Chapter 278: You're All Safe and Sound

Rin still had hold of one of Obito's sleeves as she half-pulled, half-dragged him into the office.

The Six-Tails Jinchuriki entered last.

His head was nearly buried against his chest, and he dared look nowhere but the floor.

Behind the desk, Minato's gaze passed Kaede and settled on the doorway.

The moment he saw the short, light-brown-haired girl, his entire body froze.

Her face was clean and unmarked, with two familiar locks of hair resting softly against her cheeks.

Minato immediately stood.

The office chair beneath him was knocked half a meter backward.

"Rin?"

He spoke her name aloud.

How was this possible?

How could the girl whose photograph stood on the memorial stone be alive before him?

Rin felt her nose sting.

She released Obito's sleeve, took a large step forward, and bowed deeply.

"Minato-sensei, I'm back."

Minato quickly stepped around the desk and stopped before her.

He carefully studied her face.

It really was Rin.

Minato nodded several times.

After taking a moment to compose himself, he finally shifted his attention away from her.

His gaze passed over the black-robed figure in the middle and fell on the unfamiliar man behind him.

"This must be our guest from Kirigakure—the Six-Tails Jinchuriki?"

The Jinchuriki jolted and immediately stood ramrod straight.

"Yes! It's an honor to meet you, Hokage-sama!"

Minato waved a hand.

"There's no need to be so tense in Konoha."

After reassuring him, Minato finally turned toward the black-robed person in the center.

A long black cloak.

A spiral mask.

Under ordinary circumstances, Minato would have already called someone in to detain anyone dressed like that.

But Rin had entered while holding this person's sleeve.

Minato studied the way he stood.

The inexplicable sense of familiarity only grew stronger.

Obito kept his head lowered as well.

Yet he could feel Minato's gaze. There was no scrutiny in it and no hostility.

Half the fear that had churned violently inside him outside the door suddenly dispersed.

There was no avoiding this.

Obito slowly raised his head.

His gaze met Minato's clear blue eyes.

"Minato-sensei."

His voice sounded muffled beneath the mask.

Minato froze on the spot.

He looked at the black-robed figure, then turned toward Rin beside him.

Finally, his gaze landed on Kakashi.

That form of address...

Minato's eyes widened slightly, disbelief filling his voice.

"Obito?!"

Obito didn't deny it.

Minato stepped forward and stopped directly before him.

He looked at the strange mask.

How could someone whose body had been half-crushed beneath a boulder at Kannabi Bridge suddenly return intact?

Logically, Minato should have immediately summoned the ANBU and interrogated him about every detail.

Instead, he raised his hand.

He didn't remove the mask.

He didn't ask what Obito had endured or what dark secrets he was hiding.

It was enough that he had returned alive.

Minato placed his palm on Obito's shoulder and patted it twice.

Then he turned and did the same to Kakashi.

Finally, he looked at Rin.

A warm smile capable of melting anyone appeared on his face.

"Good."

"The three of you are alive and well. Nothing matters more than that."

Obito looked at him through the mask.

Minato-sensei was far too intelligent not to notice that something was wrong.

He simply didn't want to force Obito.

Minato withdrew his hand.

He stepped back twice and looked over the three students who had now grown into adults.

His gaze lingered on Kakashi and Obito for several seconds.

Then he smiled, returned to the desk, and sat down.

A few taps against the desktop marked his return to his role as Hokage.

"Kakashi."

Kakashi immediately stepped forward.

"Take our guest from Kirigakure to Courtyard Two in the southeastern district. The barrier facilities there are still functional, and it has all the necessary living supplies."

Kakashi acknowledged the order.

Minato then looked at Rin and Obito.

"You two must be exhausted after traveling all this way."

"Return to your homes and rest for now."

The seriousness left his face as he added,

"Once you've settled in, come to my house for dinner tonight."

Thinking of his heavily pregnant wife made the corners of his lips rise.

"Kushina has talked about all of you for a very long time."

"When she sees you, she'll probably go mad with happiness."

Rin's face instantly lit up.

"All right!"

Obito remained silent.

Dinner at his teacher's house?

How could he face Kushina looking like this?

What if he frightened her?

As his thoughts spiraled, he felt a faint tug at his sleeve.

He turned and met Rin's encouraging gaze.

All the chaotic hesitation in his heart was immediately suppressed.

Fine. He would go.

"All right. Thank you, Sensei."

With the conversation over, Kakashi didn't delay.

He walked to the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and gestured toward the door.

The four of them filed out of the office.

Silence returned to the room.

Minato looked at Kaede.

"Kaede, thank you."

His tone was exceptionally solemn.

"Both for bringing Kirigakure into an alliance and for returning those two to us alive."

Kaede didn't take credit.

"I've hidden many things from you."

Minato smiled and shook his head.

"None of that matters."

"As long as everyone returned whole, everything else can be discussed later."

Kaede nodded.

"Then we can save the reminiscing for tonight. Right now, we need to discuss business."

He walked to the map of the Shinobi World hanging on the wall.

"The Seven-Tails and Three-Tails have already fallen into the enemy's hands."

He pointed to two locations on the map.

"Their objective is now obvious. They intend to collect every Tailed Beast."

The smile vanished completely from Minato's face.

Kaede turned and looked directly at him.

"Kushina-nee is close to giving birth."

"Her relationship with the Nine-Tails may be good, but we still can't let our guard down on the day of the delivery."

He continued his analysis.

"You know the level of Kirigakure's barriers and defenses better than most, Hokage-sama."

"Yet the enemy still removed a perfect Jinchuriki from inside the village without anyone noticing."

"That proves conventional barriers are completely ineffective against them."

Minato looked down at the documents on the desk.

Konoha's barriers were indeed powerful.

But if the enemy truly possessed a technique capable of ignoring them entirely, then ordinary defensive measures were nothing more than a joke.

"I have an idea," Kaede said, proposing something extraordinarily bold. "Could you issue a formal proposal in the Hokage's name to the other Great Nations?"

"Ask them to follow Kirigakure's example and concentrate every remaining Tailed Beast in Konoha."

"We would unite our forces and establish a single defensive network."

Minato stared at him for a moment, then gave a helpless, bitter laugh.

"That would be impossible."

He walked to the window and pushed it open.

The noise of the street outside drifted into the office.

"The weapons program and trade agreements are, in the end, exchanges of mutual benefit."

"When everyone profits together, relations naturally improve."

Minato turned around and leaned against the windowsill.

"But Tailed Beasts are different."

"They're the foundation of a Ninja Village's power and the ultimate deterrent against other nations."

"No Kage would agree to place such a last-resort weapon in Konoha's hands."

"Kirigakure only agreed to send us the Six-Tails because they were genuinely driven into a corner, and because Elder Genji was willing to grant you this favor."

"The other Great Nations will never agree."

Kaede nodded.

He had already understood that.

He had only raised the proposal because he wanted to hear Minato's judgment.

"Then we'll use another method."

"Send the highest-level security warning to every village in Konoha's name."

"Make all the intelligence public: the enemy is collecting Tailed Beasts and has already captured two."

"Give them the information for free."

Minato immediately understood Kaede's intention.

"Their first reaction will be disbelief," Minato said, following the logic forward. "Kumogakure and Iwa will assume Konoha is plotting something and deliberately creating panic."

Kaede nodded.

"Exactly."

"Since they won't believe us, let them defend their Jinchuriki themselves."

"When they fail, lose their Tailed Beasts, and suffer a devastating blow..."

"Only then will they understand who the true threat is."

His voice was cold.

"Once they're hurting and afraid, we'll sit down and discuss a unified defensive network again."

Kaede rose to his feet.

"At that point, they'll have no choice but to agree."

The office fell silent.

Minato looked at the calm young man before him.

One move planned three steps ahead.

Every retreat and contingency had been calculated in advance.

Methods like these...

"We'll do as you suggest."

Minato opened a drawer and removed a blank scroll.

"I'll draft the warning today."

"It will be sent urgently to the other Ninja Villages through the ANBU's highest-priority channels."

He picked up his brush and dipped it in ink.

The tip hovered above the paper.

"Takigakure has confirmed the loss of the Seven-Tails. I'll list them first."

Kaede gave a slight nod.

He turned toward the door.

"Then I'll leave you to it. I'm going to check on the Six-Tails' accommodations."

He opened the door, stepped out, and closed it behind him.