Misawa Bridge.
Konoha Camp.
"Minato, what exactly is going on? What happened at Higashimatsuyama?!"
Inside the tent, Danzo, who had only just arrived at the camp, loudly interrogated Minato Namikaze. His already sinister face was now as black as the bottom of a pot.
Minato Namikaze sat silently in his seat. His dejected state made Kushina beside him ache with concern, and she could not help shouting at Danzo, "You old bastard, can't you see Minato's injuries? What are you yelling for?!"
"You!"
Danzo's nose practically twisted with rage at those words. In all of Konoha, no one had ever dared speak to him like that.
"What do you mean, 'you'? If it hadn't been for Minato, the frontline camp would have been breached by Kirigakure long ago. Who are you putting on this show for?!"
"That's enough, Kushina..."
A hoarse voice came from Minato's mouth. He was in terrible condition. Though the frostbite across his body had been treated, his spirit remained utterly drained. His sky-blue eyes were now bloodshot.
He rose to his feet and bowed deeply to Danzo.
"I'm very sorry, Lord Danzo."
"What I want to hear is not an apology, but a battle report! An intelligence analysis!" Danzo said coldly. "I need to know exactly what happened at Higashimatsuyama, who the enemy was, and why things ended up like this!"
The entire Higashimatsuyama camp had been wiped out. Not only were there no survivors, but the entire camp remained frozen over, like an icy grave.
Several hundred Konoha shinobi had died there. Even Hiruzen's eldest son had...
Hiruzen's eldest son had truly been impressive—steadfast in character and exceptionally gifted. Whenever Danzo saw that boy, he always felt as if he were seeing the young Sarutobi Hiruzen. And every time the boy saw him, he would