[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Shikkotsu Florest, Year 42.
...
...
In the Land of Rain, where, unsurprisingly, the weather was gloomy with heavy rain, Minato's group had finally reached their destination.
It was a small village, used only for farming.
While the people sheltered from the heavy rain with umbrellas and hats, in a place outside the village, in the harvest fields, Minato appeared quietly in that place, meeting a man working alone in the rice field.
"So you've arrived..." he commented calmly, as he continued to strike the ground a few more times with the hoe before setting it down, while Minato raised an eyebrow.
"Anyway, since you're here...." he commented again, as he lifted his hat slightly, looking at Minato — the only one visible, though his men were in the nearby trees giving him support — with a calm gaze, and without saying anything else, reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic-wrapped scroll to keep it from getting wet.
He handed it directly to Minato, knowing that man matched the description he had received from the Hokage regarding the mission.
Minato took the scroll and gave a signal to everyone, checking that no one was watching them, while signaling his team to retreat. Quickly, they all vanished, heading once again toward the border.
The mission was simple, as they began to return to the border with the scroll now in Minato's bag. The mission had been simple, but Minato knew something was wrong. He was clearly surrounded by men who watched him at all times. That scroll wasn't going to the Hokage — it would probably be delivered to Danzou, given the relationship he had with Hanzo, according to Minato's knowledge.
He wouldn't miss the chance to read it. Of course, he couldn't open it there, surrounded by Root members who were watching him constantly. But he had his own tricks. He quickly began to inspect the scroll with his Observation Haki, able to read and distinguish each use of ink on the paper, scanning every inch of it, able to read it just by sensing how the ink was written, bypassing the seals placed to keep anyone from reading it.
It was espionage information, and Minato understood it had been written by Hanzo himself, giving some intel and even answering some of Danzou's questions about certain matters — even about Jiraiya — asking about any Leaf ninja in the country. Although it wasn't anything major, it was clear they really had an alliance with each other.
Anyway, they advanced to the border, quickly maneuvering around it without being detected, and headed toward the Land of Fire, entering easily and going back to Konoha.
Minato could still feel the presences watching them from the forest. He didn't sense just one, but at least four signatures along the way, feeling that faint presence underground.
If he was right, Madara Uchiha would be somewhere in the Land of Waterfalls, hidden, without knowing exactly where. Either way, he would investigate it in the future. For now, he was concerned with other things and moved on, taking two days to reach Konoha.
Minato went straight to the Hokage's office. The mission had lasted only five days, and when he handed the scroll to the Hokage, he was dismissed. He said goodbye to his team and headed to his apartment.
He found it empty, with only a letter on the table, written by Mikoto. He didn't even need to open it, sensing with his Haki — as he was starting to learn to scan the entire paper — receiving information as his Haki did with everything around him, just as he wanted.
'If you get here today, I'm at work, training ground 7. Come find me as soon as you can.'
That's what Mikoto had written, as Minato stopped to eat and change, disappearing and reappearing at the location the next moment. As expected, he had always left a seal in that place.
There, he found Mikoto spitting flames in the middle of the area, spreading fire around. But she was controlling herself, probably training flame control. She stopped spitting a moment later, looking at him and smiling.
"You're here, finally. I've been leaving that letter every day, but the urgency started yesterday," she said, approaching him.
"What do you mean?"
"Some things are happening, Minato. But first, Hanabi disappeared. And when I went to look for her at the clan, they said she used a summoning jutsu on herself and vanished."
"She did that?" Minato murmured, stunned. But thinking about it, he hadn't seen her activate the seal if she were in danger, as she would normally do... which indicated she might be fine.
"Hold on... I'm going to see where she is," Minato said and suddenly vanished, leaving Mikoto there alone.
Ten minutes later, he returned by himself.
"She's fine," he said, although he had been quite worried upon seeing that she used the summoning seal on herself and ended up in a very strange place, which left him extremely exhausted — almost as if he had traveled to and returned from the eastern continents.
"Where is she?" Mikoto asked, still somewhat worried about her companion.
"She ended up being called by a strange animal, but one that suits her. She never thought of having one, but that animal matches her," Minato replied.
He couldn't deny he was quite surprised, as that animal belonged to someone else in the future — or so he hoped, because if she secured the contract, that person wouldn't have it.
"But she's going to be fine," he added in the end, as Mikoto nodded.
"Anyway, it's good to let your grandfather know," he said, since Hanabi had asked him to do that.
"Yes, he was even worried. I'll do it. Why don't you go see Kushina? She said your scroll is ready," Mikoto said.
"That's good." Minato even lifted his eyes, pleased with that.
"Before you leave... I'd also like to go somewhere more isolated. Can we go to that beach?" she asked, in a softer tone.
"Of course, I already planned to go there with the summoning scroll," he replied, and vanished in the next moment, while Mikoto packed up the equipment she used during that afternoon's training and headed to the Hyūga clan to pass on the information.
Minato teleported to the Senju clan in an instant, and Kushina appeared the next moment, opening the door for him, while the blonde was hugged by the redhead as he entered the house.
"Come, I'll give it to you!" she said, leading him to her room where she prepared seals and returned.
"Here's the scroll." She was carrying a huge scroll on her shoulder to hand to Minato.
"This is great, thank you, Kushina." Minato thanked her, tucking it under his arm, as he would use it that very afternoon and didn't seal it elsewhere.
"Thanks for this. I'm heading out this afternoon, but let's eat something tonight," he said, and she nodded.
"Of course, I'll be waiting," she said.
With that, Minato left Kushina's house and teleported, using the seal on Mikoto's body, reappearing in front of the Hyūga clan, where she was already waiting, knowing it wouldn't take him long to talk to Kushina.
"Mikoto, let's go," Minato said, as he vanished, heading for the southern coast.
They talked a bit at the beach, while Minato waited for any sign of Guren, asking more about Tsuna, and Mikoto said she had gone to the Shikkotsu Forest and was starting Sage Mode training.
He was surprised by the girls' proactiveness, but also happy.
Mikoto continued training while she was there, able to unleash large-scale jutsu without holding back, even activating a bit of her special eye: the mangekyō sharingan.
She didn't have to worry about anyone seeing her abilities, as she increased the power of her elements.
Her black flames quickly made the water evaporate, while Minato left the beach and advanced into the sea.
As soon as he sensed Guren, Minato was about 2 km from the coast. The fish finally noticed him too and moved toward him, surfacing.
Minato invited him to the beach, where he took out a scroll and began signing it with his blood. Guren did the same, placing his fin as the summoning signature. Thus, they created a summoning bond.
"The test will happen in a week. Good thing you made it in time," Guren said, while Minato felt he would have to talk to the Hokage about it — after all, he would need to be off duty.
They trained a bit there, and then Minato ended up helping Mikoto, looking through some scrolls given by her father. Minato was interested, as they contained information about other mangekyō sharingan users.
But Minato knew Mikoto had a very serious problem: she couldn't have a second pair of eyes to activate the Eternal, and not even the Uchiha clan had information about it — only some theories suggesting Madara could use his special eyes without going blind.
However, for people like Mikoto, each time she used her abilities, the damage worsened.
Upon returning to Konoha that night, Minato had dinner with Mikoto and Kushina at the latter's house. Nawaki also joined them, and they spent some time talking.
Minato and Mikoto slept at Kushina's house. In the morning, Minato was approached by a toad at the Senju clan's doorstep.
"Yo," the toad raised its paw and greeted him in a strange way.
"You're a messenger from Mount Myōboku?" he murmured, already recognizing it as one of the toads from that place — and that he might finally have his answer, after three weeks.
'Which is a bit disappointing… I thought they hadn't even considered accepting me,' Minato thought, remembering how the days passed since he made the request to Gamabunta.
"I came to bring the response from the Great Elder. Actually... Gamabunta spoke with the boss. He talked to the Great Elder about your coming, but... the Elder ended up falling asleep after hearing the question, for three straight weeks because of his age... He gave the answer this morning right after waking up and asked what they were talking about again... Now he's waiting..." the messenger toad explained, while Minato collapsed to the ground, stunned.
He didn't know that old guy could sleep like that. Either way, he nodded.
"Great. I'll go then, I just have to notify someone first," Minato said, picking up the toad.
He said goodbye to Mikoto and Kushina, telling them he would be away, and disappeared, heading to the Hatake clan, where he found Sakumo sitting in the garden.
Minato spoke briefly with him. After all, they were supposed to train that day, and Minato had sent a message yesterday, saying he was back in the village.
"I see. That's not a problem. You can go," Sakumo said, and Minato nodded.
"Thanks. I'm not sure I'll be back tomorrow, but I'll let you know if anything comes up," he replied, before disappearing.
"Hey, don't carry me like that!" the toad complained, as Minato placed him on the ground.
"Where can we find the entrance?" he asked the toad.
"Only toads can pass through the entrance I came from. You can't. Anyway, I'm going ahead. You'll be summoned on the other side, got it?" the toad explained, before clapping his hands and vanishing in a puff of smoke.
Minato waited five minutes before feeling his body being pulled. Then, he too disappeared, enveloped in a cloud of smoke.
In the next moment, he reappeared in a place full of frog sounds. The environment was colorful, vibrant, and he landed on the ground, looking around in awe.
Even while seeing everything, his Haki could sense the presence of Gamabunta and other giant, powerful toads in the distance — all of his summons.
"Ah, you came. Jiraiya's child," an elderly voice said nearby.
Minato turned to the side of the messenger toad and saw the one they all considered the chief: one of the most powerful toads of Mount Myōboku.
Minato couldn't help but smile upon seeing that. He was finally there.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 248 - Theories about Sage Mode.
Chapter 253 - It's Time to Begin the Plans.
Chapter 263 - Status Quo.
Chapter 272 - You're going to help me tonight.
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