The top floor of the Hokage Building housed a high-level conference room.
Such meetings were usually held here only when the matter was serious or urgent.
Yet at this moment, despite only three people being present at either end of the long conference table,
the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt suffocating.
Only Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu sat on one side of the table.
They were both advisors to Konoha High Command, representing the village's interests.
The shinobi village system, including Konoha, was in fact a community of shared interests formed by the clans.
Although the village's highest leader was theoretically the Hokage,
the clans needed to ensure the Hokage could not act recklessly and harm their interests.
So the clan leaders would choose advisors to keep the Hokage in check.
Although Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were both commoners, and did not belong to any major clan,
that was precisely why they had been chosen as advisors.
Each of Konoha's major clans wanted an advisor from their own family.
So they struggled against one another, and none would yield,
which ultimately meant the advisors chosen were merely ordinary commoners.
At the other end of the table stood the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, alone.
"Minato, is there anything else you have to say about dismissing Danzo from his position?"
Mitokado Homura tapped the table, his voice full of fatigue and displeasure.
"That was Root!
It was the village's second-largest force, after Anbu!
You can't just dismiss Danzo whenever you please.
Now all of Root's members have left. Who will make up for the village's loss of strength?"
Utatane Koharu sighed as well. "And those Wood Release shinobi... They wield the First's power!
You're willing to fall out with Danzo over a few children. The price is far too high."
"Those Wood Release shinobi were obtained by sacrificing living children."
Minato's voice was calm. "As Hokage, I can't turn a blind eye."
"Turn a blind eye?"
Mitokado Homura's tone sharpened. "Minato, you've disappointed us terribly.
They were only a few children. Do you have any idea how precious those Wood Release shinobi are?!"
The atmosphere in the room instantly turned icy.
Minato said nothing.
He simply stood there quietly,
his blond hair looking cold and hard under the lights.
The scene felt familiar.
The last time something like this had happened was just after the Third Shinobi World War ended.
Only then, the person standing in this spot had been the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
During the Third Shinobi World War,
Minato Namikaze's team had inflicted enormous losses on Iwagakure,
so the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had chosen to end the fighting,
saying he was willing to sign a peace treaty with Konoha.
But despite being the defeated nation, Iwagakure refused to pay reparations,
and Ōnoki had also taken a hard line,
declaring that if Iwagakure had to pay reparations, he would refuse to negotiate.
Yet the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, accepted Iwagakure's outrageous terms for ending the war.
His reason was that he did not want to sacrifice more of the village's shinobi in pursuit of benefits.
As a result, the Land of Fire, though the victor, did not receive the rights and standing it deserved,
and so, when the Third Shinobi World War ended,
the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was jointly impeached by Konoha High Command and the jonin.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was forced to resign as Third.
Konoha then held an election for the Fourth Hokage.
The village soon held another vote of confidence among the jonin,
and the final result was Minato Namikaze, now standing here.
Now, history seemed to be repeating itself.
Faced with the same situation, but with different people involved,
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were both deeply troubled.
The Fourth Hokage had suddenly dismissed Danzo and ordered an investigation into him.
Although the evidence of his crimes had already been laid out before them,
the two of them still could not agree with the Fourth Hokage's handling of Danzo.
It wasn't that they disagreed themselves; the major clans they represented did.
This was an extremely serious matter.
It meant the village had lost faith in the Hokage.
The village's Shinobi Code had already told everyone, plainly and clearly,
that shinobi were merely tools.
And tools weren't people; they were objects whose value could be measured.
You, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had refused to pursue war reparations for the sake of a mere handful of shinobi,
and ended up harming the village's interests.
Even the Hokage had to take responsibility for that,
so he was forced to resign.
Now you, Minato Namikaze, were willing to harm the village's interests for the sake of a few children,
even though those Wood Release shinobi were something the village had long dreamed of obtaining.
And every member of Root had left the village,
which was an enormous loss for Konoha.
Even if Danzo truly deserved to die, the price was far too steep.
Thinking of this, Mitokado Homura sighed helplessly.
At the clan leaders' meeting a little earlier,
although the usually troublesome Uchiha Clan Head,
Uchiha Fugaku, had been unusually quiet,
the other clan leaders had already made their opposition clear.
Some had even tentatively suggested handling the matter the same way Hiruzen Sarutobi had been handled as Third.
After all, every clan leader wanted the next Hokage to come from their own family.
That would allow them to secure more benefits for their clan within the village.
"Even if Danzo is guilty, you can't be so heavy-handed!"
Mitokado Homura couldn't help raising his voice. "The other clans have already made their position clear.
Some of them have even suggested... that if the Hokage insists on going ahead, we should handle it the way we handled Hiruzen Sarutobi back then."
Faced with this naked threat,
Minato remained silent, standing by his decision.
His silence only made the two advisors more troubled.
The war had only just ended,
and the village had finally regained stability after Orochimaru defected.
It could not withstand any more turmoil.
Although the two of them represented the village's major clans,
couldn't Minato Namikaze at least explain himself a little?
He couldn't just stay silent the entire time!
Time passed, second by second.
Watching Minato say nothing, Mitokado Homura grew even more frustrated.
Just as the tension between both sides reached its breaking point,
the conference room door creaked open.
"Come now, Minato was only trying to do what's best for the village."
An elderly voice sounded.
Amid a cloud of smoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi entered at an unhurried pace, his pipe clenched between his teeth.
Seeing him, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu visibly relaxed, as if they had found someone to rely on.
"Hiruzen!" The two of them rose to greet him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi waved them off and walked over to Minato.
He gave a wry smile. "Minato, your intentions are good, but you acted too hastily."
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to face the two advisors. "I've already taken care of Danzo's situation."
"Oh?" Mitokado Homura was taken aback.
"I made a deal with him." Hiruzen Sarutobi blew out a ring of smoke.
"He's willing to recall all of Root's members and hand the Wood Release shinobi over to the village.
In exchange, the village will drop its investigation into him and restore him to his former position."
Minato furrowed his brow. "But he conducted human experiments without authorization..."
"Minato," Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted him, his gaze profound.
"Things have to be handled one step at a time. If you push too hard, you'll only drive things to the opposite extreme.
Konoha can't withstand a second civil war."
Minato looked at the man who had once been the Third,
his heart a tangle of emotions.
He knew Hiruzen Sarutobi was trying to preserve his position as Hokage,
trading compromise for temporary stability.
But back then, he himself hadn't chosen to compromise with the village...
"If that's what Hiruzen thinks..."
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance, and finally let the matter go.
The village had secured the precious Wood Release shinobi,
which gave them something to report back to the major clans.
Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Minato on the shoulder and said quietly, "Go on. Take care of your own affairs.
I'll keep an eye on Danzo."
Minato gave the Third a long look, then turned and left.
As he stepped out of the conference room, the cold air in the corridor ruffled the hair over his forehead.
Although the hearing was over, the struggle had only just begun.
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