At this moment, Namikaze Minato finally understood why Uchiha Kei harbored such intense hostility toward Shimura Danzō. Before, it had merely been out of trust in a friend and a desire to protect—but now…
Heh. To think Danzō would target his own student. As Kei would say, "That old bastard has chosen the path to his own death."
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke up. "That's enough, Danzō. I know Obito—he's Minato's student and a staunch inheritor of the Will of Fire. Minato already had Tsunade examine him. What, you don't trust even Tsunade's abilities now?"
Shimura Danzō gave a cold snort, the chill in his gaze unabated. "Tsunade may be one of the best medical-nin in the shinobi world, but even her skills have limits. When it comes to something hidden within the brain, she's utterly unqualified."
"That's why, Hiruzen, you should hand Uchiha Obito over to me. In this field, Root is the most professional."
Hiruzen's frown deepened. He glanced at Danzō with confusion. Something about the man felt unusually aggressive today. He had always been hardline, but not to this extent.
To say, right in front of Minato, that he wanted to seize someone else's student and subject him to extreme interrogation—was he serious?
Minato said nothing.
But the smile had vanished from his face.
Sensing Minato's worsening mood, Hiruzen quickly warned Danzō not to act recklessly. He emphasized that others would handle the situation—Root didn't need to be involved.
He also reminded Danzō of the need for Root to remain secretive. Minato might know of Root's existence, but that didn't mean he was privy to its details. Danzō brazenly discussing Root's inner workings in front of Minato was crossing a line.
Yet Danzō today seemed to be under some berserk debuff—his hostility was unnervingly intense. He wouldn't let go of the Obito issue, openly defying even Hiruzen's authority.
This extreme stance only puzzled Hiruzen more. He began to suspect something was truly wrong with Danzō.
"Enough! Danzō, I'm the Hokage! I've already said Minato will handle this. We don't need you or Root to interfere!"
Danzō: "You'll regret this, Hiruzen."
Bang!
A heavy door slam echoed.
A familiar scene. The ANBU guards outside didn't even flinch. They'd seen this play out many times over the past few months.
Normally, Danzō would cool down afterward, so there was no need to worry.
What they didn't know was that today's Danzō was different. The fire and madness in his eyes weren't fading. In fact, they were growing stronger.
Just as Hiruzen had vaguely guessed, Danzō truly had been pushed to a breaking point—and the trigger was a video game: *Escape*.
After passing out from emotional overload while playing, Danzō had returned to the game. He was determined to save his beloved NPC companions—Sarutobi Hiruzen and Tobirama Senju.
Haunted by regrets from the First Great Ninja War—hesitating in a key moment and missing his chance to become Hokage, failing to save his teacher—he was obsessed with proving himself to Tobirama. These fixations merged, driving him to emotional extremes.
But the game's plot was fixed. There was no route to save both characters. Uchiha Kei had created the game to trigger the Sharingan—adding flashy narrative branches wasn't part of the design.
That didn't stop Danzō from trying again and again.
Over and over, he failed. Each time, he watched his friend and mentor die for his sake. To someone with Danzō's obsession, this was as agonizing as it would be for any emotionally sensitive Uchiha.
And so, he broke.
After his most recent failure, he snapped. He flipped his desk in a fit of rage, nearly giving himself a stroke. If Root operatives hadn't rushed him some blood pressure meds, he might have collapsed on the spot.
Still, the old man endured. But his mind had fractured. He now believed it was all part of the Uchiha's evil conspiracy—a ploy to shatter his resolve.
So when he heard that Uchiha Obito had been apprehended, he decided then and there—he would act.
He would show the Uchiha they didn't control the Hidden Leaf.
In his mind, the Uchiha *were* controlling Konoha. That was his conclusion, and in his extremist mindset, he would do whatever it took to break that control.
And so, after storming out of the Hokage's office, Danzō didn't cool off. He remained consumed by rage and determination. Whether Hiruzen approved or not, he was going to take Obito—he would prove the Uchiha's evil manipulation to everyone.
Of course, these thoughts remained locked in Danzō's heart. Hiruzen, as in canon, remained unaware—just as he had no idea Danzō would one day manipulate Itachi Uchiha into massacring his own clan.
After Danzō left, Hiruzen sighed and apologized to Minato. He asked him not to take offense, and explained that everyone simply wanted to protect the village.
Minato understood. He believed Hiruzen's words were sincere. But...
"Lord Third, I do believe you're acting in Konoha's best interest. But I also have something I must protect. When Danzō-dono left, I could feel it—he hasn't given up. He's planning something."
"I don't know what exactly, but if he harms Obito... then I won't hesitate to point my kunai at anyone in this village."
Minato said this with calm seriousness. He didn't hide his intentions—because this honesty was a sign of his respect for Hiruzen.
Hiruzen's face changed. He wanted to speak, but Minato cut him off with a question:
"Lord Third... if, when you were young, someone tried to harm your student—Jiraiya-sensei and the others—how would you have reacted?"
At that, Hiruzen fell silent. He couldn't refute it.
When he was young, had anyone tried to hurt his students, this so-called "Professor of Ninjutsu" would've smashed their heads in with his staff.
Don't be fooled—Hiruzen hadn't always been a kind old man. His nickname "Monkey" wasn't just due to his size and agility—it was also because of his short temper.
Back when the Second Hokage asked who would stay behind to cover the retreat, Hiruzen didn't hesitate to volunteer. That was his nature.
So when Minato posed that question, Hiruzen understood exactly how he felt.
With a sigh, he said nothing more. Even he couldn't argue with that logic.
Besides, Minato had made it clear—he was only reacting because someone had targeted his student. And Hiruzen had already placed future decisions in Minato's hands. If anyone bypassed Minato to strike at Obito, they'd be directly defying the Hokage's orders.
That would be treason. At that point, even killing the offender would be justified.
So Hiruzen let the matter drop.
He believed Danzō had been properly warned. He didn't expect further trouble.
The meeting ended, and Hiruzen chatted briefly with Minato before they parted ways.
However, due to Danzō's earlier intrusion, Minato chose not to tell Hiruzen about White Zetsu.
His reason? Also Danzō.
It sounded strange, but Minato had a gut feeling: if he told Hiruzen about White Zetsu and handed the creature over, it would eventually fall into Danzō's hands. And if that happened, something terrible would follow.
It was intuition—and that instinct had saved Minato's life countless times. In fact, it had grown sharper since he mastered his Nine-Tails Mode.
Moved by this strong sixth sense, Minato decided to withhold the information. He only reported that he'd encountered a white creature, and that another similar being had captured Obito and escaped.
The battlefield remained unchanged. Hiruzen would send personnel to investigate, clean up, and try to track down Tobi.
The rest was no longer Minato's responsibility. Others would handle it.
As Minato stepped out of the Hokage Building, he glanced back at the office.
"Lord Third... you've grown old. The decisiveness and sharpness of your youth are slipping away. Maybe in a few more years, you'll become the hesitant, indecisive elder Kei-kun warned me about..."
With a sigh, Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished.
In that moment, the "Yellow Flash of the Leaf" first had the thought: "The village needs a younger, more forward-looking Hokage."
A thought that, in the shinobi world, was unquestionably heretical.
The Minato from the original timeline would never have thought this.
But in this world, Minato had been deeply influenced by Uchiha Kei. He remained the bright sun of the village—but his perspective had changed. He no longer saw the Third Hokage as an untouchable authority.
Of course, Minato didn't intend to act on these thoughts. He hoped that in two years, Tsunade or Orochimaru would take the mantle and bring fresh energy to a stagnating Konoha.
As for his own dream of becoming Hokage—he could wait until the Fifth.
After all, he was still young. Not even twenty.