Minato Awakens: Has Leaf Village Really Rotting This Badly?

A thousand miles away, Leaf Village had been thrown into chaos by a "leaflet rain," and the Third Hokage had even coughed up blood and fallen unconscious from rage.

Yet in the distant Hidden Stone Village, the most heavily guarded underground medical facility was utterly tranquil.

"Drip... drip..."

The crisp sounds of precision instruments echoed through the spacious, sterile ward.

At the center of the room stood a massive medical pod filled with pale green nutrient fluid.

This was the newest recovery device spearheaded by Orochimaru, incorporating purified Hashirama Cells.

Inside the pod, Minato Namikaze floated quietly in the liquid, his eyes tightly shut.

His skin, once pale as paper from using a forbidden technique, had now regained a healthy flush.

The vitality forcibly torn away by the Death God was regenerating at an astonishing speed under the nourishment of this gentle Yang Release chakra.

"Glub glub—"

Suddenly, a string of tiny bubbles rose from the nutrient fluid.

Minato's finger twitched slightly.

Kushina Uzumaki, who had been keeping vigil outside the pod, abruptly rose to her feet.

She covered her mouth tightly, her eyes instantly reddening as she stared unblinkingly at the figure inside.

The next second.

Those distinctive azure eyes slowly opened.

The confusion lasted only half a second before the clarity of a Kage-level powerhouse instantly returned.

"Hiss—"

The pod's glass cover slid open to both sides, and the green nutrient fluid drained away swiftly.

Minato stepped out of the pod and clenched his fist with slight bewilderment.

The unprecedented sense of abundant power made him almost unable to believe it.

"Minato!"

Kushina could no longer contain her emotions. She threw herself into her husband's arms, crying her eyes out.

"You big idiot! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?!"

Minato froze for a moment, then gently embraced his wife and softly patted her back.

"I'm sorry, Kushina. I've made you suffer."

He looked around at the high-tech ward.

This was definitely not Leaf Village.

Memories surged back like a flood.

The Nine-Tails' attack, the Reaper Death Seal, that Uchiha youth who had descended like a god and forcibly taken them away...

"Yoru saved me," Minato murmured.

"He didn't just save you. He abducted our entire family to Hidden Stone Village!"

A languid voice came from the ward entrance.

Uchiha Yoru stood with both hands in his pockets, leaning against the doorframe with a carefree smile on his lips.

"Yo, you're awake? These Hashirama Cells really do work wonders."

"Yoru!" Minato's eyes lit up as he was about to thank him.

"Stop right there. I hate hearing people thank me."

Yoru walked over directly and casually slapped a stack of ink-scented newspapers onto the table before Minato.

"Now that you're awake and your body's fine, take a look at these first."

Somewhat puzzled, Minato picked up the top newspaper.

It was an internal publication printed by Hidden Stone Village, detailing the major events that had recently occurred in the shinobi world.

After only one glance at the headline, the smile on Minato's face froze.

"Leaf Village Higher-Ups Drive Branch Family Hero to Death? Hizashi Hyuga Dies Tragically to Appease Hidden Cloud Village's Rage!"

Minato's hand shook as he abruptly flipped to the next page.

"Leaf Village Civilian Shinobi Protest as Higher-Ups Ruthlessly Exploit the Lower Ranks, Casualty Rate Reaches Historic High!"

"Whereabouts of Fourth Hokage's Orphan Unknown, Suspected of Being Secretly Imprisoned and Raised by the Higher-Ups!"

Every newspaper, every bolded headline, was like a dagger soaked in venom.

They stabbed mercilessly, viciously into Minato's heart!

Hizashi was dead? Sent to take the blame just to appease Hidden Cloud Village's anger?

Even civilian shinobi had been driven to desperation and were protesting in front of the Hokage Building?

Even his own son, Naruto, had become a tool to be used at any time in the eyes of those higher-ups!

As Minato looked at this horrifying intelligence, his breathing grew increasingly rapid.

His blue eyes, always as gentle as water, gradually darkened.

Deep in his pupils, it was as if something cold that had been suppressed for far too long was slowly awakening.

"Think it's unbelievable? Think I'm lying to you?"

Yoru crossed his arms and watched Minato's gradually crumbling expression coldly.

"This information came from Leaf Village's own people. It even alarmed the daimyo."

"That village you were so desperate to protect, that so-called Will of Fire."

Yoru's voice was cold enough to pierce the bone, devoid of even a trace of pity.

"After you fell, they couldn't even be bothered to keep pretending and directly revealed their most disgusting, cannibalistic faces!"

Kushina ground her teeth at the side.

"Those old bastards! I knew they were up to no good!"

She was so furious that her hair stood on end like a mass of blazing flames.

"If Yoru hadn't gotten us out in advance, who knows what they'd have done to little Naruto by now!"

Minato said nothing.

He stared fixedly at the newspaper in his hand, his knuckles turning bluish white from the force of his grip.

Having walked the line between life and death, the dark side of the higher-ups that he had once deliberately overlooked now flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

Orochimaru's human experiments—did the Third truly know nothing about them?

Was White Fang's death really just an accidental rumor?

What exactly was he, this Hokage?

A convenient shield? A fighter they could discard whenever something went wrong?!

"Riiip!"

Minato suddenly clenched his hand.

That thick stack of newspapers was instantly crushed into a ball of powder.

Shreds of paper fluttered down onto the floor of the sterile ward.

"Boom—"

An unimaginably terrifying aura erupted from Minato's body without warning!

It was not ordinary chakra.

It was ultimate power, made even more violent and solid after fusing with Hashirama Cells!

Blinding golden lightning flashed and leaped wildly around his body like writhing serpents.

Even the air let out explosive cracks under the unbearable pressure.

He raised his head and looked at Uchiha Yoru.

That handsome face, which always wore a sunny smile, was now as cold as ice that had never melted for millennia.

There was no longer even the slightest trace of attachment or warmth toward Leaf Village in his eyes.

"Yoru."

Minato spoke, his voice hoarse yet carrying a chilling resolve.

"You were right."

He allowed the golden arcs around him to tear through the air.

"This is no longer the village my teacher and I once wanted to protect with our lives."

"Since they've even abandoned their most basic bottom line..."

Minato clenched his fists, a frigid killing intent flashing through his eyes.

"Then there's no need for this rotten place to continue existing!"