The entire plaza fell into a silence deeper than before.
The metallic tang of blood reminded everyone that, just moments ago, a man who had wielded power over Konoha for decades was executed publicly in the most brutal way.
Every gaze fixed on the man holding that sinful arm.
Minato.
Cradling his son in one hand and Konoha's darkness in the other, he stood there like a god of judgment stepping out of myth.
He looked to Koharu and Homura.
For years, the two had shared Konoha's highest authority with the Third Hokage—august advisors to the village.
The instant their eyes met Minato's, their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.
Their faces went chalk white.
A fear born in the soul seized their minds.
Staring at the arm in Minato's hand, studded with Sharingan, they seemed to glimpse their own end—feeling a fox's pity at the hare's death.
Decades of privilege—and the loftiest authority in Konoha—were paper-thin before absolute strength.
Schemes and seniority, clout and craft—none of it mattered.
"M-Mi…nato…"
Koharu's lips quivered. She wanted to defend herself.
But no words came.
Say what?
That she knew nothing of what Danzo had done?
Who would believe it?
The three of them were war comrades from Hiruzen's era—the four at Konoha's core.
Could Danzo have built such a vast Root, worked so deeply with Orochimaru, and moved to squeeze the Uchiha, without the tacit consent—or even support—of the two advisors?
They might not be the masterminds, but they were accomplices, beyond doubt.
Minato said nothing, only watched them in silence.
He lifted the gore-smeared arm and tossed it carelessly onto the dais.
Thud.
It hit the stone. A few scarlet eyes still seemed to swivel in unwilling fury.
They understood. This was the final ultimatum.
Minato was waiting for their answer.
In that suffocating stillness—
A figure stepped out from among the gathered clans.
Nara clan head—Shikaku.
Bearing immense pressure, he walked to the front. In view of all, he turned toward the Hokage Rock—toward Minato—and bowed ninety degrees.
"On behalf of the Nara clan, I, Shikaku, firmly support any decision of the Fourth!"
The words fell like a depth charge.
The Nara—the brain of Konoha—were the first to choose a side.
At once, the Akimichi clan head, Choza, and the Yamanaka clan head, Inoichi, strode out to stand beside Shikaku and declared, loud and clear, in the same posture:
"The Akimichi clan supports the Fourth's decision!"
"The Yamanaka clan supports the Fourth's decision!"
Ino–Shika–Cho—united.
One of Konoha's firmest alliances threw its weight behind Minato in a matter of seconds, without a hint of hesitation.
Their stance triggered a violent chain reaction.
The Inuzuka clan head, flanked by his ninken, gave a low growl of fealty.
Beneath his cloak, the Aburame clan head dipped his chin.
After a brief shock and hesitation, Hyuga Hiashi, too, lowered his proud head.
The tide had turned—unstoppably. Anyone with sense knew which choice to make: follow the wind and rise with it.
On the dais, Koharu and Homura watched the clans declare themselves one after another, and the last trace of color drained from their faces.
They knew it was over.
Konoha's balance of power had tilted in a way that could never be restored.
All their allies had vanished—in mere minutes since Minato's return.
Amid the crowd—
Kakashi looked up at his teacher's towering back, blinking away the sting in his eyes.
He saw not only overwhelming strength crushing all before it.
He saw a Konoha cleansed of shadows—a real hope born.
This was the hero he had once believed could do anything.
Kurenai, Yugao, Shizune, and other young kunoichi stared wide-eyed at Minato's form wreathed in golden chakra, their eyes shimmering.
This man had changed the very sky over Konoha by himself.
Hiruzen stood off to the side, hollowed out, watching it all.
He watched old friends become isolated, watched the edifice he built crumble, and he tasted endless bitterness and helplessness.
The rules of their era had ended.
Minato spoke again.
"As for Danzo's deeds—you two advisors," he looked at the dazed, broken elders, "were you truly… completely unaware?"
A simple question, and it struck like lightning.
Without waiting for an answer, Minato continued, "I don't want Konoha to bleed anymore."
"So I hope you will take 'a dignified' responsibility… for your failure to see."
Dignified.
Two syllables that were both verdict and final mercy. Now it was up to them.
Koharu and Homura exchanged a look.
In each other's clouded eyes, they saw the same despair and resignation.
Resist?
Look at Danzo's body, not yet cold, on the ground.
They lacked the courage—and the power.
Cooperation might preserve a last shred of dignity for Konoha's elders.
Strength seemed to drain from Homura all at once. He bowed the head that had once been held so high.
"I… resign as Konoha's advisor… and accept… any and all investigation."
Koharu swayed, then lowered her head as well.
"…The same for me."
In that instant, the village's perennial elders were stripped of power.
A reshuffling that could have shattered Konoha's bones was settled lightly by Minato—without an army, without a battle line, almost bloodless.
The whole affair took less than ten minutes.
The sky over Konoha had changed.
From today, the village would speak with one voice.
Minato's voice.
With matters settled, Minato let the edge of his aura fall away.
He glanced at Danzo's corpse and the severed arm, then issued his first order since returning—to the ANBU behind him.
"Seal the scene. Account for every Root operative and seize all records. Also—hand this arm over to the Uchiha to handle."
"Understood!" Several ANBU knelt on one knee and received the order with respect.
Fugaku heard this and was taken aback.
Entrusting the evidence to the Uchiha?
Was this goodwill?
Minato said nothing more.
He held Naruto and turned to leave.
The village's affairs were, for the moment, settled.
But to him, one matter outweighed all else.
Jiraiya couldn't help asking, "Minato—where are you going?"
Minato didn't look back. He left a single line.
"Kushina is still waiting for me."
His figure became a streak of gold and vanished.
Behind him remained the plaza's shock and hush—
And the dawn of a new era.
(End of Chapter)
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