"If I told you, you would unconsciously get nervous. Fortunately, your lungs weren't injured."
Minato finally chuckled, amused by him, and returned to his sunny disposition.
This night was truly nerve-wracking, but thankfully, most of Konoha's comrades were fine.
As for those who sacrificed themselves... this is often the fate of a Ninja. Besides grieving for a while, he had no other options.
"You took such a severe injury earlier without a sound, but now you're whimpering."
Might Duy ruffled Naraku's head and laughed heartily, "Still a kid, hahahaha."
Then, he belatedly realized that he had kept the Fifth Gate open for too long, rolled his Byakugan, and completely collapsed.
Minato was startled, then found himself a little dumbfounded when he realized Might Duy had fainted from extreme exhaustion due to overexerting his body.
Next to Naraku, Kakashi sat cross-legged on the ground, with Kazama wrapping layer after layer of bandages around his head, making it look a size larger.
He asked, speechless, "Senior, is it necessary to wrap so much?"
"Shut up!" Kazama Resshou feigned anger and complained, "I thought you two were going to die just now! You damn brats!"
"But we didn't die..."
"Don't talk back to adults, you stinky brat!"
"..."
Ishikawa, meanwhile, looked at the pitch-black Matsukata Family mansion in the distance, his expression grim.
After treating Naraku and Kakashi's external injuries, the group returned to deal with the aftermath.
The once magnificent and grand Matsukata Family mansion was now a scene of devastation, with nearly half of its buildings destroyed. Many exquisite courtyards were churned up with dirt, trees had fallen, and pavilions had collapsed. Everywhere, busy servants and maids were either repairing houses or putting out fires and rescuing people.
Minato collected the bodies of the two Chunin who had sacrificed themselves and sealed them in a scroll.
For casualties during missions, the Village would provide generous pensions to the families, bury the fallen, and engrave their names on the memorial stone.
Inside the quiet room.
Matsukata Seigou slowly sipped his hot tea, completely devoid of the panic he had shown earlier when he almost died at Kakuzu's hands.
Matsukata Seikō, who sat opposite him, had a mournful and indignant expression. Tonight, he had lost two sons, one of whom was his eldest son, an heir he had painstakingly groomed for nearly thirty years.
"We even hired Konoha Ninja...!"
"Father, don't joke," Matsukata Seigou set down his cup and narrowed his eyes, "How can you blame Konoha Ninja for not trying their best for a mere b-rank mission you yourself posted?"
"..." Matsukata Seikō stopped speaking.
And his Fourth Young Master continued to rub salt into the wound.
"To be honest, I saw that monster. Three or four Jonin couldn't kill him, and he still managed to escape. This should have been an A-rank or even S-rank mission."
"If not for the strength of the Ninja Minato brought, we might have been wiped out because you understated the mission's rank."
"At that point, Konoha wouldn't let it go. The accuracy of mission ranks is their foundation, and even we can't shake it."
"Given the situation, Father, hasn't tonight's events woken you up yet?"
After a long silence, Matsukata Seikō slowly said, "What do you want to do?"
Matsukata Seigou's tone was calm: "That position, if Yuanshi can sit there, why can't I, Matsukata?"
"Taking this path, the Matsukata Family will only have two outcomes," Matsukata Seikō's expression grew angry, "Either we succeed by fighting to the death, or we are completely annihilated!"
"If we don't fight, will we not be annihilated?"
"If your elder brother were still here..."
The imposing aura around Matsukata Seikō suddenly vanished, and he looked as if he had aged ten years in an instant. "He would have gradually made the Matsukata Family no longer a threat."
Matsukata Seigou's usually narrowed eyes fully opened, filled with sharp, piercing light.
"Entrusting our lives to their mercy? I'd rather die right now."
...A moment later, Matsukata Seigou walked out of the quiet room, turned a corner, and Ishikawa, who had been waiting there, silently followed.
"Next time, don't make it so dangerous, Fourth Young Master. At the last moment, your hand and his were just that close—"
Ishikawa pinched his thumb and forefinger together, gestured, then patted his chest: "My heart almost jumped out of my chest, I was so scared."
"Alright, alright, who knew there was such a monstrous guy in the Ninja World."
Matsukata Seigou waved his hand dismissively, then asked, "How are those Konoha Ninja?"
"Two Chunin died. Jonin Minato and Kazama sustained minor injuries. Uchiha Naraku and Kakashi Hatake, who were responsible for protecting you, were more seriously injured, but their lives are not in danger."
"For the two who died, the Matsukata Family will provide three million ryō in compensation to each. The others will receive one million ryō each."
"Understood."
...Although nearly half of the mansion was destroyed, the Matsukata Family's servants quickly prepared a few rooms for the Konoha Ninja to recuperate.
Kakashi and Naraku lay in the same small room, their ears filled with the hurried footsteps of others and the sounds of people giving instructions.
Naraku looked out the window, where the moon was already close to disappearing, vaguely hiding behind the clouds.
He suddenly reached out and touched Kakashi's stomach.
Kakashi glanced over, looking utterly speechless: "What are you doing?"
Naraku whispered, "Confirming you're still alive."
Kakashi: "..."
Naraku retracted his hand and complained, "I really thought you were going to die then. I told you to leave, why wouldn't you?"
Kakashi countered, "Then why did you insist I leave?"
Naraku was silent for a moment, then looked at Kakashi's profile and said, "Because I didn't want you to die."
Kakashi also turned to look at him: "Me too."
"Aren't you silly? Staying would have meant both of us dying..."
"Anyway, I won't let you die before me."
Kakashi's words were cool, but combined with his head wrapped in a huge bandage, his whole demeanor couldn't be taken seriously.
Naraku couldn't help but let out a low chuckle, which caused a sharp pain in his ribs. His small face crumpled as he hissed and sucked in cold air.
Kakashi teased him helplessly, "Sure enough, you're the sillier one."
However, remembering Naraku's urgent activation of his Two-Tomoe Sharingan to save him earlier, Kakashi found this silliness a bit endearing. A subtle ripple, like a feather gently brushing his heart, spread through him, and he too began to laugh softly...