After discussing for a while, Minato and Jiraiya couldn't come to any useful conclusions. For them, understanding Byakuya's background would be beneficial, but even without such information, it won't matter much to their gains. After all, even if Byakuya had some connection with the village's past ninjas, he was now a ninja of Amegakure.
Exchanging a glance, the two headed toward the exchange group.
At this time, Yahiko, Byakuya, and others were touring the operating room of Konoha Hospital.
Seeing Minato approaching, Yahiko half-jokingly said, "Compared to Konoha, the medical standards in Amegakure are really quite basic. I wonder if we could invite some of your medical ninjas to come and exchange knowledge."
Faced with Yahiko's request for medical ninjas, Minato neither agreed nor immediately refused.
"The ninjas at Konoha Hospital are all under Lady Tsunade's command. If you want them to be dispatched, I would need to inform her first. Once I get her permission, I'll send a few medical ninjas over."
"I see..."
A trace of disappointment flashed in Yahiko's eyes. He knew Minato wouldn't easily lend out their medical ninjas.
Although Yahiko and Minato were technically like juniors and seniors due to their shared teacher, Jiraiya, they were not particularly close. Their relationship was maintained primarily through the connection with Jiraiya.
Allowing the exchange group to visit Konoha was also part of the preparation for the upcoming alliance negotiations.
Konoha couldn't possibly share everything with Amegakure without reservation. Such caution was necessary between ninja villages.
In the time that followed, Minato led the exchange group on a tour of the entire Konoha Hospital. While he spoke of mutual exchange, he consistently emphasized the importance of cooperation.
Konoha wasn't unwilling to share technology, but Amegakure would need to join Konoha's alliance system, preferably becoming an ally under Konoha's influence, similar to Sunagakure.
---
After the morning exchange ended, Minato didn't continue showing Yahiko and the others around.
Instead, he extended a personal invitation to Yahiko, Byakuya, and Konan to visit his home, to strengthen the bond between them as fellow students of Jiraiya.
Faced with such an invitation, Yahiko and Konan naturally had no reason to refuse.
Byakuya also didn't turn down Minato's invitation. After being in Konoha for so many days, he finally had the chance to meet the wife of the Hokage, Kushina Uzumaki.
Kushina wasn't just any ordinary ninja. Besides being a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, she was also the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
While a jinchūriki might not be able to defeat the Five Kage in a combat sense, their destructive power definitely surpassed that of the Kage. If a well-trained squad were to infiltrate enemy territory, they could potentially destroy an entire village within hours.
In the ninja world, jinchūriki were undoubtedly considered on the level of nuclear weapons.
The biggest difference between the Five Great Ninja Villages and other villages lies in this fact: having a jinchūriki makes an enormous difference.
It wasn't long before the group arrived at the Namikaze residence.
Unlike the large areas occupied by other ninja clans, the Namikaze residence was surprisingly small—just a single, modest house, not much different from those of ordinary chunin.
This was expected, considering Minato Namikaze's status as the Hokage of commoner origins.
Although Minato was currently the leader of Konoha, his background couldn't compare to that of the noble clans.
Before even stepping into the Namikaze residence, Byakuya sensed several chakra signatures and pinpointed their locations.
The weaker signatures were likely the Anbu assigned to protect Kushina, and the most prominent one was undoubtedly Kushina Uzumaki herself. Besides them, there was also the gloomy chakra of Kakashi.
After the deaths of Obito and Rin, this ninja, who was once considered evenly matched with others in the ninja world, was now on the edge of darkness.
Thinking of this, Byakuya glanced at the Hokage Rock on the cliff, his gaze seemingly traversing through time and space, as if he could see Obito and Black Zetsu hiding in the shadows of Konoha.
They were probably watching him now, so he shouldn't hold back in his performance.
The identity of the Uzumaki descendants still needed to be maintained. What should he do next to provoke Kushina Uzumaki?
After a moment's reflection, Byakuya followed Minato into the residence.
Kushina Uzumaki, wearing casual home attire and with her vibrant red hair, was sitting on the sofa.
Observing Kushina, Byakuya silently assessed her strength.
Kushina was likely at the level of a jōnin, and with the Nine-Tails inside her, she could be as strong as a Kage. However, if she couldn't harmonize with the Nine-Tails, her strength might not surpass that of Killer Bee of the Eight-Tails.
At this moment, Kushina noticed Byakuya and her gaze shifted towards him.
After scanning the room, Kushina confirmed Byakuya's identity. Apart from the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, only the Uzumaki ninjas had such strong sensory abilities.
So, the boy in front of her must be Byakuya.
Yet, perhaps due to a woman's intuition, Kushina found Byakuya's gaze somewhat peculiar.
However, they had never met before.
Strange as it was, Kushina still stood up to greet her guests. As disciples of Jiraiya, she needed to help Minato build good relations.
After lunch, Minato and Yahiko began discussing national affairs, while Byakuya slowly rose and stepped outside.
On a stone bench outside, Kushina had been waiting for him.
Kushina had many questions for this clan member whom she had only heard about.
Sitting down, Byakuya, with a blank expression greeted the crimson-haired kunoichi.
"Greetings, Lady Hokage. Is there something you need from me? If it's not very important, there's no need to continue. If it's crucial, you can discuss it directly with Yahiko."
Kushina was slightly taken aback by Byakuya's distant demeanor.
"I just wanted to meet a fellow clansman. Byakuya, you must be a Uzumaki descendant as well, I can sense it from your chakra."
Byakuya considered his persona for a moment and then let a smirk appear at the corner of his mouth:
"Well, never mind then. I used to be a Uzumaki ninja, but not anymore. Now I'm a ninja of Amegakure. The Uzumaki clan has no connection with us, including you."
"Why?"
Kushina narrowed her eyes, puzzled by why Byakuya wanted to sever their connection.
Sensing her confusion, Byakuya replied with a hint of coldness: "Lady Kushina, you are a noble Hokage's wife, which is quite different from us Uzumaki remnants."
Upon hearing the term "remnants," Kushina's frown deepened, feeling a sharp sting in her heart.
Byakuya, like his former self, harbored significant resentment towards Konoha, even if he didn't openly express it.
Kushina sighed lightly and said, "Byakuya, you must still harbor a grudge over the events from back then. I used to think the same way. But over the past few days, I've investigated the details of what happened. After our village was attacked, Konoha did intend to provide support, but by the time their reinforcements arrived, it was already too late."
Byakuya shook his head slightly and fixed his gaze on Kushina's eyes. "The fall of the Uzumaki Village was due to the weakness of the Uzumaki clan itself. What does that have to do with Konoha? Allies are not babysitters; they have no obligation to continuously protect Uzushiogakure."
"Then why?" Kushina asked, confused, looking at Byakuya.
Byakuya glanced at Kushina and said, "The destruction of the Uzumaki clan is not Konoha's fault, but the fact that they took advantage of our misfortune is unforgivable to us Uzumaki remnants. Why do you think we haven't sought Konoha's help all these years for no reason?"
He paused before answering directly, "It's because our clanswoman, Kushina, was forced to become a jinchūriki of Konoha."
"Lady Kushina, I've heard about your past and know how Konoha ninjas mistreated you. But just like how you seem to have truly become a Konoha ninja, which disappoints me, you might be under the illusion that what those people showed you was the truth rather than a carefully crafted lie to keep you content as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki."
Hearing this, Kushina fell silent, realizing that Byakuya's words were true.
What Konoha's higher-ups told her might indeed have been lies. However, the true reason she accepted Konoha wasn't the Will of Fire but Minato. Yet, her actions seemed to have betrayed the clan members who remained in exile.
But why should this child speak ill of Lady Mito?
With this thought, Kushina stood up, glaring at Byakuya. Her back was surrounded by a flurry of golden chains.