The next morning, Tsunade, Minato, and Kushina arrived at the Hokage Building. After having their photos taken, they registered their ninja profiles with the help of the staff.
News of escalating conflicts on the front lines had already reached the village, casting a somber mood over the streets, far heavier than usual.
Most people on the road hurried past with worried expressions in their eyes.
Because of the war, many ninja had been deployed to the front lines. Among them were husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers, as well as children left behind, their parents' safety weighing on their minds.
Minato, however, never worried about the war.
Though he hadn't yet reached his full potential, with the Glint-Glint Fruit and the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could move freely across the battlefield.
In fact, if he wanted to, he could easily kill Hanzō with a single close-range strike.
Below the Six Paths, Minato was confident in his absolute invincibility.
Yet he had no intention of seeking glory in the war. He hadn't forgotten how his original self had died in the story.
He was invincible, yes, but those around him were not.
At least until Kushina and Nawaki had grown stronger, Minato had no intention of drawing too much attention to himself.
Compared to the Third Shinobi World War, where Konoha was besieged by the Four Great Nations simultaneously, the Second Shinobi World War had only Sunagakure and Amegakure as direct opponents, so the pressure on the front lines wasn't too great.
"Everyone seems so tense," Kushina said, her voice tinged with sadness as she observed the expressions of the people hurrying past.
Tsunade frowned slightly, her mood darkening. "It's been over a decade since the last war."
Kushina looked at Tsunade with confusion. "Sister Tsunade, why do wars have to happen?"
Hearing Kushina's simple question, Tsunade sighed softly. "Probably because of hatred?"
Minato suddenly spoke up. "War is a means, not an end. Politicians only consider how to gain benefits through war, whether for themselves or their groups."
"Land, economies, resources—any of these can be the fuse that ignites a war. And hatred? It's just one factor among many, and arguably the least important."
Silence fell over the air.
Tsunade and Kushina both stared at Minato in awe.
Kushina's eyes sparkled. "Minato, you're so amazing!"
"Is... is that so?"
Minato chuckled awkwardly. He had only wanted to instill a normal worldview in Kushina, never expecting such a strong reaction.
Was this really so hard to understand?
Seeing Tsunade nod in agreement, as if fully endorsing his words, Minato was momentarily speechless.
The Ninja Academy really should add a course on political ideology...
"What? You find this strange?" Tsunade asked, noticing Minato's bewilderment. "You're thinking, 'How could others not understand something so obvious to me'?"
Minato gave an awkward laugh. "Uh... something like that."
"You little punk, you really underestimate people," Tsunade said, pinching his cheek. "Which ruler would publicly reveal their methods of control? Not everyone can systematically organize these ideas like you can."
"The theories you're talking about would be more dangerous than forbidden jutsu if they got out!"
Minato froze, realizing she was right.
First, his ideology was fundamentally different from that of the Shinobi World.
His thinking had been shaped by education from a far more advanced era, fully armed with knowledge.
And it was even... aggressively offensive.
If Madara tried to deceive him with the "this world is hopeless, only the Eye of the Moon Plan can bring peace" rhetoric, Minato could counter with arguments ranging from the Analects to the complex relationship between human societal development and warfare.
He'd casually toss Madara a political science textbook and pat him on the shoulder, saying, "The path to salvation lies within these pages."
But the mindset of the Shinobi World was different!
At least the ninjas had never developed a relevant body of knowledge. Worse still, they were particularly fond of overthinking.
As the saying goes, "Learning without thought leads to confusion; thought without learning leads to danger."
The Uchiha in the original story were basically stuck in the latter state—no wonder they went mad!
Thinking of this, Minato felt immensely fortunate.
These concepts that seemed like common sense to him had another name in his previous life:
Dragon-Slaying Techniques!
He had lived in the one and only country that, even in peacetime, taught you how to rebel, while also showing you who to unite with, who to lead, and where everyone received this education.
Looking back now, it seemed truly extraordinary.
Of course, Minato had no intention of letting the Red Star's radiance illuminate the Shinobi World. He was only half-baked in this regard, having only received basic education and experienced the era of information explosion in his previous life.
Moreover, the situation in the Shinobi World was different from what he remembered from his previous life. With his limited knowledge, he knew he couldn't possibly manage such things.
On their way home, Kushina kept pondering Minato's earlier remarks about the true nature of war.
Tsunade, meanwhile, studied the young man beside her who always managed to surprise her.
If she had previously thought that whether Minato became Hokage was entirely up to him, now she genuinely hoped he would take the position.
She believed that if anyone could end this chaotic world, it was Minato.
The three returned home with their minds wandering in different directions. Before they even entered the house, they suddenly heard wild laughter erupting from the courtyard.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I did it!"
"I actually did it!!"
"What the hell did this idiot do?"
Tsunade strode into the courtyard and immediately saw Nawaki standing under a large tree, laughing maniacally. In front of him, the tree trunk bore a circular pit the size of a washbasin.
"Ah—so that's it."
Minato smiled. "Congratulations, Nawaki."
"Huh?"
Hearing Minato's voice, Nawaki turned around. Seeing the three of them had returned, he grew even more excited.
"What the hell are you up to, kid?"
Tsunade glanced at the large pit in the tree trunk, her eyes narrowing slightly. "This power... it's..."
"Look, Big Sis!"
Nawaki eagerly rushed to Tsunade's side, gripping his right wrist with his left hand and extending his right hand upward in a claw-like shape.
He took a deep breath and focused all his attention on the palm of his right hand.
In an instant, a surge of powerful chakra rapidly gathered in his palm, whipping up a gust of wind in the courtyard.
The chaotic chakra spun and condensed, ultimately compressing into a brilliant blue sphere of chakra!
Tsunade's eyes widened in shock. "You can compress chakra to this extent? This level of chakra control... what kind of ninjutsu is this?"
"It's called the Rasengan!"
Nawaki proudly lifted his chin. "It took me over two years to learn this ninjutsu!"
"That's amazing! Just learning to control chakra to this degree is incredible. You really are my brother!"
Tsunade praised him.
As someone who wielded Monstrous Strength, a technique requiring equally extraordinary chakra control, she fully understood how difficult this ninjutsu was.
"Hahaha, hahahaha~"
Nawaki grinned foolishly, basking in his sister's praise. In that moment, all his years of arduous training felt completely worthwhile!
"So, did Minato teach you this?"
"Big Sis, you're such a killjoy..."
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