Ahem…
Minato clears his throat to get their attention.
"Ayaka-chan, what happened next?"
"Ah… yes… yes… Ryu was quite afraid of that large monster. So, we quickly hid away. A few minutes later, after that giant serpent swam by, smaller sea serpents appeared. We figured that these monsters are about to attack the town. So, we engaged them in battle.
But there were too many of them. There were almost two to three hundred of those small sea monsters. So, we spent the entire day battling those monsters. It was a very hard battle, and we ran out of chakra multiple times. But thanks to Naruto Nii-san transferring some of his chakra to us, we were able to fight those monsters and kill all of them."
"Hehe!" A gloating smile appears on Naruto's face.
"Hundreds of sea monsters!" Akari and Viktor's face turn pale.
"Were they preparing for a siege in the town? If so many monsters did a surprise attack on the town, then I am afraid a lot of people would have lost their life." Akari heaves a sigh of relief and stares at the group of kids in amazement.
'Even their kids are so amazing!'
"Naruto, did you learn the chakra transfer technique?" Kushina asks him.
"Yeah, everyone was running out of chakra while fighting so many monsters and using so many jutsus. So, I borrowed some chakra from Kurama. When I saw him passing his chakra to me, I thought perhaps I could also do the same. So, I tried transferring my chakra, and it worked."
'This Naruto… he does the most amazing things in a most simplistic way.' Kakashi and the rest of the people who are aware of the difficulty of the technique sighs.
'Come to think of it, it took him slightly over six months to learn Rasengan and add nature transformation to it. While I almost spent two years trying to add the nature transformation to Rasengan and failed. In the end, I had to create Chidori to replicate the process of nature transformation. There is no comparison at all. My students have already left me in the dust.' Kakashi sighs.
Minato, while gazing at the group, notices the gloom on Kakashi's face.
He walks towards Kakashi and pats his shoulder.
"Kakashi!"
"Sensei!" Kakashi turns towards Minato.
"Follow me! I want to talk about something with you."
"Yes, sensei!"
Minato walks towards the balcony.
"Sensei, what do you want to talk with me?"
Sigh…
"Kakashi, I somehow understand your sentiment." A bitter smile appears on Minato's face.
"It's not that we aren't good enough. It's just that the surrounding kids are too abnormal. The talent of this generation is way too high compared to the previous generation."
"Sensei. You must be talking about Izuna, right? He did indeed surpass you when he was just 15 years old, the same age as these kids. But isn't that a good thing? This way they will ensure a secure future for Konoha?" Kakashi remarks.
"You are right! At least, we have someone to rely on in the future. So, to secure that future, we have to guide them on the proper path. Ain't I right?" Minato faintly smiles at Kakashi's remarks.
"I see. Thank you, Sensei!" Kakashi bows and return to the rest of the group.
Minato raises his head and stares at the vast sky while lost in thoughts. The prophecy of the Great Toad Sage echoes in his mind.
'I hope the future won't be as bleak as the toad sage made it out to be.' He sighs.
-------------------
Next day in the morning,
Akari arranges a meeting with the mayor for the adult shinobis while the kids tour the village, with Yuri as their guide. The meeting will take place in one of the meeting rooms of the resort.
Soon, the meeting time approaches, and the mayor arrives with a few security guards. Uzu clan members escort him to the meeting room.
"I am not late, am I?" The mayor enters the room and bows to the group in respect.
The shinobi group inspects the mayor from head to toe. The mayor is a stout, middle-aged man dressed in a white shirt and a black haori. He has a bald head with some hairs on the sides. The mayor sports a pencil mustache and holds a fan covering his mouth.
"No… no… It's us who are early." Minato waves his hand in pleasantry.
"Please take a seat!" Akari points towards a nearby seat.
The mayor makes himself comfortable on the seat, and the meeting finally starts with three partaking parties, the shinobis, the Uzu clan, and the Mayor.
"Let's begin the meeting!" Akari, who is the host of the meeting, declares.
"Before we start our discussion, let me introduce myself." The mayor takes the initiative.
"I am Haruomi Adachi, from the Adachi family in the capital. My family holds the position of Viscount. Initially, I would inherit the title, however, I offended the royal family and was thus banished from the family and transferred to this place. It has been twenty years since that incident.
Initially, I had some hope; but after spending a few years at this place; I settled here since this place is free from the influence of the capital." The mayor remarks.
Then, the shinobi group also introduces themselves together with their position. Although the mayor was already aware of their identities through the intel provided by his subordinates, he still decided to hear them out of etiquette.
"So, Adachi-san, why would call a meeting with us? Depending on your request, we might reject you since the shinobi world is in the middle of a war." Minato reveals a piece of crucial information to the mayor to prevent the latter from harboring any thoughts.
"A war?" Even Akari and Viktor are surprised by this information.
"But we didn't hear anything about it from our people in the shinobi world," Akari mutters.
Hmm…
Minato narrows his eyes.
'As I suspected, they do have people in the shinobi world. Perhaps it was Izuna who agreed to it and those subordinates of hers might be keeping a very low profile.'
"Umm… we do have a few subordinates in the shinobi world, but those are nothing more than the small guards or mercenaries that protect our trade routes." Akari clarifies herself to prevent any misunderstanding.
No leader likes an invisible spy in their territory.
"I see!" Minato nods at her.
"Well… we are indeed in the middle of a war, but it has yet to be announced to the rest of the people. Only the leaders of various countries know about the details. And our current objective is to hold a summit and discuss the strategy for the war. It's also at this meeting that we might make a declaration of war." Minato replies with a tense voice. So, Adachi-san, what kind of request do you have?" Minato turns to the mayor.
"Umm… previously, I requested Izuna-san to allow us trade rights in the shinobi world. The Shirodo town is pretty much isolated even in Redaku. So, it's quite to hard get supplies and other unique products. However, thanks to Izuna-san's help, the economy of Shirodo town sky-rocketed, and even the living condition of the people improved. Now, I would like to request services from the shinobis." The mayor states his request.
"Hmm… your request is feasible, but Redaku might lose the peace it has been maintaining for centuries. And that's not the major issue. Once the news about Redaku gets leaked to the rest of the shinobi world; some smaller ambitious shinobi countries might attack this place out of their greed for resources. No… even the five hidden nations might make a move to get their hands on this giant piece of cake called Redaku. So, unfortunately, I can't agree with your request." Minato shakes his head.
"Umm… but Lord Hokage, Redaku isn't as peaceful as you think it is? Some of the ambitious nobles are planning to attack the shinobi territories."
"Hmm… what do you mean?" The expression of Minato and the rest of the shinobi changes.
"Adachi, what do you mean?" Akari stands up from her place.
Sigh…
"The situation is a bit complex. So, I will shed some light on the previous incident. A few years ago, five to be precise, the king and his brother, who was a duke, were engaged in a power struggle. However, the power struggle ended with the abrupt death of the king. Later, the only son of the king took over his position despite the opposition from the duke's side.
Later, the duke and his family also died a mysterious death. Recently, it was revealed that it was the prime minister who was behind the abrupt death of the previous king and the duke. Currently, the prime minister holds enough power and influence in the capital, but his position as the king can't be solidified since he isn't from the Royal bloodline.
The situation became worse when the current king abruptly got his hands on the lost artifact of the Sage. This solidified the position of the current king in the hearts of the people. However, the prime minister didn't give up and challenged the king's authority by asking him to demonstrate the power of the Shuigu."
"That's quite a complicated situation." Kakashi remarks.
"If it was this, then the current king might retain his position. However, the situation doesn't end here." The mayor clutches his bald head.
"There is more!" Tsunade, who is interested in soap operas, curiously listens to the story.