The Elders' Meeting

After leaving the Uchiha Clan Compound, Namikaze Minato promptly called a meeting of the village's leadership.

Half an hour later, everyone had arrived: Konoha's senior council members, Orochimaru, and the heads of the various departments. Only Jiraiya, who was away from the village, and Tsunade, who had gone missing again, were absent.

"Minato, what's so urgent that you had to make such a big production of it?" the Third Hokage asked, puzzled.

"Did something happen on the Kirigakure Battlefield?" Danzo furrowed his brow. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Impossible. We received the latest intelligence from there just yesterday. Kirigakure is currently focused on negotiating a truce with Sunagakure. Even if they plan to turn their full attention to us, that won't happen until after they've signed a ceasefire agreement with Sunagakure," Orochimaru said, licking his lips. He wasn't happy that Namikaze Minato, who was a generation younger than him, had become the Fourth Hokage, but Orochimaru himself had never been particularly interested in the position. His only grievance was that his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, hadn't chosen him.

Afterward, though, once he had figured out the reasoning behind it, he had found the whole thing pointless. It was nothing more than the dirty tactics of a politician. It seemed his teacher had been completely corrupted by power and was no longer the Shinobi Hero he had once been.

"I called everyone here to discuss the Masked Man and what happened that night." Namikaze Minato sat firmly in the Hokage Position, his expression calm as he looked at those gathered before him. If he could, he truly didn't want to act against Obito. But the situation was no longer within his control—and Obito's targets included Konoha.

He only hoped Kakashi could withstand the blow: a comrade who had once risked his life to save him was now an enemy bent on attacking the village.

"The Masked Man? That night, word came from the Anbu that Uchiha Gen seemed to call him Obito. If I remember correctly, Fourth Hokage, one of your students was named Uchiha Obito, wasn't he?" Danzo had actually uncovered everything long ago. All the information on Obito had been on his desk that very night. But Minato had still hoped to bring Obito back, so he had forced the matter aside and planned to privately ask Uchiha Gen for the details. Perhaps Obito had some unavoidable reason for what he'd done. After all, he was Minato's student.

But now that they understood the situation, there was no saving the Obito who had lost his mind, and Minato couldn't cover for him either. Their only option was to come up with a plan together.

"That's right. The masked man that night was my former subordinate, Uchiha Obito," Namikaze Minato replied with a sigh.

"As the team's leading jonin, you bear significant responsibility, Minato. One of your students did something like this!" Danzo had never been happy about Minato becoming Fourth Hokage. Now that he finally had an excuse to undermine Minato's authority, he was the first to speak up and condemn him.

"Uchiha Obito? I don't remember him. From the name, he sounds like he was from the Uchiha Clan, but his strength and talent must have been fairly ordinary. Otherwise, he'd have been as famous as Kakashi in Konoha by now." Orochimaru pondered this to himself.

"Danzo, everyone knows what kind of person Minato is. Obito is Obito, and Minato is Minato. I knew a little about Obito back then, too. As I recall, I was the one who assigned him to Team Minato, alongside his classmate Hatake Kakashi and Nohara Rin. With Minato leading them, they made a good team. Obito wasn't very strong, but he was a good kid who liked to help others and was full of the Will of Fire. If I remember correctly, his dream was to become Hokage. It's hard to believe someone like that would do such a thing!" Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. How could someone so full of the Will of Fire, someone who dreamed of becoming Hokage, turn around and strike Konoha so viciously? It was an undeniable failure of his brainwashing efforts.

"It's hard to believe, indeed. Obito didn't die in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. He was rescued by Madara Uchiha, and under Madara's tutelage, he changed greatly over the years. He was no longer the same Obito who used to help old ladies cross the street and was always late." Namikaze Minato drifted into reminiscence. Of the three members of the team he had once led, only Kakashi remained by his side—and he had long since given up on himself.

"Madara Uchiha?" Mitakado Homura stared in disbelief.

"How is that possible? Madara Uchiha died decades ago, didn't he?" Utatane Koharu cried, her voice rising in alarm.

"During the Battle of the Valley of the End, the First was badly wounded before defeating Madara Uchiha. Everyone knows that." Danzo argued the point, but his hands trembled involuntarily. Those of their generation had witnessed firsthand the power of the two gods of the Ninja World. How could Madara still be alive? Could it be... that jutsu? Danzo's pupils contracted sharply.

"Actually, my teacher, Lord Tobirama, also suspected that Madara Uchiha might still be alive. He investigated the matter in secret for years, but never found any proof. Then my teacher met with an accident. I took over in an emergency, and there was so much to deal with. Since the investigation had stalled, I stopped following up on it. I never imagined my teacher's suspicions would prove true. I truly failed in my duty." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked just as unsettled.

"Hiruzen, you bastard! Why didn't I know about this?" Danzo was furious. Teacher, you really were biased. You never told me about something so important. Did you never value me? Or did you only ever care about Hiruzen?

"Ahem. It was classified information that only the Hokage could access. I found it only after I took office and reviewed the materials my teacher left behind." Seeing Danzo's wounded expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had known his teammate for decades, immediately understood what was on his mind.

Though he never said it openly, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew all too well that his old friend had always been fixated on becoming Hokage. But Danzo's temperament and personality truly weren't suited to the job. Wasn't being the Root leader already a good fit? Keep things as they are, Danzo. It's all for Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe and pondered.

"Hmph! Damn you, Hiruzen. Even if it was classified information left behind by our teacher, something this important should have been discussed with us before being set aside! And now look what's happened!" Danzo grumbled, but his mood had improved considerably. At least it wasn't that their teacher had pushed him aside. It was all Hiruzen Sarutobi's fault! You wicked old Hiruzen. One day I'll prove how wrong our teacher was to choose you as Hokage! Only I, Danzo Shimura, the Darkness of the Ninja World, can lead Konoha to prosperity!

Looking at his old friend, whose expression had softened, Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips curled slightly. Danzo, Danzo... you'll never escape my grasp in this life. Just be a good Root leader and handle the dirty work for me!

"Everyone, this isn't the time to discuss the Second. We have confirmation that Madara Uchiha faked his death back then. Fortunately, he hasn't attacked Konoha over the years. Without the First, Konoha would have stood almost no chance of repelling an invasion by Madara Uchiha," Utatane Koharu interjected.