Minato Namikaze really was an incredibly good person!
Sage Mode was, without a doubt, the best ability Haori had managed to obtain so far.
Although Haori had acquired Obito's spatial talent from Kakashi, that ability hadn't materialized yet in any practical sense.
He himself didn't know how it was supposed to function, nor what kind of effect it would ultimately display.
Perhaps only when his Mangekyō Sharingan awakened would that talent truly manifest.
But Sage Mode was different—this was immediate combat power!
And not just that: it was a power that could be used from early stages all the way through the late game.
"The only issue is that Minato's Sage Mode isn't very stable…"
In the original story, Minato had mentioned that he wasn't very good at Sage Mode. Haori had once assumed that was just modesty.
After all, right after saying that, Minato immediately activated Sage Mode together with Nine-Tails Chakra Mode—nearly making Haori lose his composure.
But after obtaining this ability himself, Haori finally understood what Minato had meant.
Simply put, Minato's efficiency in absorbing and blending natural energy wasn't particularly high.
As a result, his Sage Mode had a limited duration in real combat. That was why he said he wasn't skilled at it—and why he never used it in battle while alive.
Edo Tensei, however, was a completely different story.
Infinite chakra meant he could continuously gather natural energy, and an immortal body meant unlimited room for trial and error.
That was why he could fight so freely, constantly using Flying Thunder God without restraint.
"Still, it's fine. I've got the cultivation method. I can figure out the rest slowly in the future."
Walking along the road back to Konoha, Haori glanced ahead.
Guy was dragging Kakashi into yet another competition, Aoba was helplessly acting as the referee, and Rin followed at his side with a gentle smile.
Haori stopped thinking about it.
At this stage, being able to use Sage Mode at all was enough. And in any case, it was a power he needed to acquire eventually.
Getting it now was basically cutting in line.
After all, Haori had a very good "reference model"—he could base his own power framework on Madara's and gradually perfect himself.
"We're finally back…"
Standing at the edge of the forest and gazing at Konoha in the distance—at the towering Hokage Rock—Rin couldn't help but sigh.
Kakashi and Guy also stopped fooling around and quietly looked toward the village.
Although this mission hadn't lasted very long, and even the time spent behind enemy lines hadn't involved that many enemies,
The memories formed over these few days were incredibly vivid—especially for Guy and Aoba.
They knew very well that the reason everything had felt so manageable was entirely because of Haori.
Without him, how could they have returned so easily—let alone earned the title of "heroes of Konoha"?
Not only them, but Kakashi and Rin felt the same way.
This time, however, none of them said thank you again.
Just as Haori had said—they had thanked him enough already.
Some things were better kept forever in the heart.
"Let's have a race."
Suddenly, Kakashi—who had been pushed around by Guy for quite a while—smiled and spoke up.
"Let's see who reaches Konoha first. How about it?"
"Huh?"
Kakashi's words immediately caught everyone off guard. This didn't sound like something he would normally say.
But Guy instantly got excited and shouted,
"Sure! But what happens to the last place?"
"There's no punishment. If you want to race, then start now."
To everyone's surprise, Kakashi said this calmly—and then immediately dashed off.
"Damn it, wait for me!"
Guy took off right after him. Aoba glanced at Haori and Rin, then suddenly laughed.
"You two—slow down a bit! Wait for me!"
"These guys…"
Watching them scatter like birds, Haori couldn't help but laugh.
Turning his head, he looked at Rin, who had already lowered her head slightly.
For some reason, Obito came to his mind.
Kakashi creating an opportunity. Rin standing there shyly.
In a scene like this… if Obito were really dead, he'd probably be so angry he'd climb out of the grave.
—
"So… it turned out like this?"
Inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage rubbed his eyes and set down the document in his hands.
The report had been delivered by Jiraiya himself—its contents went without saying.
To be honest, the Third Hokage was very happy. The war was finally coming to an end.
But at the same time, he was also bewildered.
This was not at all how he had imagined the war would end.
If the document hadn't carried Jiraiya's signature, he would have suspected it was fake.
"That Haori… he's grown this fast already?"
The Third Hokage knew of Haori.
The boy's parents had died in the war. Though he'd performed poorly at the academy, he had awakened the Sharingan on the battlefield.
From there, he embarked on a path of rapid growth—slowly transforming from a "poor student" into an "Uchiha genius."
Still, no matter how talented Haori was, the Third Hokage never thought he'd surpass Kakashi.
Yet now, while Kakashi continued to amaze people, he somehow looked… ordinary compared to this boy.
"Three-tomoe Sharingan…"
Through intelligence reports, the Third Hokage already knew Haori's eyes had evolved.
Such progress was truly astonishing. Setting aside Haori's achievements, his mere existence was proof of Konoha's strength.
But the problem was that Haori's background was… complicated.
The person behind him was Uchiha Setsuna.
"Uchiha Setsuna is far too extreme…"
Just thinking of that man gave the Third Hokage a headache. Even his own teacher had once thrown Setsuna into prison.
If not for his teacher's passing—and the need for Uchiha power—Setsuna would never have been released.
And Haori was his man. It was impossible not to feel troubled.
And beyond Haori, there was another headache—Kakashi's eye.
"Those Uchiha are really insane!"
Thinking about it made the Third Hokage want to curse.
Obito dying to save Kakashi was undeniably moving.
But if you were going to die, then die—why give your eye to Kakashi?!
A gift for becoming a jōnin?
Was the Uchiha family education that bad, or was he truly that unbelievably stupid?
That boy hadn't considered the consequences at all—or simply didn't understand what kind of disaster it could bring.
The ninja world had always coveted the Sharingan, but never succeeded—partly because obtaining one was difficult, and partly because of how hard it was to adapt.
And now you've just created a walking test subject, openly available for the entire ninja world to study?
And did you even consider whether your clan would tolerate this, or let it go so easily?
"I can only hope the Uchiha don't cause trouble at a time like this…"
Though furious and faced with a mountain of problems, the Third Hokage could only grit his teeth and deal with them.
At the same time, he could only think of something positive to calm his agitation.
"At least… once Iwagakure can't hold out and agrees to negotiations, the war will be over.
And then, it'll be time to think about a new Hokage. Orochimaru…"
But the moment he thought of Orochimaru, his spirit sank again.
After returning to Konoha, Orochimaru had gone straight into the laboratory and seemed relatively well-behaved.
But the Third Hokage knew that this student of his had participated in the Wood Release research project led by Danzō—a project he himself had ordered shut down.
More recently, ANBU had also reported that Orochimaru had secretly taken away some prisoners of war—and then vanished.
That made him deeply uneasy.
Because a Hokage could not afford such stains.
For a moment, the Third Hokage's headache only worsened.
He truly hadn't expected that after the war, there would still be so many troublesome matters waiting for him…
~~--------------------------------
Visit my p@treon for advance chapter:
patreon.com/FicWarden