Led by the Third Hokage, the Kirigakure group—including Soji's alter ego, Mizuki Ember—took a tour around Konoha.
Afterward, the Third Hokage personally arranged accommodations for them within the village.
To be honest, this surprised Soji a little.
He had originally thought the Third Hokage would have something to say to him in private.
It seemed the Third Hokage was quite capable of keeping his composure.
He must be waiting for Sunagakure to arrive. Still, neither Kirigakure nor I am in any hurry!
After settling down in Konoha and assigning various tasks to his subordinates, Mizuki Ember muttered to himself alone in his room.
Some time ago, Soji's true body had already confirmed with Minato that Minato was indeed secretly pushing for Konoha, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure to form an offensive and defensive alliance.
Because of this, Soji had mildly complained to Minato for not telling him in advance.
Minato had answered him like this: "Soji, I believe in your wisdom. Something this simple—surely you could grasp the truth in an instant even if I didn't tell you beforehand!"
And just like that, Minato had shut Soji down.
What else could he do?
Was he supposed to admit he was an idiot who could not even see through something so obvious?
That was absolutely impossible!
Thinking about it, Soji even felt he ought to properly thank Minato for having such faith in him!
Still, perhaps it was an illusion, but that day, Soji felt that the smile on Minato's face had been just a tiny bit different from usual.
It was no longer the kind of smile that warmed people's hearts. It looked more like it was saying, I'm up to no good, but you can't find any proof.
Well, it had to be said that Minato was gradually developing a bit