Hey guys, here is the new chapter hope you will liked and read thru everything.
Hello everyone! This will be an arc of approximately 5 chapters focused on Minato and his plan. I hope you enjoy it before we head back to Daigo and Sunagakure.
If we hit 200 PW I post a extra chapter you been hitting all the goals to get more chapters
Don't forget to leave your power stones along with your comment if you have any ideas or opinions that could help me, as well as a review to continue showing your support.
Enjoy the chapter!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minato's POV
The return to the Hidden Leaf Village was not the triumphal march that history books usually attribute to their heroes. For Minato Namikaze, every kilometer traveled from the frigid mountains of the Land of Iron had been a torture of self-criticism and silence.
The weight on his back was not just the wounded body of Hiashi Hyūga, but the dead weight of a reputation that now felt like a mockery.
In the distance, the great wooden gates of Konoha emerged through the morning mist. However, the sky offered no comfort; dense, dark gray clouds gathered over the faces carved into the rock of the Hokage Monument.
The air was thick with an oppressive humidity, as if nature itself were holding its breath before a devastating storm.
Minato slowed his pace as he crossed the threshold. The gatekeepers, eternal guards of the entrance, straightened up, intending to throw an enthusiastic greeting to the "Yellow Flash." But the words froze on their lips. What they saw was a man with a jonin uniform in tatters, his face stained with soot and dried blood, and a gaze that looked as though it had seen the end of time.
As he entered the main streets, the sense of strangeness intensified. Konoha felt... extinguished. The children, who usually ran through the streets simulating ninja battles, were absent. Civilians walked in a hurry, avoiding eye contact, and the shops, though open, lacked their characteristic bustle.
The vitality of the village had been sucked away, replaced by a silent vigilance that Minato recognized immediately: the shadow of the Root had spread to every corner along with the darkness.
"Become Hokage... change your village, or I will destroy it." The words of Daigo, the young Kazekage who had humiliated him in combat, resonated in his ears with the force of thunder. At that moment, Minato understood that the "light" he represented was not enough to dissipate the darkness that Orochimaru and Danzō had sown.
If he wanted to save his home, he would have to stop being a mere ray of light and become the fire that purified the village.
After leaving Hiashi at the hospital under strict emergency protocol, Minato had no time to stop by his home or clean the grime from his body.
Two members of the Root, with their white porcelain masks and black robes, appeared out of nowhere, blocking his path with mechanical efficiency.
"Minato Namikaze. The honorable counselors demand your immediate report. There is no time for rest."
Minato did not respond. He simply observed them with a coldness that made the ANBU men trained not to feel experience a slight chill. Without a word, he walked toward the administrative building.
In the meeting room, the atmosphere was freezing. Danzō Shimura presided over the table, looking on with both eyes visible, analyzing every detail of Minato's physical state.
Beside him, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado maintained expressions of impatience and concern. The center chair the Hokage's was empty. A void that signaled Orochimaru had not yet returned.
"Report," Danzō said, his voice as dry as if he hadn't drunk water in days. "Why has the Hokage not returned? Why did the interception mission fail so catastrophically?"
Minato stood firm, ignoring the throbbing pain in his exhausted muscles.
"As Orochimaru planned, we intercepted them halfway to Kanzaki. There, Orochimaru entered a fight against the Kazekage while Hiashi and I faced Pakura of the Scorch Style and Sasori of the Red Sands."
"Sasori and Pakura should not have been any problem for someone like you, Minato. With Hiashi as support, you should have won easy," Koharu said, looking at Minato.
"Koharu, things are not as simple as you think. Both are strong ninjas and have evolved during this war," Minato replied, his voice taking on a somber tone.
"Pakura has taken her Scorch Style to a level where no one can get close to fight hand-to-hand without turning into a mummy. That is why Hiashi could not do much."
Koharu, understanding the logic, nodded.
"And Sasori is not weak either. This time he was stronger than ever with a new human puppet that complicated things further," Minato added.
Homura, who had not spoken until now, took his turn. "What ninja was the human puppet this time?" he asked curiously, preparing to record the information in the Suna archives.
Minato took a second so they would be ready for the bomb.
"It was the body of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He retained his ability with elemental jutsus and his tactical mastery. It was a true problem and an emotional blow."
The silence that followed was absolute. Koharu and Homura turned pale, bringing their hands to their mouths in horror at the profanation and the lack of respect in using their village's Kage against their own ninjas.
Danzō, on the contrary, showed no external emotion, but his fingers tightened around his chair. His mind was already calculating the strategic value of such technology; if Suna could turn a dead Kage into a tool that served even after death, Konoha needed that power.
"And Orochimaru's fate?" Homura asked with a trembling voice.
"The Kazekage said he left him badly wounded and near death, but that in the end, he escaped with a reverse summoning jutsu. On the battlefield, I saw the remains of Manda. The Great Snake was killed from the inside, shredded by crystal thorns that turned it into a statue of flesh and crystal."
Minato deliberately omitted any detail about his talk with Daigo.
He knew that revealing the enemy had instigated him to a coup d'état would be seen as immediate treason.
"I know you are wondering how we returned alive, and that was thanks to the price we had to pay," Minato continued, hardening his tone.
"It was Hiashi's eyes. The Kazekage demanded the Byakugan as reparation for Konoha's attack during a summit that was supposed to be for peace. Hiashi accepted the deal to save my life and his own."
Danzō frowned. The loss of two Byakugan from the main line was a political and military disaster without precedent, and even worse with both in Suna's hands.
"You have allowed our village's secret to fall into enemy hands, Minato," Danzō said with contempt.
"You have returned with empty hands and stained honor. You may leave."
Without a word, Minato nodded and withdrew.
As he left the building, the first drop of rain fell on his cheek. It was cold, like the environment enveloping the village.
He walked toward his apartment, avoiding the main streets. Entering, the sound of the door closing seemed to seal out the chaos of the outside world for a moment.
The aroma of miso soup and spices filled the small space. At the dining table, Kushina Uzumaki looked up, her large bright eyes full of an anguish that transformed into instant relief upon seeing him.
Beside her, sitting with one leg crossed and a brush in his hand, was Jiraiya. The Sannin was not writing one of his novels; he was tracing complex sealing formulas on high-quality parchment.
"Minato!" Kushina threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him. The impact made Minato stumble, but he clung to her as if she were his only anchor to reality.
"I'm home, Kushina," he whispered, burying his face in her red hair before giving her a welcoming kiss.
Jiraiya put down the brush and observed him in silence. The master knew every nuance of his student's face. He saw the fatigue, yes, but he saw something much deeper: a break in the soul of the "good ninja."
"Sit down, boy," Jiraiya said with an unusually serious voice. "Kushina, give him something to drink. It looks like he has walked through hell itself."
Minato sat down, feeling the warmth of home, but his thoughts remained in the snowy mountains of the Land of Iron.
He looked at Jiraiya and then at Kushina. The peace they represented contrasted violently with the things he had just witnessed.
Suddenly, Daigo's words flowed from his mouth before he could stop them.
"I am going to become Hokage."
Jiraiya looked confused, not sure if he had heard correctly. Kushina, who was pouring tea, stopped in her tracks, letting the steam rise toward her face.
"What did you say?" Jiraiya asked, looking at Minato. "Becoming Hokage has always been your dream, but Orochimaru is already there. You would have to wait for him to retire."
Minato sighed and then shook his head, letting all the frustration out. He told them everything.
Sasori's puppet of the Third Hokage, Pakura, the fall of Hiashi, and above all, the humiliating defeat of Orochimaru at the hands of a teenager who seemed to understand the world better than all of them combined, along with the strength necessary to change things to his liking.
"Daigo defeated me, Sensei. Not just with jutsus, but with the truth. He told me that Konoha has become a shadow of what it was. He told me that if Orochimaru and Danzō remain in charge, he himself will come to destroy the village to prevent the darkness from spreading. And the worst part of all... is that I couldn't tell him he was wrong I saw everything with my eyes"
Kushina sat by his side, gripping his hand tightly. "Minato, what happened at the summit... the rumors won't take long to arrive. They will surely say Konoha attacked treacherously while the other Kages sought peace. The people in the market will be afraid. They will feel like we are the villains now."
Jiraiya sighed, tapping the brush against the table.
"Those two, Orochimaru and Danzō, have gone too far. Not even the other villages have attacked during a summit of the five Kages in search of peace."
"That's right, Sensei. And I was part of it," Minato said.
"Don't worry too much about that, Minato. At least you have been mature enough to recognize your error and know that what they did is wrong," Jiraiya commented.
Minato looked up with more confidence now in what he was going to do. Although his kind expression the one that always inspired trust and warmth had vanished.
In its place was a frigid determination, a gaze of steel that reminded Jiraiya of the most implacable warriors of the Warring States Era.
"I already know what I have to do, Sensei, Kushina," Minato said, looking at both.
"It's not enough to want to be Hokage. The current system won't allow me to reach the position through normal means. Danzō has control of the administration and Orochimaru has the title. To save Konoha, I must first break it."
Jiraiya swallowed hard. "What are you suggesting, Minato?"
"Political strategy and, if necessary, force," Minato replied with a coldness that chilled the room.
"I will speak with the heads of the clans. The Nara value logic above blind loyalty; they know this path leads us to annihilation. The Akimichi and Yamanaka will follow them.
The Uchiha are discontent, feeling marginalized and fearing they are next after the losses they've had. If we unite the clans and present a united front to the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, we can force a transition of power."
Kushina looked at him in awe. "Minato... that is basically a revolution."
"It is something that is necessary," Minato corrected.
"If the Daimyō withdraws his financial and political support from Orochimaru based on the dishonor of the Summit, the title of Hokage will become vacant by feudal law."
Minato paused, and his yellow chakra began to fluctuate slightly, causing the cups on the table to vibrate.
"And if Danzō tries to use the Root to stop us... or if Orochimaru tries to cling to the throne using fear..." Minato looked at Jiraiya with absolute resolve,
"I will kill them. Not as a ninja fulfilling a mission, but as a man protecting his home from a plague. I will not allow the darkness of those two men to be the legacy we leave for the next generations."
Jiraiya observed his student and realized that the "Yellow Flash" had died in the Land of Iron.
Before him stood a man who understood that a kunai kills a hero just as easily as a coward, and that the only way to prevent that kunai from reaching the heart of Konoha was to wield it himself first.
"You can count on me, Minato," Jiraiya said, extending his hand. "If we are going to do this, we will do it right. We will bring back the light, even if we have to burn the shadows with our own hands."
Kushina embraced him from behind, her red hair wrapping around him like a protective cloak. "You are not alone, Minato. You never will be."
Outside, the rain finally began to fall heavily, washing the streets of Konoha. Minato looked out the window toward the Hokage Monument, where Hiruzen's face seemed to watch with sadness.
"I'm sorry, Third," Minato whispered to himself.
"But to save what you loved, I have to destroy what you allowed to grow."
The storm had begun, and the lightning was ready to strike its own house.
End of Chapter