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***
"I'll take care of this child for now."
Kushina Uzumaki walked over to Shisui and took the unconscious Itachi from his arms.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Minato Namikaze looked at Kushina, a hint of gratitude in his eyes.
For so many years, she had supported Minato, silently standing behind him.
Becoming Hokage was their shared dream since they were at ninja school.
Therefore, they were destined to be different from ordinary families.
Although the enemy attacking the village had been repelled, the Hokage still had responsibilities that he must fulfill immediately.
"No problem," Kushina smiled faintly, giving Minato a reassuring look.
"Tsunade-sama, I'll be leaving now."
Minato turned to glance at Tsunade, and as soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared.
Swish!
Shisui nodded to Kushina and Tsunade, then darted out through the broken window.
After they both left, Kushina turned and looked at Tsunade, her brows furrowed slightly.
She looked at Itachi in her arms with concern and asked, "Tsunade-sama, what happened to the child?"
Following Kushina's instructions, Minato first moved to the room where Biwako and Naruto were, and then took the child to the Konoha hospital where Kushina and Tsunade were staying.
Without stopping, he vanished again with the Flying Thunder God Technique, reappearing beside Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Jiraiya was also there.
"I'm sorry, I'm late."
Minato then took a closer look at the vast area of Konoha destroyed by the wooden figure.
Guilt, awe, and a hint of resignation crossed his azure eyes.
"Rather than that, where's that masked man?"
Jiraiya's face darkened.
He had already determined that the masked man had held Minato back, and before Minato arrived, he had already informed Hiruzen of Kushina's delivery.
"He escaped," Minato gritted his teeth.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Hiruzen and Jiraiya changed slightly.
The former exclaimed in horror, "How could someone escape from your grasp?"
Minato, a master of the Flying Thunder God Technique, pioneered by the Second Hokage, was the fastest ninja in the ninja world today, and indeed in ninja history.
No one he targeted had ever escaped.
"The space-time technique he possesses surpasses mine and the Second Hokage's."
Minato had to admit that, in terms of technique level alone, the masked man's space-time technique was even more powerful than Flying Thunder God.
However, the power of the technique wasn't the sole factor determining the outcome of a battle.
Just as in Minato's previous fight with the masked man, if the latter hadn't had the protective shield on his body, the outcome would have been decided long ago.
The mark of Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique would also be imprinted directly on the masked man's back, ensuring his escape today.
"Who could possibly be free from the constraints of Konoha's barrier, knowing that the Nine-Tails' seal would be weakened during childbirth, and even capable of using the First Hokage's unique Wood Release technique?"
Jiraiya folded his arms, his face tightening as he analyzed the available intelligence, his eyes filled with deep horror.
"Impossible, impossible!"
Hiruzen was equally shocked.
He and Jiraiya had determined, based on the intelligence, that the masked man was the same person.
Minato shook his head and denied, "No, he can't possibly be Uchiha Madara."
"That guy's abilities and the intelligence he possesses are indeed formidable, but he has one major weakness."
Hiruzen and Jiraiya simultaneously looked at Minato.
"His combat experience isn't extensive, and it's simply not commensurate with his strength."
Based on their previous encounter, Minato could conclude that the masked man was definitely not Uchiha Madara.
If it were Madara, even without the knowledge of Flying Thunder God Stage 2, he wouldn't have been defeated so easily by Minato.
Madara and the First Hokage once held sway over the ninja world, relying on more than just their sheer strength.
As patriarchs of the two most powerful ninja clans of their era, they possessed far more than mere battle experience.
However, Minato's recent encounter with the masked man betrayed no trace of his combat experience.
According to Itachi, Madara had been severely injured after his battle with the First Hokage, significantly diminishing his strength.
However, no matter how his strength changes, a person's mindset and experience never diminish so much.
"But that masked man possesses so much information, and there's no denying a connection between him and Madara," Minato said gravely.
Of the three, only Minato had formally fought the masked man, so Jiraiya and Hiruzen trusted his judgment.
Minato's gaze once again swept across the devastated village ahead.
At this moment, he had more pressing matters to attend to than simply deciphering the masked man's true identity.
In Konoha, at a shelter.
The entire Uchiha security force, tasked with covering the civilian evacuation, gathered at the shelter.
Fugaku Uchiha, who had previously defended the village against the wooden figure, also rushed there immediately after the battle.
Shisui, having left the hospital, arrived at the shelter and found Mikoto and Fugaku.
He relayed the news of Itachi's condition.
"Wah!"
When Shisui explained the condition Tsunade had given Itachi, Sasuke, in Mikoto's arms, burst into tears.
Mikoto's face drained of all color, and she stumbled back several steps.
Fugaku quickly reached out to support her.
While his reaction wasn't as dramatic as Mikoto's, the expression in his eyes was also trembling.
Besides them, Izumi Uchiha, standing nearby, began to tremble upon hearing the news about Itachi.
"Why is this happening?"
She slumped, about to fall backward, when a Uchiha ninja, presumably in his thirties, steadied her.
After arriving at the shelter, Izumi encountered Mikoto, so naturally, she handed Sasuke over to his mother.
"Wuwu," Izumi buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Believe me, this will all be over soon."
Suddenly, the words Itachi had spoken to her as he left flashed through her mind.
Between her fingers, the girl's clear, transparent eyes suddenly widened.
"Itachi, you really did it. You saved us, but why, why did it turn out like this?"
Without a second thought, she believed, without any logic, that Itachi had protected the village.
"My child, my child!"
After a brief moment of unconsciousness, Mikoto screamed like a madman, her voice hoarse.
With that, she began to rush towards the Konoha Hospital.
Fugaku didn't stop her, but he didn't follow either.
"Shisui, please look after Mikoto and Sasuke for me," Fugaku said, his brow furrowed, his voice heavy.
"Clan leader, youā¦"
Shisui was startled, looking at Fugaku.
As Itachi and Sasuke's father, and Mikoto's husband, he should have followed.
But he noticed that Fugaku's eyes were sweeping over some of the Uchiha clan members and the village civilians behind him.
Their eyes were dim, their faces filled with grief.
They had all lost loved ones in the recent crisis.
As the head of the Uchiha clan and captain of the security forces, Fugaku still had responsibilities to fulfill.
He couldn't leave just for his own personal reasons.
"I understand!"
Shisui nodded at Fugaku, abruptly turning and catching up with Mikoto.
Swish!
He had just sprinted out of the shelter when Izumi brushed past Fugaku and rushed out.
...
After the village's crisis was resolved, even without the Hokage's orders, the remaining ninjas began searching for possible survivors.
Konoha's ninjas rushed the injured to the hospital one after another.
As the number of injured increased, the hospital gradually became crowded.
Shisui Uchiha, following Mikoto Uchiha, who was holding Sasuke, first encountered Tsunade at the entrance of Konoha Hospital.
Upon learning of Itachi's ward, Shisui immediately rushed over.
In one of the wards, Kushina Uzumaki was already cleaning the blood off Itachi's face.
Suddenly, she heard hurried footsteps and a baby's cry approaching from the corridor outside.
With a slight increase in her senses, she stood up from the bedside and turned around.
Whoosh!
The door of the ward swung open.
Mikoto, holding Sasuke, her usually gentle face now looked grim.
"Mikoto," Kushina lowered her eyes slightly.
Mikoto didn't bother to greet her, but quickly ran to Itachi's bedside and held out her hand.
Her entire arm was shaking violently.
"Wah!"
Sasuke's cries grew louder in her embrace, his voice cracking.
But before Mikoto could even touch Itachi's face, her hand suddenly stopped.
"Ouch!"
As a ninja, Mikoto was strong, but as a mother, she couldn't control her emotions at all.
She immediately withdrew her hand and covered her mouth to muffle her cries.
Mikoto was afraid it would wake Itachi.
Naruto, sleeping in Kushina's arms, was startled awake by the sudden movement.
He opened his eyes blearily to see Mikoto sobbing and Sasuke crying in her arms.
It's said that babies' cries are contagious, but looking at Sasuke's tears, Naruto's golden brows gradually furrowed.
Then, following Mikoto and Sasuke's gaze, he saw Itachi Uchiha lying on the hospital bed.
His large, deep blue eyes examined him curiously.
Kushina reached out and placed a hand on Mikoto's shoulder.
Although she had just given birth, she understood Mikoto's feelings.
As parents, they would rather be hurt themselves than see their young child lying in a hospital bed.
They were both trained ninja, but before that, they were more than just human beings.
The feeling of helplessness and pain of a child in such a state was heartbreaking.
"Mikoto, I know you're heartbroken right now, but you don't want Sasuke to get sick again before Itachi recovers, do you?"
Sasuke's voice was hoarse.
After all the trouble he'd had tonight, the baby's constitution was vulnerable to illness.
Mikoto's shoulders shook as she sobbed, "I'm an unfit mother."
Even as she spoke, she quickly tried to calm her emotions, so as not to upset Sasuke further.
Clearly, Kushina's words had worked.
Mikoto tried to soothe Sasuke, trying to calm him down.
But it was with little success.
Sasuke, his voice hoarse, continued to stare at Itachi, sobbing loudly.
His cries seemed to pierce the heart, as if he were telling Itachi, lying on the hospital bed, "Brother, wake up!"
...
"Wah!"
Itachi, whose consciousness had already fallen silent, heard the sound of a baby's cry.
'Sasuke.'
Though his mind was hazy, Itachi immediately recognized Sasuke's cry.
The sliver of consciousness that remained couldn't even sustain a thought about his situation.
He thought almost instinctively.
'Sasuke, stop crying.'
'Stop crying,' Itachi thought, his mind drifting, but he couldn't utter a word.
After all, he couldn't even think.
His remaining consciousness wanted to remain silent.
But hearing Sasuke's cries, Itachi couldn't rest.
'Stop crying,' he struggled to maintain his remaining consciousness, repeatedly relying on instinct to repeat it in his heart.
At that moment, after Mikoto and Shisui, Izumi Uchiha hurried to Itachi's hospital room.
"Who is this girl?" Kushina asked, glancing at Izumi.
"Itachi's friend in the ninja school," Shisui said.
Once, when he was ordered by Minato to find Itachi, he saw Izumi walking home with Itachi.
Izumi's eyes welled up at the sight of Itachi lying on the hospital bed.
But when she heard Sasuke's almost hoarse sobs, her tears stopped.
"Don't cry," the thought suddenly crossed her mind, her reddened eyes widening as she stared at Itachi on the bed.
She didn't know why this thought had struck her.
Perhaps it was because, during their time together, the person Itachi mentioned most was his younger brother, Sasuke.
Whenever he mentioned Sasuke, Izumi could always see a doting smile on Itachi's face.
Though still a freshman in ninja training, Izumi, with her keen sense, had long sensed Itachi's deep love for Sasuke.
Before Itachi handed Sasuke over to her and left, he had tried to comfort him.
So, if Itachi, now in a coma, could hear Sasuke's cries, he would undoubtedly be deeply distressed.
With this thought in mind, Izumi slowly walked over to Itachi's bedside and gazed at him for a moment.
Mikoto continued to soothe Sasuke, but to no avail.
Suddenly, Izumi looked up at Mikoto and said, "Aunt Mikoto, can I hold Sasuke?"
Earlier in the shelter, Izumi had initially addressed Mikoto, the clan leader's wife, as "Madam."
But at Mikoto's insistence, Izumi changed her address.
Mikoto paused for a moment.
"Yes," she nodded, handing Sasuke over to Izumi.
Izumi held Sasuke in one arm.
While she wasn't an adult and couldn't hold a baby like that, she was a student at the ninja academy after all, so she could comfort him with this gesture.
She held Sasuke in her arms and walked over to Itachi.
"Itachi, I don't think anyone else can comfort him right now except you," Izumi smiled at Itachi.
She reached out with her other hand, grasped Itachi's left wrist, and slowly leaned closer, placing Itachi's left hand on Sasuke's cheek.
Though Itachi instinctively maintained consciousness, he couldn't move or utter a single sound.
'Don't cry, Sasuke,' he thought instinctively.
After Izumi placed Itachi's hand on Sasuke's face, Sasuke's sobs gradually subsided after a short while.
"It actually worked!"
Kushina and Shisui's eyes widened at the sight.
"Itachi, youā¦" Mikoto stared at Itachi's face.
She understood why Sasuke's sobs had softened.
As the younger brother, he felt his brother's affection.
And even in his current state, Itachi, the older brother, still cared deeply for Sasuke.
Sasuke's sobs gradually faded.
He was exhausted from crying for so long.
So, Sasuke's eyelids gradually drooped, and he fell asleep.
Izumi's face was filled with joy.
She believed that only then would Itachi feel at ease.
...
'Izumi, thank you!'
Sasuke's sobs ceased, and Itachi, whose consciousness had been disoriented, could finally relax.
His feeble consciousness fell silent once more.
.....
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