"Hokage-sama, we cannot allow you to assume such a burden," Tsuchikage Onoki said firmly, his weathered hands moving to gently lift Minato's bowing form.
The elderly Kage's voice carried the authority of someone who had witnessed decades of conflict and understood the true value of leadership. Despite his advanced age and the strain of recent battles, he positioned himself directly in front of Minato with unmistakable resolve.
"Indeed," Mei Terumi added, stepping closer to join Onoki in his intervention. Her gaze swept across Naruto and Sasuke as she continued, "If it weren't for the extraordinary efforts of you and everyone from Konoha, our entire world would have been destroyed long ago."
The Mizukage's words carried weight beyond mere diplomatic courtesy. She had witnessed firsthand the scope of the crisis they had just survived—the resurrection of ancient enemies, the manipulation of tailed beasts, and ultimately the return of chakra's progenitor herself. Without Minato's strategic leadership and his students' incredible power, none of them would be standing here alive.
Onoki's eyes settled on Obito's pale, weakening form with an expression that mixed understanding with resolution. "Iwagakure accepts your request without reservation," he declared, his voice cutting through any potential objections from his own village's interests.
"Kirigakure stands in complete agreement," Mei Terumi confirmed, her diplomatic training evident in the formal way she aligned her village with the decision.
"The Sand Village has no objections whatsoever," Gaara stated simply, his eyes fixed on Obito with profound gratitude.
The young Kazekage's words carried particular weight given his personal experience. He understood better than most what it meant to be manipulated by forces beyond one's control, to have one's actions shaped by isolation and pain. More importantly, he owed his very life to the man they were discussing.
"I don't know what specific assistance you might need," Gaara continued, his voice softening with genuine offer of support, "but if there's anything I can do to help, I will give everything I have."
Despite the unanimous support from the assembled Kage, Obito's expression was filled with confusion rather than relief. His dying eyes searched Minato's face with obvious bewilderment.
He had never actually told his former sensei what his final wish might be. How could Minato be so confident in requesting support for something that remained unspoken between them?
"Thank you all," Minato replied with sincere gratitude, though those watching carefully could detect a hint of uncertainty flickering in his eyes.
Mei Terumi noticed that subtle hesitation immediately, her diplomatic instincts honed by years of navigating complex political situations. A knowing smile crossed her features as she addressed the unspoken concern.
"I don't think he would refuse to grant such a request, especially coming from you, Raikage-sama," she said with gentle amusement.
"Hokage-sama, please don't worry about this matter," Onoki added, his hands clasped behind his back as he regarded Minato with an expression that mixed respect with mild disappointment.
The elderly Tsuchikage had observed Minato's character throughout the war, witnessing firsthand how someone with such overwhelming strength and unprecedented achievements consistently chose humility over dominance. With Minato's current reputation and power, no village leader would dare oppose his requests, regardless of their personal feelings on the matter.
Yet rather than leverage that influence as a tool of coercion, Minato consistently approached others as equals, seeking cooperation rather than demanding compliance. It was a leadership style that inspired both admiration and occasional frustration among his peers.
The mention of accountability reminded Onoki of unfinished business from the war. His gaze shifted to the former Akatsuki members who had participated in the final battle—Deidara perched on his distinctive clay bird, Sasori maintaining his puppet-like composure, and Konan observing from a respectful distance.
"Are you still planning to continue fleeing as wanted criminals from various villages?" he asked pointedly, his attention moving between Deidara and Sasori before settling on Konan.
The question highlighted a complex diplomatic challenge. The Akatsuki organization had officially dissolved with Madara's defeat and the exposure of Black Zetsu's manipulation, but its former members remained technically criminals in the eyes of their original villages.
"Tsk, old man," Deidara replied with his characteristic irreverence, "the war just ended, and you're already thinking about trials and punishment?"
His dismissive tone masked a deeper uncertainty about what the future might hold. The blonde artist exchanged meaningful glances with Sasori, both understanding that their participation in the final battle didn't automatically erase years of criminal activity.
Sasori's response was more measured, his attention turning to Gaara with something approaching respect. "Grandmother Chiyo has grown old," he said quietly. "Since you're the Kazekage now, you should probably stop her from worrying about such things."
The comment referred obliquely to the ongoing tension between the puppet master and his home village, particularly the grief caused by his murder of the Third Kazekage decades earlier.
"Of course," Gaara replied, his voice steady despite the complex emotions the conversation evoked.
Although his eyes held no active hostility when he looked at Sasori, they remained cold and watchful. The Third Kazekage's death at Sasori's hands represented one of the Sand Village's greatest shames—a wound that still festered in the collective memory of his people.
For the ninja of Sunagakure, this was a humiliation that demanded eventual justice, regardless of recent cooperation against a common enemy.
"Very well. I'll leave that matter in your capable hands," Sasori said with a slight chuckle.
He turned to Deidara with a meaningful look, and together they began their departure. The clay bird spread its wings and took flight, carrying both former Akatsuki members away from the gathering before anyone could object or pursue.
Konan observed their exit with her characteristic silent dignity. After nodding respectfully to Kushina and Minato—an acknowledgment of both their victory and their treatment of her organization's members—she too departed, her paper-based techniques carrying her in a different direction entirely.
Notably, neither Onoki nor Gaara made any move to pursue the fleeing criminals. Despite the legitimate grievances their villages held against these individuals, the immediate aftermath of such a devastating war wasn't the time for settling old scores.
The former Akatsuki members had played significant roles in the final victory, and their contributions couldn't be simply ignored. More pragmatically, everyone present was exhausted from the prolonged conflict and had no desire to immediately engage in new hostilities.
"I need to return to Killer Bee's body immediately," the Eight-Tails announced, its massive form shifting with obvious urgency. "I can still sense his chakra signature."
The great bijuu's emotional state was clearly agitated. When it had been forcibly extracted from its jinchuriki during the war, it had managed to leave a small portion of its chakra within Bee's body—a technique that could potentially save the man's life if they acted quickly enough.
"Understood," Minato replied, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder to borrow some of his son's abundant chakra reserves.
Bang!
A shadow clone materialized beside him, its formation marked by the characteristic sound of the technique's activation. The duplicate looked toward the Eight-Tails with professional focus.
"My clone will take you to find Killer Bee and complete the resealing process," Minato explained.
"Thank you," the Eight-Tails responded with genuine gratitude, its massive head inclining toward Minato in a gesture of respect that shocked every observer present.
The sight of a tailed beast expressing sincere thanks to a human—particularly for assistance in returning to its jinchuriki—was something that none of the assembled Kage had ever witnessed or even imagined possible.
Gaara, who had spent years as Shukaku's jinchuriki, stared in amazement at the interaction. His own relationship with his tailed beast had been characterized by constant conflict and mutual hostility, making this scene seem almost surreal.
Onoki and Mei Terumi exchanged glances that reflected their shared astonishment. The implications of what they were witnessing went far beyond the immediate situation—this suggested a fundamental shift in the relationship between humans and the bijuu that could reshape the entire ninja world.
Swish!
Minato's clone appeared beside the Eight-Tails, his hand making contact with one of the creature's massive tentacles. In the next instant, both figures vanished through the Flying Thunder God technique, beginning their race against time to save Killer Bee's life.
However, the Eight-Tails' gratitude had inadvertently raised a much larger question that none of the leaders had yet addressed directly.
"What should be done about the tailed beasts?" Mei Terumi asked, voicing the concern that was now weighing on everyone's minds.
The question hung in the air like a diplomatic minefield. For decades, the distribution and control of tailed beasts had been a cornerstone of international relations, providing a delicate balance of power between the great villages. But the events of recent days had fundamentally changed the nature of that relationship.
"Although I have no authority to make decisions for other ninja villages," Minato said carefully, his diplomatic training evident in how he approached such a sensitive topic, "I can assure you that Konohagakure will not take any hostile action against the bijuu for the foreseeable future."
His gaze moved to encompass the seven tailed beasts still present in their gathering—massive entities that could level cities but were currently displaying behavior more akin to confused refugees than weapons of mass destruction.
"The policy of tailed beast distribution was established by the First Hokage," Minato continued, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "But in all our focus on maintaining that balance, we humans have overlooked something fundamental."
He paused, allowing his words to carry their full weight before continuing. "The tailed beasts aren't merely powerful creatures to be possessed and controlled. They have emotions, thoughts, and desires just as we do."
The statement challenged assumptions that had guided international policy for generations. If the bijuu were truly sentient beings with their own rights and motivations, rather than simple tools of war, then the entire framework of their treatment needed to be reconsidered.
"Regarding these matters," Minato concluded diplomatically, "I would like to wait until all immediate concerns have been addressed, then discuss them in detail with all of you and the Raikage."
His approach was tactically sound—attempting to revolutionize international tailed beast policy in the immediate aftermath of a world war would be premature at best. The ideas needed time to develop, and the other leaders needed time to process the implications of what they had witnessed.
The assembled Kage fell into thoughtful silence as they considered Minato's words. The Fourth Great Ninja World War had forced ninja from all five major villages to work together as allies rather than rivals, creating unprecedented levels of mutual understanding and cooperation.
If that spirit of collaboration could be maintained in peacetime, then perhaps the ancient cycle of suspicion and conflict that had driven tailed beast policy could finally be broken.
The question of how their generation should guide the ninja world into a new era was indeed complex enough to require careful deliberation and planning.
Turning his attention to more immediate concerns, Minato created another shadow clone and dispatched it to locate Shikaku and the coalition's command structure. The mission was to organize search teams throughout the battlefield areas, with the specific goal of finding the Third Hokage, who had been hidden away by Madara during the early phases of the conflict.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!" Naruto called out, his hands moving through the familiar seals with practiced efficiency.
Thousands of golden-haired duplicates materialized across the landscape, each one expanding their sensory abilities to maximum range as they spread out in all directions. The coordinated search effort represented the kind of large-scale operation that only someone with Naruto's unique abilities could manage effectively.
At that moment, Kakashi approached Obito with an expression heavy with complex emotions. His normally composed features showed traces of guilt, regret, and desperate hope as he knelt beside his dying teammate.
"Obito," he began hesitantly, his voice rough with emotion, "about Rin..."
Obito's response cut through whatever explanation or apology Kakashi had been preparing. "I saw everything," he whispered hoarsely, his voice barely audible but carrying absolute certainty.
"What?!" Kakashi's visible eye widened with shock, his pupil contracting as the implications of that simple statement hit him.
Minato's brow furrowed as pieces of a long-standing puzzle began falling into place. He had suspected for years that Madara had used one of Zetsu's clones to deliberately manipulate the timing of events, ensuring that Obito would witness Rin's death at Kakashi's hands.
The tragedy had been orchestrated with surgical precision—Minato had arrived just minutes too late to prevent the confrontation, finding only the aftermath of violence and the psychological devastation it had caused.
What he hadn't known was that Obito had been present during the massacre of Kirigakure ANBU that had followed. The dozens of enemy ninja found dead at the scene had displayed wounds consistent with an unknown technique of incredible lethality.
Now, with the revelation that Obito had witnessed Rin's death firsthand, the source of that massacre became clear. It had been Obito's awakening Mangekyo Sharingan, unleashing power fueled by grief and rage beyond rational thought.
Minato had studied the Second Hokage's extensive research on the Sharingan, including Tobirama's theories about the dojutsu's connection to the user's emotional state. The Sharingan was often called "the eye that reflects the heart," developing new abilities in response to intense psychological trauma.
Although the specific powers of the Mangekyo remained largely mysterious, Minato could now understand how Obito's particular abilities had manifested. Faced with a reality too cold and hopeless to bear, his awakened eyes had granted him the power to escape from that reality entirely.
"Brother! Mom! Dad!" a clear, joyful voice suddenly rang across the battlefield.
Chiharu's arrival broke through the heavy atmosphere that had settled over the group. She rushed toward them with obvious relief, her eyes quickly confirming that Naruto, Kushina, and Minato were all alive and relatively unharmed.
Her gaze lingered curiously on Obito's still form in Naruto's arms, clearly noting the intense expressions on her family members' faces. However, her natural perceptiveness told her that whatever was being discussed was deeply personal and potentially painful, so she kept her questions to herself for the moment.
Minato placed a gentle hand on Obito's shoulder, his voice carrying both the authority of the Fourth Hokage and the compassion of a teacher who had failed to protect his student.
"The failures that led to this tragedy were mine as an instructor," he said quietly but firmly. "Therefore, I intend to make amends for them."
"Make amends?" both Kakashi and Obito echoed simultaneously, their voices reflecting confusion and disbelief.
At that moment, Kushina's expression shifted as understanding dawned in her eyes. She stared directly into Minato's face, her gaze carrying a mixture of hope and concern as she began to grasp what he might be contemplating.
At this time, Kushina seemed to have thought of something and stared into Minato's eyes