Kakashi was in contact with Minato Namikaze. That was inevitable.
After all, as the Fourth Hokage, even if Minato had grown somewhat disheartened, he could not simply leave Konoha to its own devices.
Xia Yan remembered very well how Minato had thoroughly threatened him before leaving.
But Xia Yan did not take those threats to heart. He knew what Minato really meant.
Besides, after everything he had experienced, Minato understood that his personality probably really was unsuited to occupying the Hokage's seat.
There was something Hiruzen Sarutobi had said that Xia Yan thoroughly agreed with: a Hokage could not harbor only malicious intentions, as that would harm the village.
But a Hokage could even less afford to harbor only good intentions. That could harm the village even more severely than malice.
The village was the true ruler of a nation. Xia Yan had come to understand that perfectly when he joined forces with Hiruzen to con the Daimyō.
In fact, even without the business involving the Daimyō, a village alone possessed diplomatic authority, military authority, and the right to develop its own economy.
That was not a village at all. It was an entire nation!
To put it bluntly, apart from certain particularly unfortunate exceptions among the Five Great Nations, their Kage essentially controlled their countries.
Those Kage merely decided how tightly to control their countries according to their own circumstances.
But regardless, diplomacy and military affairs remained firmly in the hands of the hidden villages-in the hands of their Kage.
If someone in such a position really was kind to an extreme and treated everyone well, more than just the village would suffer.
A competent Kage should remain kind when kindness was called for.
But when ruthlessness was necessary, they absolutely could not hesitate!
At the same time, a