Yahiko and the others exchanged glances with Jiraiya before Konan stepped forward and spoke first.
"Grandpa Hokage."
"Ah," Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't hide the smile spreading across his face.
"Grandpa Hokage."
Following Konan's lead, Yahiko and Nagato also called out.
Hiruzen responded to each of them with a warm nod before continuing, "I already knew you were coming."
"I've arranged your lodging."
As he spoke, he took out a map of Konoha and pointed to a certain spot. "The three of you will stay here. Each of you will have your own room."
"Seisui will be staying right next door."
"Minato will be living nearby as well," he added, pointing to another spot on the map.
Upon hearing that Seisui would be staying beside them, all three—Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato—lit up with joy.
At that moment, Jiraiya spoke up. "Old man, what about Orochimaru and Tsunade?"
"I didn't see them when I got back."
"Hm, I can understand Orochimaru being busy… but did Tsunade go on a mission or something?"
Hiruzen paused, then shook his head. "Both of them are still in the village."
"Tsunade's been grounded by Mito-sama."
"As for Orochimaru, he's in his lab."
Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Man, Tsunade's really lame. She's that old and still gets locked up at home."
"Is that so?" Hiruzen's tone suddenly turned dry. "Considering the gift you brought me, I can't say I'm very fond of your taste."
"I assume you wouldn't want Tsunade to hear that kind of talk, right?"
"..." Jiraiya froze.
Where the hell did you learn to talk like that, old man?
Glancing at Yahiko and the others, Jiraiya decided not to argue and instead said, "I'll take Nagato to meet Mito-sama first."
"That's fine," Hiruzen nodded. Then, smiling at the three young Rain shinobi, he added, "If you need anything, come find me anytime."
"As long as you're in Konoha, no one will bully you."
"Mm!" Konan beamed. "Thank you, Grandpa Hokage~"
"Hahaha!" Hiruzen laughed heartily, standing up. "You three are my grand-disciples! From now on, treat me like your real grandfather!"
"Okay!"
Looking at Konan, Hiruzen's eyes were full of affection.
Such a sweet, polite girl—what a wonderful granddaughter.
Once Jiraiya left with Yahiko's group, a voice came from the shadows.
"Enjoying yourself, aren't you, Hiruzen?"
"Oh, it's you, Danzo." Hiruzen gave him a side glance, sat back down, and before Danzo could say a word, he added, "Don't even think about those three."
"You—!"
Danzo stepped out of the shadows, pointing a finger at him, utterly stunned that Hiruzen had seen through him so quickly.
"Hmph!"
"Foreign shinobi cannot be trusted!"
"They're Jiraiya's disciples!" Hiruzen snapped, his tone sharp. "Watch your words, Danzo. I'm the Hokage!"
"Hmph!" Danzo snorted again, then placed a sealed document on the table. "This is the latest intelligence."
Seeing it wasn't another argument, Hiruzen's expression sobered. He opened the file and read silently for a while.
Finally, he exhaled slowly.
"So… Kusagakure needs a reminder of where they stand."
"You!" Danzo's anger flared. "Just a few days ago, I said we should teach Grass and Rain a lesson—what did you say then?"
"You said we should maintain peace because the situation was unstable!"
"And now?!"
"That was two days ago," Hiruzen replied calmly, setting the file down and looking Danzo straight in the eye. "Yuki Seisui and Namikaze Minato are the future of Konoha."
"Uchiha Haru is the bridge between the village and the Uchiha clan."
"Besides, Grass knew we were searching for the survivors of Uzushiogakure—and they still dared to hide them."
"To abuse them that way…"
"They've chosen the path to destruction."
Danzo narrowed his eyes. "By indulging those brats, you're sowing the seeds of your own downfall."
"I don't need you to tell me that."
"I trust them."
"If that's all, you can leave now."
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
"Danzo—I'm the Hokage."
Bang!
As the heavy iron door slammed shut, Hiruzen smiled faintly.
Let's see you break through that one, Danzo.
"I heard Seisui even got a hundred million ryō in compensation," he muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, Yuki Seisui and his group were already on the move.
Unlike the Amegakure, their journey through the Kusagakure was relatively peaceful. There were still bandits here and there, but far fewer than before.
Surrounded by lush green trees, Seisui had no idea that Hiruzen was already eyeing his money.
"We'll camp here for the night," he said, choosing a clearing.
"Alright," Uchiha Haru nodded. She rarely ever disagreed with his decisions.
As they prepared to set up camp, Seisui glanced at Uzumaki Mina. "Mina, do you know how to cook?"
Mina nodded. "I used to cook before."
"That's great!" Seisui grinned. "None of us can cook, so we'll have to trouble you tonight."
"It's no trouble at all!" Mina replied quickly. "Being able to help Clan Leader is my honor!"
"I'll cook over there." She pointed toward the downwind side and smiled. "Leave it to me!"
Minato and Haru exchanged glances. They both knew how to cook but stayed silent—they could tell Seisui wanted to speak privately.
Once Mina was gone, Seisui turned to Haru. "Haru, I never really asked—you haven't told me what your Mangekyo ability is."
It was normally rude to ask about another's ocular powers, but the three of them had been a team for years.
Haru didn't mind. "Amatsukami and Kunitsukami."
"What the heck are those?" Seisui blinked.
He'd never even heard of them. Sure, most Mangekyo techniques had divine names like Kamui or Amaterasu—but these two? No clue.
Seeing his confusion, Haru shook her head. "I don't really know either."
"But they're strong."
"Amatsukami grants me access to another dimension. I can control everything inside it—time flow, reality itself, even life and death."
"And the other one?" Seisui asked curiously.
"Kunitsukami lets me control gravity and repulsion. When combined with Amatsukami's realm, I can manipulate everything within—teleport, reshape the terrain, rewrite the environment. Right now, it's filled with floating rocks and drifting earth."
"My own world?" Seisui blurted out.
"Right, kind of like your duel arena," Haru said, misunderstanding his mutter.
"What an overpowered ability," Minato said from the side, jealousy practically radiating from him.
Why couldn't he have something like that? All he had was Flying Raijin—and if the enemy's defense was too strong, he couldn't even break through.
Like Seisui's blinding white light technique, or those two gigantic Susanoo giants he'd seen before—it made him feel utterly helpless.
"Truly complementary abilities," Seisui said with a sigh. Even if he didn't understand the divine names, he could tell this was on another level of power.