"The memories are about to be sealed."
Standing inside the palace, Hayashi looked toward Kushina, Kakashi sensei, and Sara.
"Kurama, you remember everything, right? Once the memory seal is in place, you have to tell me what happened today."
Inside Kushina's mental space, she wore a bright smile as she spoke to the Nine Tails.
"I know, I know," the Nine Tails replied impatiently, flicking its tail. "How many times are you going to repeat that?"
"Kurama really is the best," Kushina said with an unexpectedly cheerful tone.
The Nine Tails snorted coldly, then still added, "Are you sure knowing all this won't affect the future?"
"It won't," Kushina replied. "I'm the only one who knows. If I don't say anything, no one else will. And I only know the general events, not the details. It won't change anything."
"Is that so?" the Nine Tails muttered, considering it briefly. It did make sense.
Then it narrowed its eyes. "You're not lying to me, right?"
"Am I that kind of fox?" the Nine Tails snapped back.
At that moment, Hayashi's hands completed the hand seals.
A sealing pattern spread rapidly across the floor, enveloping everyone present.
Hayashi blinked once. A slight haze clouded his mind as he opened a scroll he had prepared earlier.
The contents were simple, only a brief summary of events, including time travelers arriving and general mission completion. Nothing specific was recorded.
He exhaled quietly. With the scroll as a reference, even if memories were sealed, he would not be completely lost afterward.
Beside him, Kushina slowly opened her eyes.
"What… happened?" she muttered, looking around before her gaze fell on the scroll in Hayashi's hand.
"You were exhausted after a battle," Hayashi said calmly.
"Oh," Kushina responded, rubbing her head slightly. She still felt a faint sense that something was off, but could not grasp it.
Inside her mind, the Nine Tails immediately started talking again.
"Kushina, I'm telling you, there were people named Naruto and Rin who came from the future."
Kushina blinked, then immediately rolled her eyes.
"Do you think I'm stupid? You always make up random stories."
"Last time you said you knew where the Six Paths Sage's treasure was hidden. We dug for days and ended up in an underground river."
"There was nothing there. Not even a single clue."
"Time travel? I'll believe it when pigs fly."
The Nine Tails stiffened in irritation.
"That was different. The location was correct, it just shifted over time!"
"And now you expect me to believe you again?" Kushina replied flatly.
"Do you have proof?"
The Nine Tails went silent.
The so called proof had literally gone back to the future. There was nothing it could present.
Then it suddenly perked up.
"Wait, I remember now. That girl gave you a pendant before leaving, and you gave your ninja cards to someone else."
Kushina frowned slightly and touched her neck.
There really was a pendant.
"It's pretty… when did I get this? I don't remember," she murmured, lifting it toward the light.
The Nine Tails sighed heavily.
"With how unreliable she is, it might actually be safer if she forgets everything."
After everything settled, Roran was left behind as a completed mission site.
Hayashi, Kushina, and Kakashi sensei stayed a few extra days, briefly experiencing the foreign atmosphere of the city.
Five days later, they returned to Konoha.
The journey there had taken days, but the return felt almost instantaneous in comparison.
Inside the Hokage office, Hayashi stood before the Third Hokage and reported the mission details from Roran. He deliberately left out any mention of time travelers or anything related to the future.
"I see," the Third Hokage said after listening. "Good work."
The outcome itself was what mattered. Anrokuzan was no longer a concern, and the Dragon Vein had been successfully sealed.
Even if Sunagakure or others attempted to exploit it, breaking Kushina and Hayashi's seal would not be easy.
If Konoha could not use it, then no one else would be allowed to either.
The Third Hokage leaned back slightly.
"If there is nothing else, you may leave."
Hayashi nodded. "Then I will take my leave."
"Wait," the Third Hokage said. "It has been seven or eight months since the war in the Land of Earth settled down. How has your rest been?"
The meaning behind the question was clear.
The battlefield needed him again.
Hayashi answered without hesitation.
"As long as the village needs me, I can move at any time."
The Third Hokage showed a satisfied expression.
"Good."
The war situation was becoming increasingly unstable. Sunagakure and Kumogakure's cooperation had shifted the balance, and Konoha's original timeline for ending the conflict had collapsed.
The Third Hokage now placed his highest trust in Hayashi when it came to decisive battlefield results.
Not just because of strength, but because of proven results and reliability.
Danzo's objections no longer mattered.
Victory mattered more.
Elsewhere, at the Valley of the End, a masked man sat atop the massive statue of Uchiha Madara.
Fugaku observed the landscape quietly. Below him, the river roared endlessly through the canyon.
Black Zetsu had been assisting in the Hidden Mist affairs, leaving him time to prepare other arrangements.
After a while, a pale figure emerged from the stone structure behind him.
"It's starting soon," it said softly.
Fugaku nodded.
He stood up, looking down at the valley.
The echoes of ancient battles between Madara and the First Hokage still seemed to linger in the air.
Finally, he turned away.
"Let's go," he said. "It is time to watch how this unfolds."
"The Third Great Ninja War is nearing its end."
===
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