'It would be just like a date between two people!'
Thinking of this, Obito felt like his heart was about to take flight...
But, as expected, Rin refused.
"Sorry, Obito… I'll be in charge of medical support later."
Rin Nohara was a medical-nin, indispensable to the camp.
"…Alright."
It was annoying, but there was nothing he could do. Obito still looked at Rin with an encouraging smile.
"Then I'll head off first!"
"Uh-huh! Rin, make sure you take care of yourself—don't overdo it!"
It really felt like he was a spare tire.
And yet...
Obito didn't mind at all. In his heart, Nohara Rin was still his everything.
"So annoying…!"
As soon as Rin left, Obito couldn't help muttering under his breath.
And naturally, the target of his frustration was still the same person.
"Kakashi…"
In Obito's mind, if it weren't for that damn Kakashi, Rin would definitely have agreed to go on a date with him!
Iwagakure had declared a truce.
Although they hadn't formally withdrawn from the Third Shinobi World War, at this stage, they had completely halted their offensive against Konoha.
And the reason was obvious.
As the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki had been cut down by Shiki.
The Four-Tails and Five-Tails had stood before him and still couldn't resist at all.
They were defeated at will.
If it weren't for the fact that Shiki lacked sealing-type techniques, it was questionable whether Iwagakure could have even retrieved their tailed beasts.
With Shiki at his peak, as long as Ōnoki hadn't lost consciousness, starting another war against Konoha was essentially impossible.
"Is this… the Golden Lion?"
On the Kumogakure front, Jiraiya, who was rushing toward the battlefield, also received news from Shiki's side.
He had originally heard that the moment he left, Shiki gathered the remaining shinobi in the camp, preparing for a life-or-death battle against Iwagakure.
Jiraiya had already been ready to turn back and help...
But before he even arrived, the war on Shiki's side was already over.
And not just over.
A complete victory.
An effortless one.
The previous year, when Jiraiya had served as commander-in-chief, he'd fought Ōnoki many times.
On the surface, they were evenly matched—
But in truth, Jiraiya had still won more often than he lost.
Ōnoki's Dust Release, a kekkei tōta beyond ordinary bloodline limits, was no joke.
And yet...
After a full year of warfare without decisive results, Shiki arrived and—
In less than a day—
No, not even a full day—
He ended an entire battlefield.
He showed the entire shinobi world what a true Golden Lion looked like.
"…Sigh."
Jiraiya let out a helpless breath.
He used to compare Minato and Shiki all the time—
But now?
What comparison was even left?
"Minato… don't get crushed."
Jiraiya knew Minato's situation was extremely dangerous now.
The title of Konoha's Sinner wasn't something that could be washed away in just a few years.
Ten years wouldn't even be enough.
Worried that Minato might do something reckless, Jiraiya didn't dare slow down and continued accelerating toward the Kumogakure battlefield.
"Useless! Absolute trash!"
At Kirigakure's camp, inside the conference tent, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, slammed the table and roared.
He had tried everything to secure credit for Minato—
And yet Minato couldn't even accomplish this.
If that wasn't useless, then what was?
When news arrived that Shiki had achieved a decisive victory on the Iwagakure front, Hiruzen only grew angrier.
He was holding Shiki back—
And yet still cleaning up after him!
Just like the two elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane had said...
Even though Minato was at the lowest point of his life, Hiruzen still had no intention of abandoning him.
"…Forget it."
No matter what, Flying Thunder God was still a rare space-time ninjutsu in the shinobi world.
Hiruzen slumped back into his chair.
"The public identity is gone… then let Minato become a tool in the shadows."
The title of Konoha's Sinner couldn't be washed clean—no matter how you tried.
After the war ended, Hiruzen planned to quietly assign Minato to ANBU, letting him handle Konoha's darker affairs.
As for standing in the light?
That was no longer possible.
Just as Hiruzen finished speaking, a voice came from outside the tent.
"Hokage-sama!"
Uchiha Fugaku stepped in.
"Good news—on the Iwagakure front, Konoha has achieved victory! The Third Tsuchikage has been defeated!"
"…"
"The Golden Lion really lives up to his name."
Fugaku sighed sincerely, completely unaware that Hiruzen's expression had darkened entirely.
…Did he come here just to stab him in the heart?
"Hokage-sama?"
To be honest, Fugaku genuinely admired Shiki—naturally because of his overwhelming strength.
Not understanding what Hiruzen was thinking, Fugaku looked at him in confusion.
"…" Hiruzen remained silent, his face calm.
If the situation allowed it, he would've slapped him on the spot.
As expected...the existence of the Uchiha clan brought nothing but trouble to Konoha.
--
"Kushina…"
Back in Konoha, ever since the previous news arrived, the once lively Uzumaki Kushina had fallen into deep depression.
She stayed at home every day, never stepping outside.
Partly because she was worried about Minato—
But even more because whenever she went out, she could feel the hateful gazes of the villagers.
This wasn't hatred toward her status as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—
It was hatred toward the fact that her boyfriend was now Konoha's sinner.
The hearts of jinchūriki were fragile.
Unable to endure those looks, Kushina chose to shut herself away.
In all of Konoha, the only person who regularly came to take care of her was Uchiha Mikoto.
"Kushina, I brought you lunch."
Entering the house and seeing Kushina curled up in the corner, Mikoto sighed helplessly.
She wanted to comfort her but no matter how much time passed, nothing seemed to help.
But when Kushina saw Mikoto, her dull eyes finally lit up.
"…Is there any news from the front?"
Her voice trembled as she looked at Mikoto.
Understanding what Kushina was really asking, Mikoto could only shrug gently.
"There's no news about Minato yet… but I heard that Jiraiya-sama has personally led a thousand shinobi to reinforce the battlefield."
"With Jiraiya-sensei there, Minato will be fine!"
Hearing this, Kushina finally relaxed a little.
Even though Jiraiya usually seemed unreliable–
When it truly mattered, he was someone you could trust.
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