Main World.
Summer, Year 30 of Konoha.
Outside the Elite School in Konohagakure.
The battlefield had not completely settled, but the attacks had stopped. The Nara clan members who had received Chengkong's retaliation were retreating and readjusting their positions. Their formation was looser than before, as though they were waiting for another order. On the rooftops on either side of the street, Toyotomi clan members still held the high ground, but no one launched another attack.
A stalemate had replaced direct engagement. And the movement that truly mattered took place in those few steps beyond the battlefield.
Minato Namikaze stood in the open space between Kushina and Hiruzen Sarutobi. His position had not changed. His kunai was still at his waist, his fingers nowhere near its handle. He stood for a while, then spoke, his voice quiet, as though confirming an answer he had already read on her face. "Kushina, are you really leaving?"
Kushina stood in front of Jiefang and had yet to turn to face him. Her gaze rested on the fragments rearranging themselves farther down the street, but her voice was clear enough. "Minato, I no longer want to pursue whether you really saved my life back then. All I know is that Konoha is hurting the Uzumaki Clan."
Minato said nothing more. He stood there without moving, without trying to approach her or stand in her way. His position remained unchanged, as though he had already received his answer and was confirming that it could now be entered into a memorandum.
Jiefang took a step forward. He tapped his wooden staff against the ground to check his direction, then spoke. His voice was quiet, but it carried far enough to reach Minato Namikaze. "You, the blond boy. I don't want to gamble on your character. Even