Sasuke turned to look at Minato.
His eyes were vacant, and an air of desolation seemed to cling to him.
Clearly, Danzō's words had dealt him a heavy blow.
He had always believed he was a conscientious, capable Hokage...
Even at the moment of his death, he had believed it.
He had even hoped Naruto could live on as the son of a hero.
Yes, even at the moment of his death, he had thought of himself as a hero.
A hero of Konoha!
The only people he had let down were Kushina and their newborn son, Naruto...
But he had never imagined...
That after his death, Konoha's leadership would judge him like this...
As though he were Konoha's sinner...
That's what set him off?... Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
Too young, too arrogant, too concerned with what others thought of him.
And Kushina?
Her red hair billowed in the windless air, lifted by her fury. Her face had darkened into a terrifying scowl!
Inside the meeting room.
"That's enough."
Mitokado Homura said, "Danzō, that's enough."
"Indeed." Utatane Koharu spoke up as well. "Now isn't the time to assign blame. Right or wrong, the Fourth Hokage and his wife have already paid for it with their lives."
"As the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, his name can only be passed down as that of a hero."
Her words set the tone.
Of course, she had only said it because she couldn't be bothered to argue with Danzō.
As his old classmate, she knew Danzō's character very well.
Arguing with him would only lead to endless bickering.
He was too opinionated to be reasoned with.
If Koharu had lived in modern times, she would definitely have called Danzō a "professional contrarian"!
But in her heart, Koharu believed Minato had been a worthy Hokage.
It was just a pity that she had said it more out of necessity than anything else.
And Minato and Kushina had heard her...
"Old hag Koharu! What do you mean by that?"
"What did Minato do wrong?"
"What do you mean, his name can only be passed down as that of a hero!"
'Ding!'
'Sensing an intense emotional fluctuation from Kushina Uzumaki. Congratulations, host: you have obtained the Contract Seal!'
Minato was the one who managed to stay calm.
"Hmph!" Shimura Danzō snorted. "I said back then that we should have chosen Orochimaru as the Fourth Hokage!"
"If he had become Hokage, Konoha wouldn't have suffered such a disaster!"
He appeared to be relentlessly arguing the point, but in truth he was laying the groundwork for the next Hokage.
"Alright, alright." Mitokado Homura, who knew Danzō's character just as well, tried to smooth things over. "Let's set the past aside for now and continue discussing where to place the Jinchuriki."
Minato and Kushina's hearts sank.
The tone had been set.
They knew Naruto's arrangements wouldn't turn out well.
"The Jinchuriki goes to Root!" Danzō insisted.
"No!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "Before Kushina died, I promised her I would take good care of her children, so I can't hand Naruto over to Root."
Minato and Kushina breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Sasuke just smiled. "Relax. The Jinchuriki can only be under the Hokage's control. That's the precedent. Even if the Third Hokage has grown senile, he won't hand him over to Danzō. Don't assume a politician's promises mean much."
"..." Minato knew Sasuke was deliberately sowing discord, but he had to admit that Sasuke's words had brutally shattered the gratitude he had just begun to feel.
At the same time,
Danzō blurted out, "Before he died, Teacher Tobirama made you promise to entrust Konoha to someone worthy! And what happened? More than half of Konoha was destroyed, and you became the shortest-lived Hokage among the Five Great Nations!"
"..." With one remark, he silenced two generations of Hokage.
"Enough, Danzō." Mitokado Homura said. "Don't use Teacher Tobirama to make a point. Forget about the Jinchuriki; he's not yours to lay claim to. Just state what you want."
They were old friends. How could they not know Danzō's usual tactic of making a scene to force a deal?
He was simply using the Jinchuriki as leverage to negotiate terms.
"Exactly. The Jinchuriki can only be under the Hokage's control. You should know that, too. Hiruzen will personally hand him over to the next Hokage, so there's no need to trouble Root."
This time, Koharu came right out and said it. Hiruzen showed no sign of denying it, and Kushina's relief turned to dismay. Minato's heart sank.
Danzō knew he had gotten about as far as he could. "Root is willing to shoulder some of Konoha's burden and take care of the clan orphans whose families were killed by the Nine-Tails."
If he wanted to take the clan orphans into Root, he could just say so... Koharu and Homura exchanged glances, then looked at Hiruzen.
Hiruzen lowered his eyes.
The two advisors understood. Mitokado Homura nodded. "Fine. Submit the list first, and we'll decide whether to approve it."
Inside the Soul Space,
Sasuke looked at Minato with amusement. "I wonder if our Lord Hokage feels relieved that he sealed the Nine-Tails inside his child."
"..." Minato fell silent.
Then Danzō spoke again. "Taking care of them will increase Root's expenses..."
So much for shouldering Konoha's burden. Now he was holding out his hand for money.
"Don't push your luck, Danzō." Utatane Koharu, who was in charge of finances, said. "The Third Shinobi World War ended not long ago, and Konoha still hasn't recovered. Now we've suffered another disaster, and every department needs funds. The budget is already in the red!"
Danzō said with a meaningful look, "Then don't take it from Konoha's budget."
Not from Konoha's budget?... The two advisors exchanged glances.
"That wouldn't be right..." They already understood what Danzō meant.
"We have no choice. They inherited the Will of Fire and willingly sacrificed themselves for Konoha. I'm sure they would understand our predicament."
"Besides, if we leave those assets untouched, wouldn't that just benefit the Bank of the Land of Fire?" Danzō finished, then turned to Hiruzen. "Hiruzen, only the Hokage has the authority to do this. You may be the former Hokage, but I'm sure you can still exercise it."
Inside the Soul Space,
Minato frowned. "Benefit the Bank of the Land of Fire? What does that mean?"
"Still don't get it?" Sasuke said with amusement. "The legacies of fallen shinobi!"
!!! Minato's pupils shrank!
He could hardly believe Konoha's leadership would do something like this!
From the way they spoke, it wasn't even the first time!
Those shinobi had died protecting Konoha!
How could they do this!
Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe, took a deep drag, then slowly exhaled, as if he had reached a decision.
He looked at Utatane Koharu beside him. "Koharu, you're in charge of the audit. Give me a list of the fallen shinobi who had no heirs, and I'll review and sign off on it."
"Alright."
"Danzō, you can apply to Koharu once that's done."
"Fine!" Danzō nodded, then added, "But the assets of the clans whose members are about to join Root must all go to Root."
"Agreed."
Inside the Soul Space,
No heirs... Minato's gaze flickered. Perhaps it wasn't entirely unacceptable.
Sasuke just smiled. "Stop fooling yourself!"
"You were the Hokage just yesterday. I'm sure you know Konoha's current financial situation very well."
"I'm sure you can work out how much the village's reconstruction and other needs will cost, and how large a sum is required to fill the budget deficit."
"But as our former Fourth Hokage, you can't really be so naive as to think there's that much inheritance with no one to claim it, can you?"
Minato drew a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
Didn't he understand? He did!
As Sasuke had said, he knew Konoha's current financial situation very well.
The village's reconstruction, compensation payments, salaries for the various departments, and the ongoing costs of keeping the village running—all it took was a simple calculation to get a rough estimate.
Compared with the available funds, the shortfall was astronomical!
Was there really that much inheritance with no heirs?
Just as Sasuke had said, Minato was only fooling himself, unwilling to think it through!
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