplessly.

He wasn't worried about Minato himself getting into trouble. With Minato's abilities, even if he faced Obito and Pain's combined attack, he could escape in no time if he couldn't win.

But the Third Kazekage was right about one thing: the reason the second generation died was because of the Shadow Guard Unit who were protecting him.

Kushina and Naruto were essentially Minato's "Shadow Guard Unit." They had little ability to fight back against either Obito or Pain, and could be easily ambushed if they weren't careful. Therefore, they truly couldn't leave Konoha.

Seeing that even Taiichi wasn't on his side, Minato had no choice but to accept his fate.

"Okay, I'll talk to Kushina and the others."

His words sounded so unconvincing that the light in Minato's eyes dimmed slightly.

"Taiichi, you don't need to stay in Konoha all the time. Things in the village are back on track. Go out and look for traces of the Akatsuki, and try to wipe them out as soon as possible."

Good grief, Minato isn't just having Taiichi hard time himself, he's trying to drag Taiichi down with him.

However, since they are good brothers, and he couldn't help earlier, Taiichi readily agreed to this small request.

As for the Akatsuki, the three decided to convene the Five Kage Summit again, believing that this time, no one would refuse.

Leaving the Hokage's Office, Taiichi glanced at the sky. The Sun Barrier had already set, and the moon had just risen. The timing was perfect, so he turned and headed straight for the Uchiha Compound.

However, this time it wasn't to visit his student Uchiha Itachi's, house.

Instead, he took a detour and went directly to the home of his old teammate, Yohei.

When the servant reported that someone had visited, Yohei Uchiha was busy shoveling rice into his mouth.

When the servant announced that the visitor was Taichi Matsushita, Yohei immediately put down his bowl and chopsticks and ran out of the house without even putting on his shoes.

His voice could be heard even before he reached the door.

"Taiichi, you finally remembered to come to my house to play!"

At the entrance, Taiichi heard Yohei's complaints from afar and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

It wasn't that he didn't want to meet Yohei, but he was simply too ashamed to do so.

This story begins with Yohei's Mangekyō Sharingan.

They had made a promise long ago that once Taiichi's Yang Release reached Lv14, he would come to completely cure Yohei's Mangekyō Sharingan.

Unfortunately, when that day finally came, Taiichi discovered that he had been too naive. The Lv14 Yang Release was no match for Yohei's Sharingan, and by then, Yohei's eyes had become quite blurry due to overuse.

Breaking his promise to his friend and overestimating his own abilities left Taiichi feeling disappointed for quite some time.

Yohei himself was removed from the front-line ranks because of this, and spent a long time stationed in the village to Police Force.

Now that Taiichi's Yang Release has finally broken through to Lv15, he naturally thought of Yohei immediately. With his current energy, it should be enough to cure the side effects of his Mangekyo.

Taiichi looked at Yohei, who was turning the corner from the corridor. From his angle, he could clearly see that Yohei squinted slightly when he looked at him, which was an instinctive reaction after his vision became blurred.

Taiichi pang of sadness, but a happy smile appeared on his face.

"Look at what you're saying, I just felt guilty. I've made another breakthrough in my strength today, so I came to find you as soon as possible."

O

Unexpectedly, Yohei put on a stern face after hearing Taiichi's words.

"Taichi Matsushita, do you Yohei as such a petty and narrow-minded person? You've gone to so much trouble to treat me; even if it's unsuccessful, would I blame you?"

Taiichi realized that there was something wrong with what he said, and quickly waved his hand to indicate that it was his fault. After promising to treat everyone to eight meals at Q's Barbecue, Yohei finally let Taiichi off the hook.

Taiichi and Yohei walked arm in arm, chatting and laughing, into the Reception Hall.

After the two reminisced for a while, Taiichi finally got down to business.

"Last time I failed because I overestimated my abilities, but this time there definitely won't be any problems. The aftereffects of your Mangekyō Sharingan will definitely be cured today."

"Hey, you're saying that again. I've gotten used to my eyes. It's my own fault for being so reckless back then. I took advantage of your help with the treatment and used them without any restraint. Otherwise, they wouldn't be like this now, almost like severe myopia."

Yohei seemed quite relaxed, a stark contrast to his state when he first learned about the side effects of his Mangekyo.

Clearly, his years of living in a second-tier city have been a great test of his character.

Taiichi was gratified to see this and immediately got up to begin the treatment.

"It's no use getting used to it. Who would like a blurry world? Let's get started. The Ninja World is going to be turbulent from now on. You can't linger behind anymore. It's time to step up and do your part for Konoha again."

Yohei narrowed his eyes slightly, then smiled with relief. So be it. He's been out for the past two years and his bones have almost rusted. Now that the village needs him, he should come out and do his part for the family and the village.

Taiichi came up behind Yohei and placed his hands on either side of his temples with practiced ease, and emerald green light emanated from his hands.

Everything unfolded so naturally. The treatment plan had been prepared long ago, but it failed simply because the quality of the Lv14 Yang Release was not high enough to suppress the essence of the Mangekyo.

Now that Taiichi Yang Release has successfully advanced to Lv15, these obstacles no longer exist, and the healing process has become very smooth.

While things went exceptionally smoothly for Taiichi, the situation in Konoha was quite different.

"What! They won't let Naruto and me go out! We have to stay in the village!"

Kushina's roar pierced through the house, making it clearly audible to the hidden Shadow Guard Unit outside.

The people who were nearby looked at each other and then consciously moved away from the house.

It's best for them to know as little as possible about the Hokage's family affairs; who knows, one day they might be targeted because of it.

Inside the house.

"The village is doing this for your and the child's safety. The Akatsuki so rampant now; they might target you next."

Minato tried his best to explain, and sweat even beaded on his forehead.

"Do they really think I'm a child? I'm not Jinchuriki anymore, why are they coming after me?"

Kushina grabbed Minato by the Minato and pulled him towards her.

"Tell me, was it that old man from the Third Kazekage who came up with the idea?"

Seeing the flicker in Minato's eyes, Kushina immediately understood.

"I knew it! When I was Jinchuriki, he wouldn't even let me leave the house. Now that I'm not Jinchuriki anymore, he's still trying to restrict me. I—I'm going to fight him!"

After saying that, Kushina, furious, tried to run away, but Minato quickly grabbed her from behind.

Seeing that Kushina was determined not to give up, Minato had no choice but to tell her the latest information about the Kushina Akatsuki.

o

He didn't want to tell her, but he was afraid that Kushina would worry about him if she found out.

As expected, when Kushina learned of the situation, her first thought wasn't for herself, but for Minato.

"Akatsuki —damn it, Minato, the Third Kazekage Hokage was right. Whether it's for me and Naruto, or for the village, you mustn't leave. Those lunatics are capable of anything."

Only then did she remember Minato's instruction not to let her leave the village, and she immediately changed her mind.

"Yes, and me too. Naruto and I will never leave the village. Don't worry, we won't cause you any trouble."

At this moment, Minato was truly moved. Kushina had given up her original principles for his sake, so what was wrong with him staying in Konoha for her sake?