Chapter 44: Sorry, But No Forgiveness
Tsunade was completely lost. A thing like that could actually be swallowed? We're talking about a Death God here.
Hashirama shrugged; who wasn't confused? He certainly hadn't expected the thing to be edible either.
This truly defied all logic.
In all his years, he had never seen anything this bizarre.
This was even stranger than the fact that the Sage of the Six Paths actually existed, or that the Otsutsuki clan were aliens.
This was a brand-new experience for him.
"You really swallowed the Shinigami." Tsunade walked up to Yumesaki, looking him up and down. Her gaze was as if she were looking at a Superman.
From what family does a human come from that can just eat a Shinigami?
Yumesaki nodded. He had indeed swallowed it; let alone Tsunade, he hadn't expected it himself.
Turns out, he was quite the big shot.
"So, how do you feel right now?" Tsunade asked again.
"Currently, everything is normal." This time, Tobirama answered. "I've performed a full examination on Lord Yumesaki. There are no problems at all."
Tsunade immediately felt relieved. "That's good then."
She trusted her grand-uncle's words implicitly; the Second Hokage was far more reliable than the First.
"It's not like there are zero issues."
Yumesaki suddenly spoke. Everyone turned to look at him simultaneously, their eyes filled with tension.
His safety was paramount, as it concerned the fate of two worlds.
"I want to sleep," Yumesaki said slowly. "For some reason, I started feeling sleepy earlier, and now the urge is getting stronger. You guys handle the rest; I'm going to bed."
As soon as he finished the sentence, Yumesaki closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, snoring softly.
Everyone: "...Ah, I see."
To ensure Yumesaki's safety, they all hurriedly checked him over one more time.
Only after confirming he was truly just asleep did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Tonight's events had been a rollercoaster of surprises, truly testing the limits of their hearts.
Afterward, they escorted Yumesaki back to his room and left him in Robin's care.
Only then did Hashirama, Tobirama, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and the others have the time to explain everything to Namikaze Minato.
...
The next day.
Yumesaki woke up from his deep slumber. His entire body felt refreshed.
He opened his eyes, sat up in bed, and saw Robin holding a book, sitting in a chair by the bedside reading quietly.
"You're awake." Hearing movement, Robin looked up. Seeing Yumesaki awake, she looked both surprised and happy.
Yumesaki let out a soft hum and asked, "What time is it?"
"Six in the morning. You've been asleep for eight full hours," Robin replied.
Yumesaki gave an "Oh," stretched his body, and said: "No wonder I feel so good."
Robin asked: "Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine. What could happen to me? In fact, I feel much better now." Yumesaki climbed out of bed, moving his limbs to shake off the stiffness. "Come on, let's go see the others so they can stop worrying."
Robin didn't object.
The two of them walked out of the room and met Tsunade, Orochimaru, Tobirama, and the others in the hall of the secret base.
"Lord Yumesaki." Tobirama suddenly appeared in front of him and asked: "How are you feeling now?"
"Excellent," Yumesaki replied with a smile.
Seeing that Yumesaki indeed showed no signs of abnormality, Tobirama was relieved. However, he still couldn't fathom how Yumesaki had swallowed the Shinigami.
And after swallowing it, what did Yumesaki gain?
Yumesaki noticed Tobirama's doubt and curiosity and smiled. "Gather everyone. I'll explain last night's events to you all."
Tobirama nodded, then summoned several Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clones) to take action.
Not long after, everyone was called to the living area.
This included Minato, Kanae, and Karin.
Last night, when Yumesaki saw Minato, Minato was still in a soul form.
But today, he had already changed into an Edo Tensei (Reanimation) body.
The reason was simple: a soul cannot stay in the living world for too long. If one wants to remain in the human world, there must be a medium.
Thus, Soul Minato became Edo Minato.
"Lord Yumesaki, I am Namikaze Minato. From now on, I will be the one to protect your safety."
Seeing Yumesaki, Minato immediately stepped forward to pay his respects. After the explanations from the others yesterday, he already understood Yumesaki's origins as well as the threat of the Otsutsuki clan.
Minato never would have imagined that the "Child of Prophecy" his teacher, Jiraiya, had spent his life searching for was actually his own son.
Furthermore, he never expected his son's life to be so bitter.
Even his own grandson had become a Rogue Ninja.
This news had left Minato heartbroken. He no longer had any thoughts of returning to the Pure Land and leaving everything to the next generation.
This was the reason he was willing to remain as Edo Minato.
As a father, if he couldn't even protect his own son, what kind of father was he?
Thus, he was willing to stay and protect Yumesaki, because as long as Yumesaki existed, their Ninja World had hope and the ability to fight back against the Otsutsuki.
Yumesaki nodded and asked with curiosity, "What do you think of Obito?"
Minato hadn't expected Yumesaki to strike such a sore spot right out of the gate. After a brief silence, Minato answered: "I feel incredibly guilty toward Obito."
Yumesaki: "???"
Minato: "If I could have been faster back then—just a little bit faster—maybe Obito wouldn't have become so extreme."
"So, do you plan on forgiving Obito?"
"No." Minato answered firmly. "While I feel guilty toward him, Kushina was never at fault. Kushina treated him like a younger brother, yet she died because of him."
"My son was also innocent, yet he became an orphan because of Obito."
"The people of Konoha were also innocent, yet Obito directly caused the Nine-Tails Incident, which resulted in the tragic deaths of many blameless people."
"Regarding this, as the Fourth Hokage, I absolutely will not forgive what he has done."
"Even if I feel guilty toward him, if I meet Obito, I will kill him with my own hands to put an end to everything."
Hearing this, Yumesaki nodded. Now that was a proper answer—the answer of a normal person.
If Minato had claimed he was willing to forgive Obito, Yumesaki would have simply told the Leshan Giant Buddha to stand up so Minato could take its seat. He would have stayed far away from Minato; there's never a happy ending when you're hanging around a "Holy Mother" saint type.
Fortunately, Namikaze Minato was very much sane.
This made it even harder for Yumesaki to understand why Uzumaki Naruto would scream the line, "Don't you dare laugh at Obito!"
Under what kind of psychological state or mindset did he shout that?
Whatever. Either way, Uzumaki Naruto wasn't his son; it had nothing to do with him.
After that, Yumesaki turned his gaze toward Kanae and Karin.
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