Minato's final actions had failed to yield any positive results.
The mission to reclaim the Byakugan ended, quite unfortunately, in Konoha's defeat.
A somber atmosphere draped over the Hidden Leaf Village.
The entire Hyuga clan was in a state of utter collapse, their weeping so heart-wrenching and their wails so wretched it was as if they had collectively suffered some unspeakable violation—or perhaps as if they had all misplaced their jawbones in the middle of a reconstructive surgery.
Six more shinobi had fallen during the mission. It was a tragedy, yet an unavoidable reality in the life of a ninja.
In terms of enemy encounter frequency, Hagoromo and Kakashi's squad had been at the forefront. However, in terms of actual spoils, they had managed to seize only a single "ping-pong ball."
Once the mission concluded, Hagoromo and his team returned to Konoha immediately. He didn't even get a chance to have a second meeting with Orochimaru, the world's greatest scientist.
It was a bit of a shame.
Then again, it was also a stroke of luck; Hagoromo had successfully avoided the risk of being sliced into specimens. To be fair, Orochimaru was still playing by the rules at this point, nowhere near the level of madness he would eventually reach.
With both sides having withdrawn, the long-ruined Land of Eddies returned to its usual state of tranquility—or rather, a deathly silence.
Regardless of how Konoha officially evaluated the mission, every squad was required to provide a detailed report of their encounters upon their return.
Hagoromo and Kakashi's team were no exception. There was nothing to hide; they simply reported the facts.
The mission was a failure, but when a medium-scale deployment of shinobi couldn't handle a situation, the blame didn't fall on the individual executors. If anyone was to be held accountable, it was the decision-makers and the commanders.
Thus, Hagoromo and the others wouldn't face any punishment.
However, Hagoromo's reporting duties weren't limited to the official channels. He still had to give his personal account to Kushina.
Regrettably, the one who ended up startled this time wasn't Kushina, but Hagoromo himself.
As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina was a strategic-grade weapon of epic destructive potential. She was kept "safely" within Konoha at all times. In fact, she hadn't left the village since that one mission she shared with Hagoromo.
No one could afford to let her face that kind of danger again.
During wartime, she was naturally one of the more "idle" shinobi.
She often spent the entire day cooped up at home; whenever Hagoromo went to find her, there was a fifty percent chance she'd be there.
This time was no different.
"What? Marriage?!"
The news caught Hagoromo so off guard that he lapsed into an immediate silence.
While he wasn't intimately familiar with the Naruto plot, he wasn't entirely ignorant either. He knew the pivotal events, like the Nine-Tails incident that occurred around the time of Naruto's birth—an event he had to prevent at all costs.
If Kushina was talking about marriage now, did that mean the end was fast approaching?
His preparations needed to accelerate.
If there were any other surprises in store, he didn't just need to move fast; he needed to move much faster.
Lost in thought, Hagoromo's gaze drifted toward Kushina's lower abdomen.
Could Naruto-kun already be in there?
It seemed unlikely.
Kushina still possessed the slender waist of a young woman. Considering Minato was a fairly upright man, it probably wasn't a "shotgun wedding" situation...
Noticing where Hagoromo was looking, Kushina immediately realized what he was thinking.
Did the mere mention of marriage send his mind straight into the gutter? Her face was instantly stained with a deep crimson flush.
Was it shyness? Unlikely. This was Kushina, the "Bloody Habanero." When her face turned red, it was usually out of pure rage.
Well, perhaps she was a little embarrassed.
She pressed her left hand against her stomach as if she could physically block Hagoromo's line of sight.
Hagoromo's Lightning Release was incredibly swift, but his thoughts were faster. And yet, faster than his thoughts was Kushina's fist.
Hagoromo could swear that the words "shotgun wedding" hadn't even finished forming in his brain before Kushina's fist collided with his head.
Two large lumps immediately sprouted on Hagoromo's skull.
The impact was masterful and the results instantaneous; all of Hagoromo's wicked thoughts vanished.
Why two lumps for one hit? Because Kushina had put quite a bit of force into it. After she struck the back of his head, the momentum sent him face-first into the low table in front of him.
And so, the damage was perfectly symmetrical.
"Hagoromo, didn't I warn you to stay away from Jiraiya-sensei?"
The flush hadn't yet faded from her face as Kushina sat down across from him to begin her lecture.
As she sat, she tucked her abdomen safely beneath the table.
Wait, is she hiding it? Does she actually have something to be guilty about?
Regardless, to avoid another punch, Hagoromo decided to drop the subject entirely.
He immediately held up three fingers, swearing to the heavens. "Any questionable thoughts that occurred in my mind are surely the result of too much contact with Uncle Jiraiya. From this day forward, I shall stay far away from that man."
"I never thought one of the Sannin would be such a person, exerting such a corrupting influence on others."
If there was a blame to be shifted, Jiraiya was the designated scapegoat. This was one of Kushina's core beliefs. She felt that if the "child she raised" developed any unsavory ideas, it had to be because he'd been exposed to a dangerous character like Jiraiya.
Since they were master and disciple, Hagoromo inherited this convenience. He felt zero pressure pinning it on the old man. If Kushina still didn't believe him, he was ready to shave his head to prove his resolve.
Fortunately, Kushina nodded in satisfaction at his promise.
Hagoromo breathed a sigh of relief and steered the conversation back to the matter at hand.
"But... are you really getting married during a time like this? The atmosphere in the village is..."
He wanted to say that with the war being so intense, it didn't seem like the right time for a wedding.
If he had studied the history of the shinobi world more closely, he would have known the time truly hadn't come yet.
"I said we're planning to get married. Planning. It's not happening right now. Minato is buried in work, and his missions never seem to end. We have to wait until the Great War settles down at the very least."
"Besides, Hagoromo, why are you getting so worked up? Is it you marrying Minato, or is it me?"
Hagoromo decided he wasn't going to touch that question with a ten-foot pole.
Minato's mission intensity was likely at its peak. Compared to him, Hagoromo's life was practically a vacation.
The Ninja War, huh? Is it finally entering its final stage?
Hagoromo thought to himself, but instead, he spoke aloud. "Well, since there's still a good deal of time..."
"Sensei, first, I suggest you brush up on your cooking skills."
"Second, you might want to work on that temper of yours..."
Even though his teacher was the one getting married, for some reason, Hagoromo felt the strange sensation that he was giving away a daughter.
Kushina's eyes narrowed slightly. She asked in a deceptively casual tone, "Oh? Do you think there's something wrong with my cooking or my temper?"
"..."
"Absolutely not."
Hagoromo knew that expression all too well. He shamelessly retracted his suggestions and picked up his water glass to hide his face.
Just pretend I didn't say anything, alright? Carry on.