Minato Namikaze had never expected Yatsuhashi to answer like that.
It wasn't quite the scene he'd imagined.
But looking at Yatsuhashi's righteous expression, perhaps things weren't as bad as he'd thought.
Minato then took out an intelligence scroll.
The information had been obtained when Genma Shiranui and Ebisu traveled to the Land of Water and met with a spy planted in Kirigakure.
"It records in detail how Uchiha Obito fought Karatachi Yagura in the Land of Water and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan..."
As he spoke, Minato could clearly see Yatsuhashi's expression change.
But Minato didn't stop.
He continued in an unhurried voice.
"But other information gathered by Konoha suggests that the real Uchiha Obito should have died at Kannabi Bridge long ago.
"So we confirmed that the person in question was an impostor."
"And the person impersonating Uchiha Obito was very likely part of the S-rank mission team that Root sent out at the time."
"Is there anything you'd like to say, Yatsuhashi?"
Under Minato's relentless questioning, Yatsuhashi's expression shifted at first.
But he soon returned to his usual composure.
"That really is quite possible!"
Yatsuhashi said with conviction, "I suspect the one impersonating Uchiha Obito was the team leader, Murata Masasuke!"
Minato's lips curled slightly.
A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes. "And when someone used brute force to knock over that iron tower while escorting the Third, was it really Might Guy who did it?"
"Of course!"
Yatsuhashi looked solemn. "The Eight Inner Gates are famous for a reason. They're not to be underestimated!"
Minato continued asking with a smile, "Then what about the houses destroyed and the enormous cracks that appeared on the street tonight?"
"That was the Masked Man's doing!"
Yatsuhashi sat up straight, suddenly grave. "He told me himself that his name was Madara Uchiha.
"He even tried to recruit me into some secret organization, but I rejected him in the most righteous terms!
"How could I possibly betray the village?!"
"Hm?"
Minato had been waiting to hear how Yatsuhashi would explain himself.
But when he heard the name Madara Uchiha, his expression changed.
"Are you sure?"
Yatsuhashi answered with absolute certainty, even putting on a slightly frightened look. "Absolutely!"
"He told me himself that his name was Madara Uchiha and invited me to join their secret organization.
"But I rejected him in the most righteous terms, so we disagreed and fought!"
Yatsuhashi grew more and more worked up as he spoke.
He sounded as though he'd truly faced a life-or-death choice. "If he hadn't been old and frail, with his strength seriously diminished, I might not have held out until Anbu arrived."
Minato fell silent.
A report from the Barrier Team came to mind.
Their investigation had revealed that the Masked Man had entered the village using an ancient code from the First's era.
The Anbu who had just pursued the Masked Man had also sent back a report.
The target was incredibly powerful.
With only a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he had nearly wiped them all out.
Let alone capturing him.
The code the Masked Man had used and the strength he had displayed both fit the name Yatsuhashi had given him.
How could Minato not take that seriously?
Even so, Minato didn't blindly believe what Yatsuhashi had said.
He had already decided to send someone to verify the state of Madara Uchiha's body.
After the battle at the Valley of the End,
Madara Uchiha's body was supposed to have been sealed deep in the mountains by the Second Hokage.
With that in mind, Minato looked at Yatsuhashi again.
This time, the usual gentle smile had vanished from his face.
In its place was the authority befitting the Hokage.
"Yatsuhashi, I want you to tell me yourself: you're not a rogue ninja, and you have no intention of betraying the village. Is that right?"
Faced with the sudden question,
Yatsuhashi, who was usually so smooth and skilled at handling situations,
felt his heart jolt. "Yes!"
Almost by reflex, he gave the firmest answer he could.
At that answer, the frost on Minato's face instantly melted away.
He became the warm, spring-breeze-like Fourth Hokage once more.
"If you say so, then I believe you."
Minato stepped forward and gently patted Yatsuhashi on the shoulder.
"Get some rest.
"I'll order everyone watching you to stand down, and there won't be any further investigation.
"Once you've recovered, just report back to Kakashi as usual for your Anbu assignment."
With that, he turned and started to leave the hospital room.
After all, taking the earlier intelligence and this questioning together,
Minato had gotten the answers he wanted, even if Yatsuhashi hadn't said anything.
There was no reason to keep pressuring him.
He had never harmed the village.
On the contrary, both times he had been carrying out missions assigned by the village.
Besides, the Uchiha Clan had more than its share of psychological issues.
The Second Hokage had written that exact statement plainly in their files.
Rather than keep putting pressure on Yatsuhashi, Minato might as well let it go.
He only needed to have Kakashi, who was also in Anbu, keep an eye on Yatsuhashi.
Minato believed that with Kakashi guiding him,
Yatsuhashi wouldn't go astray.
Just as Minato was about to leave the hospital room,
Yatsuhashi's hesitant voice sounded behind him.
"Lord Hokage... I-I just want my parents and me to live well."
Minato stopped. He looked back and smiled. "I promise you'll all be able to live well in the village. You don't need to worry about that."
The hardest thing in the world to turn away was such wholehearted sincerity.
For Yatsuhashi, who was always calculating, smooth, and perceptive,
it left him feeling completely at a loss.
Faced with such pure kindness,
he even found himself awkwardly voicing the truest thoughts in his heart.
After receiving the Fourth Hokage's personal promise,
Yatsuhashi felt much lighter.
He took a deep breath. "Lord Hokage, there are at least two more things I need to tell you."
"Oh? Go ahead."
"Uchiha Obito is still alive. And so is Madara Uchiha."
"..."
Minato's smile froze on his face.
His pupils contracted violently.
The words Uchiha Obito is still alive struck his heart like a bolt of lightning.
Yatsuhashi watched Minato's rigid expression.
After a moment's hesitation, he swallowed the second thing he'd been about to say.
"The last thing... I'd like to tell you another time."
"That's fine. There's no rush."
Minato's voice was a little hoarse. He forced a smile.
"As long as it doesn't harm the village's interests, you're always welcome to come see me at the Hokage Building."
With that, Minato closed the hospital room door.
"Where did that kid Yatsuhashi learn all this?"
It wasn't that he wasn't interested in Yatsuhashi's last piece of information.
But Uchiha Obito was still alive.
Those words had already stirred up a storm in Minato's heart.
He needed to verify whether they were true as soon as possible.
"Phew..."
Only after Minato had truly left
did Yatsuhashi finally let out a long breath.
He collapsed onto the hospital bed.
He had been nowhere near as calm as he'd seemed while facing Minato.
After all, he'd been dealing with the Yellow Flash.
But he hadn't expected Minato to take the initiative to resolve the risk of Anbu interrogating him.
He'd even given him the promise that mattered most.
Being trusted without reservation
made Yatsuhashi, who had felt no attachment to Konoha, begin to feel some warmth toward it.
But the moment Yatsuhashi relaxed, his nerves soon tightened again.
He looked at the moon outside the window, his gaze turning cold once more.
Yatsuhashi knew that even though he had avoided the Uchiha Clan's tragic fate,
Madara Uchiha's plan would still affect him and his family.
Uchiha Itachi's life had already been thrown off course by his interference.
As for Madara Uchiha,
Yatsuhashi certainly wasn't going to sit back and do nothing.
As he considered how to deal with Madara Uchiha's plan,
"Whoosh—"
A purple figure slipped silently into the hospital room like a phantom.
She landed lightly beside the bed.
Yatsuhashi frowned. "Anko?"
Mitaraishi Anko folded her arms and looked at him with an amused smile.
"What, you're not happy to see me?"
But before Yatsuhashi could answer,
Anko took advantage of his condition and struck first.
The two entwined tightly on the hospital bed, and the clouds parted to reveal the sun.
The night passed in silence, until dawn.
Before you continue