Chapter 73
Haneda silently turned his gaze toward Obito.
Based on the original storyline, it was very likely that Obito had already caught Madara's attention.
Among the Uchiha clan, Obito was one of the few who helped elderly women cross the street, loved the village, and maintained an optimistic attitude.
And Madara needed exactly such a person.
As for himself...
It was perfectly normal for someone like him, a genius among the Uchiha, to be targeted!
With this assumption in mind, all the illogical aspects of the recent battle suddenly made sense.
Haneda, walking out of the Hokage's office, seemed deep in thought.
Sakumo knew his student all too well and asked with a smile, "What's wrong, Haneda? Are you upset about the bounty the Black Market put on you?"
"Sort of," Haneda replied, deciding not to share his suspicions with Sakumo.
The idea that Madara was still alive was too absurd—no one would believe it.
And why would only Haneda know something no one else did?
Crossing into this world was his biggest secret, and he had no intention of revealing it.
Sakumo smiled and reassured him, "The Black Market won't make another move anytime soon after their first failure. They might even fear you because of your strength.
"They want your Sharingan, but they also have to consider the cost of offending both the Uchiha and the Leaf Village. The risk isn't worth the reward."
"Yeah." Haneda nodded lightly, deciding to bury the matter in his heart.
Even if Madara and Black Zetsu had their eyes on him, what could he do about it?
Thinking about it was just tormenting himself. Better to focus on training and growing stronger to face whatever came his way.
...
Meanwhile, Minato walked down the streets of Konoha, his mind preoccupied.
He had been thinking about how to compensate for his shortcomings in offensive techniques.
Not to mention dealing with the Tailed Beast Bomb—he even struggled to break through the tailed beast's chakra cloak.
Minato recalled how powerless he felt against the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi, and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han.
If, as they said, only a Jinchuriki could fight another Jinchuriki, then his beloved Kushina would have to go to the battlefield.
But Kushina still couldn't fully control the Nine-Tails. If her emotions got the better of her during a battle, she might be overtaken by the beast.
That was something Minato absolutely couldn't allow.
"If only I could perfect that technique..."
As Minato pondered, a woman with long red hair suddenly ran over from a distance and hugged him tightly.
"Minato, you're finally back!"
"Kushina... it's been a while." Minato responded instinctively.
"You seem like you have a lot on your mind, Minato," Kushina said, sensing that something was off.
"Haha... it's nothing, Kushina," Minato chuckled, trying to brush it off.
He didn't want to share his troubles with her. These burdens, he preferred to bear alone.
"How about we go practice some sealing techniques?"
"Don't worry, Minato. I'll be really strict today."
Kushina, growing more excited, looked at him expectantly.
"Besides, you pick things up so fast, and there's still a lot of Uzumaki sealing techniques to learn, not to mention..."
"Sorry, Kushina, I..." Minato lowered his head, avoiding her gaze, and explained,
"Today, I want to train in other ninjutsu."
"What kind of jutsu?" Kushina pressed, her eyes serious, almost as if she were angry.
"Um... I..."
"Is it something you can't even tell me?"
"No..." Minato quickly shook his head. "It's just that the jutsu isn't finished yet and is still very dangerous..."
Suddenly, inspiration struck him—he remembered Haneda's Chidori, which seemed to be cast without any hand signs.
Wouldn't this jutsu be perfect for his Flying Thunder God technique?
Minato himself had a natural affinity for lightning chakra, though he hadn't trained much in that type of ninjutsu.
He then said, "It's Haneda's Chidori. Kakashi can use it too. It's classified as an A-rank jutsu, and it's very dangerous to train."
"I don't want you to get hurt, Kushina."
"Really? I understand..."
"Hmm?" Minato looked puzzled as Kushina suddenly lost her composure.
"If you hate spending time with me, just say so!" she shouted, her temper flaring.
"I don't! I never thought that!" Minato waved his hands frantically in denial.
At that moment, Obito happened to pass by.
"Sensei! Kushina-nee!"
Obito greeted them excitedly and shouted at Minato, "Sensei! How about training with us this afternoon?"
"I don't want that idiot Kakashi mocking me anymore, and I'm tired of always being protected by Haneda!"
"What do you say, Sensei? Please!"
"Sorry, I've got to go. See you later!" Minato called out as he ran toward Obito, gesturing apologetically to Kushina.
"Bye, Kushina-nee!" Obito also waved.
Kushina was about to chase after them, but two Anbu agents stepped in front of her.
"You're approaching the barrier," they said.
"I know." Kushina lowered her head and turned away. No one knew what was on her mind.
...
"Huh? Sensei, you said you want to learn Chidori from Haneda?!"
Obito stared at Minato in disbelief.
He knew all too well what ninjutsu his teacher excelled at.
Aside from space-time jutsu, Minato was a master of Wind Release, sealing techniques, summoning, and Sage Mode.
The idea of him wanting to learn Chidori, a Lightning Release technique, was mind-boggling!
"Are you serious, Sensei?" Obito asked again.
"There's a jutsu I haven't perfected yet, and I think Haneda's Chidori would complement my Flying Thunder God."
"Take me to Haneda, Obito. Consider this a favor to your sensei."
Minato's usual gentle demeanor was gone, replaced by a rare seriousness.
Seeing his teacher so determined, Obito instinctively nodded, "Alright."
...
About a month ago, Haneda would have been practicing swordsmanship at the Hatake clan's training grounds in the afternoon.
But now, he usually trained at the Uchiha clan's training grounds, which were much closer to his home.
Sometimes Obito would join Haneda for training, so he knew exactly where to find him.
Soon, they arrived at Haneda's training spot—a small grove where Haneda was sitting on a large rock, surrounded by about ten shadow clones.
He was training in the nature transformation of his Lightning Release chakra.
"Haneda, guess who I brought with me?" Obito called out.
Hearing Obito's familiar voice, Haneda, sitting on the rock, immediately opened his eyes.
Obito and Minato came into his view.
"Obito, Minato-senpai, what brings you here?" Haneda asked, puzzled.
To be honest, he didn't know Minato that well, and their relationship hadn't reached the level where the system would show it.
So, seeing Obito bring Minato here, Haneda could guess that Minato was looking for him through Obito.
After knowing Obito for nearly ten years, Haneda understood him well.
But he still didn't know what Minato wanted from him.
***
To read an advance 95+ chapters
Support me at p@treon.com/NahinS77
Change @ to a
Or go to that website and search NahinS77