The Third Hokage and Minato

Meanwhile, in the Konoha Village hospital, Danzo lay on his bed, missing an arm and wrapped like a mummy.

Compared to the physical pain, the mental trauma was far more cruel.

Throughout the process of draining his abscesses, the old man hadn't let out a single cry of pain. Yet, now that the treatment was over, he stared blankly into space, occasionally muttering a few words.

"I was so foolish, truly! I never should have gone to that place in the first place!"

Sarutobi, his companion of many years, arrived to visit him immediately. Seeing his old friend in such a state, he couldn't help but sigh.

Although he and Danzo had constantly bickered over the years, seeing him reduced to this state today made his heart ache.

"Minato, how is Danzo?"

Minato, who had retrieved Danzo and brought him to the hospital, had not left. He knew the Hokage would come, and he had many things to report.

It was everything he had seen in the forest that made Minato feel they could no longer let the Uchiha go unchecked.

"Third Hokage, it is just as you see. Lord Danzo seems to have suffered some kind of trauma. I suspect the Uchiha subjected him to torture."

Minato didn't know exactly what had happened in the woods, but to someone capable of slaughtering those with no power to resist, abusing an old man seemed perfectly in character.

If not for Obito, the Uchiha would have already become a negative entity in Minato's mind. Now, Minato looked at the Uchiha the same way animal lovers looked at those who ate dog meat.

Sarutobi took a deep drag of his pipe, his expression cautious. Although Uchiha Kei had always been arrogant and domineering, he had the strength to back it up. He dared to leave Danzo in this state, clearly unafraid of any repercussions.

Without understanding how things had reached this point, Sarutobi felt it was best to get to the bottom of it.

"Minato, tell me in detail what conflict occurred between Danzo and the Uchiha."

"Yes," Minato nodded and began to report everything he knew.

"Third Hokage, I do not know the specifics. Today, the Uchiha clan head, Fugaku, visited my home. Mid-visit, we received news that Uchiha Kei and Elder Danzo were clashing outside the village. Worried for Kei's safety, Fugaku asked me to bring him back."

"In other words, Fugaku felt that if Kei clashed with Danzo, Kei would be the one to suffer!"

The Third Hokage exhaled a cloud of smoke, interrupting Minato: "Was Fugaku's visit to you a last-minute decision?"

Sarutobi understood that Minato's words were not a reliable gauge of Uchiha Kei's power.

Fugaku was a man who had never made a correct judgment in his life. The only few things he did right were finding ways to survive in the cracks.

Fugaku's actions only proved that the Uchiha were not prepared to fall out with the Hokage.

But that did not represent Uchiha Kei.

Every clan in the village understood that Uchiha Kei and Uchiha Fugaku were two different matters; only Fugaku thought the Uchiha were a monolith.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage felt uneasy again. One Uchiha was already a headache; another one meant double the trouble.

Sigh, how can I incite an internal war between them?

At the thought, the Third Hokage's already sparse hair seemed to thin even further.

Whenever the Third Hokage felt uneasy, he would exhale long puffs of smoke.

Those close to him knew this little habit, though it was unclear if the Third Hokage himself realized he had this tic.

Seeing the Third Hokage growing troubled again, Minato set aside his own disgust and kept his tone as steady as possible. He hoped to describe today's events to the Third Hokage as objectively as he could.

After all, he needed the Third Hokage's wisdom to understand if there was any chance for the village and the Uchiha to continue coexisting. If they could not, he needed to know how the village should treat them.

"Third Hokage, Fugaku's visit was not a last-minute decision. His wife, Mikoto, and Kushina are childhood friends. Yesterday, when Fugaku and I met to discuss the situation at the front lines, we brought it up, and we agreed on today's visit then!"

Minato looked up, meeting the Third Hokage's eyes. "Fugaku expressed concern over the grim situation at the front and hoped to contribute to Konoha."

"Oh!" The Third Hokage didn't seem surprised by Fugaku's behavior at all, showing no interest in dwelling on the topic of Fugaku.

In his heart, he looked down on Fugaku.

"Minato, with your strength, you should have been able to resolve the issue between Danzo and Kei quickly. What happened that delayed you for so long?"

Seeing that the Third Hokage did not pursue the matter of Fugaku, Minato felt a bit bitter, but he helplessly continued to discuss Uchiha Kei.

"I did head to the scene immediately, but as I neared Uchiha Kei, someone interrupted my Flying Thunder God technique, preventing me from entering the fray at top speed."

Minato spoke with great gravity. For someone whose primary method was the Flying Thunder God, a ninja capable of countering it was a major concern.

Ever since the death of the Second Hokage, a saying had circulated in the ninja world: there are no invincible ninjas, only those with enough intelligence on their opponent.

Since then, every notable ninja had claimed to be the "strongest," and the title had become worthless.

"Hmm!" Seeing how serious Minato was, Sarutobi understood his concerns.

However, Sarutobi had his own answer to this.

"Those outsiders from the Uchiha clan all passed through Konoha's seals and used the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport into the Uchiha compound. It stands to reason they would have ninjas who understand the Flying Thunder God as well."

Sarutobi wanted to reassure Minato by demonstrating his own intelligence-gathering capabilities.

"Minato, do not worry too much. Even if it is the same Flying Thunder God, your talent is different from others. You have sufficient reaction speed; even the Second Hokage, who developed the technique, did not possess your level of talent."

Sarutobi's smoking slowed, and he spoke to Minato as if an old man recounting history.

"Therefore, for others, the Flying Thunder God is merely a means of travel, but for you, it is a lethal weapon. Utilize your talent well; 'countering' is always a relative concept."

"Yes, I understand, Lord Hokage." Minato did not get the answer he wanted. He had hoped to know if there was a way to break the Flying Thunder God, but Sarutobi had only given him an ambiguous answer.

The leadership has already provided you with an explanation; whether you accept it or not, you cannot continue to press the matter.

Minato knew when to stop and fell silent.

Seeing Minato hold his tongue, Sarutobi knew this answer failed to satisfy him, yet he had no other explanation to offer.

Between admitting that the Flying Thunder God had no counter-jutsu and letting Minato suspect that it could be countered, the Third Hokage had his own calculations.

Regrettably, Sarutobi failed to realize that when a superior begins to feel they lack the ability to suppress their subordinates, they naturally grow uneasy, leading them to act in ambiguous ways to feign profundity.

Thus, the Hokage subconsciously chose not to inform Minato of the complexity of space-time ninjutsu, as it was not a path of study meant for a normal person.

Sarutobi was old; he was no longer the man he had been in his youth.

In particular, he was an all-rounder who had attained mastery in all five elemental releases, but such conventional methods were insufficient against a young, vigorous, specialized ninja like Minato.

The only option left was to instill apprehension in this rising star. Only a subordinate with reservations would maintain constant respect for their superior.

These young people today—why are they all becoming so difficult to handle?

Hoo~ Exhaling a cloud of smoke, Sarutobi continued to ask, "But with your strength, even if you couldn't appear on the scene instantly, it shouldn't have taken you that long!"

The Third Hokage's words stirred Minato's memories, bringing back the image of the nameless corpses scattered across the forest.

The sunny-dispositioned Minato felt an unavoidable sorrow at the thought; he loved Konoha, and therefore he loved everyone within it. But he could not accept what had transpired today, and he did not answer the Third Hokage's question immediately.

His current silence was not born of any resentment toward the Third Hokage, but rather the overwhelming sense of helplessness he felt whenever he thought of those comrades slaughtered by their own people.

Furthermore, Uchiha Kei's words echoed incessantly in Minato's mind.

"It isn't the first time Konoha ninjas have slaughtered their own comrades!"

Was this true? Had such things happened in the past, only for him to remain unaware?

If it were false, why would Kei try to deceive him with a lie so easily exposed? If it were true, then why did such things happen, and who had ordered them?

What should be done if such things happened again in the future? Was he expected to slaughter another group of killers just to act as a deterrent?

If he did, how would he be any different from those executioners?

Konoha should not be like this, and the Uchiha should not be like this either. It was time for a change.

Sigh! Why couldn't the rest of the Uchiha all be as sunny and kind as Obito?