Outside the Uchiha Compound
Minato glanced at Yun and asked, "That speech little Sasuke gave, was that something you taught him?"
Before Yun could reply, Minato smiled and nodded, "Actually, what you said was very true. Without the sacrifices of those people, there would be no Leaf Village, let alone me as Hokage."
Yun also smiled. "Fourth Lord, you're quite different from the Third and his generation."
"Oh?" Minato was curious. "How so? I've always wanted to know how a genius like you sees me, the Fourth Hokage."
Yun thought for a moment. "How long had you known about Orochimaru conducting human experiments on Leaf ninja?"
The moment he spoke, silence fell.
'How long had he known?'
This question cut deep. It involved Jia, the ANBU transferred from the Root Division to Minato's direct unit. Once Kō had reported his background, Minato had been aware of Orochimaru's actions.
But at the time…
Minato sighed. "A long time ago. From the moment Kō joined my ANBU team and reported his background, I already knew about Orochimaru."
"But as the Third Hokage's student, and one of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru held immense prestige in the village. You've probably heard he once vied for the Hokage title too."
"In such a situation, I could only trust a few of my subordinates to investigate his lab locations quietly."
Minato stared at the empty street as he finished speaking, waiting for Yun's response.
Beneath the lush canopy of the village's great tree, no one knew how many rotting roots festered beneath.
As a hero of the Second and Third Ninja Wars, few believed that someone like Orochimaru would ever conduct human experiments on his own village's ninja.
Even if the rumors were true, without catching him in the act, it was impossible to judge definitively.
Not to mention... the Third Hokage, still bound by his feelings of mentorship, stood in the way.
Yun recalled the raid on Orochimaru's lab. Minato had deployed over a dozen ANBU, clearly not just from Squad 6. Meanwhile, the Third only brought two ANBU with him.
Yun began to understand the full picture.
"I believe in you, Fourth Lord."
Receiving the answer he wanted, Minato smiled, then vanished with the Flying Thunder God technique.
Yun looked around, then turned back toward the Uchiha Compound and headed home.
...
Inside Mikoto Uchiha's Home
The two women, reunited after so long, were in high spirits.
Once Minato and Yun had left, they loosened up. Mikoto even brought out two bottles of sake.
"Cheers!"
Their small cups clinked as they downed the alcohol in one go.
Nearby, little Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, confused why their mothers were suddenly so happy.
Naruto whispered, "They're drinking something tasty and won't share. Do you know where it is?"
Sasuke glanced at the room Mikoto had come from and snuck in carefully, then poked his head out and waved Naruto over.
The two boys tiptoed inside together.
Meanwhile, the now-tipsy women didn't even notice. Mikoto wiped a tear from her eye and said, "Since Fugaku passed, the clan has said all kinds of things. Only now do I finally get a chance to talk to you like this."
Kushina slung an arm around her friend's shoulder. "People say stupid stuff, yeah... but Fugaku really did get dragged into all that because of Naruto's birth."
"I'm sorry, Mikoto."
Mikoto shook her head gently. "As the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, you represented the entire village. Fugaku died for the Leaf. I understand that."
"It's just… Itachi and Sasuke…"
Yes...
Itachi and Sasuke lost their father. Especially Sasuke, he had no memory of him at all.
Kushina downed another cup, suppressing the rising anger inside. If she ever found the one behind that night's events, she'd tear them limb from limb.
At that moment, the two small heads watching from the doorway quickly ducked back inside.
Back in the room, Sasuke plopped onto the floor with a bottle of sake, ignoring Naruto beside him.
Naruto, still processing everything, didn't know what to say. At only three years old, he couldn't fully grasp the emotional weight of what he'd just overheard.
"S-Sasuke…"
Naruto's voice trembled with confusion. Sasuke looked up, eyes bloodshot, struggling to hold back tears.
"It's all… because of you, isn't it? That I don't have a dad…"
His voice was low and hoarse. Glancing at the bottle of sake, he asked himself, Is this what best friends are?
Then Naruto grabbed the bottle, took a huge gulp,
'Cough! Cough! Cough!!
Tears and snot running down his face, he handed the bottle to Sasuke. "We're best friends!"
Sasuke slowly took the bottle and downed a mouthful too, ending up coughing just as badly.
'Yeah.'
'We're best friends…'
The heat in his stomach comforted Sasuke, and his trembling eased. His mind felt hazy, and soon, he fell asleep.
Naruto, too, dozed off, the two boys curled up together.
Because of you… I lost my father.
So… I owe you.
Later that night, Kushina leaned against the doorframe and watched the two children asleep together.
Mikoto, still tipsy, noticed the sake bottle near them and froze.
"What the, did they drink?!"
Kushina picked up the bottle and shook it. "It's fine, they just had a tiny sip. They'll sleep it off."
Then, with a dreamy smile, she leaned on Mikoto and looked at the boys. "Look at them… If they were a boy and a girl, wouldn't we be planning their wedding tomorrow?"
Blushing, Mikoto scoffed, "Really? Now's not the time for jokes. It's late, you should get going. Minato will worry."
Kushina waved it off. "At this hour, who knows if Minato's even home. You know, I used to want to be Hokage, but now I think it's just too exhausting."
Mikoto shoved her playfully and handed her a sleepy Naruto. "Alright, alright. Take him and head home."
Kushina sighed and smiled again. "Now that this is behind us, I can visit you more often."
Mikoto nodded. "Things are getting better in the Uchiha clan. We'll be able to see each other regularly again."
After sending Kushina and Naruto off, Mikoto came back, tucked Sasuke into bed, and covered him with a blanket.
"Get along with Naruto from now on, Sasuke," she whispered, "just like your mom and Aunt Kushina, forever best friends."
...
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu