As everyone worked together, the ruins gradually gave way to new houses. Minato handled his many duties as always, and the village began to regain its former peace. Whatever grief they carried, time marched on, and the living ultimately had to keep moving forward.
Yet that peace did not last long. Rumors spread through the village that the Nine-Tails' seal was weakening. Having just lived through the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the villagers fell into panic.
People flocked to the Hokage Building, demanding an explanation from the Fourth.
Faced with the agitated crowd, Minato found that no explanation did any good. There were always troublemakers stirring people up, accusing him of shielding his wife.
The crowd's accusations left Minato overwhelmed, and Kushina no longer even dared to leave the house.
"Investigate this! Find out exactly where these rumors came from!" Minato slammed his hand down on the desk, snapping at the Anbu Ninja. This was far from the first time he had issued that order.
Yet the ANBU, who served as the Hokage's eyes, seemed to have gone blind. Time and again, their answers were the same: they did not know, and they were still investigating. No wonder Minato was furious.
Once he calmed down, Minato knew that the Konoha High Command had to be involved. But at that moment, there was nothing he could do.
Meanwhile, Root had surrounded Minato's home.
Kakashi watched the surrounding ninja warily. "Who are you?"
"Hmph! Jonin Kakashi, these are written orders from the Third. We're taking the jinchūriki, Kushina, with us." A Root ninja took out a scroll and handed it to Kakashi.
Kakashi opened the orders, his pupils contracting at the sight of the Third's seal. "Hmph. The current Hokage is the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze."
"Kakashi, this is the decision of all the