Fortunately, all of this was just Haruki overthinking. Neither Kushina nor Minato asked any questions, which made Haruki breathe a sigh of relief.
If they really wanted to get to the bottom of it, he wouldn't know how to answer.
Because what he had done couldn't stand up to scrutiny, anyone who wasn't an idiot could tell something was wrong.
Kakashi and Rin Nohara were also curious, but they didn't know the whole story, so they didn't think much of it.
Mainly because they saw their master and mistress didn't ask, Kakashi followed suit and pretended to be clueless.
However, Haruki still couldn't escape Kushina's clutches. Kushina had been holding a grudge against him for running away from home.
After a bit of roughhousing, everyone had rested enough, so they got up and continued on their way.
It wasn't appropriate for Minato and Kushina to be away from Leaf Village for too long. They should go back as soon as possible.
On the way back, Haruki discovered that his system was having a little problem.
He saw a white card drop from Kakashi, but he couldn't pick it up no matter what.
After trying various methods, he could only reluctantly give up on this card.
But this caused a sense of gloom to rise in Haruki's heart, and he was completely out of sorts.
"Whoosh!" Minato used a Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Haruki, supporting his body that was about to fall, and asked, "Haruki, what's wrong? Why are you so out of it?"
He had never seen a ninja almost trip while traveling.
He had been fine before, clearly not injured, but Haruki's current state made Minato and Kushina very worried.
Their worried gazes kept scanning back and forth over Haruki, trying to figure out what was wrong with him, but to no avail.
Looking at their gazes, Haruki felt a warmth in his heart, and said, "I'm fine, don't worry, I was just spacing out, let's go back."
After saying that, he didn't care if they believed him or not, and headed towards Leaf Village.
The main reason was that he couldn't explain this, he could only use this kind of lighthearted banter to get away with it.
Haruki and the others were getting closer to Leaf Village, but Uchiha Madara on the other side wasn't as relaxed.
His already frail body couldn't hold on any longer, even with the Outer Path, it wouldn't allow him to hold on for much longer.
"Black Zetsu, my time is running out, that little girl is probably too late. Leaf Village will definitely hide the news of the little girl, to prevent the news of the Three-Tails from leaking out."
"You arrange for White Zetsu to disguise himself as that little girl and Kakashi Hatake, and let Obito awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan. I will use the last of my time to go to Kirigakure, and make them keep the news of the little girl and the Three-Tails secret!"
Black Zetsu was stunned for a moment, then he looked deeply at Uchiha Madara, his vigilance towards him increased significantly.
But he didn't show it on the surface, instead, he respectfully agreed, "I'll go right away, Madara-sama."
Then Black Zetsu slowly melted into the ground, disappearing into the cave.
"My time is running out, I can only use this desperate measure, damn it! When I revive, when I revive, I'll go find you..."
A low voice filled with anger echoed in the cave.
After a day of traveling, Minato had already brought everyone back to Leaf Village. The moment they returned, they were stopped at the gate by the Anbu.
"Hokage-sama, Kushina-sama, the Third Hokage wants you all to go to the Hokage's office."
After saying that, the Anbu with the fox mask stood there, staring motionlessly at Haruki and the others.
"You!"
Kushina was about to get angry, but Minato stopped her, and said to the fox-masked Anbu, "Okay, we understand."
Getting a satisfactory answer, the fox-masked Anbu took them towards the Hokage Tower.
"Minato, you're the Hokage, why is an Anbu talking to us like this? That old man, the Third Hokage, has already abdicated!"
Kushina complained as she walked, and she didn't suppress her volume at all, clearly saying it for the fox-masked Anbu to hear.
Unfortunately, the other party acted as if they hadn't heard, not changing at all.
Minato, on the other hand, gently pulled Kushina's hand and whispered, "I did wrong by leaving Leaf Village without permission this time."
Haruki also temporarily put aside his worry about not being able to pick up cards anymore, and thought to himself, "Did they develop the Telescope Technique now? But what can you do?"
As they talked, they had already arrived at the Hokage's office, and after opening the door, Sarutobi Hiruzen was sitting in the Hokage's seat.
"You're back." Taking a puff of smoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't show any expression through the smoke.
"Yes, Third Hokage-sama." Minato respectfully answered Sarutobi Hiruzen's question, and then began to explain, "This time I left Leaf Village without permission because..."
"You don't need to say it!" Before Minato could explain, Sarutobi Hiruzen interrupted him, and said to himself, "It seems you haven't fully grasped the responsibilities of being Hokage, I'll help you for a few more years with these old bones!"
"Hehe." Haruki laughed in his heart, "Finally showing your true colors? Too bad you don't have the ability!"
Thinking about this, Haruki was about to speak, he was going to vent all the frustration he had felt from not being able to pick up cards on Sarutobi Hiruzen.
But before he could speak, Kakashi had already spoken first, "Minato-sensei left Leaf Village to save me, any punishment, I will take it!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled and shook his head, softly saying, "Kakashi, this isn't about punishment."
"This!"
"You're still too young." Seeing Kakashi being choked by Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Haruki shook his head in his heart.
With such a legitimate opportunity to suppress Minato, how could Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was so greedy for power, easily give up?
Just look at Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen was exactly the same type.
It's just that Danzo is truly bad, Sarutobi Hiruzen is just good at pretending.
"Boom!"
"Old man, what do you mean?"
Kushina, with her hot temper, exploded, smashing the desk in front of her with a punch, and roared at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
She was simple, but not really stupid, not the kind of naive fool who didn't understand anything.
Besides, she had never liked Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Before, she didn't know, and she couldn't understand, but after Minato became Hokage, the reason why the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed was no longer a secret to her.
If it weren't for the bonds she had in Leaf Village, she would have turned against him long ago.
But now Sarutobi Hiruzen was pushing his luck? How could Kushina tolerate this?
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