The conference room inside the Hokage Building was filled with tension.
Every pair of eyes turned toward the man sitting at the far end of the head table—his right eye and right arm wrapped tightly in bandages.
Shimura Danzō.
If anyone in Konoha had done something shady, there was no need to question who it was.
Everyone would instinctively suspect him.
Because he not only had the power, but also the audacity to pull off almost anything.
"This matter has nothing to do with me!"
Danzō barked, face dark with fury as he noticed the accusatory gazes.
For once, he was telling the truth.
He had only just received the news himself and rushed to attend this emergency meeting—only to find himself immediately treated like the prime suspect.
But of course, one sentence of denial couldn't wash away everyone's doubts.
"Root doesn't have that kind of strength," Sarutobi Hiruzen interjected, trying to ease the situation.
Indeed—Root lacked the ability to silently eliminate the Strongest Kazekage.
The Third Kazekage wasn't some weakling like the Fourth. He had earned that title of "Strongest Kazekage" through power, not propaganda—unlike a certain so-called "Strongest Hokage" whose title was mostly hot air.
(Sarutobi Hiruzen: Just say my name already!)
And let's not forget—the Third Kazekage had been under the protection of Sunagakure's elite when he disappeared.
If Root truly had the power to kill such a man, Danzō would have been Hokage long ago, not sitting here as a glorified adviser.
Still… everyone remained suspicious.
It couldn't be helped.
Whenever something shady happened, odds were at least fifty percent that Danzō was involved.
Who else could they suspect?
"This should be related to the Sand Village," a young man with a pineapple-shaped hairstyle spoke up suddenly. "If they're merely sending a letter of protest, it means they have no real evidence. Besides, the elite guards who traveled with the Kazekage should still be alive, right?"
As he said this, he looked toward Mitokado Homura, who handled intelligence.
"They're fine," Homura confirmed.
Rōsha, Pakura, and the other rising stars of the Sand were all under Konoha surveillance, so their general movements were known.
"If only the Third Kazekage went missing, then it must have happened after he returned to the village. This letter is probably just an attempt to deflect blame."
That calm, reasoned voice belonged to Nara Shikaku.
After the suicide of his former commander, the White Fang, he had taken over as the acting head of the jōnin corps—and the Nara Clan had always held the role of Konoha's "military strategists."
No surprise that everyone turned to him now.
"Well said," Hiruzen nodded in agreement.
Of course, what they believed didn't matter.
The question was whether Sunagakure would believe it.
And if the Sand leadership knew perfectly well that Konoha wasn't to blame, yet still sent an accusation—then their intentions were clear.
Scapegoating.
Shifting domestic unrest onto an external target.
A classic move in the Shinobi World.
"How should we reply, then?"
Mitokado Homura, as head of foreign affairs, asked for confirmation—he wasn't about to take the blame for a diplomatic disaster.
The council elders could advise the Hokage, yes—but final decisions were the Hokage's responsibility.
Hiruzen's gaze swept across the room. "What do the clan heads think?"
Although it was nominally a jōnin meeting, real authority rested with the great ninja clans and a few elite jōnin.
Ordinary jōnin were lucky just to be in the room—speaking up was out of the question.
"The Hyūga Clan will follow the village's decision," the Hyūga patriarch said first.
Typical.
The Hyūga had always aligned themselves with whoever sat in the Hokage's chair—that was precisely why they eventually became Konoha's most influential clan.
Unlike the Uchiha, who could never play politics that well.
"We'll abide by the Hokage's ruling."
"No objections."
"Agreed."
One by one, the other clan heads voiced their cautious neutrality.
No one wanted to take responsibility.
An incident involving two major villages—if it went wrong, whoever made the wrong call could end up dead or disgraced.
The fate of the White Fang still hung heavy in everyone's memory.
If even a hero of Konoha had to take his own life after a failed mission—what would happen to a clan head whose suggestion triggered a war?
After that event, the great clans had steadily distanced themselves from the Hokage's office.
Of course, Root's behavior hadn't helped—Danzō's people had been kidnapping clan children for years, brainwashing them into emotionless weapons.
Finally, it was Uchiha Fugaku's turn.
"The village must not tolerate slander," he declared. "We must make it clear to Sunagakure that Konoha had no part in this!"
In other words—if it came to war, so be it.
Bring it on.
Fugaku wasn't stupid. He knew full well what this stance implied: if war broke out, the Uchiha would be among the first deployed.
But to him, that wasn't a drawback—it was an opportunity.
The Uchiha had been confined to the Police Force for too long.
Their clan revered strength and longed for battle—the exact opposite of the cautious, conservative Hyūga.
If war could prove their worth, Fugaku would seize that chance.
"Fugaku is right," Hiruzen said smoothly. "The village must reject any false accusations. We'll reply to the Sand with that stance."
A true political veteran.
In one sentence, he both affirmed Fugaku's words and subtly chained the Uchiha Clan to the war wagon—while making it seem like he valued their opinion.
With that, the main decision was made.
The rest of the meeting went smoothly.
Most attendees agreed that at worst, the Sand might send a few formal protests or stir up minor trouble.
Surely they wouldn't actually go to war with a stronger village over an unproven disappearance… right?
—Right?
After the meeting—
"Tsunade-sama!"
A blond man hurried down the corridor, intercepting a tall woman with short golden hair, radiant features, and a figure that could make men forget their own names.
Tsunade.
One of Konoha's fabled Legendary Sannin—known throughout the shinobi world as Princess Tsunade.
She had been quietly observing the meeting from the shadows, but Namikaze Minato had noticed her.
"What is it, Minato?" she asked wearily.
"Tsunade-sama, one of my students is suffering from a heart condition. I'd like to ask for your help."
Minato bowed sincerely.
A good teacher, through and through—
Always ready to act for his students, even one like Yamanaka Koji, who wasn't technically his disciple but merely under his temporary supervision.
Under normal circumstances, Tsunade would have agreed without hesitation.
After all, Minato was Jiraiya's pupil—and Kushina's lover besides.
But now…
"Sorry, Minato," she shook her head. "I only came back to check on Shizune. I'll be leaving again soon—I don't have the time."
Checking on Shizune was true.
Claiming she "didn't have time," however—that was just an excuse.
"I see… then forgive me for troubling you, Tsunade-sama."
Minato bowed again, a trace of disappointment in his eyes, and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Tsunade called out suddenly, hesitating for a moment. "I may not have time to treat him—but I can at least examine the patient and draft a treatment plan."
She wouldn't perform the surgery herself—but she could still offer her expertise.
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama!" Minato's face lit up.
He had thought the matter hopeless, only for her to give him a lifeline.
"I'll head to the hospital first," she said. "Bring the patient there."
An hour later—
Konoha Hospital.
Tangping stared blankly at the scene before him, utterly dumbfounded.
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