The following day, in the Hokage's office, all the Jonin were present, reporting to Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi about the cause, process, and outcome of the major incident the previous day, as well as the final losses and other matters.
" Lord Hokage, after some statistics, the village suffered no losses yesterday from the Tailed Beast attack and the Light Organization's invasion. Only a few villagers who retreated to safety suffered sprains due to the chaos of the retreat; the rest are all fine. The only confirmed death is that of the Three-Tails Jinchūriki, Rin Nohara." A bespectacled ninja, after glancing at the data in his hand, reported to Minato Namikaze, who was at the head of the group, with an expression of admiration.
This was a major event— Tailed Beast attack on the village—and the Fourth Hokage managed to get Konoha out of it safely with only one casualty. Such a tremendous achievement deserves everyone's respect.
But he would be even more shocked if he knew that not even the sole casualty existed.
Because Rin Nohara and the like never died; the news of her death was completely false.
The person who actually died was someone else.
Yesterday, after Kōki revived Rin, he explained to her that he possessed a secret technique that could bring the dead back to life. However, this technique was far too amazing, and if it were to be publicized, it would definitely cause endless trouble, and might even lead to a new round of the Shinobi World War.
So they hope Lin can fake her death to avoid outside attention, and then reappear in front of others in a different guise after this period of time has passed.
Rin is also a kind-hearted person, and since her life was saved by Kōki, she agreed to Kōki's request. Therefore, very few people knew that Rin was still alive, and those who did were all people who could be trusted completely, such as Minato and Kakashi.
Upon hearing the report, Minato did not reply, but simply nodded with a sense of relief.
The plan went smoothly, that's wonderful.
Although he agreed to Kōki's plan, he couldn't help but worry when it was being carried out. No one had ever dared to use the Tailed Beast so boldly. Fortunately, the final result was as expected, and Yuki successfully rescued Kōki, making it a truly happy ending for everyone.
But then Minato thought of something else, and it gave him a terrible headache.
"Has Elder Danzo still not been found?"
Indeed, Minato's biggest headache was Danzo's sudden disappearance. After yesterday's Three-Tails incident and the sudden invasion by the Light Organization, the other Root ninjas were unharmed, but their leader, Danzo, had vanished without a trace. The only clues were signs of a struggle in Danzo's office at the Root Base and a pool of congealed dark red blood on the office floor.
The origin of the blood is currently uncertain, but it is highly likely to be Danzo himself.
If Danzo were healthy, he would have appeared by now. He only disappears when he is injured.
"Yes, Lord Hokage. We searched the Root Base and the surrounding area but found no useful clues. The reconnaissance ninjas also searched the Root ninjas, but found nothing unusual. It's as if Lord Danzo vanished into thin air."
"It's impossible for him to just disappear into thin air. It's more likely that someone used Space-Time Ninjutsu to infiltrate Elder Danzo's office, fought for a while, and then took Elder Danzo away," Minato denied.
A Kage Level powerhouse couldn't simply vanish into thin air. Suddenly, another possibility occurred to him, and he turned to Uchiha Fugaku, asking, " Clan Head Fugaku, do you remember the direction the Light Organization came from when you clashed with them yesterday?"
Uchiha Fugaku, who was called upon, recalled the details of his encounter with Aizen and his group yesterday. After a moment of contemplation, he replied seriously, "I remember now, they came from the direction of the Root Base. At that time, we..."
Uchiha Fugaku then described in detail to the ninjas present the location where he had met Aizen and the others the day before, and what had happened.
After hearing Uchiha Fugaku's description, the ninjas present were in an uproar, because according to Uchiha Fugaku, Danzo's disappearance was definitely related to the Light Organization.
To put it more boldly, Danzo's disappearance was orchestrated by members of the Light Organization.
Minato also had this guess in his mind.
Because he remembered that, besides the rare and covert ability of Space-Time Ninjutsu, which could silently infiltrate Danzo's office without disturbing others, Genjutsu was also a method of intrusion that could be performed silently.
As it happened, he knew that there was an Genjutsu master among the members of the Light Organization.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi was standing next to Minato, heard Uchiha Fugaku's explanation, his face turned ashen. He never imagined that the members of the Light Organization would be so bold as to commit violence in Konoha.
He also speculated about the reasons Light Organization's actions.
He knew that the Root had caused trouble for the Light Organization many times before, but they had all failed due to the Light Organization's overwhelming strength.
Now that Danzo disappeared, and the members of the Light Organization have happened to appear, it's highly likely that he's been retaliated against by the Light Organization. In other words, his old classmate who has always been his enemy is probably really in trouble.
This made Hiruzen Sarutobi both angry and heartbroken, but also secretly relieved. After revealing the secret of his past to Kōki, he was worried that Kōki would harbor resentment towards Danzo and feared that Kōki would lose control of her anger and take action against Danzo.
Emotionally, he didn't want Kōki to Danzo, since Danzo had always been his right-hand man, no matter how wrong he was. But in terms of importance to Konoha, Danzo was insignificant compared to Kōki.
So for some time now, he's been struggling with how to handle the relationship between Kōki and Danzo.
Knowing that Danzo died at the hands of the Light Organization gave him a sense of relief.
"So it seems Elder Danzo's disappearance is indeed related to the Light Organization." Minato nodded, summarizing the incident, then frowned and said, "The threat from the Light Organization can no longer be ignored, but the problem with Kirigakure Danzo even greater. We all know that the Three-Tails' rampage this time was due to Kirigakure's conspiracy. Compared to the Light Organization, we need Kirigakure to give us an explanation."
The appearance of the Light Organization did disrupt Minato's plans somewhat, but demanding compensation from Kirigakure and providing blood transfusions to Konoha was more important than causing trouble for the Light Organization.
The Jonin present all nodded in agreement upon hearing Minato's declaration, understanding the urgency and importance of the matter.
The Kirigakure is the one they should be paying attention to.
Even if the Light Organization killed a former Hokage's assistant and a member of the Konoha Council of Elders, it wouldn't mean much to the current situation in Konoha.
In comparison, demanding compensation from Kirigakure is more important.
After all, one is seeking compensation from others to replenish itself, while the other continues to expend manpower and resources to sustain the losses; it's obvious who is more burdened and who is less burdened.
Seeing that none of the surrounding Jonin objected, Minato continued, "There's another question: why did the Light Organization happen to appear just when we were dealing with the Three-Tails?"
This was a question Minato couldn't understand. After all, the Three-Tails attack was something he, Kōki, and Obito had planned long ago. How could the Light Organization just happen to come to Danzo to kill Konoha at this particular time?
Could it be that Kōki or Obito leaked it?
Honestly, Minato really didn't want to doubt Kōki and Obito. One was Konoha's new pillar, and the other was his own disciple who sacrificed himself for Konoha, infiltrating the inner circle of the biggest mastermind in the Shinobi World.
But this situation was too coincidental. The coincidences made him suspicious.
Just as Minato was puzzled, an Anbu Ninja suddenly appeared, kneeling on one knee and reporting to Minato, " Lord Hokage, we have made a new discovery after inspecting the Root ninja. The Root ninja codenamed Kiri Oni is a spy for the Light Organization. He was discovered by the enemy while carrying out Elder Danzo's mission to monitor the Light Organization, and was then taken into control by the Light Organization. He was then ordered by the Light Organization to infiltrate Root."
The Light Organization's decision to infiltrate Konoha yesterday was pre-planned, as it was the day when Kiri Oni was in charge of Root's defenses, making it the easiest time to infiltrate Root Base. That's why the Light Organization attacked at that time.
"I see." Minato suddenly realized, and his suspicions about Kōki and Obito vanished instantly, replaced by feelings of guilt. He had actually doubted two excellent ninjas who were wholeheartedly working for Konoha; it was so wrong of him.
Kōki, standing in the crowd, finally felt a Taiseki lifted from his shoulders.
In fact, this Root ninja named Kiri Oni was a backup plan that Aizen had prepared for Danzo.
I didn't think too much about it at the time; I simply wanted to plant a spy next to Danzo to monitor Danzo actions.
But to his surprise, it actually had an unexpected effect, which made him quite fortunate.
After understanding the reason, Minato stopped paying attention to that matter and instead discussed how much compensation to ask Kirigakure for.
Immediately, a cacophony of voices arose.