In that single instant, the Authority born of the Lord of the Dead unfolded outward, scanning through everything in the world that bore any connection to him. Anthony slowly closed both eyes, quietly feeling out the summons echoing back.
This was the upside of having become Lord of the Dead. At the very least, when it came to tracking down a Shinigami, it didn't require any particularly heavy effort.
After a brief stretch of sensing, Anthony picked up a thread leading back to his quarry — and so, following along that thread, his search pressed onward.
At the same time, he set out on foot, strolling casually through Konoha Village.
Although he had already detected traces of the Shinigami, by Anthony's estimation, formally pinning down the location would still take a bit of time yet.
And so, Anthony decided he might as well take advantage of this interval to first go pick up Namikaze Minato. Once the Shinigami had been dealt with, that would also wrap up Minato's resurrection neatly.
Following the memory from his last visit to the Naruto world, Anthony made his way toward Naruto's house, and before long, arrived right outside the front door.
After a moment's pause for thought, Anthony gave the door a light knock.
"Who is it!"
Accompanied by a still rather young-sounding voice answering at the door, the door swung open.
A child with bright golden hair appeared in the doorway, half of his body still tucked behind the door, peering out at Anthony with what looked like a touch of curiosity.
"I'm an old friend of your father Minato. I've been traveling all over the shinobi world for a while, and today the thought came to me to swing back around for a visit," Anthony said, the same gentle smile as ever on his face.
But what came next caught him slightly off guard — Naruto, instead of looking at the ring on his finger, was simply staring at Anthony in confusion.
Which made Anthony realize something.
The corner of his mouth twitched, and he immediately pulled up the chat group and sent a message by thought alone.
[Lord of the Ivory Throne: @Yellow Flash of Konoha, hold on — don't tell me you still haven't told Naruto who you actually are?]
[Yellow Flash of Konoha: Ah, no, I haven't. He still thinks I'm Ring Grandpa]
[Lord of the Ivory Throne: To have bottled it up this long, you're really something. Hurry and come out and help me cover for this — the two of us are about to head off and run a dungeon!]
[Yellow Flash of Konoha: Oh, alright, alright]
And so, closing the chat group, Anthony let out a silent little sigh in his heart.
Meanwhile, inside Naruto's mind, the familiar voice rang out:
"He's not lying."
For just an instant, hearing that voice, a flicker of surprise crossed Naruto's face — and then his expression returned to normal. He simply asked the voice inside his head:
"Grandpa, you know him?"
"Mm. Of course. He counts as an old friend of mine too."
Inside the ring, Minato began winging it shamelessly at his young son.
"We've known each other for a very long time. Long enough that it goes back even before I came into this ring."
Namikaze Minato put on the weathered voice of an aged elder, and told Naruto, with absolute seriousness: "He really does know your father. They're old friends as well."
"Huh? You know my father?"
For a moment, little Naruto showed plain, unmistakable shock — and at that, Namikaze Minato was momentarily caught for words, finally realizing the problem.
Crap, he'd genuinely never once mentioned to Naruto that he, Ring Grandpa, knew Namikaze Minato.
Apparently he'd been having so much fun playing the part of the old man that he'd entirely forgotten about that particular detail.
And so, after a long stretch of silence, Minato finally coughed lightly and spoke up:
"Know him? Of course I know him — we go way back, a real cross-generational friendship, very close indeed!"
"So that's how it is!"
Little Naruto's face lit up with delight — which caused Namikaze Minato's soul, just for a moment, to look away in embarrassment. By then, little Naruto had already lifted his head to look up at Anthony.
"So — what can I do for you?"
"I came to find someone."
As Anthony spoke, his eyes shifted to the ring on Naruto's finger, and with a smile, he went on:
"The soul inside the ring on your hand."
The moment those words left his mouth, Naruto's expression faltered slightly, and then, almost immediately, he seemed to slip into some kind of hesitation.
Until Namikaze Minato's voice rang out once again:
"It's alright, Naruto. Just let me go with him."
"Eh? It's alright?"
"He's probably talking to you right now, isn't he?" Anthony glanced at the ring on Naruto's hand and went on calmly: "Don't worry. He's not going to leave you. I just have an important matter to discuss with him."
"He's telling the truth, Naruto."
Namikaze Minato seized the moment to add:
"Like I said — I know him. We made an arrangement of this sort a very long time ago. It's fine. He's someone who can be trusted."
"And besides — it won't be long before I'm back."
"Really?"
Naruto looked up, the question slipping out almost on reflex — not entirely clear himself whether he was addressing Anthony, or Namikaze Minato.
Seeing that look on his face, Namikaze Minato, inside the ring, faltered for a moment.
In the end, even his voice seemed to carry an unavoidable thread of melancholy — but he still answered, with absolute certainty:
"Don't worry, Naruto. I'll definitely be back."
"And — when I do come back this time, someone very important to you might be coming back with me as well."
He deliberately left it as a teaser, while at the same time coordinating the script with Anthony through the chat group.
Confusion flashed briefly across Naruto's face — and then, after the confusion, something like excitement seemed to rise in him.
"Really? Who?"
"That's a secret. You'll know once I'm back."
Namikaze Minato laughed as he answered Naruto's question. At last, after a moment's hesitation, Naruto slipped the ring off his finger and handed it over to Anthony.
Yet his eyes never left Anthony, not for so much as a single instant.
Anthony took the ring, and reached out to give Naruto a pat on the head.
"Don't worry. I'll bring him back to you right away," Anthony said with a smile. "All you have to do is wait a little while."
And then, in the very instant after Anthony finished speaking, his figure sank as though into shadow itself, and in a blink, he was gone.
Leaving only Naruto staring at the spot where he had been. For just a moment, Naruto stood frozen — and then, in a low murmur, said:
"So cool…"
But in the next moment, what rose in his heart was anticipation.
Brimming with anticipation, he silently began counting away the passing time.
...
A short while later, Anthony, with the ring in hand, walked through the woodland just outside Konoha Village. Minato's soul emerged from the ring and fell into step beside him.
The two of them strolled along, seemingly waiting for something — until, after a long while, Anthony let out a sigh.
"Minato — so, are you actually ready?"
"I suppose I'm... ready enough?"
Namikaze Minato hesitated for a beat, then a smile carrying a hint of complicated emotion appeared on his soul's face, as he answered Anthony's question. Anthony said nothing, simply turning his head to look at Minato.
"If you're ready, then it's about time you started taking on the responsibilities of family, Minato."
Anthony said it softly, voicing what was on his mind.
Namikaze Minato fell into silence, gazing off into the distance, the workings of his mind unreadable, only holding to that silent stance.
In Anthony's view, family was, in fact, an extraordinarily heavy word.
To shoulder the word "family" meant to shoulder a weight of responsibility — a responsibility that demanded everything you had, and then more.
"Are you really ready?"
And so, once again, Anthony posed the question to Namikaze Minato. This time, Namikaze Minato let out a long breath, releasing a quiet, drawn-out sigh.
"Honestly, I don't know."
He looked out into the distance and said: "Sometimes I don't know how I'm supposed to face Naruto. That's why, even up until now, I still haven't revealed my identity to him."
"I sometimes think — did my death bring a lot of negative things into Naruto's childhood? Was it because of me that he ended up with a childhood like the one he's had?"
"So I often find myself wondering whether I've failed Naruto."
He drew a deep breath, and beside him, Anthony opened his mouth as if to speak — then held back.
"Honestly, I don't think it would've made that big a difference."
After about a minute had passed, Anthony spoke up, sincerity in his voice.
"I don't know what it would've been like if you'd been there for Naruto's whole childhood, but I do know exactly what those Konoha riffraff are like."
Now I'm being totally reasonable here, completely reasonable.
Even if you, Minato, had stayed alive, Naruto's days still wouldn't have been any picnic.
These Konoha riffraff really did not look at who they were bullying.
To be perfectly honest, in all the works Anthony had ever seen, this was the first time he'd encountered citizens on the level of Konoha's riffraff.
But Namikaze Minato paused briefly, an expression of helpless resignation crossing his face:
"I know that, more or less. But it's exactly because of that, that I worry a little."
Worry over whether he could truly give Naruto a proper childhood.
Even now that he had come back, could he really make up for the love Naruto had been missing?
Namikaze Minato had to admit: compared to Naruto, he probably cared a bit more about Kushina and the village.
So much so that he didn't have any confidence in himself that he could make up for the happiness Naruto had been deprived of in his childhood.
It was precisely for that reason that, all this long stretch of time, he had not been interacting with Naruto under the identity of Namikaze Minato.
Instead, he'd been some so-called Ring Grandpa — a character that had nothing whatsoever to do with Naruto, nor with Namikaze Minato.
That was the choice he had made.
Avoiding the existence of family altogether.
"That doesn't really sound like the kind of thing you'd be worried about."
Anthony raised an eyebrow and remarked offhandedly. Namikaze Minato turned to look at Anthony — and was met by Anthony's puzzled gaze.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Are you waiting for me to talk you through it?"
Anthony asked, the question coming out a little strangely. Namikaze Minato's eyelid twitched, but before he could say anything, he heard the second half of Anthony's line:
"I don't really think you're the kind of person who needs that sort of thing."
Anthony lowered his head to look at the ground, and spoke casually:
"If you've already started worrying over whether you can shoulder the weight of family, doesn't that already mean you've reached the awareness that you do need to shoulder family in the first place?"
"That's enough on its own. If you've got that much, then it means no matter what, in the end, you're going to take it on — you're just worried about whether you can take it on well."
"So what's there left for me to talk you through?"
Namikaze Minato stared blankly for a moment — and then, suddenly, broke into a laugh.
"Yeah. You make a fair point."
"Besides — worst case, I've still got everyone in the chat group."
Anthony finished speaking calmly, and then the smile on his face suddenly took on a peculiar shape:
"Oh, by the way — if you handle things well, and things on my end go smoothly too, then a little while from now, you might just get to see an old acquaintance, you know?"
"Who?"
Namikaze Minato's eyes flickered, the question coming out a bit puzzled. Until, from Anthony's mouth, three syllables drifted out softly:
"Kushina."
The moment those three syllables hit the air, Namikaze Minato's gaze changed completely — sharpening, hardening into something resolute.
At the same time, brimming with longing, he turned to look at Anthony — to the point that even Anthony felt his own scalp prickle a little.
"Are you serious, man — is this for real?"
Faced with Namikaze Minato's gaze, brimming with such expectation, even Anthony felt himself going a little numb. After a long while, he let out a sigh.
He was even starting to suspect that maybe he shouldn't have said anything to Minato about this.
He'd figured a shot of adrenaline would do the man good — but watching this now, the shot of adrenaline felt like it was just a touch too strong!
"I can't say for certain. All I can tell you is that the odds are very high."
At last, Anthony spoke to Namikaze Minato, and at the same time, walked him through the underlying logic.
The principle was actually quite simple — and in the end, it all came back to the Shinigami and the Pure Land.
As is well known, the Naruto setting does, to a certain extent, contain the concepts of both souls and reincarnation.
Whether or not Kushina's soul would reincarnate on its own, Anthony didn't know — but what he did know was that he could make her reincarnate.
The Underworld!
The Pure Land and the Shinigami — Anthony planned to scoop up every single bit of them and use them to repair the Underworld.
Which meant that the majority of the souls in the Pure Land would very likely end up swept by Anthony into the Underworld.
And if the Underworld were ever fully repaired, then the souls within the Pure Land — even, going forward, the dead of the Naruto world — might all be able to undergo reincarnation through the Underworld.
At that point, as Lord of the Dead, when the time came for reincarnation, Anthony picking out Kushina's soul — and slipping a little extra something into the mix for Minato while he was at it, like, say, letting her skip a bowl of Meng Po's soup — would theoretically be entirely doable.
At that point, Kushina would truly have a chance at being resurrected.
And it wasn't only Kushina.
If this whole system actually worked, there were quite a few familiar faces from the group who could use a resurrection.
David's mother and Rebecca, for instance. Jonathan Joestar was a tough one to call, but the Part-2 JoJo crew probably had high hopes for seeing Caesar back.
Beyond that, there was Kiritsugu Emiya's wife, and even Yoriichi Tsugikuni's wife. Granted, his wife was confirmed to be due to reincarnate anyway — but Anthony didn't mind giving Yoriichi an early head start on enlightenment, either.
"In short — that's the rough picture."
"As long as I get the Underworld repaired, by all accounts, there's a real shot at this."
Anthony said it placidly. Before Namikaze Minato could even ask what was to be done about it, he caught sight of the smiling-eyed expression on Anthony's face.
For a moment, he couldn't help but roll his eyes, having long since seen exactly where Anthony was going with all this.
Put plainly — wasn't this just him hungering after his free labor?
No matter how much Anthony said, it all boiled down to one line in the end: don't forget about the part-time work you promised me! Once you've wrapped up things on the Naruto side, you're coming over to my place and fixing up the Underworld!
Sigh. A black-hearted capitalist seen straight through in a second.
One moment he's chatting about the future and counseling you about life, and the next moment he's already eyeing your labor power to come haul bricks for him.
Anthony, on his end, paid no attention whatsoever to the inner drama Namikaze Minato was busy adding in his head.
He simply closed both eyes slowly, and after a brief pause, opened them again and said in a low voice:
"I've found him."
In his field of vision, a single point of light blazed especially bright, pointing far off toward some extraordinarily distant place. One glance was all Anthony needed to confirm: that was the place he was after.
Namely — the Shinigami's hiding spot!
After being lured-and-mugged by Anthony last time, the Shinigami really had hidden himself far away. Even with Anthony's Authority, it took quite a bit of effort to find him.
But that was fine — the next part wouldn't take any effort at all!
Aw, Bro Shinigami, that lure-and-mug last time was on me. Look — this time I won't lure-and-mug you, alright?
This time I'm coming to give you a job!
"Let's go."
A pleased little smile curling at the corner of his mouth, Anthony waved to Namikaze Minato, putting it that way as he extended the invitation, mouth pulling into a wide grin.
"Let's go pay this old friend a visit. I've been missing him so much."
I get the feeling he's not missing you much, though.
Namikaze Minato watched Anthony's antics and silently muttered that internal jab. In the end, though, he said nothing, and just fell straight into step behind Anthony.
Phase-shift engine, activated.
Positioning. Chat group coordinates input complete. Teleportation system, activated.
Destination: the Pure Land.
In order to enter the rather peculiar pocket-space that was the Pure Land, Anthony had deliberately set up two layers of insurance, switching on both teleportation systems at once.
He needed to move fast, settling matters before the Shinigami could react.
After all, even he hadn't quite expected that the Shinigami would actually go and hole up in a backwater nook like the Pure Land.
And at this very moment, the Shinigami was still mired in the lingering trauma of having been lured-and-mugged the last time.
Hiding in the Pure Land, catching his breath.
After all, from his perspective, it had been supposed to be a perfectly routine soul-collection deal.
Who could possibly have foreseen that, all of a sudden, the old hen he'd had in hand would turn into a little boy and blow up right in his face!
At the very least, the psychological scarring that scene left behind was the kind the Shinigami would, in all likelihood, be carrying for the rest of his life.
A dignified Shinigami like him — when had he ever been lured-and-mugged before?
Just as he was sighing to himself, all of a sudden he felt the Pure Land seem to tremble.
In that instant, the Shinigami snapped upright, a flicker of bewilderment in his expression. He could clearly feel it — the Pure Land was shivering!
As though it were trembling before the presence of its own master!
But why would that be?
In that single moment, amid his bewilderment, for some reason, the Shinigami caught a faint trace of a familiar aura.
Like that creeping sensation when a certain dog has silently snuck inside, and the very first thing he does is yank the breaker switch on you.
And so, in that instant, the Shinigami whipped his head around.
But before he could so much as react, he saw that same dog standing right in front of him, expression bright with absolute delight.
Like an old friend not seen for years — at first glance, the man immediately waved enthusiastically at him, and called out with the warmest possible familiarity:
"Bro! Long time no see — I've been missing you to death!"
Oh my god! A ghost!
In that instant, the Shinigami decisively, with everything in him, tried to run. But before he could so much as take half a step, he felt a suppression descend.
As though the Pure Land itself were suppressing him!
Leaving him unable to advance an inch.
Only Anthony stood there, gazing at the Pure Land with wide-eyed admiration, marveling that the local gang was really on the up-and-up — much more agreeable than those Konoha riffraff.
Look at that — he'd barely set foot here, and the Pure Land had already practically handed the whole place over to him on a platter!
Or rather, you could say — in a certain sense, this was what came with having a high Authority.
Existences of low Authority simply could not muster any meaningful response against an existence of high Authority.
Yes, his own Underworld was, at the moment, broken beyond all recognition — but the Authority it provided was top-tier, no question about it.
Anthony deeply suspected that even across all the myriad worlds, this Underworld of his was probably among the highest-ranking in Authority for anything within its conceptual category.
Which meant that, in his current capacity as Lord of the Dead, Anthony's Authority was outrageously high.
For a place like the Pure Land, as long as he was physically present, he could pretty much override and even take it over by sheer force of Authority alone.
And so, in the next moment, Anthony turned his head to look at the Shinigami, the same warm, friendly smile as ever on his face:
"Don't be afraid now, fellow countryman. You're a man of the Pure Land, I'm from the Underworld — so I count as an out-of-towner, sure, but more or less, we're still fellow countrymen."
Damn it, if we're fellow countrymen, then take your hands off!
Fellow countrymen meeting fellow countrymen — what's with the knife in the back the moment we meet?!
The Shinigami very much wanted to say that, but he couldn't manage it — he could only watch in despair as Anthony reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder.
Then, with the warmest possible voice, Anthony went on:
"So you see — the reason I came this trip is to deliver some benefits to my fellow countryman!"
The Shinigami nearly laughed in pure outrage.
But before he could get so much as half a word out, he heard what Anthony said next:
"You see, this Pure Land can only really be classed as a local township at best — how could it possibly compare to a bigger place?"
"Any interest in getting promoted to a civil servant post in the Underworld?"
Anthony smiled, gently coaxing the Shinigami along: "Now this is a genuine establishment-tier opportunity in a top-tier locale. Miss this stop, and there won't be another shop down the road."
"Conditions might be a tad rough at the moment, sure, but the departmental rank is right there on paper. Sign on now, and you'll be a founding-era veteran — your future prospects will be without limit!"
On this part, Anthony genuinely wasn't lying. Look at the Stygian Vessel branch of Lobotomy Corp, for instance — thanks to the recent surge in magicians, even Muzan had now been promoted to squad leader.
That was the privilege of being a day-one player!
The Shinigami very much wanted to ask whether he had the right to refuse.
But he quickly learned the answer to his own question.
Because the expression that appeared on Anthony's face carried a slight tinge of something almost regretful.
"Ah, you haven't answered me. So — I'll just take that as a yes, alright?"
Anthony looked at the Shinigami, narrowed his eyes, and then went on warmly:
"Now then, the available job openings at this here Underworld are just a tiny little bit numerous, and the workload may be just slightly saturated as well. But I have faith that, given your caliber, this won't be a problem, right?"
"Oh, it's wonderful that you've agreed. In that case I'll go ahead and assign you a few extra positions."
The words came rattling out of him like a string of firecrackers, leaving the Shinigami staring slack-jawed.
I haven't even goddamn agreed yet!
But by this point, his agreement was no longer required.
Because, behind Anthony, the Origin Furnace had already begun to rumble.
The Pure Land seemed to be compressing in on the Shinigami, leaving him not a sliver of space. And so, after a brief moment of despair, it was over.
The Shinigami was all but forced to leap into the Origin Furnace, and within that roaring furnace, he burned.
And then, under the exquisite control of the Forgemaster, he rapidly transformed into countless crystals!
Anthony counted off those crystals, pulling them out one by one, and then a flash of crimson beacon-light flickered across.
With the activation of the phase-shift engine, just like that, every last one of them was crammed back into the Underworld.
And within the Underworld, the moment these crystals touched ground, they began growing in the wind. In just a few breaths, they had grown taller than a person.
It had to be said — the feng shui of the Underworld really did nourish life!
And so, Anthony rubbed his hands together, watching through his vision in the Underworld as the countless crystals grew, excitement plain on his face.
At last, they grew into countless ghostly figures, each gripping soul-snaring implements, standing several feet tall, very much resembling specters.
These were the Soul Bailiffs!
Anthony counted them up — there were eight Soul Bailiffs in total. Compared to what would be needed for the Underworld at full restoration, this was barely a drop in the bucket — but, as the saying goes, the very first step is always the most important.
As long as the first step had been taken, everything that came after became considerably easier to handle.
With this in place, some of the less malicious evil ghosts could be dealt with directly — without having to trouble the Great Sage or Erlang Shen — and tossed down into the Eighteen Levels of Hell.
In that moment, with a single thought from Anthony, the eight Soul Bailiffs moved as one, like limbs of his own body, pouring out along the Huangquan Road and surging toward the outer world.
The mortal world at this hour was deep into night — peak time for spirits to be on the move. Anthony hadn't been waiting long before he began receiving reports from the Soul Bailiffs that souls had been caught.
For a moment, he couldn't help letting out a long breath of relief in his chest.
With this, the rebuilding of the Underworld could be considered properly under way.
Next would come the part where he had to go and ask various immortals — especially Erlang Shen — to please pitch in and help him add a brick or two, picking up the pace.
But before any of that — since the Shinigami had been taken care of, what remained was to see things through to the end.
And so, with that thought, Anthony turned his head and looked at Namikaze Minato beside him.
"The resurrection conditions have been met."
Namikaze Minato, without much hesitation, opened the chat group for a quick check, and then nodded at Anthony as he spoke those words.
"Right — points aren't short, and the most basic resurrection conditions have all been fulfilled. So, are you ready, Minato?"
At that, Anthony cheerfully whistled a tune and asked Namikaze Minato:
"Are you ready to receive your own resurrection?"
This time, at last, Minato no longer displayed the wavering — even outright hesitation — he had shown before.
Instead, he looked Anthony straight in the eye, expression turning grave, and said plainly:
"Of course — I've been ready for a long time!"
Through the phase-shift engine, in a span of mere instants, Anthony took Namikaze Minato out of the Pure Land.
They returned to the small woodland outside Konoha Village, where Anthony manifested the Origin Furnace.
Within it, the blue Soul Flames flickered, then suddenly surged upward in a torrent, the roar of the furnace fire breaking out.
Anthony took hold of the soul energy within the furnace flames, then gave a slight turn of his body and pointed toward Namikaze Minato.
"After you."
Anthony said it calmly. Namikaze Minato let out a soft breath, and with hardly any hesitation, stepped straight into the Origin Furnace.
And so the furnace thrummed, and within it, the Shinigami's lingering remains slowly cracked and broke apart — and from inside its belly, Namikaze Minato's complete soul emerged.
Then, without the slightest backward glance, he leapt into the furnace, and merged with the ring as one!
And so, from that instant, even the ring began to melt, its mottled patterns gradually fading, beginning to be smelted down within the rushing torrent of soul.
In the village not far away, little Naruto lifted his head — for some reason, as though sensing that something important had returned.
Just that feeling alone was enough to put a person so completely at ease.
And so, at last, from within the eternal flame, Namikaze Minato emerged at last from the Shinigami's belly.
Rebirth — completed!
When he opened his eyes, still looking a bit disheveled, what he saw was Anthony's ever-familiar smile.
"How does it feel? Finally alive again — got any remarks for the occasion?"
Anthony asked, smiling, addressing the question to Namikaze Minato.
"It hasn't been easy coming back. As for remarks — I've never felt this relaxed in my entire life." Namikaze Minato gave a small laugh as he answered, then drew in a deep breath: "Even the air tastes sweet."
Anthony rolled his eyes but didn't say anything more, only continuing with his next question.
"Anything else?"
"Anything else? Then it'd be that I've thought it through."
Namikaze Minato slowly exhaled, an expression touched with resolve appearing on his face as he spoke:
"I've got a few thoughts now. For instance — I suddenly feel I need to hurry back into the Hokage's chair."
He turned his head and looked toward Konoha Village, an indescribable emotion in his eyes.
One way or another, he had to go back.
And what's more — this time, on his return, he absolutely had to make Konoha Village a better place.
What was called "the weight of family" came down, in the end, to giving your family a better life.
Namikaze Minato felt that he had to make Konoha Village a better place before he had any right to even talk about giving Naruto a better life.
To that end, he had to be fast.
Absolutely fast. He had to deal with several of the problems and hidden dangers Konoha currently faced as quickly as possible!
Looking at the expression and the colors playing across Namikaze Minato's eyes, the faintest hint of a smile seemed to appear in Anthony's own gaze.
"See, isn't this just fine?"
And so, whistling a tune, he said to Minato:
"All right then — get yourself ready. Let's go find the Third Hokage first."
"As for the rest — I'm guessing you're already prepared to go on a killing spree?"
...
The afternoon sunlight spilled across the earth and fell upon the window of the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen worked the kinks out of his aching wrists and leaned back into his chair in silence.
It felt as though, in these recent days, it had been growing harder and harder for him to stay still.
Ever since learning that there was hope for Namikaze Minato's resurrection, Sarutobi Hiruzen had — to put it bluntly — been waiting night and day, every single day, for the moment Minato came back to life.
Whenever Minato came back, he could finally retire and go off to play with his grandchildren.
Unfortunately, that yearning seemed somewhat indefinitely out of reach.
Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a sigh and prepared to keep working through the paperwork — when he heard the sound of the door opening.
No one had announced a visitor to him, had they?
He looked up in puzzlement — and saw none other than that golden-haired Mr. Smith from before walking in, a smile on his face, greeting him as he came.
"Long time no see, Lord Third Hokage. I've come to share some good news with you."
With that smile still on his face, Anthony addressed Sarutobi Hiruzen, and at the same time stepped aside.
Whereupon Sarutobi Hiruzen saw the young man walking in behind him — saw the figure that was no longer ethereal — and his eyes went wide.
"Long time no see."
Namikaze Minato laughed brightly as he greeted Sarutobi Hiruzen, settling himself into a chair with utter ease, and then went straight to the point:
"I'm here to talk about the matter of Danzo."
____
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