Most crucially, if he went, that old geezer Danzō would definitely not send anyone.

How else could he directly get rid of the old man?

Kazuyama Gekkō was already prepared to eliminate Danzō, but he didn't plan to do it himself. Same old trick—let Amegakure and Takigakure take the blame. That way, he could stay clean. Once the old man was dead, he'd smoothly take over Root. Perfect.

"No problem. I'll get back to work soon."

"I heard that while I was away, the ANBU took turns protecting my family. I owe you all a debt of gratitude!"

"Heh heh heh..."

A sinister chuckle escaped him, making the others shake their heads.

For Kazuyama Gekkō to personally express gratitude—tsk, those ANBU were in for quite a time.

Soon, Kazuyama Gekkō, Fugaku Uchiha, and Nara Shikaku left the Hokage's office.

The moment they stepped outside, Kazuyama blocked Fugaku.

"Hey, Fugaku, how about I help train your second son?"

"Look how well I trained Itachi."

"He's already close to becoming a Chūnin, isn't he?"

Uchiha Itachi's days as a student had long since ended—he had graduated early and was already a full-fledged ninja. Under Kazuyama Gekkō's arrangement, whether it was Kakashi, Obito Uchiha, or Uchiha Shisui, all gave him special attention.

Itachi Uchiha: ...Right! By constantly challenging me to spar and beating me up every time??? You devil instructor!

"Hmph. A devil instructor like you? Forget it."

"Though I admit Itachi's strength has been improving quickly. But Sasuke is still young. When he's older, I'll consider it."

Originally, Fugaku Uchiha had wanted to snap back at Kazuyama Gekkō. But then he thought of his eldest son—graduating early, steadily growing stronger, his Sharingan already at two tomoe. Perhaps letting Kazuyama Gekkō help with training wasn't a bad idea.

The real problem was how busy he was now. After the Uchiha's reforms, their status had been completely restored. Many clan members, including himself, were working hard for the village. It was exhausting, but the feeling of being valued again was undeniably satisfying.

"Ugh, boring."

"Shikaku, how about your son? Let him try."

"I promise I'll raise a top-tier genius for the Nara Clan!"

Since he couldn't rope in the Second Pillar, Kazuyama Gekkō turned to Nara Shikaku, his face full of mischief.

With that expression, who wouldn't know exactly what he was plotting?

Without hesitation, Nara Shikaku refused. He pushed off with his legs and ran straight past the two.

"Fine, fine. If you're not interested, forget it."

"Let's go. Oh, Fugaku, Mikoto and Sasuke are with me too. Why don't you come over?"

Kazuyama Gekkō planned to drink himself senseless tonight. He had to celebrate properly—after all, he'd just made several hundred million. How could he not?

"Got it. I'll come later. Still have work to finish."

"Hmph. Honestly, I kinda envy you, bastard. See ya."

Envy? Maybe. Compared to being out on missions every day, Fugaku thought his current life wasn't bad at all. After all, finishing work and going home to see his wife and children—that was already enough for him.

...

Inside the Hokage's office, the atmosphere was completely different.

The air seemed frozen, all because of a question from Danzō Shimura.

"What are your thoughts on the Uchiha?"

"Though the Nine-Tails incident has passed, and the Uchiha have reformed under Fugaku Uchiha's iron-fisted policies, the suspicion around them hasn't disappeared."

"Don't forget the Sharingan that appeared that night. That was Uchiha without a doubt."

His words brought silence to all five, including Minato Namikaze.

Especially the three advisers—having studied under the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, they carried deep-rooted prejudice against the Uchiha Clan.

"Let's not pursue this matter any further."

"Advisor Danzō, you must understand—the Uchiha are part of Konoha."

"They've already made huge sacrifices to integrate into the village."

"After such drastic changes, are you really going to act like none of it matters?"

Minato Namikaze cut Danzō off sharply.

The Uchiha had completely changed. They were no longer what they had been. Now, Uchiha could be found throughout the village, in every position.

Other clans had grown close to them. Many shinobi teams even had Uchiha members among them.

"Konoha is more united than ever. I hope you can put aside your prejudice."

"Don't let division return to Konoha. Wasn't it unity that let us win the Third Shinobi World War?"

"Enough. I still have much to do. Please leave."

Minato's face was grim. As both Hokage and shinobi, he knew what mattered most for the village. He would never allow it to fall into darkness again.

"Minato..."

"Though Danzō's words are somewhat exaggerated, the Uchiha still can't be ignored."

"At least until we know for certain who it was that night, we can't afford to let our guard down."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped in to mediate. If Danzō was bold enough to bring this up, then of course they had come prepared.

They just hadn't expected Minato's stance to be so firm. But thinking again, the Uchiha had indeed changed a lot in recent years. Perhaps the old ways of thinking no longer applied.

"I'll have Kazuyama investigate this matter."

"With our intelligence network, the truth should come out soon."

"Instead of fixating on the Uchiha, it would be better to think about the Daimyō's Manor."

"Ever since the Guardian Shinobi organization was established, the Daimyō's attitude toward us has been growing worse."

The Guardian Shinobi—precursor to the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

Formed under the Daimyō's leadership, the unit had already grown to considerable size, with both numbers and elite fighters. Kazuma was still in command, but now the Guardian Shinobi were constantly working against Konoha, even reducing the village's mission flow.

"Sigh. It may look like peace, but in the shadows, there's still far too much going on."

"Minato, we'll be going."

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood full well the challenges the village faced. For now, he had no more words, and simply left the office with Danzō and the others.

When everyone had gone, Minato Namikaze leaned back in his chair and let out a weary sigh.

"The Uchiha..."

"Madara..."

"And the Daimyō's Manor..."

After a long moment of thought, Minato's face hardened once more. He knew that what was destined to come would come.

He needed to prepare early—or the village would face even greater trials.