The giant bull glared furiously at Rasa, completely fearless.
Rasa narrowed his eyes.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Spear!"
A mass of gold dust condensed into an incomparably sharp spear, suspended in midair. The next instant, it thrust viciously toward the giant bull.
Puchi!
A sharp sound tore through the air.
The spearhead stopped one inch before the giant bull's eye.
But the giant bull did not even blink.
"Why didn't it blink?"
"Because it isn't afraid."
The giant bull could not speak, but Rasa clearly read something close to that from its eyes.
"It's this stubborn? It doesn't even fear death?"
Rasa looked into the giant bull's eyes and felt a slight headache.
If this were an enemy, he would simply kill it.
But the giant bull was a summoning beast. If he subdued it, he could sign a contract and gain its loyalty.
And Rasa had already thought of how to use this giant bull.
Its value to Sunagakure would definitely not be low.
"Don't tell me I can only wear it down?"
Many creatures were born stubborn.
Subduing them was difficult and often required time.
One had to grind them down until they admitted defeat.
A creature unafraid of death would be even harder to wear down.
"Then let's do it. Let's see whether you are more stubborn, or whether my patience is stronger."
…
…
Konoha.
After Danzo publicly released the detailed investigation results claiming that the Uchiha clan had caused Nohara Rin's death, the matter was basically considered closed within Konoha.
No one would investigate it any further.
After Hiruzen Sarutobi confirmed the investigation results, he entered them into Konoha's incident archives and stored them in a sealed chamber.
Kakashi looked toward the direction of the Uchiha compound.
"Uchiha…"
"Why did they choose Rin?"
"Was it because of Obito?"
"Did the Uchiha think Rin had dragged Obito down and caused him to be killed by Iwagakure ninja?"
"But Obito never joined the rebellion. He had already separated himself from the Uchiha rebels."
"Or was it revenge against Minato-sensei?"
Kakashi felt the latter was more likely.
He had spent a long time with Uchiha Obito, so he knew very well that Obito did not have deep feelings for the Uchiha clan. He had been a marginal figure among them.
Uchiha Shisui was the genius who received attention.
Uchiha Itachi was the future clan head candidate.
The Uchiha rebels had even killed Uchiha Yamakaku. There was no way they would have cared much about Uchiha Obito.
"Previously, the Uchiha clan had frequent contact with Minato-sensei. They were probably hoping Minato-sensei could mediate the conflict between them and Konoha."
"But Minato-sensei failed to do it."
"So they held a grudge against him."
That was Kakashi's guess.
Uchiha Fugaku shook his head.
"Looking at it now, Father's choice back then was even more wrong."
"The only thing the Uchiha can rely on is themselves."
"Once we lose ourselves and rely on others, fairness and justice become impossible."
"The Uchiha of Konoha no longer have hope."
"I don't know whether those Uchiha can find a path suited to them."
"I hope the Uchiha won't end up like the Hagoromo clan of the past…"
"Where exactly is the future of ninja clans?"
A trace of confusion appeared in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes.
Uchiha Shisui came before Minato Namikaze.
"Minato-sama."
"Shisui… is something the matter?"
Minato Namikaze came back to himself.
The matter with Nohara Rin had weighed on him.
But after receiving confirmation from Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato had let it go.
Now Danzo had publicly released the full investigation results, explaining every detail clearly. Minato vaguely felt that something was off, but there was nothing he could do.
Besides, Minato had an even more important matter to focus on.
Kushina Uzumaki's belly was growing larger and larger.
That meant her delivery date was already approaching.
For a husband and soon-to-be father, nothing was more important than that.
In the eyes of many people in Konoha, Minato Namikaze's life was extremely successful.
Born a civilian, yet a genius from a young age.
At a very young age, he had received the recognition of Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, and became his direct disciple.
He also had Kushina Uzumaki, who could almost be considered his childhood sweetheart.
Uchiha Obito had once hoped that he and Nohara Rin could become like Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
As Minato grew older, he learned the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He developed the Rasengan himself.
During the war against Kumogakure, he became famous in a single battle, facing the Fourth Raikage and Killer B at the same time without falling behind.
His reputation and achievements had risen greatly during the Third Great Ninja War.
He had long since been listed as one of the Hokage candidates.
The other was Orochimaru.
If not for the fact that Konoha's final battle against Iwagakure had been led to victory by Orochimaru, most villagers would now believe that Minato's chances were far higher than Orochimaru's.
But even if Orochimaru inherited the position of Hokage—
Minato Namikaze would still be a powerful contender for the next Hokage.
Minato also knew about Uchiha Shisui.
A genius of the Uchiha clan.
Especially skilled in the Body Flicker Technique.
When facing Iwagakure ninja, Kirigakure ninja, and Sunagakure ninja, he had all displayed very impressive strength.
But the situation of the Uchiha clan…
Minato did not know why Shisui had come to find him.
"Minato-sama, can you teach me how to save the Uchiha?"
"Save the Uchiha?"
Minato fell silent.
Only after a long time did he sigh.
"Shisui, the Uchiha clan's situation has not become that terrible yet. The village will not lump all of you together with those rebels. It will not blame you because of them."
"I believe that much about Hokage-sama."
"You should believe in Hokage-sama as well."
"And give the village more time. Let the village learn to trust you again."
"Your performance will be seen by the village."
"Contribute more to the village."
"I know this is not your fault, but you have indeed been implicated."
"…"
After saying those comforting words, Minato paused, then continued.
"If you trust me, Shisui, I can arrange an opportunity for you to earn merit for the village."
Shisui's eyes brightened.
"Minato-sama, what opportunity?"
Shisui could tell that the earlier words had mostly been comfort.
But this final sentence from Minato made him realize that coming here today had not been a mistake.
If there was anyone in Konoha who could and would help the Uchiha, it might only be Minato Namikaze.
"The village has received intelligence that Kusagakure committed many violations against Konoha during the war. Now, the village is preparing to launch an attack against Kusagakure."
"To avenge the Konoha ninja who suffered at Kusagakure's hands."
Uchiha Shisui was somewhat confused.
Wasn't it Sunagakure that Kusagakure had violated?
How had Konoha been violated too?
Was Kusagakure really that bold?
Was it really that strong?