"Out for a breath of fresh air. I'm not fond of crowded places, and I also don't like attending funerals. Regardless of whose funeral it is, for a doctor, it always means a vibrant life has just departed from the world."
"It's not something I'd expect to hear from you."
Kakashi tugged at his face mask.
Asami Shinsui smiled faintly, "I'm just doing what I can. But I'm not lying; I detest death, whether it's my own or someone else's. It's the professional ethics of a Medical Ninja."
"Is that so? I thought you were secretly smiling."
"How could that be? After all, this is the village where I grew up, and I have sentimental feelings for it. But regarding the Fourth Hokage's situation, I apologize."
Looking directly into Kakashi's eyes, Asami Shinsui's smile withdrew, and she seriously apologized.
"No, I'm the one who should apologize, knowing everything yet doing nothing about Minato-sensei's situation, watching them die with my own eyes. In the end, we are the same kind of people."
Kakashi stood up from the edge of the water tower, then jumped down and left along the stairway.
Asami Shinsui watched Kakashi leave, hands in the pockets of her white coat, her shoulder-length black hair fluttering in the wind.
"The same kind of people? Yes, we ceased to be part of this village long ago..."
Asami Shinsui murmured to herself.
It sounds somewhat self-deceptive.
Clearly doing work that harms this village, but feeling guilty for leaking information, thereby facing a remorseful conscience.
Without a strong and resolute heart, one cannot undertake such work.
And such work is merely a beginning.
In the future, more Konoha Ninjas will die because of her information.
◎
In a secret meeting room on a certain floor of the Hokage Building, four people sat. Retired former Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, two advisors Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and the semi-retired Root Leader Shimura Danzo.
Due to the unexpected sacrifice of Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, the four of them had to gather for an emergency meeting here.
After the Nine-tailed incident, the weary lines on Hiruzen's face appeared deeper, as if he had aged many years overnight.
The meeting room was silent, Hiruzen glanced at his lifelong comrades, now colleagues, and his gaze ultimately fell upon Danzo.
This person bore all the darkness of Konoha and was the village's most radical hawk.
Previously secretly researching Wood Style, and engaging in clandestine population trades and human experiments through Hidden Rain's Kanzo, leading to surveillance by his Anbu.
If Danzo's transactions with Hidden Rain's Kanzo were exposed, it would disgrace Konoha's reputation.
At that time, Konoha would face more than mere verbal attacks.
Konoha Village, long renowned in the Ninja Realm, would suffer tarnishing because of Danzo's actions, leading to a worsened reputation.
Sarutobi spent considerable time and effort handling future matters for Danzo,
"According to the battle damage statistics compiled by the Anbu, on the night of the Nine-tailed's attack on Konoha, including Minato and Kushina, a total of four hundred seventy-three Ninjas perished and over seventeen hundred individuals suffered various degrees of injuries, currently recovering."
Utatane Koharu first broke the quiet atmosphere in the meeting room.
She was now speaking of the death toll from Konoha's clash with the Nine-tailed.
Facing the legendary most powerful Tailed Beast, the Nine-tailed, only sacrificing a few hundred Ninjas to subdue it can be considered a major victory.
However, regarding this outcome, the four felt somewhat heavy-hearted.
The reason was the assassination of the Fourth Hokage couple; Konoha's loss couldn't be viewed through mere surface data.
The importance of the Fourth Hokage to Konoha is self-evident; Konoha's swift return to peace is inseparable from the power of the Fourth Hokage.
In this era of just ending frequent wars, transitioning towards peace, Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato was Konoha's greatest guarantee for peace.
Known as the Yellow Flash, it was a golden symbol deterring other Ninja Villages, potentially protecting Konoha for decades and preventing Konoha's international situation from becoming passive.
Yet... all these beautiful visions were abruptly lost on that night a few days ago.
"Luckily, there was no damage to villagers and buildings, only a piece outside the village was impacted, so recovery work will be simpler. However, the issue remains with Hidden Cloud, and a temporarily unclear attitude from Hidden Mist."
Mitokado Homura expressed his concerns with a furrowed brow.
"Regarding Hidden Cloud, I've already sent Torifu to guard, also issued a command for Jiraiya and Tsunade traveling in the Ninja Realm to return to the village."
"With the two of them back, there shouldn't be too much trouble from Hidden Cloud. Hidden Mist... Hiruzen, how do you plan to handle it?"
Mitokado Homura asked.
Just as Hiruzen was about to speak, Danzo suddenly intervened with a cold face,
"According to the spy I planted in Hidden Mist, a critically important message just arrived... Two days ago, Hidden Mist underwent a colossal internal battle."
"Internal battle?"
The three were slightly bewildered.
Danzo nodded in response, "Indeed. Hidden Mist Jonin Karatachi Yagura launched a coup to seize the position of Fourth Mizukage, successfully ousting the Third Mizukage. Due to this internal struggle, most areas of Hidden Mist Village suffered destruction, with at least a thousand Ninjas killed in the coup, countless injured. Hidden Mist won't recover anytime soon, not for at least three years."