Namikaze Minato's tone was grim.
Yes.
He might not respect Sarutobi Hiruzen, but at least he knew the man—Hiruzen still had some semblance of a bottom line.
But Danzo?
That was another matter entirely.
That man had no bottom line whatsoever.
Though Minato wasn't afraid of the so-called leader of Root and Konoha's elder—thanks to his own mentor Jiraiya—
The problem was this: he had missions to run, and he couldn't stay home constantly.
If Danzo didn't dare act while Minato was present, what if he made a move the moment Minato was away?
What if he tried to forcibly take Rin Nohara?
Just relying on Obito and the other two students, Minato truly couldn't rest easy.
Even with Obito awakening the Mangekyo, who knew whether Root had developed some means specifically to counter the Uchiha?
After all, the clan had been suppressed for years—who could say what secret weapons they had stockpiled?
And that was why Minato hadn't asked about Obito's Mangekyo ability.
If he knew it was Kamui, perhaps he'd feel more reassured.
But even then, he wouldn't take risks.
Obito was still too young.
And besides, it was better not to let the village know too soon that he had awakened the Mangekyo.
Otherwise—good heavens!
Kai, Shisui, Kakashi… already three of them.
With the village leadership so dead set on suppressing the Uchiha, if they learned there were now three Mangekyo in play, who knew what madness they might resort to?
And this wasn't even counting Kai's habit of keeping hidden cards.
Nobody knew that Fugaku had already awakened Mangekyo as well.
Nor that in less than two years, Itachi would awaken his.
And beyond that—Sasuke was waiting in the wings.
A pile of Mangekyo in hand, led by a sly old fox like Kai…
Wouldn't you be scared?
"I understand," Kushina said sternly. "That old man Danzo really is no good!
I won't go anywhere these days—I'll just stay at home. Minato, remember to buy groceries on your way back!
And you three brats—behave yourselves at home. If any of you cause trouble, don't blame your teacher's wife for losing her temper!"
Uzumaki Kushina's aura exploded.
Yes.
Root? Maybe others feared it, but not her.
As the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, if she really cut loose, probably only Uchiha Kai could suppress her inside the village.
And the idea of Kai helping Konoha against her?
Ha! What a joke.
Rin Nohara: "…"
Kakashi: "…"
Obito: "…"
The three shuddered in unison at Kushina's solemn expression.
As Minato's disciples, they knew exactly how terrifying this teacher's wife could be.
Even Obito—
without the despair of the original timeline, though the awakening of the Mangekyo had changed his temperament somewhat, he hadn't devolved into the lunatic he might have.
But still…
"I promise, I won't leave the yard."
"Me too, I'll behave."
"Y-yeah! That! Exactly!"
…
The thought of Kushina raging made their hearts pound wildly.
Whatever stray thoughts they'd had were instantly obliterated.
Elsewhere—
The Hokage's office, late at night.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was still working overtime.
After the miserable day he'd had, the last thing he wanted was to process documents.
All he wanted was to go home, sip some tea, clear his mind, and get some sleep.
But no such luck.
Just as he prepared to leave, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado stopped him.
And this time—it really was business.
Tomorrow was the day they would formally sign the peace treaty with the Hidden Stone delegation.
But the issue was this: the pace had been so rushed, they hadn't decided yet whether to demand reparations.
Koharu and Homura pushed for compensation.
But Hiruzen—exhausted in both body and mind—had no patience for such wrangling.
All he wanted was to end the war quickly, salvage what remained of his tattered reputation…
and then focus on the real matter: dealing with the Uchiha!
In his mind, compared to villages that could never truly be destroyed, crushing the Uchiha and consolidating Konoha's power was far more important.
But clearly—
he couldn't convince the two elders, and they couldn't convince him.
And then—
Bang!
The door to the Hokage's office was kicked open.
Leaning heavily on his cane, face twisted in a dark scowl, Shimura Danzo stormed in.
"Hiruzen, you're far too weak.
Hidden Stone is the defeated party. Konoha is the victor.
Since when does the victor not even dare demand reparations?
The Uchiha, Hidden Stone—same thing! You're no longer the shinobi you once were.
I advise you to step down. You are no longer fit to be Hokage!"
Bang!
Already aggrieved, Hiruzen slammed the desk and stood.
"Danzo, that's enough!"
Coldly, he continued:
"When this war ends, I'll report to the daimyo and step down voluntarily.
But until then, I am the Hokage—and it is not your place to lecture me!
Say what you came to say, and be done with it.
Negotiations with Hidden Stone hardly seem like the sort of thing a man like you would care about.
So out with it—then get out!"
At other times, he might have spared Danzo some courtesy.
After all, Root was useful for handling the village's dirty work.
But tonight was different.
Kai hadn't been eliminated.
Shisui had awakened Mangekyo.
Minato was drifting further from him.
And then there was the matter of the Three-Tails…
One thing after another, piling up.
He had no patience left for Danzo's nonsense.
If not for the need to use him, Hiruzen might have stripped him of power already!
On the other side—
Danzo blinked in surprise at Hiruzen's outburst.
He hadn't expected his "old friend" to give him so little face.
Still, he quickly reasoned it out:
Hiruzen's mood must simply be atrocious tonight.
Fine, let it slide.
With that, he made his demand.
"Hiruzen, about the Three-Tails.
Since you refuse to give me the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, then surely the Three-Tails isn't a problem?
It doesn't even belong to Konoha. Now that it's fallen into our lap, we can't leave it in the hands of some civilian shinobi, can we?
So, entrust it to me.
Root is the most professional in such matters. We'll make sure the Three-Tails' power is fully realized.
Hand Rin Nohara over to me, Hiruzen.
Trust me!"
"…"
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