A Hokage Would Never Jump Out a Window

Terai has been lurking in the Land of Stone for many years, monitoring the movements between Iwagakure and Sand Village. He went out as a young man, but came back as an old man. It would be abnormal if he didn't start a family.

Shimura Danzō also allocated an extra living allowance specifically for his situation and made emergency relief arrangements for the Terai family in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Despite his dark past, Ninja An still shows some humanity towards his own people.

However, Shimura Danzō did not personally sign the order for Terai to return to Japan. After Terai's incident, Namikaze Minato saw the document and immediately ordered his return.

For this reason, Leaf Village's ANBU fought a special operation. Due to the short-term chaos caused by the downfall of Shimura Danzō, Terai's files in Leaf Village were obtained by spies. If Shimura Danzō had not made prior arrangements, Terai's entire family would have been forced to their knees and would not have been able to wait for rescue.

Even now, Terai remains very grateful to Shimura Danzō.

Terai also had a good impression of Uchiha Shingen, whom he had only met once before and hadn't even managed to get a cigarette from. Besides the fact that the guy himself was too similar to him, another important reason was that he had employed former Root ninjas when he became the acting head of the department.

The ninjas from Root don't lack anything else; what they care about is recognition.

Knowing that Uchiha Shingen valued Nagato of Rain Village, Terai volunteered to take on the task.

"Minister, I'm here. May I smoke today?"

"If you still want a second child, smoke less," said Uchiha Shingen, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tossing it over.

He's a heavy smoker.

"Alright!" Terai caught it, happily opened the package, pulled out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth.

"I've reviewed all the materials." Uchiha Shingen pushed the ashtray towards Terai. "This definitely needs to be reported to the Hokage. Tell me, how did you determine that Akatsuki has changed hands?"

"You've seen all the materials, so I won't go into the details of what's going on there. Let me tell you something else." Terai lit a cigarette and adopted a meeting-ready expression. "Speaking of which, going to the Land of Stone was actually a beautiful misunderstanding."

"What happened? Were you forced into it?" Uchiha Shingen asked curiously.

"No, there are only about ten people officially employed by Root. You can tell who someone is just by looking at their backside. Everyone is directly under Danzo's command. It was around that time, when I first joined Root, that Danzo would have a heart-to-heart talk with each of us after we joined, and he would ask us what kind of work we wanted to do."

"So what did you say?" Based on his extensive experience, Uchiha Shingen thought this would be an interesting story.

"I told Lord Danzo right then and there that I wasn't picky about food, and that I would cut down whoever Lord Danzo said I would for the sake of the village."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Uchiha Shingen nodded. It was his first day at work, so he was bound to exaggerate to the extreme during his boss's heart-to-heart talk.

Who would take that seriously?

"Who would take that seriously?" Terai sighed deeply. "But Danzo doesn't do things the normal way. He actually believed it, even more excited than me, and then told me that there was some nobody I could practice on."

"Have you ever considered that he didn't actually believe it, but you did...?"

"Perhaps. Anyway, I went to the Land of Stone and took care of that guy. After that, Lord Ryoma came to tell me personally that this guy was a double agent who cheated Leaf Village out of its funds. But the hole he left behind needs to be filled. There's no one available for now. Danzo told me to stay for a while."

That was indeed an interesting story.

"I've been staying in the Land of Stone ever since. Then the war stopped, right? That's when Akatsuki appeared, led by a guy named Yahiko." Terai got down to business. "To be honest, Akatsuki was quite strange back then. Initially, they were on Leaf Village's side, cooperating with Rain Village to fight Sand Village and Iwagakure. Their members seemed to be mostly refugees affected by the war; none of them were ninjas at first, all trained by their leader Yahiko. And their motto was to achieve peace."

Uchiha Shingen did not interrupt Terai's memories; the first generation of Akatsuki was indeed roughly like this.

"But we hope the Land of Rain can stop Iwagakure from making any moves," Uchiha Shingen said. "Hanzo, how did he manage to sabotage things?"

"It's probably because of his reputation. Hanzo became conservative as he got older, and the people of the Land of Rain were afraid of chaos, so they felt that Yahiko was the greatest contributor to protecting the Land of Rain."

"Just because of that?"

"Of course not. Although the evidence is insufficient, Danzo did suspect that Akatsuki wanted to enter Amegakure, or rather, seize power."

"That's why he had to die." Uchiha Shingen nodded. "But all this only shows that Akatsuki's target was Rain Village from the beginning. After all these years, how could it just change hands like that?"

"Because its cooperation with Amegakure suddenly changed," Terai said. "Moreover, Amegakure suddenly stopped providing subsidies to Akatsuki and instead demanded that they repay the money."

Chapter Thirteen: The Hokage Couldn't Have Jumped Out of the Window

"Boss, you know about the annihilation of Akatsuki back then. The variable was Nagato."

When Nagato was mentioned, Terai's expression turned serious.

"Back then, this person was completely unknown within Akatsuki; even we didn't notice him. Now that I think about it, he was Akatsuki's secret weapon. After that incident, he became the leader, and Akatsuki completely changed afterward."

"I know that," Uchiha Shingen said. "The Akatsuki of today is not the same as the Akatsuki of the past."

"Actually... it's still the same thing," Terai said. "I've been paying attention to this organization ever since then. Although Akatsuki has become much more normal since Nagato became the leader, according to my analysis, Nagato's goal is probably the same as Yahiko's, only he changed his methods. Moreover, he started recruiting those powerful missing-nin to supplement his fighting force. But after he dealt with Rain Village, he never converted Akatsuki's core members into Rain Ninja. I think he wanted to leave Amegakure a way out."

Uchiha Shingen didn't think of it that way.

Due to preconceived notions, Uchiha Shingen always regarded Nagato as the leader of Akatsuki rather than the leader of Rain Village.

What Terai said makes some sense.

Nagato doesn't care about Rain Village, but Yahiko does.

"But Sasori of Sand Village and Kakuzu of Takigakure joined Rain Village just a couple of days ago. Rain Village hasn't officially announced it yet. Also, because Orochimaru is also a member of Akatsuki, Rain Village and Sound Village's interactions were conducted through Akatsuki. But Amegakure has officially sent an envoy to Sound Village, and they won't be interacting through Akatsuki anymore." Terai shrugged. "This sudden change of heart can only be explained by Nagato of Rain Village losing control of Akatsuki; no other reason will work."

"Sasori and Kakuzu joined Rain Village, are you sure?" Uchiha Shingen's eyes lit up.

"Of course," Terai said. "This has been verified. They are already on the Rain Village ninja roster, but Nagato didn't allow them to show themselves in public."

"Great!" Uchiha Shingen slapped his thigh. "That makes things much easier!"

If these two have joined Rain Village, then it's confirmed that Akatsuki will definitely not be under Nagato.

Both of them are senior partners of Akatsuki 2.0, true veterans, and Nagato's confidants in Akatsuki.

However, Kakuzu aside, Sasori is definitely a ticking time bomb.

I was thinking of recommending someone to check it out, but now I don't need to.

Nagato is very strong, extremely strong.

Rain Village used to be his weakness, but now that Kakuzu and Sasori have joined forces, Rain Village can suddenly be compared to the worst of the Five Great Villages.

That's not good.

Leaf Village is not only an ally of Rain Village, but also an ally of Sand Village.

Leaf Village should also fully consider the demands of Sand Village.

Uchiha Shingen had already come up with a name for the new plan in his mind.

Let's call it -- Double Happiness!

"Terai, you get things ready here. See how to spread the word that Sasori has joined Rain Village, but don't let anyone know it was us who spread it," Uchiha Shingen said. "I'll go report to the Hokage first."

"Boss, Sand Village a bit lacking in skill?"

"It's alright, as long as they get carried away." Uchiha Shingen patted Terai on the shoulder. "ANBU who doesn't cause trouble isn't a good ANBU. Our job is to cause trouble for others. Now that we have the opportunity, we can't let the ANBU's reputation go to waste if we don't make a move."

After saying that, Uchiha Shingen hurriedly left, leaving Terai alone in the office.

"No... this..." Terai was still in the "please help me out, brother" pose, but he could no longer see Uchiha Shingen.

This new boss is a bit eccentric.

He's even a tiny bit more arrogant than Danzo back then.

Ultimately, strength is the foundation of confidence. Terai believed that if he had that kind of strength, he would be even more arrogant.

He sat on the sofa, silently finished a cigarette, and then got up to carry out his orders.

At that moment, Uchiha Shingen had already rushed into the Hokage's room.

The literal meaning of "rush".

This time, Namikaze Minato was there, and he caught him red-handed.

That is...

"Lord Hokage, what are you doing?"

Uchiha Shingen looked at Namikaze Minato with surprise, his suspicions growing.

It's not surprising that Hokage throughout history have liked to look out the window and show off.

But why does Namikaze Minato look like he's about to jump out of a window?

If you're going out, let's not even talk about why you're not using the main entrance. Aren't you supposed to Flying Thunder God?

"Oh, Shingen." Namikaze Minato casually closed the window again. "It's nothing. I just took a few days off. I haven't seen the scenery from here for a few days, and I'm suddenly feeling a bit out of sorts."

Wrong!

This guy! He! Has! a! Problem!

But Uchiha Shingen didn't have time to play detective games with Namikaze Minato right now. He took out a thick stack of documents from his bag.

Seeing the thick stack of things in Uchiha Shingen's hand, Namikaze Minato immediately sensed trouble was brewing.

His assessment of Uchiha Shingen was that he was good at solving problems.

However, if Uchiha Shingen came to him with a large pile of documents, it would definitely be something beyond Uchiha Shingen's authority and would never be a trivial matter.

Uchiha Shingen is now the official head of ANBU. Although his official rank is not high, he wields enormous power. He can arrange various intelligence operations and even launch special operations in the name of the village, and only needs to report to the Hokage afterward.

Shimura Danzō was known as the "Dark One of the Ninjas" because he was both the Hokage's assistant and possessed such power.

However, the new head of the ANBU later didn't have the guts to do it, nor could he bear the burden that came with that power, so much so that everyone forgot what a terrifying figure the head of the ANBU was originally.

Having already wielded such power and possessing the courage to plan and make decisions, Uchiha Shingen's arrival with so many documents indicates that this matter is far from trivial.

"What's going on this time?" Namikaze Minato sat down in his seat, took the document, and began to read it.

"Rain Village and Akatsuki have separated. Kakuzu, missing-nin from Takigakure, and Sasori, a missing-nin Sasori of the Red Sands Sand Village, have joined Rain Village," said Uchiha Shingen. "Rain Village's strength is now extraordinary, and they will definitely seek higher positions. However, Sasori of the Red Sands's special nature will cause conflict between Rain Village and Sand Village. Preventing such behavior is beyond the capabilities of the Anbu Ninja. I need more Jonin."

When he took over the ANBU, Uchiha Shingen had already made up his mind.

The position of ANBU Chief also has its advantages for him, as he can gain merit for his Jonin by bringing in outside help.

Just like when Shimura Danzō hired him to hunt down the Hannya Group.

His achievements over the years have exceeded his actual needs, so it is necessary to let the other Jonin show more of their abilities.

Only win-win cooperation can ensure a future.

"Those two actually joined a ninja village?" Namikaze Minato was also taken aback.

Namikaze Minato's first reaction was that he had to suppress Amegakure.

He was in charge of this direction during the Third Shinobi World War, and he was well aware that the Land of Land of Rain stemmed from a bottom-up, collective ideology.

From a personal perspective, Namikaze Minato was a very gentle person. Whether as Hokage, teacher, ninja, student or scholar, husband, or simply a person, he was almost impeccable.

But after years of struggling in the cruel Ninja World and becoming Hokage, his gentleness has become more than just a personality trait; it's an ability. The gentle Namikaze Minato always considers what is the most appropriate course of action and strikes a balance between reason and emotion.

Faced with the increased strength of Amegakure, Namikaze Minato made a decision without hesitation: For the sake of Leaf Village, please become a little weaker.

"I understand. I will ask Nara Shikaku to fully cooperate with your work, but..." Namikaze Minato said solemnly, "We absolutely cannot allow any accidents to happen. Mediation between the two sides must be timely, Sunagakure cannot be weakened."

Leaf Village's diplomatic needs have changed.

In the past, Cloud Village was aggressive and Iwagakure was eyeing them covetously. Therefore, Leaf Village needed to maintain friendly relations with Hidden Mist Village and Sand Village, so that Hidden Mist Village and Sand Village could tie down the forces of Cloud Village and Iwagakure, while also keeping Hidden Mist Village and Sand Village in check.

However, now, it will take several years for Cloud Village and Iwagakure to recover, so Hidden Mist Village, which has surrendered but whose strength has not been severely damaged, has become Leaf Village's main focus.

The alliance with Sand Village is an important diplomatic tool for Leaf Village to save on military costs in suppressing Hidden Mist Village.

"Don't worry, I will absolutely not let anything happen to the Kazekage and his son." Uchiha Shingen knew the true meaning of 'weakening' that Namikaze Minato mentioned.

However, it's good that you agreed.

He could then confidently let the ANBU cause trouble.

If Nagato gets carried away, then he can get carried away too.

He doesn't side with any of Kaguya Otsutsuki, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, or Uchiha Madara.

After all, these three, although with different goals, all wanted to reunite the Nine Tailed Beasts.

Uchiha Shingen had thought it through very clearly.

As long as the Nine Tailed Beasts don't reunite, the Ten-Tails won't appear, and there will be no Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Without Infinite Tsukuyomi, you can still make money, dance, and avoid any crises.

To put it more bluntly, he'll target anyone who wants to take down Tailed Beasts.

For Nagato and Uchiha Madara, it wasn't a matter of whether they wanted to or not; they were both action-oriented.

"I've already arranged for Terai to handle the information dissemination," Uchiha Shingen said. "I will report back to you as soon as possible."

Namikaze Minato nodded in agreement.

"Oh, right, Lord Hokage, there's one more thing." Uchiha Shingen's eyes shone brightly. "You were just about to jump out the window, weren't you?"