The Hokage's office was unnervingly quiet.
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe again and again, the white smoke spreading before him and blurring his expression. His eyes kept shifting, and his brow furrowed ever more deeply.
Of course, Minato knew that what he had just said had thoroughly displeased the Lord Hokage.
But he also knew that he would never agree to hand Rin Nohara over, let Kirigakure extract the tailed beast inside her, and leave her to die a meaningless death.
So, even as Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression grew uglier, Minato Namikaze remained standing there, his stance unwavering.
The two remained at an impasse.
Ten minutes passed before Hiruzen Sarutobi finally let out a long breath and coughed, as though forcibly swallowing all his anger.
"All right. I understand what you're saying."
His tone was flat, betraying little emotion.
"Kirigakure hasn't approached us yet, so we don't have to settle this today. We still have time to think through how to handle it."
He paused there.
"Thank you for your efforts on this mission. Go get some rest."
At that point, his meaning was perfectly clear. The problem could not be resolved for now, and he could not be bothered to keep arguing with Minato. He simply waved a hand, dismissing him.
Minato Namikaze said nothing more. He merely bowed, then turned and left the office.
I will protect Rin Nohara.
No one can talk me out of it. If the pressure gets too much, I'll just call my teacher, Jiraiya, back. I refuse to believe that I, Minato Namikaze, can't even protect my own student.
But Minato had yet to realize that this incident marked the beginning of a genuine rift between him and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And that was precisely why Yan Uchiha had decided to save Rin Nohara.