"General King" Minato

Kakashi had also seen Zhengyi carrying Rin in his arms that month.

But he'd only assumed Zhengyi was rescuing her.

Only Minato, who'd been through something similar himself, understood. Sigh... Obito, you don't stand a chance.

In this society, as long as you were handsome, had some social standing, were strong, worked hard, kept yourself presentable, and treated people sincerely, it wasn't too hard to find a girlfriend if you had even one of those qualities. Zhengyi had all of them.

And even worse...

When Rin was filled with despair, Zhengyi had descended from the heavens to save her.

That kind of rosy filter... Minato wasn't sure what to make of it. Anyway, after he'd saved Kushina that night, she'd gone from thinking he was a sissy to seeing him as a little ray of sunshine.

This was a problem.

Minato couldn't bear to tell Obito.

You're back, and that's what matters. Don't worry about all that troublesome stuff. Be good—we won't bring it up.

"Obito, I'm just glad you're back."

That evening, Zhengyi, Obito, and Kakashi had a few drinks together.

"Waaah, Zhengyi, I thought I wasn't going to make it back! You have no idea what I saw." Obito was already drunk, and he told them about meeting Madara.

"So, this happened, and then that happened."

"I never thought our Uchiha ancestor, Madara, would still be alive. Though I get the feeling he's almost dead."

"Argh!! If only I'd known, I would've learned a few jutsu from him!" Obito regretted it so much that he grabbed at his hair.

"If the teacher and the Third could work together, we could capture Madara alive. We'd keep him alive long enough for him to teach you the jutsu you want to learn." Zhengyi nodded repeatedly. What a pity the teacher was so vindictive.

"Two drunks," Kakashi said, shaking his head.

One was bold enough to say it, and the other was gullible enough to believe it.

So Madara Uchiha was still alive, huh?

He had a question. Assuming Madara was still alive, why hadn't he come to take revenge on Konoha when the First died in Year 14 of Konoha?

How dare Kakashi laugh at them, look down on them, and refuse to believe them?

They each grabbed one of his arms and poured drinks down his throat until he was drunk, too.

"Tell us! Is Madara Uchiha still alive?"

"You're drunk. I'm not telling you."

"Are you going to tell us or not!!" x2

"Fine, fine! He's alive, he's alive."

"Who's alive?"

"Madara Uchiha is alive."

Outside, Minato listened to the three kids making a ruckus and smiled helplessly. Had they forgotten all about the Three Prohibitions of Shinobi?

Oh well. The Third Shinobi World War had put them under a lot of pressure, so he'd let them enjoy themselves tonight.

As someone who read the newspapers every day, Minato knew about the recent public opinion, too.

The Konoha Ninja on the Kirigakure front had seen how all those famous figures in the Shinobi World had praised Zhengyi without a single criticism, and they felt indignant on his behalf. They thought Orochimaru was a thief.

What should I do?

Late that night, the three drunks fell asleep.

After Zhengyi was asleep, Minato quietly gathered Shikaku and the others for a small meeting.

"Minato, are you planning to forgive Orochimaru?" Shikaku Nara asked with a frown.

The others frowned as well.

Choza had been there when Naruto told Yamato about the future, so there was no keeping it a secret.

"But the future hasn't happened yet, has it?" Even now, Minato suspected Orochimaru had been behind the Nine-Tails Incident.

He had another theory. If the Nine-Tails Incident didn't happen when Kushina went into labor, then it would no longer be a theory. This time, he'd lost the contest for Hokage, and Orochimaru had become Hokage. Orochimaru had gotten what he wanted.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I don't want to see Konoha torn apart."

Minato looked at them apologetically. He didn't want to fight anymore, and from now on, he would follow Orochimaru's orders.

"So what are you planning to do?" Shikaku had a bad feeling.

"I'm planning to hand over command of the troops to Orochimaru," Minato said earnestly.

"Foolish!!"

"Minato! You're too naive."

Shikaku didn't blame Minato. It was precisely his innocence and kindness toward his own people that made them willing to follow him with all their hearts.

But that very innocence, they feared, would one day get Minato killed.

"Is that wrong?" Minato scratched his head and could only offer an awkward smile.

"Orochimaru holds a grudge over the Third favoring you. Do you think he'll spare you? Or us?"

"It's only because you have troops under your command and people in the village, because your influence is still intact, that he doesn't dare touch us. All he dares do is send Zhengyi to keep an eye on us!"

Shikaku had seen right through Orochimaru's intentions.

Why did Zhengyi spend all day reading the papers and drinking tea, while Orochimaru had dozens of Anbu who used to belong to Root following him around? The people under him might not understand, but Shikaku did.

It was because Orochimaru didn't dare do anything else.

Chatting with a few Uchiha was the limit of what Zhengyi could do. He knew that if he did any more, he'd be killed in Kirigakure in an instant.

Orochimaru had sent Zhengyi to keep an eye on them, but he was also afraid they'd kill Zhengyi.

Orochimaru had gone to the front himself, fought for one day, then hurried back. He hadn't even dared give the ninjas a few words of encouragement. That alone should tell you how wary he was of them.

"Rin is your student, but Zhengyi would rather go all the way back to Konoha to reinforce Orochimaru's seal than stay here. Minato, are you the one who can't use Sealing Jutsu?!"

"They don't want you to earn more merit."

"Minato! If you hand over the troops, we'll end up like the Third." Shikaku spoke emphatically.

Even now, they had no idea where the Third had gone to live in retirement.

"Minato! Most importantly, Orochimaru once tried to secretly harm you. We know you're doing all this for Konoha, but can he really trust you?"

"Sigh, I'll leave the rest to you, Minato. Maybe Orochimaru will show mercy and forgive those of us who once competed with him for Hokage."

Everyone else waited for Minato's answer.

As the seconds passed, Minato still couldn't give them one. Was Konoha really going to split apart?

There was one thing Shikaku hadn't said.

Jiraiya held command of the troops guarding against Iwagakure. On the Kirigakure front, everyone supported Minato. Before that, the Third had even given Minato command of Danzo's forces on the Sunagakure front.

Minato held three forces in his hands, and there might even be supporters lying low in the village.

Six or seven tenths of the village's forces were on Minato's side!

Were they really going to hand over command just because Orochimaru had won the contest for Hokage?

They hadn't lost yet!!

All three forces could return to the village together! Let's see if Orochimaru panicked then.

"Minato, stop hesitating."

At that moment, Jiraiya lifted the curtain and came in. He looked at Minato with a grave expression.

"What's wrong, Jiraiya-sensei?"

Minato had never seen Jiraiya look so serious before.

"The teacher found evidence that Orochimaru was conducting human experiments."

According to Yamato, Orochimaru had experimented with Hashirama Cells. They couldn't do much about that, since Hashirama Cells could benefit the village.

But!

Orochimaru had also repeatedly abducted citizens of the Land of Fire, committing acts that violated every human principle.

We're fighting for justice!