"Extra! Extra! The Enforcement Team's ninja were caught abusing their authority and have been severely punished by Lord Aoba! The culprits have been handed over to the Interrogation Corps!"
… …
"Extra! Extra! Hyūga Kōta of the former Hyūga branch family is marrying a kunoichi from the Nara clan! Lord Aoba personally offered his blessings at the wedding!"
… …
On the top floor of a quiet teahouse, Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen sat across from one another at a table. Danzō pushed a folded newspaper across the table toward Hiruzen, his voice laced with mockery.
"Heh… Sarutobi, it seems the village has grown lively during your absence. Even the Hyūga clan has essentially ceased to exist. Don't you think it's time you took some responsibility?"
Hiruzen lowered his eyes, setting down his teacup with a quiet clink. He picked up his pipe, puffing once before replying with a neutral tone.
"The Hyūga have not been destroyed, Danzō. They've simply… dissolved their old structure and become one with the village. Much like what happened with the Senju clan."
Danzō scoffed inwardly. He knew Hiruzen well enough to see through his diplomacy—and he was certain Hiruzen could see through him just as clearly.
He tapped the newspaper with a pale finger.
"And what about this? That boy's popularity is surging. He has both strength and a sense of justice. I hate to admit it, but he was right: the times have changed, Sarutobi."
With that, Danzō pulled a file from his robes and spread several sheets across the table.
"Look closely. The Nara, Aburame, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Inuzuka… they're all aligning with him. And now the former branch members of the Hyūga are being used as tools in his hands."
Though harsh in tone, Danzō wasn't wrong. The opportunities those Hyūga branch members brought to Kawaki Aoba were immense. Even Aoba himself may not have anticipated it at first.
Strategic marriages alone had entrenched his influence across nearly every major clan in the village. Even the smaller families had not been overlooked.
The Hyūga had been large. Very large. With the clan's dismantling, many civilian and lesser ninja families eagerly seized the chance to strengthen their bloodlines by marrying into Hyūga lineage.
It wasn't about love; it was about the Byakugan.
In a way, the fall of the Hyūga had fed the rise of everyone else. The feast this time was more decadent than anything seen during the Senju clan's gradual absorption into the village over the reigns of the Second and Third Hokage.
That old secret mission—Root's attempt to control the Uchiha and other clans—had decimated the Senju legacy and scattered its members, leading to their quiet fade into history.
Compared to that slow decline, the Hyūga's collapse had turned into a social and political harvest for the rest of the village.
And at the center of this harvest stood Kawaki Aoba—both the host and the cook of the feast.
Danzō had left two names out of his list on purpose: the Shimura and Sarutobi clans. Ironically, even the Uchiha—long a pariah in Konoha politics—had claimed a few Hyūga pairings. But out of pride or reluctance, their participation was minimal.
As for the wishes of the Hyūga branch members… they were hardly relevant. Not that Aoba had to coerce anyone. With the Hyūga hierarchy gone, many were simply unwilling to return to civilian obscurity. Marrying into a noble clan offered safety, status, and perhaps a purpose.
The reception these former Hyūga received from other clans? Not reverence, perhaps—but certainly a level of respect and treatment better than they'd known under the Main Family's rule.
More importantly, they were now aligned with Aoba.
And in today's Konoha, very few were foolish enough to oppose Kawaki Aoba.
"…I didn't expect Aoba to rise this far, and so quickly," Hiruzen muttered, almost to himself. "Impressive."
Danzō stiffened. His expression twisted, as though Hiruzen had stabbed him in the side with a chopstick.
This wasn't what he'd come here for. Wasn't this supposed to be a strategy session? A crisis meeting?
Why was Hiruzen sighing like a proud grandfather?
The stronger that boy became, the more dangerous the situation was for both of them!
As if sensing Danzō's thoughts, Hiruzen let out a weary sigh and shook his head.
"Danzō… do you think I've just been idling all these days? That newspaper trend—it can't be stopped. All we could do was establish a competing outlet. Whether it will succeed…"
His words trailed off, lost in the smoke from his pipe.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't say the rest, but the implication was already clear.
He wasn't optimistic.
What he left unsaid was that, in addition to the information in the newspaper, he had been quietly investigating the actions of Kawaki Aoba ever since the latter became the Hokage's assistant.
And that was the real reason behind Hiruzen's silence.
He had never imagined that Kawaki Aoba would go so far, spreading his influence so widely. Not only had Aoba not failed, but he had also managed everything with precision and control.
This wasn't something that could be accomplished with mere talent. It required enormous funding.
And by "enormous," it wasn't a matter of hundreds of millions of ryo—it had to be far more.
So, had Kawaki Aoba been targeting the noble clans from the beginning?
Hiruzen thought it was very possible, and he was astonished by the boy's boldness. If not for the events that followed, Aoba might have suffered greatly due to financial missteps.
At that time, Hiruzen would have taken advantage of the situation to get a handle on him.
But now, it was too late.
The perfect opportunity had slipped away—gone forever.
Still, beyond Kawaki Aoba's rise, Hiruzen had taken the chance to investigate someone else—a certain old "friend" whose behavior had recently become suspicious.
His eyes fell sharply on Shimura Danzo.
"Danzo," Hiruzen said coldly, "regarding your Root division... don't you have anything to tell me?"
Danzo's expression stiffened. He forced composure into his voice. "What do you mean, Hiruzen? Root hasn't made any moves recently."
Exactly. That was the problem.
Hiruzen knew Danzo well—his obsessive desire for control, his habit of manipulating events from the shadows. There was no way Danzo would remain inactive if there was something to gain.
Even if Danzo had secretly allied with Kawaki Aoba to undermine the Hyuga clan, Hiruzen would have found it suspicious—but understandable.
But Danzo doing nothing? That was unthinkable.
The only explanation Hiruzen could imagine was that there was something wrong with Root itself.
Danzo's forces were no longer functional.
And over the past few days, Hiruzen's investigation had confirmed that theory.
Eventually, after a long back-and-forth, Danzo relented. He confessed the current state of Root—and the reason behind its sudden collapse.
As Danzo explained, Hiruzen's face grew darker and darker.
Until, finally, he spat out the name: "Uchiha Madara."
Danzo's face twitched. "Sarutobi… Are you saying that Uchiha Madara is hiding in the Land of Rain?"
"Who else could have that kind of power?" Hiruzen replied, voice grim.
Danzo had considered arguing, but now wasn't the time for deflection. They needed a solution.
"Sarutobi, you know I can't deploy anyone from Root now. If we want to deal with that boy, it's up to you. As for Uchiha Madara…"
Hiruzen was silent.
He felt like cursing.
How could he deal with Kawaki Aoba now?
And why should he? Sure, Aoba had broken free of Hiruzen's influence—but every action he had taken had strengthened Konoha.
Yet… that same influence was now troubling.
Aoba had once been a tool to counterbalance Namikaze Minato, the young Fourth Hokage. But now?
Now even Minato couldn't control him.
And coincidentally, at that very moment in the Hokage Office, Minato was thinking the same thing.
"Aoba… you really know how to create problems." Minato sighed as he looked over a towering stack of reports—every one of them involving Kawaki Aoba.
The young man's network was now entwined with every aspect of Konoha's infrastructure. It was terrifying.
"Hah… No, I can't let this continue," Minato muttered. "If I do, I'll be nothing more than a puppet Hokage."
He leaned back in his chair and sighed again. A decision had already formed in his heart—but before he took action, he had to speak with Kushina.
She was pregnant now. As her husband, he couldn't just leave without a word—even if he left a Shadow Clone behind.
Still, it wouldn't be the same.
His chakra reserves weren't vast like Naruto's would be in the future. Prolonged Shadow Clone usage was a burden—both physically and mentally.
Especially since what he was about to attempt… was extremely dangerous.
---
The next morning, Minato quietly left Konoha.
He left behind a Shadow Clone and temporarily appointed Nara Shikaku as his acting assistant.
Then, without alerting anyone, he used the Reverse Summoning Technique to teleport to Mount Myoboku, the sacred land of the toads.
Sage Mode—that was Minato's true goal.
Although he could use it partially now, his current version of Sage Mode was rudimentary. It required a long time to accumulate Natural Energy before it could be activated—completely impractical in real battle.
But the threats facing Konoha, from Kawaki Aoba's quiet power grab to the whispers of Uchiha Madara's return, demanded more.
Minato had to evolve.
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