"Something this small doesn't really need a personal visit."
In the living room, Tsunade's shadow clone served a few cups of tea.
"Raijin is partly responsible for this too. He's used to being respected, so his reaction was a bit too strong at the time. On his behalf, I'd like to apologize to Naruto."
Once everyone was seated, Tsunade spoke to them.
With Tsunade's temper, apologizing was a rare sight.
But since she had chosen to be with Raijin, she had to learn when to play the good cop and when to play the bad cop.
"No, it was my fault."
Before Minato and Kushina could say anything, Naruto stepped forward and spoke to Tsunade.
Naruto could take responsibility when it mattered.
He might have been a bit reckless because his parents were still alive, but some things about him hadn't changed.
Now that he knew this was his mistake, he wasn't the type to deny it.
"What did you do wrong?"
Tsunade chuckled, resting her chin on one hand as she looked at Naruto.
"I shouldn't have attacked Raijin-sama."
Naruto answered.
"Oh? You're even calling him 'sama' now?"
Tsunade couldn't help but laugh, teasing Naruto.
Naruto pressed his lips together and said nothing.
"Looks like you really took a beating."
Tsunade glanced at Kushina and Minato with a smirk.
Kushina and Minato just smiled without saying a word.
"It was my idea to have you become Raijin's disciple. I'm sorry for not asking your opinion first."
Tsunade's gaze focused on Naruto again.
"So if you don't want to, I won't force you."
"I do."
Naruto looked at Tsunade. His voice wasn't loud, but there was a hint of determination in it.
Minato's words from earlier echoed in his mind.
There are things in this world that someone has to do. If he doesn't do it, someone else will have to.
If his father's duty had to be carried by someone, then… let it be him.
And if he wanted to become an even greater ninja than his father, learning under Uchiha Raijin seemed like the best path.
Because… some jutsu could only be learned by staying by Uchiha Raijin's side.
Naruto didn't fully understand what that meant, but he trusted his father.
Even if he wasn't always around for him and his mother, his father had never lied to him.
"You really want to?"
Tsunade chuckled and asked again.
"Yeah, I do."
Naruto nodded when he heard that.
"Alright, then come over in the afternoon. Raijin might be back by then."
Tsunade nodded in response, then looked at Kushina and Namikaze Minato.
"You both know Raijin's personality, so don't stress too much. Just continue doing what you were doing once you get back."
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about this. Over the years, Minato hasn't been around much to be with Naruto, and I've been too lenient with him, which led to this situation."
Kushina stood up and said to Tsunade.
"Don't worry about it. I have two kids myself, and raising them is definitely tricky. Raijin has even beaten up Chén before."
Tsunade chuckled lightly and said to Kushina.
"Alright, we won't keep you any longer. I hope you can come over for a meal sometime. Minato and I would love to host you and Lord Raijin."
Kushina nodded and said to Tsunade.
A person's perspective often changes as they grow older.
Even the hottest-tempered person can have their heart completely tied up in their children once they become parents.
"Are you still being so polite with me?"
Tsunade chuckled and shook her head, patting Kushina's shoulder.
Strictly speaking, Tsunade and Kushina had some blood relation.
"Over the years, Raijin has been training at home. The village's affairs have mostly been on Minato's shoulders. As the Hokage, I should have done better."
Tsunade looked at Minato and spoke softly.
"Now, Jigen has emerged after thirteen years of hiding and is attacking Konohagakure again. Raijin and Madara are ready to assist at any moment. The village's intelligence and communication still need to be handled by you. So, for the foreseeable future, you'll have a lot to carry."
In a village, strength isn't everything.
Absolute power can give subordinates a sense of security, but that's not all.
The core of making someone serve you wholeheartedly lies in offering reassurance and promises of benefits.
"Don't worry. I'll do my best," Namikaze Minato nodded and said to Tsunade.
"Alright, then let's leave it at that."
Tsunade nodded and watched Naruto's family leave.
"Ha~"
She sighed softly, walking slowly back to her room with her hands behind her back.
"Grandfather~ Being Hokage is really tough..."
Sitting on the bed, Tsunade silently complained, suddenly understanding why Raijin had been so decisive when he faced the choice of becoming Hokage back then.
Although some of the tedious tasks can be handed over to subordinates, the Hokage is responsible for everything.
Whether it's external wars or internal matters of peace...
...
"Does it hurt?"
On the road, Namikaze Minato kept his head down, not looking at Naruto, and softly asked.
"It hurts..."
Naruto instinctively touched his face when he heard this.
It didn't hurt at first, but now... it seemed to hurt a little.
"I'm sorry..."
Minato, hearing this, pressed his lips together and said to Naruto.
"But, as you just heard, everyone in the village is working hard to make this village better."
At this point, Minato raised his head and looked at Naruto.
"I really hope that you can be part of that effort."
"I will."
Naruto looked at Minato and nodded firmly.
...
Meanwhile, over by Raijin.
Raijin smiled as he watched the masked man, held tightly to the ground by four invisible shadows.
With his hands raised, four green energy balls appeared in Raijin's hands.
The energy balls slowly merged into the foreheads of the four masked men, and instantly, they lost their ability to resist.
Seeing this, Madara immediately released the "Wheel Tomb: Border Prison."
"This is about the level of it," Raijin said casually, sitting on a piece of rubble and speaking to Uchiha Madara.
"This level? Please, your son almost died here, alright?"
Tatsu, hearing this, suddenly leapt onto Raijin's back, wrapping his arms around Raijin's neck and shaking him.
"Wasn't my support fast enough?" Raijin asked, holding Tatsu's arms with one hand, raising an eyebrow playfully.
"Yeah, your support came just in time, but the problem is, I almost didn't even get the chance to throw the Flying Thunder God Kunai..." Tatsu complained unhappily to Raijin.
Really, Tatsu almost thought he would never see Raijin again.
"Hmph, you refused to train properly, and now you're always trying to assassinate my second grandfather. Now you're scared, huh?"
Raijin chuckled helplessly when he heard this, reaching out and patting Chin's arm.
"Hmph! Is it my fault I didn't train well? Without these eyes, no matter how hard I try, I can't surpass you," Chin said with disdain, speaking to Uchiha Raijin.
"You can't learn Flying Thunder God because you have no space-time talent, I get that, but why can't you learn Lightning Style?" Raijin asked, crossing his arms with a look of confusion.
"Hmph, who needs to learn Lightning Style? Does having the Rinnegan work better? My teacher's better; this Rinnegan can do so much!" Chin said, walking over to Madara and hugging his arm.
Madara smiled at this, raising the corner of his mouth, and patted Chin's shoulder with his other hand.
"Good child, after I take care of Otsutsuki Kaguya, I'll give you the Ten-Tails."
While speaking, Madara also gave Raijin a challenging look.
"Get lost. You used my blood to activate your Rinnegan!"
Raijin immediately stood up and kicked toward Uchiha, clearly upset, laughing and cursing as he spoke.
"Eh~ still, my teacher is amazing. That thing called the seal? Just like that, it's gone. Not like someone else, who can't find a way, huh."
Uchiha dodged and hid behind Madara, rolling his eyes at Raijin as he did.
"Don't bother going home."
Raijin pointed at Uchiha, coldly saying this.
But the seal thing really was thanks to Uchiha Madara.
Raijin didn't know how Madara did it, maybe it was one of the abilities of his Nine Tomoe Rinne Sharingan, but he had directly devoured that seal.
Madara's strength had also improved to some extent because of it.
"Eh~ wrong, wrong."
Uchiha laughed cheekily and moved over to Raijin's side, speaking to him.
"Now, take these four guys to your sister. After this, Jigen probably won't make a move on Konohagakure for a while."
Raijin snorted lightly and spoke to Uchiha.
"No problem!"
Uchiha then took out Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God from his pocket. Usually, Minato handled transport missions.
Raijin grabbed Madara's arm, and in a flash, they returned to Konohagakure.
As the main base, Konohagakure couldn't be left unguarded for too long.
"Once this is over, let's go after Otsutsuki Kaguya."
Madara spoke to Raijin in Konohagakure.
"Alright."
Raijin nodded. After thirteen years, Raijin had completely unlocked the Eight Gates within himself.
Honestly, even in his normal state, just a single kick from Raijin could defeat the Madara from the original timeline.
Otsutsuki Kaguya was really nothing in comparison.
Especially with a stronger version of Uchiha Madara and himself working together on this.
"I've actually found a way to undo the seal while still keeping the moon around."
Madara nodded and spoke to Raijin.
It didn't matter if the moon existed because of Rikudou Sennin's Chibaku Tensei.
But since the moon had been there for such a long time as a massive celestial body, if it was destroyed, the Shinobi world would face huge natural disasters.
If possible, Madara wanted to avoid that outcome.
"Honestly, I don't think Jigen will show up now. In fact, Konohagakure probably won't be attacked again anytime soon."
Raijin said to Uchiha Madara.
"So, what do you mean?"
Madara frowned slightly and asked Raijin in return.
If they didn't deal with Jigen first before releasing Otsutsuki Kaguya, then both Raijin and Madara would have to face attacks from both Kaguya and Jigen.
In that case, they would be at a huge disadvantage.
Because if Jigen decided to attack Konohagakure, he could split the battlefield using space manipulation.
"For now, there's no perfect solution. The best we can do is weaken Jigen as much as possible."
Raijin shook his head and said to Uchiha Madara.
"Besides, if Jigen is backed by an organization, then those people should be arriving soon."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
Raijin didn't know exactly what had happened after Otsutsuki Kaguya was sealed away.
But judging by Naruto's age, it couldn't have been more than three or four years ago.
"Oh? Did you find something?"
Uchiha Madara glanced at Raijin.
"No, just a feeling."
Raijin shook his head and looked back at Madara.
"If they do come, are you afraid?"
"Afraid? Of course, I am. We don't know anything about them, and fear comes from the unknown."
Madara chuckled, hands behind his back, looking off to the side.
His words said he was afraid, but his face showed no fear at all.
"But it doesn't matter. It's just another battle. If we win, that's great. If we lose, then what is there to worry about?"
As he spoke, something seemed to cross Madara's mind, and his voice became lower.
"Maybe I never truly brought peace to this world. But if I die protecting it, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad ending."
"I was deceived for too long, and I made a lot of mistakes during that time."
"Hey—"
Raijin suddenly interrupted Madara's reflection.
Madara turned to look at him.
"Being misled because of a lack of information isn't something to be ashamed of. You're strong, and your talent is incredible, but that doesn't mean you automatically gain knowledge or wisdom."
"Don't worry, we're going to win."
"We will be victorious in the end."
Madara chuckled as well.
"So, I've decided. If Jigen doesn't make a move soon, then we'll release Otsutsuki Kaguya."
Raijin said to Uchiha Madara.
"You must have already considered the threat Jigen poses to both of us."
Madara nodded at Raijin.
(End of chapter)
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