"Taking all of this into consideration, Minato believed that placing the blame for the incident on an external party would have a far less detrimental impact than revealing the truth."
In a conference room within the Hokage's office building, Kushina Uzumaki, dressed in black, was giving a detailed account of the previous night's events to the Third Hokage and the two Konoha Advisors. Finally, she explained Minato Namikaze's approach to handling the incident.
"Although this approach will appease the village internally and create a certain sense of shared animosity, it… it could very well lead to the rekindling of a war that was gradually dying down," said Homura Mitokado.
And more importantly…
"More importantly, Kushina, you shouldn't have spread this information before consulting with us."
Kushina's personality had some similarities to Tsunade's. Faced with such an accusation, she retorted without hesitation, "This was the Fourth Hokage's last order."
Then, she shot a glance at the Third Hokage, the implied meaning undoubtedly being, who do these two old farts think they are?
The Third Hokage took a few puffs from his pipe and said, "It's hard to say definitively whether characterizing last night's events as an internal or external problem would have worse consequences. However, since Kushina has already made this decision, things will have to be handled this way."
Unsurprisingly, the Third Hokage displayed his traditional skill of "smoothing things over." Fortunately, Kushina Uzumaki had already preemptively created a fait accompli; otherwise, it was hard to say what kind of mess this situation would have become.
"So, did Minato really believe that the masked man last night was Madara Uchiha?" the Third Hokage asked.
"Familiar with Konoha's barriers, possessing space-time ninjutsu on par with Minato's, and ocular power sufficient to control the Nine-Tails… Minato believed that person was Madara Uchiha. Moreover, he believed that although the opponent failed to capture the Nine-Tails this time, Madara Uchiha would one day return," Kushina Uzumaki stated.
"Impossible! Madara Uchiha was defeated by the First Hokage, and his body was brought back to Konoha, where the Second…" Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane denied this in unison, their words identical, then abruptly stopped.
Madara Uchiha's body had been dissected and studied by the Second Hokage, but out of respect for the deceased, they, as former disciples and subordinates, couldn't exactly criticize the Second Hokage.
"Cough, considering his age, Madara Uchiha couldn't possibly be alive in this era," the Third Hokage said.
"However, regardless of whether it was Madara Uchiha or not, the truth of the culprit can only be investigated through the Sharingan and the Uchiha…" Saying this, the Third Hokage glanced at Kushina Uzumaki, then added, "…discreetly."
The Third Hokage essentially endorsed the Fourth Hokage's approach. There was a point the Third Hokage was right about: no one could know for sure whether blaming Kumogakure or blaming the Uchiha would have worse consequences.
However, just as the Third Hokage had made his decision, the conference room door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and Danzo Shimura strode in.
"What's the point of this deceitful handling of the situation? Since the Uchiha and the Sharingan caused the problems last night, what's wrong with holding the Uchiha clan responsible? What's there to hesitate about? Hiruzen, don't be so soft."
"..."
Honestly, the Hokage and the Konoha Advisors were holding a meeting to decide the village's future course of action. What business did the leader of Root have here? Did he have any right to speak?
Yet Danzo Shimura just walked in uninvited, looking as if he intended to participate in the discussion… No, it should be said that he looked as if he intended to dominate the discussion.
This highlighted the difference between the two Konoha Advisors and Danzo Shimura. The two Konoha Advisors were characterized by their conservatism; they believed that Konoha's existing rules were good and perfect, and any action that violated those rules was bad. Danzo Shimura, on the other hand? He was malicious, sinister, always looking to stir up trouble, and believed himself to be the most rational and intelligent, and that his decisions were always the most correct.
Thus, after Danzo Shimura joined, the previously somewhat harmonious discussion immediately became confrontational.
It reached a point where the Third Hokage had to assert his authority: "Danzo, we can only handle the issue in this manner. This was the Fourth Hokage's dying wish, and it is the policy endorsed by the Third Hokage. You may have objections, but your objections are noted and dismissed."
After the Fourth Hokage's unexpected death, the supreme authority of Konoha naturally returned to the Third Hokage's hands. Although his words just now were quite blunt, for a supreme leader, they were still somewhat mild.
And after the Third Hokage said this, Danzo Shimura had no choice but to shut up, and the argument ended there. However, this could hardly be called decisive action on the Third Hokage's part. In fact, it was Kushina's preemptive actions that had pushed the Third Hokage to be resolute; otherwise, the Third Hokage might very well have been stuck in a state of "analysis paralysis."
Just as Danzo was feeling a bit awkward, there was a knock on the conference room door.
"Lord Hokage, Chunin Habara has arrived."
"Enter."
Thus, Habara, a mere chunin, walked into a room filled with Konoha's elite. He had no idea why the Third Hokage had summoned him.
"Lord Hokage."
Habara greeted him, still leaning on his crutch but otherwise fully dressed, with his ninja tools strapped to his back.
Upon seeing the metal lump behind Habara, Danzo Shimura gave him a deep look.
Because Habara had interacted with both the Masked Man and the Nine-Tails last night, the Third Hokage and the others had summoned him to inquire about the events. However, given that Kushina had already provided a very clear account, there wasn't much point in questioning Habara further.
Skipping the questioning process, the Third Hokage said, "Habara, I have issued a gag order regarding the matter of the jinchuriki. It is absolutely forbidden to reveal this to anyone. Do you understand?"
Habara nodded. "I understand, Lord Hokage."
The matter of the jinchuriki, of course, didn't refer to Kushina Uzumaki, but to the fact that her son, Naruto Uzumaki, had also become a Nine-Tails jinchuriki, and that Konoha now possessed two jinchuriki. This was, of course, top-secret information.
Habara's attitude was impeccable. The Third Hokage nodded and continued, "Secondly, given your outstanding performance last night, I believe the rank of chunin is extremely unsuitable for you. Therefore, I am using my authority as Hokage to specially promote you to jonin."
Based on Habara's performance last night, he had indeed demonstrated strength worthy of a jonin. The problem, however, was that this direct promotion was somewhat unconventional.
Thus, someone immediately expressed their dissatisfaction. Danzo Shimura spoke, "Hiruzen, this is against the rules. The appointment of a jonin must go through a rigorous examination. Your direct appointment of a jonin will lead to an abuse of power. You will set a very bad precedent…"
Regardless of Danzo's intentions in saying this, his words weren't actually wrong. The Hokage should follow the rules, but…
Kushina Uzumaki interjected, "Then let's do it this way. In addition to chunin who pass the jonin exam, we'll add another criterion… Anyone who can knock down the Nine-Tails in one move can also become a jonin."
Danzo Shimura fell silent. He realized that it was very difficult to prevent a ninja of Habara's strength from becoming a jonin.
Strength was fundamental; everything else was just tricks.
As for Habara, he was secretly suffering. Please, how could he possibly knock down the Nine-Tails in one move? It was clearly he who had been knocked down by the Nine-Tails in one move.
"Habara, accept the appointment," the Third Hokage said.
Habara took a deep breath. "Yes, Lord Hokage."
In any case, this was a fulfillment of his wishes, and his treatment was even better than that of a savior of the world. The savior of the world didn't get directly promoted from genin to jonin, while Habara, just by kicking Obito and feeding the Nine-Tails a "pill," had received an exceptional promotion. Well this might be due to different circumstances, at this point, Konoha has enemies all around, so more strong people are needed, while after the 4th Shinobi war, Konoha was undefeatable.
After obtaining the rank of jonin and leaving the conference room, Kazeri approached Habara again and whispered in his ear, "Lady Biwako Sarutobi is out of danger."
Habara was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
From this day forward, his relationship with both the Hokage's wife and the Hokage's mother had become very good.
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