SLAM!
The door shook violently as the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, Kushina, stormed out, leaving the Hokage's office in a heavy silence.
"Sorry, everyone," Minato scratched his head with a sheepish smile. "Kushina's been pretty stressed lately."
No one responded.
Sarutobi's face darkened as he turned to Shin.
"Pakura, the Scorch Release kunoichi, has been locked up in the Prison for quite some time now. Has she revealed any useful intel?"
Shin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, wearing a look of mock seriousness.
"Ah... I left in such a hurry this morning, I must've forgotten my brain at home. Can't remember a thing."
︿(￣︶￣)︿
"You..." Hiruzen's face twisted in frustration.
If this bastard hadn't grown so powerful, he would've—
[Hiruzen Sarutobi's Hatred Value +100]
"Shin, don't push your luck. Our patience has its limits," Koharu Utatane snapped, her face lined with fury.
"Hmph..." Homura Mitokado's expression turned ice-cold. "I said from the beginning—he should hand over Pakura. Let the Torture and Interrogation Force handle her. With the Yamanaka Clan's mental jutsu, we'd get what we need."
"I saw it back on the battlefield—cold-blooded, ruthless, utterly selfish."
Koharu's aged face creased further as she sneered.
"Someone like you doesn't deserve to be a Leaf shinobi."
[Homura Mitokado's Hatred Value +100]
[Koharu Utatane's Hatred Value +100]
"Granny..." Shin let out a dark, twisted chuckle. "What's this? Digging up old graves again?"
"Then let me ask—back during the campaign in the Land of Wind, who was it that ordered our squad to go behind enemy lines on what was basically a suicide mission?"
Homura and Koharu were momentarily speechless.
Shin's eyes narrowed, a sharp sneer curling at the corner of his lips.
"Oh? Nothing to say now?"
"Then answer me this—why was it always us, the civilian-born shinobi, sent behind enemy lines?"
"What about the Sarutobi Clan? The Utatane Clan? The Mitokado Clan?"
"Let's say that's all water under the bridge. Even when we were still fighting to survive behind enemy lines, you were already shaking hands with the Hidden Sand. Why didn't Konoha send any backup afterward?"
"Care to explain that, Lord Third?"
Koharu shot back, "Konoha was under siege on multiple fronts—we didn't have the capacity to send reinforcements!"
"Negotiating peace with the Hidden Sand minimized losses," Homura added. "Besides, you're still alive, aren't you?"
"Heh... yeah. I'm alive."
Suddenly, Shin's tone turned cold.
"But my comrades are all dead."
His face twisted with a deep sorrow.
"Forget it. We've had this argument so many times already—it's always the same lines. I'm sick of hearing them."
Off to the side, Minato's expression was complex.
Back then, he'd been stationed on the Land of Earth front. He'd only heard about this incident later.
During the Third Shinobi World War, in an attempt to stall reinforcements from the Hidden Sand, Konoha had sent dozens of squads—over a hundred shinobi—behind enemy lines.
And while these ninjas were risking their lives to complete their mission, the higher-ups in Konoha suddenly proposed a ceasefire.
They opened peace talks with the Hidden Sand.
The squads trapped behind enemy lines were instantly abandoned, left to be slaughtered by Sand Village. They were completely surrounded, cut off, and left to die.
In the end, only Shin made it back alive.
Thus began his path of blood and legend.
A somber silence fell over the Hokage's office.
"Hand over Pakura," Hiruzen finally said.
"The Hidden Sand has sent envoys. They're proposing an alliance between our villages. One of their conditions is her release."
He turned to Minato.
"This could ease tensions between our villages... prevent another war."
Shin scoffed.
So they were going to use the banner of the greater good to pressure Minato now. And Minato was always a sucker for that.
Sure enough, Minato looked over at Shin.
"Shin..."
"Whatever. You're the Hokage. Your call." Shin waved it off, utterly indifferent.
Though the words were aimed at Minato, his eyes were fixed on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The mocking sneer on his face couldn't have been more obvious.
Hiruzen's mouth twitched, but he pretended not to see.
"Oh, right—almost forgot to tell you." Shin suddenly smiled.
"Pakura told me she was actually betrayed by the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. He deliberately sent her to the Hidden Mist to die."
His grin widened.
"You release her now, and things are going to get real interesting in the Hidden Sand."
"What?"
"Is that true...?"
"Unbelievable..."
The Hokage and the elders exchanged stunned glances, disbelief written all over their faces.
"Well, that's all I had to say. I'll leave you to it," Shin said, turning on his heel.
"Later."
As he stepped out of the Hokage's office, he hadn't even made it to the stairs when someone appeared at the landing.
It was Kushina. She should've left long ago.
She stood there, dressed in a loose maternity outfit, but the flowing fabric couldn't hide her increasingly voluptuous figure.
Her long red hair cascaded gently over her shoulders, framing her face with a soft, serene beauty.
She really was the very image of a graceful, glowing mother-to-be.
Minato... truly is a lucky man.