After Danzō was urgently taken for treatment, the Hokage's office regained its calm.
Hiruzen stood by the window, watching the setting sun while refilling his extinguished pipe with fresh tobacco. Smoke began to rise, obscuring his expression.
Danzō's words had indeed served as a reminder. The Land of Whirlpools had already been destroyed. Konoha had lost its most stable source of a jinchūriki. If something were to happen to Kushina, finding another suitable jinchūriki quickly would be extremely difficult.
The words of Mito still echoed in his ears—suppressing a jinchūriki's emotional needs too much would only lead to instability, a situation far more harmful than beneficial. The issue of a female jinchūriki giving birth was a particularly difficult hurdle. The "mother dies, child succeeds" method of succession carried unpredictable risks.
If Konoha had more Uzumaki clan members skilled in sealing techniques, they could assist during a jinchūriki's childbirth, maximizing the stability of the seal and ensuring that the Nine-Tails remained under control. And if an emergency did occur, Konoha wouldn't be left without a successor.
"War, huh..." Hiruzen let out a long sigh.
The tensions between the ninja villages were growing more intense, and it wouldn't be long before war erupted. The Land of Fire, with its abundant resources, fertile lands, and thriving economy, had always been a primary target for the other villages. Konoha had yet to fully recover from the shadow of the Second Great Ninja War.
If the worst were to happen, the power of a jinchūriki might become indispensable.
A normal ninja squad would take about two days to travel from Konoha to the southern coastline of the Land of Fire. From there, another two days by sea were needed to reach their mission's destination.
Given the urgency of this mission's intelligence, Minato, filled with a strong sense of responsibility, unconsciously increased his speed the moment he stepped out of Konoha's gates.
Kei, despite knowing the current situation in Suna, understood that they wouldn't stop searching for their "missing" Third Kazekage. But this wasn't something he could explain to Minato, so he could only follow along in silence, focusing on the journey ahead.
While maintaining enough stamina to handle potential battles, they traveled at full speed without resting at night—quenching thirst with water, suppressing hunger with soldier pills. By the second night, around nine o'clock, they arrived at the southern port of the Land of Fire.
Boarding a small sailing boat designated for Konoha's ninjas, Kei carefully checked the captain and two sailors before setting up various warning seals and traps in their cabin. Meanwhile, Minato summoned two small toads from Mount Myōboku to stand guard through the night.
Exhausted, the two finally gave in to sleep, recovering their strength as quickly as possible.
The waves weren't too rough, and the gentle rocking of the boat was more soothing than uncomfortable, even aiding their sleep. By the time Kei awoke to the cries of seagulls, the sun was already high in the sky.
After quickly freshening up, Minato brought over two large bowls of seafood rice soup. The freshly caught seafood had been meticulously prepared, free of any fishy smell, instead carrying a faint sweetness. The rice, soaked in broth, was rich with flavor, leaving a lingering taste after every bite.
The meal was so delicious that Kei couldn't help but give it high praise. Minato, slightly embarrassed by the compliment, smiled shyly.
With their hunger satisfied, the two casually sat cross-legged on the deck, enjoying a rare moment of leisure during their mission.
"Kei, I heard you and Kushina are preparing to get married?"
Minato shaded his eyes with one hand, gazing out at the vast, endless ocean.
The sudden question left Kei completely baffled.
Where did this rumor even come from?
He hadn't even started dating anyone, and now, somehow, he was supposedly about to get married?
"Where did you even hear that?"
"Huh? Yesterday morning, at the standby station, Chōza said that Kushina didn't have enough savings, so she used the ten million ryō you gave her as a wedding gift to compensate the standby station. Uh… that's not true?"
"How does he even know I gave Kushina ten million?"
"Uh… Suzaku, the one in charge of the standby station, said the deposit slip had your name on it."
"That doesn't prove it was a wedding gift."
"Well… Inoichi said you two are already living together, that you stay at the same place every night."
"!!! Are you guys seriously this gossipy all the time?"
Kei suddenly felt that Danzō targeting him wasn't completely unreasonable.
What kind of nonsense was spreading inside Konoha?
And why did it feel like all the jonin in the village were just a bunch of damn busybodies?
Did they do anything other than sit around and gossip all day?
Fine, the others were whatever, but Inoichi too? That bastard even dragged him and Kushina into their rumors?
Was this even something to gossip about?
Didn't they worry at all about how the higher-ups might perceive this?
Kei suddenly thought of Shikaku, that ridiculously smart bastard, and immediately realized what was going on.
That guy must have already figured out the mindset of Konoha's upper echelons. That was why he had the Ino-Shika-Chō trio intentionally spread these rumors.
This was their way of indirectly reassuring Hiruzen that there was nothing suspicious going on.
Those guys… were silently clearing obstacles for him and Kushina.
A bunch of meddlesome fools.
"Ahaha… Well, in the standby station, there's really not much to do, so people just chat about whatever," Minato laughed awkwardly, scratching his head.
"You guys have never experienced Kushina's Iron Fist before, have you?"
Kei sighed helplessly.
Even if Inoichi and the others had good intentions, if Kushina found out about this… With her outwardly carefree but secretly sensitive personality, being teased …
Well, he just hoped Inoichi and the others wouldn't get beaten up too badly.
"That, uh… no, not really."
Minato grinned brightly at the topic.
His relationship with Kushina was actually quite good. Perhaps because of his naturally kind and gentle nature, Kushina had never once hit him.
Kei, on the other hand, always teased her and ended up getting chased down and punched.
"You ever consider the possibility, just saying, a possibility that Kushina thinks if she punches you, you'll cry for a long time? And maybe… just maybe, she'd even have to comfort you afterward? So she holds back?"