Naruto: Flash Reborn — Minato’s Second Life

The Land of Hot Springs bordered the Land of Fire. Though its territory was modest in size compared to other smaller nations, it enjoyed a prime location, sharing borders with several other small countries. It was said to be famous for its abundance of hot springs and attracted numerous foreigners.

Two days later, Minato, Sakumo, and their two companions had already entered the Land of Hot Springs. Still, they avoided towns and villages, sticking to uninhabited regions as they traveled.

"We're getting close to Hidden Hot Spring Village."

Sakumo halted his steps, took out a scroll map, spread it open, and looked toward the end of the forest ahead before speaking.

"Are we going into Hidden Hot Spring Village?" Junko Watanabe asked beside him.

Sakumo shook his head. "No. We'll bypass Hidden Hot Spring Village and settle at this town called Izumi."

At this moment, Minato and Yan Uchiha moved closer. Since it was their first mission and they lacked field experience, they relied entirely on Sakumo's guidance.

From the position where Sakumo's finger pointed on the map, they saw that this so-called Izumi Town lay even farther than Hidden Hot Spring Village, nearly reaching another country's border.

"If relations between various nations are tense, and traveling from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Hot Springs requires passing through other countries, in three days, they can only go straight across directly. Their arrival point must be this town."

Sakumo carefully explained to Minato and Yan Uchiha. Compared with the distance coming from Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, their journey was actually shorter than that of Tachiyama Shinsaburo and others departing from Kumogakure. Even so, they had traveled tirelessly for two full days to reach this point.

Moreover, they also had to pass through other countries along the way, which made things even more complicated. According to the map, indeed only this town could be reached within three days.

"Take off your Konoha hitai-ate [forehead protectors]." Sakumo said after rolling up the map and turning toward the two young boys.

They nodded. Given the nature of this infiltration and assassination mission, concealing their identities was essential. Wearing forehead protectors would make them far too conspicuous.

"Also, we need to change our outfits."

Sakumo looked down at himself, then glanced at Junko's attire. Their current clothes clearly marked them as ninja.

Junko nodded. Once part of Anbu [Konoha's elite covert operations unit], she had been involved in various types of missions. She was quite experienced when it came to undercover assassinations.

However, she obviously couldn't change her clothes in front of Sakumo and the others, so she immediately turned and walked into the nearby woods.

Sakumo also went into another part of the forest.

There was no need for Minato and Yan Uchiha to change their clothes; once removing their forehead protectors, they were simply two handsome-looking teenage boys.

Soon, Sakumo walked out again. He was now wearing a flowing white robe, which somehow gave him a completely different air — far removed from his usual ninja persona.

He now appeared like a refined gentleman.

Plus, he was naturally quite handsome.

So the three of them sat around waiting for Junko.

A few minutes later, Junko Watanabe finally stepped out. She wore a sea-blue outfit decorated with exquisite patterns. A hairpin slightly tied up her flowing black hair, making her appear before the three men like a fresh and lively young girl.

She and Sakumo were not much older; Minato recalled that Jiraiya-sensei was only in his twenties now, and Sakumo was even younger than Jiraiya, while Junko Watanabe was Sakumo's junior at school.

The two, now dressed differently, saw each other and froze for a moment, both startled by the change. Then Junko shifted her eyes slightly, her pale complexion tinged with red.

"Erm," Sakumo coughed lightly to break the awkwardness and said, "Alright, let's head to Izumi Town."

Then came several more hours of travel.

...

After spending over two days away from civilization, entering Izumi Town and seeing the bustling crowds made Minato and Yan Uchiha feel slightly emotional.

No matter how outstanding they were, they were still children at heart.

Sakumo and Junko walked silently behind, their mood somewhat awkward, while the other two strolled ahead—Minato glancing around with innocent curiosity, and Yan Uchiha feigning indifference while stealing occasional glances himself.

This wasn't them being unserious—it was simply on Sakumo's orders. Upon entering the town, they had become ordinary pedestrians. If they maintained their previous behavior, they would surely draw attention, which wouldn't be good for the secrecy of their mission.

As they walked, Minato noticed many inns, most bearing slogans advertising their hot springs. The Land of Hot Springs lived up to its name—renowned for its natural hot springs (onsen).

At that moment, Minato couldn't help but think about Jiraiya-sensei, whose whereabouts were unknown as he was off on another mission. He remembered his teacher once vowing to travel every corner of the continent—and the Land of Hot Springs had always been high on his list.

Yet recalling the scene from the first time they went on a mission together, Minato's expression involuntarily turned odd—whether Jiraiya-sensei had come to the Land of Hot Springs for its hot springs or for some other reason remained unclear.

The four naturally approached the outskirts of the town and then, led by Sakumo, entered a small inn.

Though not large in size, the interior was clean and simply furnished without feeling cramped. As it was located near the outskirts of the town, there were very few guests.

A couple in their early thirties ran the inn. After Sakumo requested a second-floor room, the wife led the four of them upstairs.

The room itself was fairly spacious, easily accommodating four or five people.

"You're visitors from another country, right?" the landlady asked kindly with a smile.

Minato and Yan Uchiha dared not speak much, fearing they might accidentally say something inappropriate. Junko Watanabe also seemed to have no intention of responding.

Sakumo smiled slightly and replied, "Yes, we're from the Land of Fire."

"That's a major country indeed."

The woman sighed in admiration—the Land of Fire was not only one of the Five Great Nations but also widely regarded as the strongest economically.

"Here for tourism?" she added afterward.

"Yeah, it really lives up to its name as a hot spring town. We've already soaked in several springs these past few days."

Sakumo said. Since Izumi Town was quite far from the Land of Fire, there would have been no need to go through so much trouble just to come here if their sole purpose had been to enjoy the hot springs.

Therefore, he added, "We're also planning to visit some other countries."

This instantly put the girl at ease, so he continued, "Our parents are busy with work and were afraid we'd get bored at home, so they asked me to take my younger brothers and sisters on a trip to relax."

"Oh, so you two are siblings..." The girl was taken aback, clearly having her own assumptions about the relationship between Sakumo and Junko Watanabe.

After a brief exchange, the innkeeper exited the room.

As soon as she left, Sakumo exhaled deeply. Though he'd completed countless missions, dealing with women was never his strong suit.

But who else could he rely on? Junko Watanabe had only just left Anbu, and Minato Namikaze along with Yan Uchiha were fresh faces in the field.

Sakumo walked to another part of the room, then gently pushed open the door there, revealing a modest-sized balcony.

"From here, we should be able to keep an eye on anyone entering the town anytime."

That's exactly why Sakumo chose this inn. Minato and Yan approached as well. Even though the door was only slightly ajar, their trained eyes allowed them to clearly observe the streets below.

...

...

Scene shift — I hit a bit of a writing snag, so this update came out way later than expected. My sincere apologies.

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