At those words, the air in the secret room seemed to freeze.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened at once. "Minato, since you've already made your choice, you may leave."
Hiruzen's grip tightened slightly around his pipe, and his eyes sharpened like an eagle's as he ordered Minato out.
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Minato had sensed the heavy atmosphere, too. He turned and left the secret room.
"Ling, do you know what you're saying? Kushina's position is special. Her safety concerns the security of the entire village! Monitoring and protection are necessary measures!"
"Necessary measures?"
A barely perceptible curve touched Uchiha Ling's lips, his smile carrying a hint of coldness. "You mean treating her like a weapon that could explode at any moment, and keeping her surrounded by suspicion and confinement?
"Lord Hokage, you should know better than anyone how deeply Kushina cares for Konoha, the land she considers home!
"The power within her is meant to protect Konoha, not some calamity to be feared and imprisoned!"
Uchiha Ling's voice was not loud, yet it carried a force that pierced the heart. "It's precisely this distrust and surveillance that breed alienation and resentment!
"I believe that bonds built on understanding and trust will do far more than cold surveillance and restrictions to help her control that power—and willingly use it to protect everything she wants to protect!"
But then Uchiha Ling changed tack. His tone remained calm, yet carried an unquestionable authority. "Besides, Lord Hokage, I believe that with my strength, I'm fully capable of protecting her.
"Anyone who tries to harm her will feel my wrath first. Unless the village believes that even I, Uchiha Ling, am unworthy of its trust?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent. He stared intently at Uchiha Ling, his mind racing.
He had to admit that Uchiha Ling had