The Third Hokage, who was facing away from Minato, slowly turned around. Minato had seen this face countless times because the window of his room faced the Hokage Rock.
Although he was not very handsome, his resolute expression was enough to give people a sense of security. This was the Third Hokage of the Konoha Ninja Village.
"Minato, I have wanted to meet you for a long time," the Third Hokage said, with a kind smile on his face, very cordial.
"Hello, Third Hokage-sama!" Minato bowed deeply. He respected the man in front of him from the bottom of his heart because the stability and prosperity of Konoha today were born under his leadership. And his Jiraiya-sensei was also the disciple of the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage heard this, smiled slightly, and said, "No need to be so polite. Your Jiraiya-sensei is also my disciple, so you are naturally my grand disciple."
"Don't you blame me?" The Third Hokage did not mention a word about taking Kushina away without permission but showed him a very kind side.
Although Jiraiya-sensei had said before that the Third Hokage had taken a fancy to him, what he did today was indeed too much.
"You mean Kushina's matter? Didn't you send her home safely? Besides, if it weren't for this, we wouldn't know when we could meet again." The Third Hokage smiled and said, "Isn't this what you expected? You wanted to see me because of this."
Hearing this, Minato leaned forward and said, "Third Hokage, I'm sorry. I know this has touched on some of the interests of the village, but..."
Sure enough, the Third Hokage saw through his intentions. He deliberately made the toad of Mount Myoboku look like Kushina just to tell the village's top leaders that Kushina was taken away by himself.
"You care about Kushina a lot," the Third Hokage said, showing no anger. Minato nodded in acknowledgment. "You wanted to see me today because of her. And as far as I know, you had a good temper when you were in the ninja school before, and you couldn't control your emotions only when it came to Kushina."
The Third Hokage had already investigated Minato thoroughly, so he dared to let Jiraiya teach him with confidence.
"Why?" the Third Hokage asked. Minato immediately hesitated because he didn't know the reason himself.
"You like her, right?" the Third Hokage asked again. Minato's face instantly turned a little red, but it was undeniable. In fact, he had already realized that his feelings for her were not just out of friendship.
"If you like someone, no matter what you do for her, there is no reason needed. I can understand this. But you, who regard everyone in the village as your family and want to protect them, should also know that I sent the Anbu to protect Kushina. What does she mean to this village?"
"Sandaime-sama, who is Kushina?" When the Third Hokage said this, Minato could no longer suppress the doubts in his heart. What is Kushina's identity?
But before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the Third Hokage: "You didn't get the answer to this question from Jiraiya before, and today, I still can't tell you. Just like Jiraiya told you, if you want to get in touch with these things, you must have enough power. Understand?" The Third Hokage looked serious, and Minato lowered his head.
"I can see that you used this method to prove your ability. Indeed, you have grown a lot compared to a year ago, and you can even hide from the Anbu. But... this is not enough!"
Kushina's identity is too important, and very few people in the whole village know it. With Minato's current ability, he is still not qualified. Minato found that none of his thoughts could be hidden from the Third Hokage. After all, compared to a figure like the Hokage, he was still too young.
"I know. I'm really sorry about what happened today," Minato said immediately. Although he was a little unwilling in his heart, what else could he do? In the final analysis, he was too impatient. Even with the guidance of Jiraiya-sensei, it had only been a year, and the level he could reach was still not enough to get the answer from the Third Hokage.
"But, I have one more thing I want to ask of you." However, Minato had not finished speaking.
The Third Hokage nodded and said, "Tell me."
"I don't know Kushina's identity, nor do I know what kind of value she has for the village. But no matter what, she is still just a little girl. Your supervision of her is too strict.
I can often see a sad look on her face. Kushina can't even walk around the streets of Konoha with her friends on weekends. She goes to the ninja school very early every day because she hates the feeling of loneliness."
Coming here today, although he cared about finding out Kushina's identity, he didn't want to see that kind of expression on her face again. Minato's words made the Third Hokage's pupils shrink slightly. He didn't expect Minato's concern for Kushina to reach this level. And what he said was not completely unreasonable.
Indeed, in the more than a year since she came to Konoha, everything the village had done to her was a bit too unfair. After all, she was just a child! Minato continued, "Kushina's dream is to be Hokage. I know that she wants to get everyone's approval in that way."
At this point, Minato's blue eyes were filled with some heartache. Kushina was usually carefree, but that just proved her inner struggle.
"I didn't expect you to think so much about her," the Third Hokage said. After Minato's reminder, he realized the psychological problems Kushina might be facing. Soon, Mito-sama's life will end today. At that time, Kushina will become the new Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
He has some understanding of the pain of becoming a Jinchūriki. If she is made to bear all this in advance, there will be big problems at that time. But he couldn't withdraw the Anbu around her at will, because even if he agreed, the other advisors would also...
It seemed that Minato understood the Third Hokage's concerns. He raised his eyes at this time and said very solemnly, "Third Hokage-sama, I want protect Kushina!"
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