The Third saw the surprise in their eyes and smiled in amusement.
There were few things that could surprise these two, and he had finally witnessed one. Usually, they were the ones bringing him surprises-or shocks.
Zou Hyuga asked in confusion, "Are those Lord Fourth and Lady Kushina?"
"Surprised, aren't you? Minato and Kushina weren't buried. They've been here instead." After confirming that the Fourth Hokage couple were all right, the Third Hokage felt a weight lift from his heart and grew a little more patient.
"Then why are they here?" Oto Uchiha paused, then asked excitedly, unable to contain herself, "Does that mean they didn't die?"
The Third nodded and said with a sigh, "Yes, Minato and Kushina didn't die. They're both still alive... but their condition can't really be called living, either."
After the Nine-Tails' Rampage, Minato and Kushina had fallen into a near-death slumber, and he had been pouring resources into keeping them alive ever since.
Because of this, Koharu, Homura, and Danzo had all suspected that he was secretly training a new group of ANBU.
He was merely waiting, waiting to find a way to awaken them. If Minato woke up, the Masked Man would no longer pose a threat.
At the thought, the Third felt a pang of sorrow. The successor he had personally nurtured had departed before him.
With his hands behind his back, the Third seemed to notice Zou Hyuga and Oto's confusion and explained, "Their bodies are still alive, but their souls are sealed inside the God of Death's stomach... there's currently no way to wake them."
Still doubtful, Zou Hyuga took a few more looks at Minato and Kushina in the distance.
Now he understood where the resonance with the nine-tails chakra had come from: Kushina, its former jinchūriki.
If their