"Tch, countless top-tier ninjas envy you. Tired of being bossed around by your wife every day, huh?"
"Sigh, I still miss the time before I became Hokage, when I was frequently on missions."
That's true for ninjas. They are ninjas who have been on the battlefield and killed enemies, unlike those ninjas born in later eras who have lived in peacetime for too long, haven't been on the battlefield killing large numbers of enemies, haven't experienced a lot of bloody scenes, and don't have battlefield syndrome.
Just like the iron-fisted policies implemented by Kirigakure, many ninjas developed bloodthirsty and brutal personalities. Even after leaving the village, they still enjoyed killing, which can be considered a significant side effect.
" Minato, you just don't have enough of a spiritual life. Life in the village is too mundane. In a few years, Naruto will give you a Boruto, and then you'll have a headache."
" Boruto is just as mischievous as Naruto was back then, and if he gives you another granddaughter, you'll be following him Tenten."
" Boruto, is he really that reckless? That kid doesn't seem like it! He's a sensible and good child." Namikaze Minato recalled Boruto he met during the Urashiki Ōtsutsuki incident.
"Haha, that was when I was a little more sensible."
" Nawaki, tell me, what will that future world be like?" The two chatted casually on the way, and Li Yu talked about what he saw and heard in the village when Naruto became the Seventh Hokage in the future.
Namikaze Minato is currently extremely strong. Perfect Jinchuriki, his strength has reached the Beyond Kage Level. The last mission was too easy for him. In order to cultivate the next generation, especially Naruto, he even pretended to be evenly matched with his opponents when fighting them.
Namikaze Minato often looked down on and criticized Naruto, saying that his father wasn't strong enough and was even weaker than Kakashi. This hurt Namikaze Minato's pride. After all, he was Kakashi's teacher. How could he be inferior to Kakashi? Only Naruto was so clueless.
"Haha, now that you mention it, I actually miss Boruto. How's he doing?"
" Boruto, that bastard? That sounds like an insult."
The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.
The two chatted like this the whole way. Only Li Yu, who had also led Team 7, knew the hardships that Namikaze Minato had endured. He talked about Sasuke Uchiha Tenten and was quite a chatterbox.
The two would occasionally grumble at Naruto, lamenting how difficult this generation of kids was to manage, with Naruto being the most representative example of those who liked to cause trouble.
This caused Naruto was sleeping soundly in the house, to sneeze several times, feeling a chill down his spine, before turning over and continuing to sleep.
As dawn broke, Li Yu and Namikaze Minato entered the former Uchiha stronghold and found a place to rest.
On the other side, Uchiha Itachi had already begun preparing for his brother's battle, with his clones meeting Naruto and his Crow meeting Orochimaru.
"Are they here?"
Who is it?
"It's me, Sasuke." Uchiha Itachi revealed himself from the darkness.
Seeing Uchiha Itachi's face, even though it was Orochimaru, his eyes couldn't help but tremble.
"You've grown a little taller," Uchiha Itachi said, looking directly at Orochimaru, as if he weren't speaking to him.
"Itachi, Uchiha Itachi!" Orochimaru cried out in pain, covering his eye with one hand—the eye that had transformed into Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"You haven't changed at all; that cold gaze, that indifferent look in your eyes."
Orochimaru's body suddenly became unstable; at first, it was Sasuke's voice, but then it became a hoarse voice.
"Why aren't you yelling and charging at me recklessly like before?"
"Itachi, die!" Itachi had barely finished speaking when Orochimaru, his hand crackling with electricity, suddenly appeared behind Itachi and pierced through his body without hesitation.
" Sasuke's body is mine, it's mine."
" Sasuke was filled with intense hatred, and this hatred sustained his will and prevented it from being extinguished."
Piercing through the back with Chidori Stream mid-air, the weasel, still airborne, feigned spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"You've gotten stronger!" An electric current erupted, and Itachi fell to the ground. Having done his act, he transformed into a flock of Crow.
"Go to the Uchiha stronghold alone, and settle things there."
"Ah, Uchiha Itachi!" Orochimaru's face peeled off, revealing Sasuke's appearance. In his eyes were Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and the other half of his face was Orochimaru's, with wide, green snake eyes.
Although Orochimaru possessed Sasuke's body, he was still unable to destroy Sasuke's will. With revenge imminent, Sasuke's spirit suddenly erupted, causing Orochimaru to become mentally unstable.
"Itachi, Itachi, your brother's body is mine."
"Only when you die and hatred disappears will I be myself."
Orochimaru's sloughed-off skin continued to heal, restoring his complete face, seemingly reaching some kind of tacit understanding with Sasuke: Uchiha Itachi must die.
" Uchiha Itachi, you must die!! Die by my hand!"
After Orochimaru finished speaking, his body calmed down. His snake-like eyes stared at the spot where Itachi had disappeared, his gaze gradually turning crazed, and a sinister smile appeared on his lips.
"Itachi, now that I've awakened the Rinnegan, I no longer consider the Mangekyō Sharingan. You just wait."
Inside the former Uchiha stronghold, Namikaze Minato and Li Yu were taking turns resting, preparing for battle at any moment.
A figure entered the area of the former Uchiha alone, making no attempt to conceal their Chakra.
"They're here."
" Uchiha Itachi, he's here." Li Yu opened his eyes, sensing the familiar Chakra.
"Let's go see him." The two nodded and immediately rushed out of an abandoned building, blocking the way for the newcomer in just a few breaths.
"Itachi, it's been a long time."
"Weasel"
"Lord Nawaki, Fourth Hokage "
After exchanging greetings, Itachi spoke again.
"I didn't expect you to come, Fourth Hokage." Itachi's thoughts were stuck in the time when he left the village.
"I'm no longer the Fourth Hokage, I've retired. I'm now the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade," Namikaze Minato said with a smile.
After saying that, he glanced at Li Yu.
"Itachi, your mission is complete. You can return to Konoha at any time, and we two will vouch for you and restore the Uchiha Clan's former glory," Li Yu said, feigning ignorance.
"No, it's not the right time yet. I have something else to do."
Is that Sasuke?
"Yes"
"Although Sasuke's body was possessed by Orochimaru, Sasuke spirit remained intact after my probing. His hatred for me made him incredibly resilient."
"Oh, is that so?" Namikaze Minato exclaimed in surprise.
"So Sasuke still has hope of regaining his body?"
"There is indeed hope, but Orochimaru has awakened the Rinnegan, making him extremely difficult to deal with."
"No problem. Since we're here, we're here to help you. We failed to stop Danzo back then, and you ended up taking the blame."
"We absolutely cannot let Sasuke be devoured by Orochimaru this time. Naruto would do everything in his power to stop it if he knew."
Li Yu thought to himself, " Minato, are you doing this for what happened back then, or for your son Naruto? Naruto hasn't been eating or drinking lately. I think you're doing it more for Naruto's sake."