Leakage and Targeting

There were five people in the meeting room.

Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage's advisors Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, and the leader of Root, Shimura Danzō.

They were the core leadership currently in charge of Konoha.

Aside from the independent ninja clans and the [Jonin Council], all of Konoha's other departments and authority were divided among those five.

Hiruzen Sarutobi currently controlled the [Direct Anbu], the [Garrison Close Combat Unit], the [Medical Department], the [Interrogation Department], and the [Intelligence Department]. His power was immense.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu jointly managed the [Administrative Department]. They were responsible for assisting the Hokage and maintaining contact with the [Land of Fire], receiving the financial allocations the nation provided to the village. In effect, they held some decision-making, diplomatic, and financial authority. Their status was extremely high, comparable to that of elders.

Shimura Danzō controlled [Root] alone and also enjoyed a degree of control over its finances.

Minato Namikaze currently managed only the [Education Department]. Some of the Hokage's direct Anbu were still being assembled, and he also handled the Hokage's main administrative duties.

The rest, including the [Corpse Disposal Squad], [Beast Taming and Rehabilitation Squad], [Barrier Squad], [Sealing Squad], and so on, were fixed units. They generally answered to no one and only came into play during special battles.

That was how power was currently distributed among Konoha's core leadership.

The title of Fourth Hokage sounded impressive, but in practice, Minato held very little power.

He had even less than Danzō.

But Minato wasn't in a hurry. He hadn't been granted the Hokage Position as a favor; he'd earned his reputation through his own accomplishments in the Third Shinobi World War.

He hadn't been Hokage for long.

But he was already changing Konoha, changing the village, in his own way.

All he lacked was time...

Utatane Koharu was the first to ask, "Have last night's casualty figures been tallied? The Daimyo can't be kept in the dark about a disaster of this scale. We need to give him a response as soon as possible."

Minato had already finished compiling the figures. "We have preliminary numbers. Six hundred and thirty-eight ninja casualties, and 2,845 civilian casualties. We're still revising the number of injured..."

"The casualties are that high?"

"The Third Shinobi World War just ended. The village was already badly weakened."

"Now it's suffered another devastating blow. This is going to be a problem. The other villages may take the opportunity to attack!"

Mitokado Homura said anxiously. At last, he truly understood how terrifying the Nine-Tails was.

The only good news was that the Nine-Tails had been sealed again. And with Fourth Hokage Minato still here, the reputation of the "Yellow Flash" alone was enough to deter most hostile forces from coveting the village.

"I've already ordered the border sentries to step up their patrols and dispatched several reconnaissance teams. If there are signs of an enemy village's movements, we should be able to detect them in time."

Minato had a talent for both combat and command, and had already put the necessary measures in place.

If any village really tried to take advantage of Konoha's misfortune, Minato would make sure they got their fill of "dumplings"!

Minato's assurance put the others considerably at ease.

They might not trust the young Fourth Hokage's abilities in every respect, but no one doubted his combat prowess.

"After all, how did the Masked Man who released the Nine-Tails learn when the Jinchuriki would give birth? And how did he infiltrate the highest-level barrier?" Utatane Koharu asked, frowning.

Minato quickly explained:

"That man has an extremely advanced [Space-Time Ninjutsu]. He probably used it to get through the barrier. As for how he learned when Kushina would give birth, well..."

Just then, Danzō spoke up:

"The time and location of the Jinchuriki's delivery were top secret."

"Generally, only the Third Hokage, the Fourth Hokage, and a handful of others knew. The enemy's timing was so precise that he must have obtained the information in advance."

"Hiruzen, Minato, can you explain this?"

Danzō's accusation was sharp, all but stating outright that someone had betrayed the village and leaked the information.

He was demanding an explanation from the Third and Fourth Hokage.

"...I can't yet determine whether anyone leaked the information."

That was all Minato could say, though he was deeply puzzled himself.

Only a handful of people knew the details of Kushina's delivery, and none of them could possibly betray the village!

Wait, Kakashi knew too, didn't he?

Could Kakashi have told Obito?

Had Kakashi also defected from the village?

No, no, that was impossible!

The more Minato thought about it, the more confused he became. He couldn't bring himself to jump to conclusions.

And he couldn't say it aloud, either. The information that the Masked Man was Obito hadn't been confirmed yet.

He couldn't just announce that his own student had masterminded the disaster of the [Night of the Nine-Tails], could he?

Danzō was, of course, dissatisfied with Minato's answer. He immediately turned on Hiruzen.

"Hiruzen, what about you? I heard that the two people responsible for the delivery, Biwako and Tianlu, were both your people..."

However, Hiruzen sat in his chair, head lowered, staring blankly and saying nothing.

"Hiruzen? Hiruzen?"

"Danzō! You shouldn't ask him like that. Lady Biwako also died in the attack."

"What? Biwako died too?"

Danzō was startled. He hadn't known.

In a single night, Hiruzen Sarutobi had lost his wife as well. No wonder he was so despondent...

Thinking of this, Danzō couldn't bring himself to pressure Hiruzen any further.

So he turned his attention back to Minato.

"Whoever leaked the information, we must investigate thoroughly."

"Also, the village has repeatedly stressed the threat posed by the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"Minato, as Fourth Hokage, you allowed a Tailed Beast Rampage that caused such enormous losses to the village. As Hokage, you must take responsibility!"

The Danzō of this World 4 was nothing like the hot-blooded young man from World 2.

Now, all he cared about was power and the Hokage Position.

Since he had the chance to seize this opportunity and censure Fourth Hokage Minato for his failure, he certainly wasn't going to hold back.

Better yet, if he could use this to force Minato out of the Hokage Position, that would be even better!

Back then, one reason Hiruzen had stepped down in Minato's favor was that, as the Hokage in office, he had to take responsibility for the enormous casualties caused by the Third Shinobi World War.

Facing Danzō's accusation, Minato frowned slightly. He really didn't want to fall out with Danzō.

Besides, Danzō had a sound argument and was on the side of justice.

Whatever the reason, Kushina was the Jinchuriki, and Minato was the Hokage. They both had to take responsibility for the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

"Am I wrong? Shouldn't the Hokage take responsibility for this?"

"Koharu, Homura, what do you think?"

The two advisors hesitated. Yet they were somewhat tempted by the idea. When something went wrong, someone had to take the blame.

Unless the people involved were already dead.

If Minato didn't take the blame, were they supposed to?

"We can discuss responsibility later. The most urgent thing right now is to handle the aftermath: repair the village as soon as possible, treat the wounded, and bury the dead..."

Hiruzen finally came to himself and spoke, trying to smooth things over.

"Hiruzen, you're covering for him!"

"Danzō, if we're talking about responsibility, why don't you tell us where you and Root were last night?"

Hiruzen's tone suddenly sharpened as he challenged him directly.

"Hiruzen, are you questioning me?"

"I'm only asking everyone to stand together, especially at a time like this."

Hiruzen gave Danzō a long look.

He opened his mouth as if to say more, but in the end, he held back.

He couldn't very well say that he'd seen the First and Second Hokage-sama last night, and that Tobirama had scolded him for more than ten minutes.

Even if he told them, Danzō wouldn't believe him!

He'd only think Hiruzen was lying to him, trying to make him take the blame again, or trying to curtail his power...

His old friend.

He'd sunk far too deep...

Just like Hiruzen, shouldn't he let go of some of his power?

As the two faced off,

an Anbu ninja suddenly knocked and entered, then quietly reported something to Minato.

Minato's expression brightened when he heard the news, and he immediately stood to take his leave.

"Sorry, something important has come up. I have to step away."

"If you reach any important decisions, just send someone to inform me."

With that,

Minato vanished in a flash, using the Flying Thunder God.

Clearly,

he'd learned that Natsu Yuu had arrived, and hurried back at once.