Naruto : Minato back to the past

The warmth of Kakashi's celebration still lingered in the air as Minato walked quietly alongside Kushina, both lost in their own thoughts. The evening had been lively, and laughter had filled the barbecue restaurant as everyone celebrated Kakashi's growth and achievements. Now, as the streets of Konoha fell silent, Minato and Kushina shared the stillness, the hum of the village slowing with the night.

Upon reaching the gate of Kushina's residence, she suddenly stopped, turning to face Minato with a look of determination in her eyes.

"Hey, Minato," she started, her voice slightly hesitant but filled with resolve. "How about we go outside the village to carry out a mission tomorrow?"

Minato blinked, surprised at her suggestion. It wasn't often that Kushina herself proposed a mission outside the village. Still, he found himself nodding. "Alright," he replied softly.

In fact, he had planned to investigate the strange spatial disturbance he sensed earlier, something that had unnerved him since the celebration. A mission outside the village with Kushina would give him the perfect chance to search for any anomalies.

But as he looked into her eyes, he noticed something unfamiliar, a shadow of worry behind her usual fiery spirit. He tilted his head in concern. "Kushina, is something wrong?"

Kushina glanced away, her expression conflicted. After a brief pause, she raised her eyes to meet his, frowning slightly as if struggling to put her thoughts into words. "It's hard to explain, but... right before we left to celebrate with Kakashi, I felt something strange. It was as if something very important was calling to me." She gave a small shrug, an unusual sign of vulnerability for her.

A ripple of shock washed over Minato. The timing of her experience coincided exactly with the moment he had sensed that shift in space-time. Could Kushina somehow sense these disturbances too? He thought back to that fateful night when he'd been flung through time and space, transported from the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage. Kushina's unique connection to him and her special chakra had somehow anchored him during that time. Was this feeling she experienced somehow tied to that?

"Kushina, I…" he started, unsure of how much to share.

As if sensing his hesitancy, she quickly added, "I mean, I don't know if I'm just being impulsive or if there's really something out there, but I can't shake the feeling. Do you think I'm being unreasonable?"

Minato's heart softened. The weight of her position as a jinchūriki often forced her to remain within Konoha's walls, denying her the freedom that most shinobi enjoyed. He knew how much her sense of duty weighed on her.

He gave her a reassuring smile. "If this feeling is important to you, then let's find out together. I'll go with you."

Her face lit up, and before he could react, she threw herself into his arms with a laugh, her usual fiery spirit fully returned. "Thank you, Minato! I knew you'd understand!"

Minato hugged her briefly, though his gaze turned serious. Beneath his calm exterior, he felt the gravity of the situation weighing down on him. There was no question now—Kushina's instincts were connected to the time-space anomaly, and that meant there was more to this than he had initially thought. He'd have to stay vigilant.

After they agreed to visit the Hokage the next morning to take on a mission, they bid each other goodnight, returning to their respective homes to prepare.

Early the next morning, Kushina arrived at Minato's doorstep, bright and ready. Minato, having just finished his breakfast, greeted her with a nod, and the two set off toward the Hokage Building. As they strolled through Konoha's quiet streets, Minato's mind raced with preparations, considering all possible outcomes and dangers.

Just as they were a few steps from his door, however, an Anbu appeared before them, his mask catching the early morning light.

"Minato-sama, Hokage-sama has an urgent mission for you," the Anbu reported, bowing slightly. Minato's reputation as a formidable shinobi had only grown with time, and now his standing in the village was just below that of the village elders and the legendary Sannin.

Minato raised an eyebrow, glancing at Kushina, who gave him an understanding nod.

"Go on," she said. "If it's an emergency, you shouldn't keep him waiting!"

Minato placed a hand on the Anbu's shoulder, and in a blink, the two disappeared from view.

Hokage's Office

Within moments, Minato found himself standing before the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who sat at his desk, his expression as thoughtful and intense as ever.

"Hokage-sama, you called for me?" Minato asked, curious about the urgency.

Hiruzen nodded, his tone grave as he handed Minato a scroll. "A few days ago, the Intelligence Department intercepted a message from Sunagakure," he began.

Minato opened the scroll, quickly scanning its contents. He found nothing surprising in Konoha intercepting foreign intelligence. Even after the Second Great Ninja War, relations between the major villages were tenuous. The "peace treaties" signed by the other ninja villages were little more than tactical concessions, temporary holds on open conflict.

As expected, small skirmishes and intelligence breaches had continued since the end of the war, each village jockeying for position, testing Konoha's strength and resolve. Minato, who knew the fragility of this peace, had no illusions about the stability of these alliances. He understood that eventually, the hidden tensions would snap, as they did before the outbreak of the Third Ninja World War.

The scroll, however, contained something different—something that made his brow furrow. This was about an ancient kingdom hidden within the sands of the Land of Wind, a mysterious land whose existence was almost mythical among ninja circles.

"Rōran?" he murmured, a chill running down his spine. He read on, noting that Hiruzen's face remained impassive as he spoke.

"According to this message, the Queen of Rōran died suddenly a few months ago," Hiruzen explained. "At first, Sunagakure assumed it was a natural event or even an assassination. But this scroll suggests that Sunagakure was in the dark as much as we were."

Minato nodded slowly. He was familiar with Rōran, though he had only heard fragments over the years. Located deep in the desert, the isolated kingdom had kept itself apart from the battles and schemes of the ninja world.

But the sudden death of Queen Sēramu of Rōran, only whispered about in intelligence circles, had still managed to reach the ears of Konoha and Sunagakure. Though lacking in a true military force, Rōran's legacy of survival in the harsh desert was attributed to something powerful.

And then he saw it, a word that sent a shiver down his spine: Dragon Vein.

He clenched the scroll tighter. "The Dragon Vein…" he murmured, the implications swirling in his mind.

Hiruzen gave a nod, his eyes somber. "The Dragon Vein, as you know, is rumored to be a nearly limitless source of chakra that flows beneath Rōran. The Queen's family supposedly held the secret to controlling it, a power that could safeguard Rōran's survival even amidst the chaos of the ninja world."

Minato felt himself drawn back to that night—the night the Nine-Tails had attacked and his world was changed by a sudden twist in time-space. The energy felt that night, the fluctuations in the air, the pulse of power... it all connected back to the Dragon Vein.

For generations, this unique energy source had enabled Rōran's survival, providing them with a shield amidst warring nations. With their isolation and this potent resource, they had become almost invisible to the rest of the world.

Minato's thoughts raced. Could his and Kushina's awareness of the time-space shift be connected to the Dragon Vein somehow? Could it be the source of the recent disturbances?

Hiruzen continued, "Rōran has always avoided involvement in conflicts, but this sudden change—the loss of their Queen—has drawn unwanted attention. This could easily attract other nations to the Land of Wind, which would complicate things for us as well."

Minato's gaze hardened, realizing the gravity of the situation. If someone was attempting to control or destabilize the Dragon Vein, Rōran would be the first target—but Konoha could soon find itself drawn into the conflict.

"The intelligence we've gathered is limited, and Rōran remains inaccessible," Hiruzen said, his voice taking on a subtle edge. "Minato, I want you to go to the Land of Wind and investigate the Dragon Vein. We need to understand what's happening there before any larger conflict arises."

Minato nodded, his resolve unwavering. The thought of the Dragon Vein's energy falling into the wrong hands was a nightmare. He knew this mission would require caution, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was fate drawing him toward Rōran.

As he turned to leave, his mind replayed the vision of that night. The Dragon Vein's power had reached across time and space before, and it might be doing so again. But this time, he would be ready.

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