Although he had no intention of punishing him severely, Minato still had to make this brat understand the seriousness of the matter and use this lesson to make sure he remembered it well!
Otherwise, who knew what kind of trouble he might cause in the future?
This time, he had privately carved his own portrait into Hokage Rock. If Minato let him off so easily, wouldn't he set fire to the Hokage's office next time?
Thinking of this, Minato's expression suddenly turned stern. He was about to put his acting skills on full display!
"Before you came here, I asked the others for their opinions. They all agreed that this incident had an extremely harmful impact and that you must be punished severely! You can choose whether to be imprisoned or exiled."
Imprisoned?
Exiled?
Jonin Mikawa's expression immediately changed. He had not expected the punishment to be so severe, but it was entirely understandable.
He instinctively wanted to plead on Aoba's behalf. He would not even have minded shouldering some of the blame for him.
However, Minato's calm expression made him stammer a few times, and in the end, he still could not bring himself to say anything.
If you did something wrong, you had to take responsibility and accept the punishment. There was nothing more to say about it.
Thus, Jonin Mikawa sighed in the end and stood to the side with his eyes closed. Regardless of the outcome, he had no right to persuade Lord Hokage to change his mind.
Deep down, however, he hoped even more that Aoba would choose exile. Although leaving Konoha would have a huge impact on his future life, with Mikawa's help, he could at least find him a place to settle down. He had truly done everything he could. Alas!
However, things did not go as he wished. After thinking in extreme calm for a moment, Aoba asked in a deep voice, "How long would I be imprisoned? And where would I be exiled to?"
"Not that long. You'll probably be released after three to five years. As for the place of exile, considering your contributions to the village, you can choose for yourself. As long as it's far away from Konoha."
Aoba's tightly furrowed brows prevented him from seeing the slight upward curl of Minato's lips. "So, which option will you choose? I'm quite curious."
What Minato did not know was that, for Aoba, there had never really been a choice.
First, staying alive was the most basic requirement. Second, because of that undercover mission, choosing exile would very likely mean that he had failed it.
That left only one path: being locked up in prison!
But three to five years was far too long. Besides, Minato's attitude was completely different from what he had expected. Could it be that the value of the formula he had provided last time was still not enough?
He began to regret not making more preparations in advance. If he had added a few more layers of insurance, perhaps he would only have been imprisoned for a month or two before being released. It would have been no big deal.
But now things were difficult...
"Lock me up."
Minato was clearly somewhat surprised. The hint in what he had just said should have been obvious. Exile, in plain terms, meant letting Aoba continue living somewhere else. That already counted as showing leniency. Any sensible person should have known what to choose, yet this brat had chosen the more difficult of the two options.
Konoha's prison was no pleasant place. Of the people who went in, very few came out intact. On top of that, several years of their youth would simply be wasted...
"Why? You should know that five years in prison could completely ruin your entire life. Wouldn't it be better to start over somewhere else?" Minato asked, even more curious.
"No reason. A true man would never become a deserter. That's something only cowards do! Since I made a mistake, I shouldn't run from this responsibility, no matter how severe the punishment is! Isn't it just three to five years? They'll pass in the blink of an eye. When I, your old man, get out, I'll be the new Fifth Hokage!"
Aoba shouted with fiery, over-the-top enthusiasm.
Since he had already fallen into this trap, he had to minimize his losses in time!
Not only could he not leave behind the impression that he feared death, he also had to conform as much as possible to the so-called Will of Fire and find a way to max out his reputation!
That way, he could establish the image of a reckless hothead who was always shouting about becoming Hokage. Later, even if he caused more trouble, people would simply get used to it and not find it strange. It would also add another layer of protection to his identity as an undercover agent.
Perhaps after locking him up for a while, Minato might suddenly remember him one day and release him. It was not impossible.
With Aoba's outrageous shouting echoing in his ears, Minato did not feel offended this time. Instead, he found this brat more and more interesting.
"Even after being locked up for three to five years, his dream of becoming Hokage still won't waver or retreat..."
Minato suddenly became absent-minded. He had been successfully deceived by Aoba's sudden burst of acting skill.
At this moment, Aoba's mindset was that of a man with nothing left to lose. As the saying went, barefoot people did not fear those wearing shoes. In any case, he just had to charge ahead recklessly!
After all, this matter could not possibly get any worse now.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. The Anbu members who had gone to investigate the entire matter had returned.
"Lord Hokage, the entire matter has been investigated. The culprit, Shimiya Aoba, had no accomplices. All the tools he used were found in his home, and we also traced them back to the merchants who sold them. Those people had no idea what Shimiya Aoba intended to do with the things he bought. In addition, Chief Engineer Yamashita wishes to see you. He says he has come to accept responsibility."
Coming back to his senses, Minato nodded and said, "Bring Chief Engineer Yamashita in. Also, take the two of them to the lounge next door for now. Don't let them wander off."
Minato stared at Aoba as he said the last sentence...
This made Aoba feel especially awkward. They said that people always ended up becoming the very kind of person they once hated most.
Sure enough, he had once hated troublesome children the most, yet now he had no choice but to disguise himself as one. It was utterly depressing!
After Jonin Mikawa and Aoba were taken to the next room by the Anbu to wait, Old Man Yamashita appeared in the Hokage's office.
"Lord Hokage, as the leader of the entire artisan team, I bear unavoidable responsibility for what happened this time. If I had discovered something amiss in time while completing the finishing work, today's accident would never have happened. The responsibility is entirely mine. I respectfully ask Lord Hokage to punish me."
If Aoba had been there, he would certainly have noticed that Old Man Yamashita usually spoke in crude terms such as "I" and "your old man." Yet in front of the Hokage, he had suddenly adopted the refined self-reference "this old man," clearly playing the sympathy card and constantly reminding the other party that he was a decrepit old man.
Although Minato did not know about this, he had never intended to pursue the responsibility of Old Man Yamashita or the other artisans. The fault did not lie with them. They were artisans, not investigators. Moreover, that brat Aoba's plan had been extremely novel, so it was understandable that they had failed to notice it.
P.S. Thanks for the tip, Shitu, and to all the big shots out there. Does anyone still have any votes? If not, I'll ask again later.
Before you continue