Back in the forest where Minato was, the trees—half of them—and the ground were covered by leaves that fell rapidly, shattering into small pieces of ice as they touched the soil.
At the spot where Minato stood, everything was frozen, as if a battle had just taken place there. Minato let out a breath, and a cold mist escaped from his mouth; he couldn't help but feel impressed.
He had fused wind and water, thus generating the ice element. But then he had an idea: if he somehow made the ice spread out in all directions, it could go wrong—but he tried it anyway, and that was exactly what happened.
"I guess this extreme ease I have is probably my golden finger or cheat," Minato said, as another idea came to him, which he immediately began to put into practice, transforming his chakra into three elements: fire, water, and earth. He sent that chakra to his hand.
Just above it appeared a gray, gleaming material, soft like water.
"This is liquid metal." Minato touched the bubble; his finger sank in, and it felt a bit strange, but he had managed to create liquid metal. It wasn't as if he had planned it—he just wanted to see what the combination would produce.
Seeing that he could fuse three elements with ease, he shouldn't have any trouble creating Dust Release. Before taking his experiments any further, Minato stopped because of the memories he had just received from the clone that was in his place as Hokage. There would be a meeting with the feudal lords and clan leaders, and the one who had organized this meeting for discussion was Danzō.
"It could only be you," Minato muttered before vanishing in a yellow flash. There was a teleportation seal in the Hokage's office, and not only there.
Forty minutes later, seated at a large table, were Minato, Fugaku, the leader of the Nara clan, the leader of the Yamanaka clan, as well as the feudal lord of the Land of Fire and other leaders of Konoha's clans.
Minato's expression was far from good, especially when he looked at Danzō, who had his eyes closed, yet wore a satisfied expression, even while trying not to reveal it.
"Fugaku doesn't have a good expression either," Minato thought before continuing. "Whatever Danzō has done, it doesn't seem to be something good."
Someone entered the room: the Third Hokage, who greeted everyone before sitting down beside Danzō, causing Minato to raise an eyebrow and hear a light grumble from Fugaku, who realized that nothing good was coming.
A minute later, the feudal lord of the Land of Fire entered, chin held high, walking to his chair. Everyone in the room greeted him.
Everyone sat in their places, the sound of chairs echoing softly through the silent room. The tension was palpable, as if the air had grown heavier the instant the feudal lord of the Land of Fire placed his hands on the table and stared at those present.
With his chin raised and a look full of arrogance, he finally spoke:
"This meeting is being conducted due to the recent events in Konoha—events that make one thing very clear: a serious problem of incompetent leadership."
The words fell like blades. Minato remained silent, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Due to the Hokage's sheer incompetence, this village was almost destroyed by the Nine-Tailed Demon… and by the demon woman who contained it. Someone who was in possession of such power should have prevented such a disaster."
At the exact moment he finished the sentence, the large wooden table began to creak. A low yet menacing sound spread through the room. Small cracks appeared where Minato's fingers rested. The force he was applying there was held back only by self-control.
Inside, Minato nearly cursed that man. His chakra churned violently, but he took a deep breath and remained silent.
The feudal lord noticed—or pretended to notice—and tilted his head slightly, with a provocative air.
"Is there a problem, Lord Hokage?"
The arrogance in his voice was explicit.
Minato did not respond. He knew. It didn't matter what he said. That meeting was not a debate; it was a trial. A trial already decided, created to suppress him.
Seeing the silence, the feudal lord shifted his gaze.
"I see that the Hokage has nothing to say…" he said, then turning to the other side of the table. "Lord Fugaku."
The leader of the Uchiha clan lifted his gaze slightly.
"The village's security is under your care, is it not?" the feudal lord continued. "Since the Hokage took command, he has granted considerable freedom to the Uchiha. Even with all that freedom… where were the Uchiha on the day the Fox was unleashed?"
The room grew even quieter.
"And the attack that happened yesterday, Lord Fugaku?" he added, with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. "You don't need to answer."
Fugaku's face tightened further. His eyes darkened, and his expression visibly worsened.
Fugaku took a deep breath before speaking. His voice came out controlled, yet firm, cutting through the heavy silence of the room.
"The failure was not on our part," he declared. "The surveillance of the outer walls was not the responsibility of the Uchiha clan. That duty belonged to the Root."
As he said this, Fugaku slowly turned his face, casting a direct, cold look in Danzō's direction. There was no open accusation in his words, but the meaning was far too clear to be ignored.
Danzō opened his eyes calmly, as if he had merely been waiting for that moment. His tone came out dry and authoritative.
"Don't try to change the subject, Fugaku," he said. "We are talking about responsibility, not political games."
Before Fugaku could respond, the feudal lord of the Land of Fire nodded slowly, agreeing with Danzō.
"Exactly," he said, with the same arrogance as before. "The leader of the Uchiha clan is clearly not taking responsibility for his share of the blame and is trying to shift it onto others."
He then turned his gaze back to Minato, his lips curling into a distasteful smile.
"And that brings us back to the main point," he continued. "The demon woman. A power like that should be treated as a strategic weapon of the Land of Fire. She should have been far more secure. Under absolute surveillance."
His eyes narrowed.
"And clearly she was not. She was under the Hokage's care… and he failed."
The crack echoed through the room.
The table trembled as Minato rose abruptly, chakra exuding an incredible pressure.
"Do not dare call her that," Minato said, his voice low but filled with restrained fury. His blue eyes were sharp as steel. "Kushina is my wife. And I guarantee she is very well protected with me."
For a moment, no one dared to speak. Even the feudal lord seemed to recoil slightly before the pressure Minato was radiating.
Then, a sound broke the silence.
A short, hoarse laugh.
Danzō brought a hand to his chin, a crooked smile appearing on his lips.
"Hm… it doesn't seem so," he commented, with evident disdain.
"Lord Danzō, I must remind you that the one responsible for Konoha's walls is the Root. The fault is not the Uchiha's, as you are implying here; the one who owes an explanation is not him." The leader of the Nara clan, who until then had been sitting without saying a word, finally spoke.
Danzō's face did not look good at all. He cast a slow, threatening glare at the leader of the Nara clan, who remained silent, arms crossed, showing no fear whatsoever.