The first thought was of Roy,
The boy and Minato Namikaze walking together, had already left the courtyard and vanished without a trace.
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head to look out the window, his expression changing before he asked Fukasaku seriously, "Did the Immortal say who it was?"
The Great Toad Sage is the true owner of Mount Myoboku, one of the three great sacred places in the summoning world,
The specific age is unknown, the specific combat power is unknown, and in terms of foundation, it is even above its summoning beasts... the Sarutobi clan!
He asserted—the child of prophecy who would change the ninja world has appeared... and it is almost certain...
"A prophecy is not foresight," Fukasaku stroked the small tuft of white goatee on his chin, glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi, and said, "The ancestor's revelation is hard enough, as for who specifically... find it yourself if you're interested..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe, nodded slowly... Whoever it is, anyone who wants to change the ninja world cannot be an unknown figure... It would be best,
'if this person is from Konoha...'
In his contemplation, Roy's face, three parts resembling Fugaku and seven parts like Mikoto, resurfaced in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind. The old man tapped his pipe, returning to his senses, and said to Fukasaku, "Tell me about the front-line situation,"
Fukasaku made a noncommittal sound, and in this bright morning, he gathered closely with Hiruzen Sarutobi.....
"Ring, ring, ring..." Approaching noon, the ninja school bell rang for dismissal....
Worried about scaring the children on the road, Roy and Minato Namikaze revealed themselves from a secluded alley, deciding to walk home.
From the business district to the Uchiha clan's residence, there was still quite a distance,
The streets were lined with shops selling food, clothing, accessories, hardware, and spices, crowded with people bustling around.....
Roy and Minato Namikaze walked side by side, leisurely strolling down the bustling streets, watching the traffic and life of the people, occasionally greeting others. It must be said... even though Minato Namikaze had yet to repel the AB combination in the upcoming Third Ninja War and earn the name "Golden Flash,"
Just based on his past achievements and being the personal student of Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, wherever he went, he was nearly always the center of attention....
Roy quietly accompanied him, watching him smile and greet others, suddenly thinking of a phrase—
"The foundation of the masses determines the superstructure"
Leaving aside combat power, with Minato Namikaze's current popularity in Konoha, in the original work, Orochimaru's defeat seemed deserved, and even now... even if he defected early because he was exposed for experimenting on living humans, it would probably still be difficult for him to compete with Minato Namikaze for the position of Hokage in the future.
"Yo-ho~"
"Everyone is too enthusiastic,"
At the end of the shopping district, the crowd thinned out, and Minato Namikaze finally got a chance to catch his breath, smiling wryly at Roy, "Actually, Kushina would enjoy this kind of buzz more than I do, but unfortunately, she can't come out..."
As the container for the Nine-Tails, a Jinchuriki is not allowed to leave without reason. This applies not only to Uzumaki Kushina but also to Jinchuriki in other villages,
For instance, Gaara was strictly limited in going out in the early days, and Sunagakure even intended to send an assassination squad to eliminate him.
Another example is Killer B, during the reign of the Third Raikage, he had to be accompanied by the Raikage's son to go out, and later when A succeeded as Raikage, in order to ensure his safety, the restrictions tightened rather than loosened... Even though as a Jinchuriki, he was the best in combining with his Tailed Beast, and even the first to gain recognition from the Eight-Tails,
He still had to sacrifice his freedom for the sake of the village....
So, this is the downside of being "strategic weapons"—enormous power, yet personally restricted, existing more for... deterring opponents!
Roy connected it to the chaos in Konoha following the Nine-Tails outbreak, which ultimately led to the deaths of Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Kushina... He looked up at the sky, speaking with a hint of melancholy, "Weak... it's all because... we're too weak..."
"Who's weak?" Minato Namikaze halted his steps, turning to look at the boy.
Roy timely caught a ray of sunshine in his palm, playing with it before releasing it back into the light, stopped and pointed to Minato Namikaze, then to himself: "You, me, Konoha... we're all too weak....."
"If we were strong enough, strong enough to easily control the Nine-Tails, imagine, would Aunt Kushina still be confined?"
Minato Namikaze's eyebrows moved, "You know about the Nine-Tails?"
Roy didn't answer, the boy continued walking, looking ahead at the ninja school, speaking without turning back: "Men are incompetent, having a woman bear the fate, Uncle Minato,"
The boy suddenly stopped at the courtyard wall he had once demolished with a "Fireball Jutsu" and watched being rebuilt, turning back to look at Minato Namikaze, saying, "This is also why I really can't bring myself to like the current Konoha."
Minato Namikaze was slightly taken aback, looking at the youth standing quietly beneath the wall inscribed with the Will of Fire, as they silently shared a gaze, his heart surged, almost like crashing waves, this was the first time in his life he had heard such an answer,
An answer that included him, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage Assistants, even... the entire Konoha couldn't have imagined!
Ironically, from a certain perspective, this was the reality!
Kushina, even Uzumaki Mito, were victims under this reality!
"But, that's the Nine-Tails,"
No one can control the Nine-Tails... Minato Namikaze recovered, looking at Roy with depth and said, "You don't know its horrors...."
"Is that so?" Roy no longer looked at Minato Namikaze, with both hands in his pockets, he walked leisurely towards the Uchiha clan's residence, brushing against the ninja school's courtyard wall,