Shindai and Naruto made their way home together.
Naruto asked in confusion, "Brother Shindai, why does Hinata's father seem to dislike her? She calls him 'Father-sama,' which sounds really formal."
Shindai replied, "Yeah, calling one's own dad 'Father-sama' does sound pretty distant. Truth is, Hiashi never really liked her because he wanted her to grow up exactly how he expected. But since she didn't develop the way he wanted, he started disliking her. That's why he asked me to help change things.
The Hyuga clan... their distinction between Main Family and Branch Family is ridiculous—an outright master-slave system. Anyway, you'll have to deal with that someday, Naruto. My peaceful future depends on you, too."
Shindai brought Naruto back home. Since they had mentioned earlier that they wouldn't be eating there tonight, even though Naruto kept belching loudly, Kushina Uzumaki said nothing.
Days passed by one after another.
Now spring had arrived, and Minato Namikaze received a letter from Kumogakure.
"Kumo wants to send a delegation to Konoha for talks seeking an alliance. This really surprises me."
Minato looked at the letter in his hand, quite puzzled.
Ever since the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha had signed alliance contracts with Iwagakure and Sunagakure, but not with Kumogakure or Kirigakure.
In fact, Kumo ninja occasionally caused trouble along Konoha's borders. Suddenly turning completely friendly was leaving Minato scratching his head in confusion.
Yamanaka Inoichi speculated, "According to our intelligence reports, there's been intense conflict between Kumo and Kiri shinobi at sea. Maybe that's part of the reason why they want to ally with us."
Nara Shikaku stroked the little whiskers beneath his chin and said, "I think it might be more complicated than that. Konoha has tried several times before to form alliances with Kumo, but the raikage always refused. Kumogakure is a village full of martial artists; convincing them to back down isn't easy. Furthermore, if their reason for seeking peace is simply because Kiri approached Konoha first, such an action would likely be considered shameful by their standards."
Minato became slightly serious, "You mean... there's some kind of trickery going on?"
Nara shook his head, "Not necessarily. It's just unusual for them to reach out suddenly like this. Since they want negotiations, let's see what they propose. After all, this is also something we've hoped for."
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent nearby, yet his expression revealed pride.
A new generation of Konoha leaders had fully matured—Minato, the current Hokage, could definitely hold his own now. Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi were gradually replacing Advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado as well.
Moreover, Konoha is currently producing an impressive number of talented individuals. Though not fully recovered yet, Konoha is currently developing better than the other four great ninja villages.
Indeed, choosing Minato Namikaze as Hokage was definitely a correct decision.
"Wait, the hot-heads from Kumogakure are coming to Konoha? Asking for an alliance?"
At Minato's home, Shindai asked while having dinner.
Minato replied, "Yeah, we've already responded. They should arrive in Konoha in about five days."
Shindai grumbled, "Tch! Back in the day, Kumo ninjas were the last ones I ever wanted to run into on the battlefield. They'd just charge right into battle without thinking if they were outmatched, like they didn't have a brain between them. Oh right!"
Shindai turned to Kushina Uzumaki, "Sister Kushina, weren't you once kidnapped by Kumogakure when you were little? Wasn't it saved by Lord Minato?"
Kushina recalled, "Yes, I was still in the Academy back then. After school, on my way home, I was abducted by three Jonin from Kumogakure. I was so scared, and to make someone notice that I was being kidnapped, I secretly yanked out my own hair and scattered it along the road as clues. But until nearly reaching the border, no one came to rescue me. I was almost desperate, but..."
Kushina looked at Minato with a happy smile on her face, "When I was beginning to lose hope, Minato alone noticed the markers and followed them to find me."
Minato smiled and said, "Kushina's red hair was really beautiful. That's very memorable for me, and precisely because of this I could successfully locate Kushina."
Shindai twitched his lip in irritation. What was that? Are you out of your mind? He simply asked one question, and now you're showing off your affection directly!
Now the food in his mouth didn't even taste good anymore.
"Wow, this is the first time I've heard this story. Dad, Mom, I want to hear more about your past experiences!" Naruto looked at Minato and Kushina Uzumaki with obvious anticipation.
Of course, Kushina Uzumaki gladly agreed to her son's request, "Then after we finish eating, I'll tell Naruto all about my past with Minato. To be honest, back then I actually thought Minato was an idiot!"
Minato scratched his head. He really wanted to say to Kushina that maybe this particular story didn't need to be told to Naruto. However, seeing how happy both Kushina and Naruto seemed, he just let them have their way.
Minato glanced at Shindai, Pakura, and then Hikaku Uchiha.
Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha kept their heads down, focusing on eating, while Shindai wore a clearly discontent expression.
Minato asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
"Come on, they're already an old married couple with a three-year-old kid. Do they really need to do this?"
Grumbling slightly under his breath, Shindai lifted his rice bowl and continued eating heartily.
Minato tilted his head, puzzled by Shindai's complaint at first.
While heartily eating rice, Shindai suddenly remembered something—that is, it seemed like kidnapping had become a standard trick for Kumogakure.
Not only had they once kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki, but Hinata seemed to have been abducted before too, perhaps more than once.
That's right.
Neji's father, Hizashi, seemed to have met with misfortune due to Hinata's abduction.
Shindai asked Minato Namikaze, "Lord Minato, if this time Kumogakure is looking for trouble and wants to start a war with Konoha, what would you do?"
Minato looked surprised. "Why do you say that?"
"No particular reason, just asking casually. After all, you know how devious Kumogakure ninja can be. Maybe they've come up to something again. So… if such a thing happens, what would you do, Lord Minato?"
After thinking for a moment, Minato firmly said, "Konoha doesn't go looking for trouble, but we won't back down from it either!"
Shindai's eyes gleamed as a mischievous grin spread across his face.
With Minato's words, everything would be easy. When that time comes, he could just drag Naruto along on a romantic adventure.
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