Minato's face burned with fury.
He could not accept that the village he had given his life to protect was rotting from the inside out.
This wasn't the same as the original story.
In the original timeline, there had been no Uchiha Kai. Kushina would not have lost her composure, nor would she have spoken to the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails, after all, was a beast.
It was the strongest Tailed Beast, with a cunning that rivaled human wisdom—
but it was still not human.
Schemes and political trickery were not its forte.
This time was pure happenstance.
Otherwise, with its usual stupidity, it might never have revealed the truth even if Kushina died.
But now—
"Minato, calm yourself," she said quickly, seeing Minato's anger.
"I told you all this because I don't want you deceived.
I'm the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. There is surely Anbu monitoring us outside.
Even if you're angry, you must hold it in for now. Everything depends on you becoming Hokage.
Didn't Kai-kun already say it? You're destined to be the Fourth Hokage.
When that happens, then you can make your move!
Do you really want the current leadership to keep rotting this village forever?"
"If you want change, if you want to heal this place, you must endure for now.
Draw allies to your side. Kai was right—
Even if you want to act, no one will follow unless you have people loyal to you.
You can't trust a single one of the current elders.
You must cultivate your own people as soon as possible.
Especially Kai!
He has irreconcilable conflict with the village leadership—and he has the power to resist them.
Just look at these past weeks.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi and the high council have been left humiliated by Kai, with no way to strike back.
You want to change the village.
Kai wants to preserve the Uchiha.
And the leadership? They want the Uchiha annihilated.
Those sides are already mortal enemies.
Don't cling to pride.
If you want to change things, you must learn to wield strategy and intrigue!"
At this moment, Kushina was calmer than ever.
Yes—
She might be hot-headed in daily life, but in crucial moments she was clear-eyed.
Even if her heart boiled with resentment, she knew she had to remain steady now.
To rush out blindly would be useless.
The leadership's power was too great.
Hadn't even Uchiha Kai, with the might of his clan and his Mangekyo Sharingan, admitted that his goal was survival, not conquest?
And Minato?
He had even less backing.
He was only a commoner by birth, with no clan behind him.
How could it be easy to change the entire system?
No—the only path was patience, and careful planning.
On the other side, Minato sighed bitterly at his wife's words.
"You're right.
I must change this twisted village.
The Will of Fire has already been desecrated by Hiruzen.
Now I finally understand.
Why Kai calculated that I would become the Fourth Hokage, yet never relied on me.
He saw the truth clearer than I did—
Even if I rose to Hokage, I'd still be nothing but a puppet.
How could I help the Uchiha like that?
But… it doesn't matter!
Now that I know the truth, I will act.
This Hokage seat—I will claim it!"
Minato's eyes shone with unshakable resolve.
He was never one to give up easily.
Now that he knew the village's reality, he couldn't turn a blind eye.
No matter how dangerous the path, no matter the cost—
Even if it meant his life—
He would change this rotten village.
The next morning, at Konoha's main gate.
Minato had arrived early, restless with the urge to see Uchiha Kai as soon as possible.
Yes.
After a night's reflection, he understood that politics and intrigue disgusted him.
But to achieve his goal, he would have to master them.
And the best teacher in such matters—was Uchiha Kai himself.
There was no choice.
He trusted Nara Shikaku more, but after learning that the Ino-Shika-Cho clans were also complicit in siphoning the village's wealth, he couldn't speak openly with him anymore.
Between them, it was only personal friendship.
But Minato's mission would cut into the very lifeline of the Nara clan's prosperity.
And to sever a man's source of wealth… was as good as killing his father.
Even if the saying didn't exist in the ninja world, Minato understood the truth behind it.
Half an hour later—
Uchiha Kai finally strolled up lazily, yawning, flanked by Ryūjo and Ryōma.
"Yo, Minato-nii!" Kai called with a grin.
"You're here early—it's only eight o'clock, right?"
Minato's mouth twitched.
"I've been here since six," he muttered.
"You sure take your time. I almost went to drag you out of the Uchiha compound myself."
Kai blinked, stunned.
What the hell? Was this man really in that much of a rush?
He was left speechless.
Before he could think of an excuse, Minato shook his head.
"Forget it. No need for excuses.
But Ryōma—
Are you really taking him to the front lines?"
Kai nodded.
With a sigh, he explained, "There's no other way. Ryōma is the hope of the Aburame clan.
Chief Shibi fears that once I leave, Uchiha and Aburame won't survive the council's purge.
So he entrusted Ryōma to me. Even if both clans fall, at least one seed of revival remains."
Minato's face darkened.
If he'd heard this yesterday, he might have thought Kai was being overly cautious.
But now—
After learning from the Nine-Tails about Hiruzen's cruelty and ruthlessness, he knew better.
Hadn't Hiruzen so easily forced Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake—a man equal to half a Hokage—to his death?
Killing an Uchiha and an Aburame would be nothing to him.
Still, with the knowledge that Hiruzen possessed techniques like the Telescope Jutsu, Minato dared not say more here.
So he only shook his head slightly, drew a deep breath, and forced a smile.
"Alright, then.
Since you've chosen to take Ryōma, I don't think Hokage-sama will interfere.
So be it.
Are you ready?
If so, then let's depart!"
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