The Lawful Seizure of Power at the Frontline Camp and the Arrival of the Joint Investigation Team

The sandstorm stopped.

Namikaze Minato brought that exploration team, where almost everyone was injured, back to the Southern Border General Command.

The camp was very quiet, quiet to the point of being abnormal. There was neither the anticipated clamor to welcome heroes nor the commotion of surviving a disaster. The sentries on duty merely fell silent and saluted with their eyes, their gazes complex.

Minato's heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged.

He led the team straight toward the main military tent.

Standing before the tent door were a few people.

At the head was Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan. He wore standard Jonin combat attire, his hands tucked inside his sleeves, and his expression was his usual solemnity, resembling a sentimentless ice sculpture.

Standing behind him was Chief of General Staff Shikaku Nara. Shikaku lowered his head, seeming to study the sand grains beneath his feet, avoiding Minato's gaze.

Minato stopped in his tracks.

He knew that what he was about to face was not the swords and blades of enemies, but the rules of the village.

Hyuga Hiashi stepped forward, taking out a scroll from his sleeve.

The scroll was red, stamped at the top with the Konoha emblem and the characters for "Hokage's Office Decree". The gazes of everyone present were captured by that glaring patch of red.

"General Commander Namikaze Minato."

Hiashi spoke, his voice without a trace of fluctuation, as if reading a document entirely unrelated to himself.

"By the special decree of the Fifth Hokage, I hereby read out Hokage's Office Resolution No. 011 to your forces."

He did not give Minato any chance to speak, unfurling the scroll directly.

"...In view of Southern Border Joint Stability Maintenance Force General Commander Namikaze Minato, during the handling of the Fire-Wind Border Conflict