Yugao opened her eyes groggily, instantly snapping to alertness.
How had she suddenly fallen asleep like that?!
“You’re awake, Yugao.”
Yasuka was holding the thoroughly despondent Nine-Tails, rubbing its head.
Before entering the consciousness space, he had Shisui place Yugao under a genjutsu to ensure she got a good night’s rest.
It had to be said—while Shisui might be a bit dense in the head, her genjutsu was undeniably top-tier.
Yugao hadn’t realized in the slightest that she had been caught in one.
“I’m sorry, I…
just now…”
Yugao felt a wave of panic and helplessness.
As a ninja, neglecting the client she was supposed to protect was a massive dereliction of duty.
Moreover, Yasuka treated her incredibly well, possessing none of the foul habits typical of nobles.
The pay was high, the job was safe, and it was even comfortable.
All she had to do every day was follow Yasuka around and ensure nothing happened to him to earn a handsome reward.
Furthermore, Yasuka himself had an easygoing personality.
He was frequently followed around by little girls, cooked delicious food, and knew many things that Yugao couldn’t comprehend but found deeply impressive.
He was practically the perfect client—so perfect that Yugao was actually somewhat terrified that Yasuka might replace her one day if she performed poorly.
Before she knew it, she had long since developed the habit of silently protecting (watching) Yasuka from the shadows.
She had filled notebook after notebook, as if Yasuka had become a fundamental part of her daily life.
“It’s fine, Yugao.
You’re just too tired.
I’ll go brew you a cup of soothing tea.
Get a good night’s sleep tonight, and you’ll be perfectly fine by morning.”
Yasuka smiled helplessly.
He had a favorable impression of Yugao.
Though she was incredibly serious during work, she always seemed to be suppressing an uncontrollable urge to complain.
It was hard not to feel an affection for a girl with such a contrasting personality.
“Um…
thank you for the trouble…”
Yugao looked down at her fair, slightly flushed knees, feeling an inexplicable stiffness in her body, as if she were being targeted by some terrifying beast.
She had no idea that beside her, Shisui was staring at her with a highly complex expression.
‘Next time…
I absolutely cannot let Yasuka down!’
Yugao silently cheered herself on, then pulled out her notebook, flipping through it page by page until she reached the latest entry.
Meanwhile, Shisui stood right next to her, reading along page by page.
Originally, Shisui just thought this Anbu was being a bit delusional, but now…
she was thoroughly convinced this woman was a stalker.
Shisui instinctively reached to draw her blade, only to remember at that moment that she was no longer the Uchiha Shisui of the past.
Sitting sullenly next to Yugao, Shisui found her more and more irritating.
Having her around to protect Yasuka was clearly enough; Yugao couldn’t even withstand a single glance from her.
Yasuka returned holding Yugao’s cup, which was adorned with a cartoon rabbit, filled with soothing tea.
Holding the steaming cup, Yugao blew gently on the surface and took a sip.
It tasted wonderful, lacking any of the typical bitterness of medicinal herbs.
Shisui’s eyes practically popped out of her head.
Yasuka casually approached her, gave her a playful, irritated tap on the head, and signaled her toward the kitchen with his eyes.
Stepping into the kitchen sullenly, Shisui spotted a cup with a cartoon golden retriever, completely different from Yugao’s.
Beneath it lay a small note: “This is your cup.”
Seeing how attentive Yasuka was, the gloom in Shisui’s heart instantly melted into warmth.
She similarly picked up her cup and began taking small, delicate sips.
Meanwhile, outside the Hokage Building.
“Minato…
I…
I only…”
Hiruzen felt his body grow weak, as if he might collapse at any moment.
The man who was once the “Shinobi Professor” had ultimately been defeated by time, growing weak-willed and cowardly.
“Minato, you should still…”
Jiraiya could not bear to see his master like this and wanted to offer a few words of mediation.
However, at this moment, Minato’s clear, crystal-blue eyes were completely consumed by hatred.
No one had the right to ask Minato to let it go.
He had sacrificed everything for the village, only for his daughter to become a scapegoat and bear the malice of all the villagers in the end.
Putting himself in Minato’s shoes, if it were him, he would only be even more radical.
Feeling his chakra draining away, Minato knew his time was running out.
He had to secure the proper treatment and compensation for Naruko as much as possible.
Facing an increasingly aggressive Minato, Hiruzen resembled a helpless, ordinary old man, choking back tears: “Minato, are you trying to force me to my grave?”
“Third Hokage, why did you let my daughter live such a painful life?
Answer me!
Look into my eyes!”
Minato showed no sympathy whatsoever.
He only knew that his daughter had curled up on her bed weeping countless times after being wronged.
Other children had the companionship and care of their parents, while Naruko had nothing.
Their estate, their inheritance, every single thing—none of it had been left to Naruko.
Do not dare use the excuse of “protecting her.” Are you suggesting that to protect Naruko and conceal the fact that she is the daughter of the Fourth Hokage, you had to claim she was the reincarnation of the Nine-Tails?
Who on earth would fail to see whose daughter she was—a Jinchuriki possessing his distinct blonde hair and blue eyes, bearing his wife’s surname, and born on the exact day he and Kushina died?
Any fool could see that Naruko was not just the Jinchuriki, but his daughter.
Such a pale and feeble explanation only infuriated Minato further.
“I did it!”
Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly deadlocked, Danzo arrived, dragging his heavily injured body.
Seeing this, Hiruzen, whose momentum had already withered, hurriedly stepped forward to stop Danzo.
“What are you doing here?!”
Hiruzen was both angry and somewhat moved.
He had assumed Danzo would hide away and keep his head down just like in the past.
He never expected that at a time like this, Danzo would be the only one standing by his side.
“Hmph!
Sarutobi, you are far too weak as Hokage.”
Danzo snorted coldly.
Of course, he hadn’t come to help Hiruzen out of the goodness of his heart; he had played a part in the Fourth Hokage’s death back then.
If that matter ever came to light, his lifelong dream of becoming Hokage would be shattered forever.
To prevent that, he had to take the initiative to deal with this deceased Fourth Hokage.
“Danzo…”
Minato’s tenure as Hokage had been short, so he didn’t know Danzo extensively, but he knew perfectly well that Danzo was up to no good.
The realization that the old bastard in front of him had caused Naruko so much suffering made it impossible to suppress his rage.
If his remaining chakra weren’t so depleted, he would have killed Danzo without hesitation.
“I am right here.
I will take sole responsibility for everything.
If the Fourth Hokage has any grievances, I shall resolve them myself.”
Danzo put on a display of great accountability, but internally, he was plotting how to dispose of Minato without doing it in front of the crowd, intending to use the momentum of this event to push Hiruzen out of office.
“What grievances do I have…”
Minato forced himself to maintain his composure.
He was about to vanish and had to find a way to extract more compensation for Naruko.
Taking a deep breath, Minato listed dozens of conditions in rapid succession, any single one of which Hiruzen would absolutely never agree to.
Yet Danzo agreed to them all without batting an eye, even executing them right in front of Minato.
First was the rumor regarding the Nine-Tails; Root would immediately launch a counter-campaign to dismantle it and publicly announce Naruko as the daughter of a hero.
Following that, Danzo directly seized and consolidated a massive sum of money to serve as compensation according to Minato’s demands.
Next came sentencing the villagers who had acted violently toward Naruko, along with various other highly beneficial terms.
Danzo did everything within his power to provide compensation for Naruko.
“Fourth Hokage, you should be satisfied now, shouldn’t you?” Danzo was already breaking out into a cold sweat; if this continued, his reserves would genuinely be drained dry.
“Thank you, Danzo.”
Minato felt the primary issues were largely resolved, but then remembered another matter.
Looking toward Fugaku Uchiha, who had just arrived, Minato expressed his apologies to him and the Uchiha clan.
He had always believed the Uchiha were a part of Konoha and looked forward to the day an Uchiha would become Hokage.
Unfortunately…
he would no longer be able to witness that day.
Following that, Minato publicly declared once more that the Uchiha clan had nothing to do with the Nine-Tails Incident, and that the culprit was absolutely not an Uchiha of Konoha.
“Jiraiya-sensei, I’ve reached my limit.
I beg of you…
please look after Naruko for me.
This is my…
final request…”
Minato’s body gradually began to dissolve.
Among those present, everyone who had known the real Minato showed deep sorrow on their faces.
Had it not been for that tragedy, Minato would have undoubtedly been a magnificent Hokage.
Only Danzo stood there watching Minato vanish, completely dumbfounded.
‘Wait, so you were actually at the end of your rope?