Stand still?
Minato sighed inwardly.
He suddenly remembered the title Sarutobi Hiruzen once carried throughout the shinobi world.
The Professor.
The Strongest Hokage in history.
(PS: “…” ) A man once respected by countless people.
But now… Minato held back the words in his heart for a long time.
In the end, only one thought remained.
Cowardice.
Of course, it was only a small resentment buried deep in Minato’s heart.
Although he was currently the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, most major decisions were still made by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
According to Hiruzen, Minato was still young and needed more experience.
But in truth, Sarutobi Hiruzen had never truly intended to let go of the Hokage’s authority.
If Konoha had not suffered heavy losses during the Third Shinobi World War, forcing him to give the Daimyō an explanation, he might never have stepped down at all.
Minato had succeeded him as the Fourth Hokage.
And yet— The white Hokage robe of the Third had never truly left Sarutobi Hiruzen’s shoulders.
“Minato.” Seeing that Minato had remained silent for too long, Hiruzen finally asked.
“What do you think about this matter?” There was a faint smile on his face.
It was subtle.
But Minato could read it.
It was almost as if he were saying— Your previous proposal was wrong.
Mine was correct.
Minato took a slow breath.
“I still believe Konoha should send reinforcements to the border.” Hiruzen’s smile faded slightly.
Minato continued calmly.
“The weather is getting colder.
Winter is coming.” “But that affects both sides of the border.” “And compared to Iwagakure, it will affect Konoha even more if we continue delaying.” “So—” Before Minato could finish, Hiruzen let out a deep sigh.
Then he raised his hand and interrupted him.
“No.” He shook his head.
“If that is how you see it, then your thinking is still too shallow.” Minato’s eyes narrowed faintly.
Hiruzen spoke with a heavier tone.
“If we send reinforcements now, what will the other villages think?” “They will assume Konoha has already reached the point where its internal defenses are empty.” “No other major nation has moved yet.
If Konoha acts first, wouldn’t that prove we are the ones feeling guilty?” His voice became firm.
“If that happens, the title of the strongest shinobi village will become nothing more than a joke.” Minato opened his mouth slightly.
But no words came out.
He understood now.
The Third Hokage was afraid.
He would rather cling to appearances than use the strength Konoha still had.
The strongest shinobi village?
Minato felt a deep helplessness spread through his chest.
Where was Konoha still the strongest?
Over the years, Konoha’s elites had fallen one after another.
And the root cause… Was this kind of hesitation.
This kind of caution that had long since turned into fear.
Besides, Konoha’s achievements in the Third Shinobi World War had little to do with Sarutobi Hiruzen himself.
They were built on the sacrifices of countless shinobi.
On the legacy left behind by the village’s predecessors.
Minato finally understood why he felt so exhausted sitting in the Hokage’s seat.
This was not the Hokage he had dreamed of becoming.
One Konoha.
Two Hokage.
How ironic.
At this point, what difference was there between him and a puppet?
Something inside Minato quietly shifted.
After saying everything he wanted to say, Hiruzen turned and left the office.
Minato remained silent for a while.
Then he slowly exhaled.
He understood why the Third had come today.
It was not really to discuss policy.
He had come to prove that his previous decision to remain still was correct.
Was it a warning?
A display of authority?
Minato shook his head and quietly returned to his seat.
A few minutes later, a figure appeared inside the office.
“Minato-sensei.” Kakashi handed over the ANBU documents in his possession.
Starting tomorrow, he would officially begin his mission to protect Kushina.
Just as Kakashi was about to leave, Minato suddenly spoke.
“Wait.” Kakashi stopped and turned around.
“Sensei?” Minato took out Yujiro’s file and placed it on the desk.
“Recently, keep in contact with Yujiro.” His voice was calm, but his eyes were unusually serious.
It was as though he had made an important decision.
Kakashi looked at him for a moment before nodding.
“Yes.” Protecting Kushina did not require him to stay beside her every second.
When Minato returned home, Kakashi would have free time.
After Kakashi left, Minato leaned back in his chair.
He looked toward the window, where Konoha stretched beneath the evening light.
“I may not be able to decide the border.” “I may not be able to move the upper levels yet.” His hand slowly tightened on the armrest.
“But Konoha’s future…” “That much, I will protect.” …
…
“Yujiro-san…” Evening had fallen over the mountains behind Konoha.
A weak voice came from the training ground.
“I can’t… anymore…” Itachi collapsed directly onto the grass.
His small body was completely soaked with sweat, and every trace of chakra inside him had been squeezed dry.
Standing in front of him was Yujiro, dressed in black, with the dark blade still in his hand.
He looked down at Itachi and spoke calmly.
“You barely gave me a little pressure.” “Keep trying tomorrow.” Itachi’s young face twitched slightly.
He looked at Yujiro like he was staring at some kind of monster.
Yujiro, however, only felt the energy flowing through his body and smiled faintly.
Overall, today’s training had been good.
During the afternoon session, he had broken through his physical limit two more times.
His Limiter progress had now reached 1.8%.
The progress was slow.
But feeling himself grow stronger bit by bit was satisfying enough.
Yujiro stretched lazily.
Then he turned his head and looked toward a distant part of the forest.
Someone was there.
And that person had been watching for three hours.
In the distance, a man stood quietly in a plain black kimono.
His posture was calm.
His presence was restrained.
But his eyes were sharp.
Uchiha Fugaku.
Their gazes met.
In that instant— An invisible spark seemed to ignite between them.
Fugaku’s pupils tightened faintly.
For a brief moment, he felt as though he had been locked onto by a death god crawling out from the depths of hell.
That gaze… It was far too fierce.
Too filled with killing intent.
It was hard to believe such eyes belonged to a five-year-old child.
And then Almost instinctively Uchiha Fugaku looked away first.
The leader of the Uchiha clan… Had actually been the one to avert his gaze.
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