Minato looked at the red-haired girl beside him and asked in surprise.
"Sakumo, who is this...?"
Sakumo took Karin's little hand and said fondly.
"This is Karin, an orphan of the Uzumaki Clan."
A girl from the same clan as Kushina...
Minato nodded thoughtfully.
Then he turned to Kotetsu Hagane beside him.
"Kotetsu, you must not tell anyone about anything that just happened. Do you understand?"
Kotetsu immediately straightened up.
"I understand, Lord Fourth Hokage."
Minato nodded slightly and placed a hand on Sakumo's shoulder.
"Sakumo, to avoid drawing attention, I'll take you both straight to the Hokage Office with the Flying Thunder God Technique."
After considering it for a moment, Sakumo slowly nodded.
"All right."
The next instant.
The three of them vanished from where they stood.
Watching this, Kotetsu scratched his head in a daze.
"Everything that happened today... feels like a dream..."
Inside the Hokage Office.
Minato and Sakumo were both stunned.
"Shimura Danzō is dead?!"
"Madara Uchiha has been resurrected?!"
"..."
"..."
Time slipped by unnoticed.
The two talked well into the night before finally exhausting every topic.
Sakumo glanced at the sky outside and spoke.
"Shall we leave it here for today, Fourth Hokage? I'd like to... go home and have a look."
Minato replied apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Sakumo. I wasn't being considerate..."
Sakumo waved it off.
"This is too important. I couldn't have gone home without explaining everything to you."
"...As for Karin, sorry for troubling your wife with looking after her."
Minato smiled.
"When I took Karin home this afternoon, Kushina was absolutely delighted. You can rest easy."
Sakumo nodded.
"Good. I'll be going, then, Fourth Hokage."
"Of course, Sakumo."
After Sakumo left.
Minato rubbed between his brows and gave a helpless, wry smile.
"The Shinobi World is in for some serious