Whoosh—
The barrier shrouding the Mito residence dissipated. Under the anxious gazes of the Third Hokage and his entourage, the group walked out of the room chatting and laughing. Addressing them, Mito said, "Minato and Kushina's sealing jutsu was a complete success. Unless I personally allow it, the Nine-Tails' power can no longer interfere with my chakra."
Receiving Mito's confirmation, the Konoha higher-ups present all broke into smiles. The Third Hokage, in particular, seeing such talented young successors in the Leaf, was grinning from ear to ear!
"Hahaha! Minato, you've truly performed a great service this time! If there's any reward you desire, just speak up. As long as it's within my power, I will do my utmost to satisfy your request!" Hiruzen laughed.
Beside him, the members of the Konoha Elder Council also looked at Minato with kind eyes, viewing him as the hope for the village's future.
If they knew that Nawaki had briefly suppressed the Nine-Tails inside the sealing space just now, they would likely be too shocked to speak.
"Um, there's nothing I really want..." Minato smiled bashfully. Facing so many high-ranking officials at once still made him a bit nervous.
Nawaki, seeing everyone praising Minato while ignoring him, immediately looked dejected. Tsunade, who had been watching him, caught his expression and said with a smile, "How did Nawaki perform this time? Wood Style is the natural enemy of all Tailed Beasts, so I'm sure Nawaki protected Grandma very well, didn't he?"
At the mention of Wood Style, everyone shifted their gaze to Nawaki, waiting for his answer. As for Ren, they knew he was a genius in research, but since his true combat power hadn't even been fully gauged by the Third, he was largely overlooked by the crowd.
Nawaki saw his chance to shine. He cleared his throat and said proudly, "You bet! In the fight against the Nine-Tails, I was the main force! With one move of Entanglement plus a Rasengan, I made the Nine-Tails unable to stand!"
The crowd was stunned and about to ask for details when Ren interjected, "Yeah, and if it wasn't for Mito-baachan's Adamantine Attacking Chains, you probably would have ended up as a snack in the Nine-Tails' mouth."
Nawaki instantly looked mortified, his face crumbling. "Master! You didn't have to say that right now!"
Seeing this, the others let out understanding chuckles. They offered Nawaki a few perfunctory compliments before shifting the topic back to Minato and Kushina, asking about the technicalities of the Eight Trigrams Seal.
Minato was forthright with his answers and expressed his willingness to hand the Eight Trigrams Seal over to Konoha's archives, which made the Third and the elders beam even brighter.
Once the high-ranking officials had departed and the group sat down for cold tea, Nawaki grumbled to Ren, "Master, why didn't you let me show off? I really did suppress the Nine-Tails myself!"
"What? You suppressed the Nine-Tails yourself?" Kushina set down her bowl of red bean soup, looking at Nawaki in disbelief, then at Ren, and finally at Mito.
Mito nodded with a smile. "Mhm. At the start, Nawaki did indeed suppress the Nine-Tails single-handedly. However, the reason we were able to emerge unscathed was largely thanks to Ren's barrier ninjutsu."
The group turned their eyes toward Ren. Whether it was Nawaki's confusion or Mito's praise, they wanted an answer.
Ren took a slow sip of his tea before finally speaking. First, he addressed Nawaki: "Showing off isn't a good habit. You shouldn't do it."
Nawaki: Suddenly being lectured...
Then Ren smiled at the others. "As for the barrier that protected us at the end, as you know, I know a little bit about defense. I just happened to block a bit of the aftershock by luck."
Hearing Ren say it was "luck," Kushina breathed a sigh of relief. But Minato, who knew Ren well, realized instantly that Ren must have done something massive; otherwise, Mito wouldn't have gone out of her way to mention it.
I'll ask Ren later when we have time, or maybe Nawaki.
While Minato was thinking, Ren spoke again. "By the way, Minato, transcribe a copy of the Eight Trigrams Seal for me."
"Oh, sure." Minato nodded, agreeing readily. Though transcribing it was a chore, he had to make a copy for the village anyway, so one more didn't matter.
After a short stay, Ren rose to go home. He had a lovely "wife" waiting for him; he wasn't going to waste time here.
"Master, you're leaving?" "Obviously."
Nawaki followed Ren to the door to see him off. Tsunade and Orochimaru were still at the entrance. Seeing the two come out, Tsunade immediately said, "Oh, I haven't introduced Ren to you yet, have I? He's technically Jiraiya's student on paper! He's a major reason we won the Sunagakure front so quickly!"
Orochimaru looked at Ren, offering a gentle smile. "I've heard much about you. It's good to finally meet."
Ren scratched his head and laughed. "I'm not actually that famous Hahaha"
Orochimaru's gaze lingered on Ren. Seeing the boy's calm demeanor and lack of tension, his estimation of Ren rose another notch.
"Well, I have things to do, so I'll head out first!" Ren waved and left the Mito residence.
Currently, Orochimaru was still a "sunny and cheerful young man" with a passion for the future and the Hokage position. Ren didn't want to play with him just yet; perhaps once Orochimaru started researching forbidden jutsu, the two of them would have more in common.
The Next Day.
Hikari forcibly dragged a groggy Ren out to accompany her for breakfast. To be honest, Konoha didn't have much in the way of good breakfast—no soy milk or deep-fried dough sticks—and Ren wasn't a fan.
But Hikari insisted. If he refused, she'd look at him with those watery eyes and blink, and who could resist that? So, despite his internal protests, Ren joined her for a walk through the morning market. If he didn't go, his conscience would have nagged him.
The two had a happy breakfast and were about to head home when the entire street suddenly erupted in excitement.
"Heavens! Is that really Mito-sama?!" "Mito-sama! Please, take this fresh beef!" "Mito-sama! These vegetables are for you!" "Mito-sama..."
The shopkeepers on the street were swarming, thrusting their goods into Mito's hands. Seeing this, Hikari and Ren stopped in their tracks. "As expected of the First Hokage's wife," Hikari marveled. "Her popularity is probably higher than the Hokage's, isn't it?"
Ren nodded in deep agreement. Watching Mito chat and laugh with the commoners, he couldn't help but smile too.
"For someone who spent her life pursuing peace, this scene is likely what she wanted to see most."
The scent of breakfast wafted through the air, and the people's faces were radiant with smiles. Everything was flourishing. This was likely the greatest affirmation they could receive after a lifetime of struggle.
The two walked toward Mito.
"Morning, Mito-baachan!"