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"A single battalion, if I'm not mistaken, consists of 200 shinobi, right?" Minato asked calmly. "And both Itachi and Naruto can easily handle that many on their own."
The room was silent for a moment before the council members nodded in reluctant agreement.
Koharu then spoke up. "We understand, Lord Hokage. Your son is part of the team as well, and we must admit that since he became a Chūnin, and later joined the ANBU, his reputation has skyrocketed. Many are beginning to wonder... are you preparing him for the position of Hokage?"
Minato sighed inwardly. It was a question he'd heard one too many times. The council had been pressing him in almost every meeting regarding his eldest son. What are your plans for Naruto? Will he become the Hokage? Are you secretly training him for the title?
The constant inquiries had become tiring. It seemed that no matter what the official agenda was, the conversation always circled back to Naruto. Every time, the same questions resurfaced: What kind of training is Naruto undergoing? Will he be Hokage?
And during all this, Menma and Mito had slowly faded into the background in the eyes of the high-ranking officials.
Minato didn't like that. Not one bit. But there wasn't much he could do about it—not when Naruto had earned everything on his own.
He found himself drifting into a memory.
Flashback
A younger Minato stood by a training ground, watching his son Menma try to run up a tree using chakra control.
"Alright, Menma, you're doing well," Minato called out with a smile.
Menma beamed at his father. He was finally getting it. He had managed to maintain chakra control long enough to stick to the tree, and was now leaping between branches with excitement.
From a short distance, Mito watched quietly. Though she still had better chakra control, she let her twin have his moment.
Menma leaped high into the air. "Did you see that, Dad? I did it!"
Minato laughed. "Of course I did! You're pretty talented, Menma. Keep it up."
Menma smirked with confidence. "Believe it! I'm gonna be Hokage one day, so I have to be the best!"
Minato chuckled warmly, shaking his head as he watched his son's enthusiasm.
Back in the present,
Minato refocused on the council.
"This meeting is dragging," he muttered under his breath. Then he spoke aloud, "As for Naruto's future... that is up to him. I cannot make that decision for him. He's already an ANBU captain, and he's earned that title through merit, not favoritism."
Most of the council members grumbled quietly but didn't argue. After all, Naruto was one of the most accomplished shinobi in the village—if not the most.
He was the shining star of the village.
In the past five years, the Uchiha clan had been fully reinstated in the village, much to the frustration of Danzo. But there was little he could do about it.
Ironically, the same rumors that once cast suspicion on the Uchiha for the Nine-Tails attack were now rebuilding their reputation. Many believed Itachi had been secretly training Naruto Namikaze from a young age, mentoring the boy who would later become a prodigy in his own right.
On top of that, the Uchiha clan had been actively working with the Hokage to nurture more geniuses—shinobi like Itachi, and others to come. Their reputation had surged.
Naruto, already a trusted ally of the Uchiha, had received praise from them and even their open support. Some clans didn't like this alliance, but there wasn't much they could do. Itachi had taken Naruto under his wing before the boy was even well-known.
Rumors persisted that Itachi had been training him since Naruto was very young, which only added to the mystique. Complaining now would accomplish nothing. Besides, there were few in Naruto's age group—or even older—who could match his level of skill or rank.
Danzo was furious, of course. But with the support of the Hokage behind both Naruto and the Uchiha, there was little he or the elders could do.
For now, Danzo decided to bide his time—hoping he'd eventually get his hands on the Sharingan he so desperately coveted for his Root experiments.
Meanwhile, back at the Academy, only one month remained before the graduation exams for the current class of students.
Menma Namikaze had just entered the classroom. Silence fell over the room almost instantly.
When they had first joined the Academy, Menma and Mito—the son and daughter of the Hokage—had attracted constant attention. But all of that had slowly faded as Naruto rose through the ranks.
Flashback – Three Years Ago
Nine-year-old Menma and Mito clenched their fists as they sat in class, overhearing the whispers that swirled around them.
"Hey, did you hear?" one student said with a smirk. "He just joined the ANBU!"
"Yeah," another added, "can you believe it? And look at those two"—he motioned toward Menma and Mito—"they're only a few minutes younger than him!"
Someone else laughed. "Well, I guess they're not as talented, huh? I mean, he's already in ANBU, and they're still stuck in the Academy!"
There were more murmurs.
"I heard Hokage-sama is training him personally."
"Yeah, and even the Sannin were involved in his training too."
Another voice scoffed, "Even if they were training the twins, they must've figured out by now that they're just not talented enough."
Menma and Mito clenched their fists harder. The stinging truth in those words ignited the growing inferiority complex they both shared. Their older brother's success had cast an overwhelming shadow over them, one that grew darker with each passing day.
Driven by frustration, they trained like mad. But their father and mother had gradually begun to reduce their training sessions, perhaps hoping to give them a normal childhood. Only their godfather continued to push them—helping them increase their chakra reserves, teaching them chakra control, and introducing them to basic ninjutsu.
Still, he always emphasized one thing:
"You need better chakra control."
That repeated line frustrated them more than anything else.
By the age of eight, they had learned the basic Shadow Clone Jutsu using a standard hand sign. By ten, they were attempting to perform it one-handed—just like their brother. But they continued to struggle.
Their parents had explained it to them: the Nine-Tails' chakra seal within them was designed in a way that it constantly leaked chakra. Because of that, they wouldn't gain proper control over their chakra until they were at least fifteen or sixteen.
That only made things worse.
"What's the point of having such massive chakra reserves," Menma had once shouted in frustration, "if you can't even control them to learn new jutsu?!"
The fame of their brother Naruto, meanwhile, continued to spread like wildfire throughout the village. Everywhere they went, it was "Naruto this," "Naruto that." It was infuriating. No matter how hard they trained, they were always in his shadow.
Meanwhile, far from the village, Naruto and his elite team had finally reached the border of the Hidden Mist Village. With precise movements and expert stealth, they slipped past patrols and made their way inside enemy territory.
Eventually, they stood face to face with leaders of the rebellion. Naruto, wearing his dragon mask, stood at the front of the squad as they met with Ao and several other high-ranking rebels...