I, who was determined to stay in Naruto, became the white moonlight

After all, the noise last night was too loud. Not only was there a loud noise outside the village, but there were also countless ninjas dispatched to guard Konoha. It was clear everywhere that this matter could not be covered up so easily.

People were panicked for a while.

Most of them were afraid of the appearance of the Nine-Tails, while a small number inevitably criticized the Uchiha.

As if to prevent the situation from escalating, the top brass immediately released a series of follow-up investigations conducted by the Uchiha during the period when the clan members were discovered to be missing, in order to officially clear the Uchiha's name.

There are fewer people gossiping on the streets, but the Uchiha clan is definitely the most affected.

For many years they have been dissatisfied with Konoha, and when the new Hokage ordered reforms, they were only happy that the Uchiha had a say in the top management.

It was Konoha's timely and resolute clarification statement that made them truly realize that Konoha really wanted to unite the Uchiha.

Some people were discussing the future relationship between Konoha and Uchiha, some were worried about the seal of the Nine-Tails, and some were cursing the masked man for being hateful.

As for the sacrifice of an Anbu member, they felt regretful, but that was all.

After all, no one knew that ANBU member.

However, for Mirei Takeuchi, who heard the news of her own sacrifice, what followed was confusion and helplessness.

Huanchen is dead.

In other words, the person who replaced her, Uchiha Haruko, died...

Haruko died, her daughter died...

Ignoring her lover Ichitani's panic in the morning, Takeuchi Mirei rushed to the hospital with her pregnant belly, dodging people who blocked her way and ran straight to the ward where the Hokage was.

Hearing the noise coming from outside, Minato Namikaze, after comforting his wife, left the ward to see what was going on.

As soon as he opened the door, his collar was pulled rudely, and in front of him was his furious friend Takeuchi Mirei.

"Where's Haruko? I'm asking you where Haruko is!"

Minato Namikaze was stunned. When he looked into her familiar eyes filled with anger, he was distracted and couldn't remember where he had seen such beautiful eyes.

His absent-minded attitude was obviously adding fuel to Takeuchi Mirei's anger.

Mirei Takeuchi let go of the hand that was grabbing his collar, and then punched Minato Namikaze in the face, catching him off guard.

Forced to step back, Minato Namikaze leaned against the wall to steady himself, feeling a burning pain on his cheeks.

Seeing that she was about to be surrounded by the Anbu, Namikaze Minato quickly reached out and called out to them, "Don't do it!"

After receiving his orders, the Anbu retracted their weapons, only stopping Takeuchi Mirei.

Zao Yitani, who caught up with them later, hurriedly squeezed in among them, holding his lover in his arms, with an apologetic smile on his kind face, and apologized to the Hokage repeatedly.

With him holding her shoulders, Takeuchi Mirei's arrogance was barely suppressed, but her eyes were still unspeakably gloomy.

"I'm asking you, where is Haruko!"

Hearing her question again, some doubts appeared in Minato Namikaze's calm eyes, and he hesitated to speak: "Who... is Haruko?"

"What is who...you!"

Takeuchi Mirei, who was furious, did not understand the message behind his question for a moment, until she realized that the confusion in his eyes was genuine, and she was speechless.

She froze in place, as if a basin of cold water had been poured over her from head to toe.

She looked around at the people around her, all of them had strange looks on their faces, even Zao Yi Gu asked her in a worried voice what was going on.

Mirei Takeuchi opened her mouth, but the absurd possibility made her unable to think straight.

After being punched for no reason, Minato Namikaze straightened his expression, waved to the irrelevant people around him, and signaled them to leave.

There were only three of them in the narrow and silent corridor. The dark clouds outside the window were piled up together, and no light could penetrate.

Namikaze Minato asked softly: "The Haruko you are talking about, is that the person who disguised herself as Huanchen on your behalf?"

"That's right!"

Takeuchi Mirei nodded sharply, staring at him straight, as if expecting to hear the answer she wanted from him.

After confirming who she was looking for, Minato Namikaze lowered his eyelashes, and his handsome face looked sad against the gray sky.

"When the Kyuubi struggled, it tried to hurt Kushina, but she...blocked the attack for us and died heroically."

As the word "sacrifice" fell, the entire corridor was once again swallowed by silence.

Recalling the scene at that time, Minato Namikaze clenched his fists. That hero resolutely stood in front of them and resisted the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball with his own body. In the end, not even his body was left, and it disintegrated with the flying dust.

His words once again confirmed the facts. Takeuchi Mirei's body softened and she murmured in rebuttal: "How is it possible..."

"She said that she wanted her to sacrifice herself as Huanchen." Namikaze Minato couldn't bear to see her distraught look, so he turned his head away, "I guess she wanted you to be free."

Many years ago, because of their equally outstanding talents, Minato Namikaze was assigned to carry out missions with Mirei Takeuchi who was in the Anbu.

After the two of them got to know each other, Minato Namikaze finally understood her thoughts on the Anbu.

Mirei Takeuchi has always wanted to get rid of the life in the Anbu. She doesn't simply want to quit the Anbu, but wants to escape from the endless assassinations and betrayals.

But she didn't know where she could go, what she could do, or what kind of life she could live after leaving the Anbu.

If the higher-ups knew that she secretly disguised herself as a member of the Anbu and let others replace her identity as an Anbu member, Takeuchi Mirei would definitely not escape punishment and might even be held accountable.

But now, Huanchen is dead and Takeuchi Mirei is free.

free?

Takeuchi Mirei raised her head and looked at him as if she was stuck, her eyes were as scattered as a plate of broken black ink.

"You'll always be free."

So this is what she meant at that time...

Bitterness and indescribable regret filled Takeuchi Mirei, even overflowing from her eyes, turning into burning tears that fell to the ground.

It seemed that even she herself did not realize that she was crying, and her pair of moist and broken eyes stared blankly ahead.

Zao Jianyi, who was standing by, caught the teardrops falling from her eyes. His heart tightened, and his resolute and upright face was immediately filled with anxiety.

He held her in one hand and took out a handkerchief with the other hand to wipe her tears.

Even though they were talking about someone he didn't know, seeing his usually tough and cold lover showing fear, Zao Yitani was sure that the person was definitely a very important person to Takeuchi Mirei, perhaps even more important than him.

Feeling his anxious yet cautious movements, Takeuchi Mirei's thoughts gradually came back to her senses, and she heard a slightly hoarse voice coming out of her throat.

"Where is her...body?"

This question made Minato Namikaze even more silent. After a long time, he opened his lips and gave a brief and straightforward reply.

"……No."

"What do you mean?"

Seeing that he didn't say anything else, Takeuchi Mirei's tone became sharp, like a coward who knew the answer but still didn't dare to accept it.

Her emotions became intense again, and she struggled frantically within the shackles of the morning valley.

"What did you say?!"