The Pure Land.
Minato Namikaze sat quietly, his expression complicated.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood beside him, looking grave.
They had seen everything through the screen.
Danzo's actions, and Naruto Uzumaki's experiences.
Hiruzen lowered his head. "This is all my fault. I'm to blame."
Minato shook his head reassuringly. "Lord Third, you've already done enough."
"At least Naruto still has friends, and Kakashi is looking after him."
"I believe Naruto can overcome these hardships, because he's my son."
He smiled warmly, though concern lingered in his eyes.
As a father, only he knew the pain of hearing his son had been treated that way.
Minato changed the subject. "That child named Jingxin will be very powerful in the future."
"Was it really all right to let him take a copy of the Sealing Scroll?"
Hiruzen lowered his head again. "That was my fault too."
Hashirama Senju asked curiously, "What could be the problem?"
Tobirama Senju reminded him sternly, "Big brother, Konoha no longer has a ninja capable of defeating that boy."
Hashirama didn't seem concerned. "So what's the problem?"
"I can tell he's very popular among his peers."
"Someone like that can't be all bad."
"At most, he'll shift the center of the ninja world from Konoha to Iwagakure."
"Times change. It's inevitable. Our original goal was to establish a peaceful village, not to remain the strongest village forever."
Minato thought it over seriously. "Still, what happened to the Uchiha will hurt him deeply. If he resents Konoha, the best-case scenario is that everyone involved in the operation will be purged."
"In fact, it could be the entire Konoha High Command who knew about it..."
Hiruzen lowered his head for the third time. "That's my fault too."
Tobirama glanced at Hiruzen, but couldn't bring himself to criticize him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: indecisive, and