"Minato, tell me your thoughts." The Third Hokage took a slow draw from his pipe and looked at him encouragingly. "I'd like to hear your opinion on the whole matter first."
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Minato's expression was grave. "From the moment we discovered Sunagakure's hawk, something felt wrong. Why did their messenger hawk just happen to pass along our route? Why did Lord Danzo order me and your direct Anbu subordinates to retrieve the gold? And when we arrived at the location where the Third Kazekage claimed the gold was hijacked, the only thing waiting for us was an ambush by an unknown force!"
He paused, then concluded calmly:
"The enemy had complete knowledge of our movements."
"You're suggesting… that Konoha has a traitor? And that person is…" the Third Hokage probed carefully.
"It can only be Lord Danzo. That's the only explanation," Minato said firmly.
"Such suspicions could cause great turmoil… Accusations of this magnitude require solid proof…" Though outwardly cautious, the Third Hokage had already entertained the same suspicion. Now that even a young subordinate like Minato doubted Danzo, it seemed increasingly likely that Danzo was involved.
Danzo… what exactly are you planning?
The weight of the thought made him forget his beloved pipe for a moment.
"You may go for now," he said.
But Minato remained standing.
"Is there something else?"
"Yes." Minato nodded. "I believe Shimizu Uzuki is suspicious. Root had private contact with him before. Lord Danzo claimed Shimizu refused his offer, but that's only his word—there's no verification. This mission was supposedly meant to allow the two of us to cooperate. Yet when it came to retrieving the gold—the obvious trap—only I was sent. Shimizu was not."
The Third Hokage looked directly at Minato. In the young man's eyes, Sarutobi saw only a profound calm, as if the assassination plot against him had never even occurred.
Clear-headed. Rational. Able to analyze events objectively despite nearly dying.
Such composure was rare.
This was the young man he and Jiraiya had poured their hopes into.
They had not misjudged him.
One day, Minato would become an excellent Hokage.
Jiraiya had once mentioned that Minato might be the "Child of Prophecy" spoken of by the Great Toad Sage. The first candidate had supposedly been a red-haired boy possessing the Rinnegan.
To be mentioned alongside the legendary Rinnegan—
This young man was indeed extraordinary.
"The ANBU have already conducted a preliminary verification of Shimizu's report. Nothing suspicious was found," the Third Hokage replied. Then, realizing the answer might sound dismissive, he added, "I will take your concerns seriously."
"Understood. I'll take my leave." Minato turned and exited the Hokage's office.
"Sigh…" The Third Hokage let out a heavy breath.
Too many things had happened recently.
The Three-Tails Isobu's reappearance. Sunagakure's possible schemes against Konoha. The battle in the Land of Rain involving the Rinnegan. A handwritten letter from the Third Kazekage claiming the gold had been stolen. The assassination attempt against Konoha's future Hokage candidate. And now—possibly an internal traitor.
Everything was shrouded in mist, currents moving beneath the surface.
In the past, he could have entrusted these headaches to his most brilliant student—Orochimaru.
But recently, ANBU had submitted multiple confidential reports about Orochimaru's private contact with Root.
Even Orochimaru?
Compared to all that, a newly promoted jōnin like Shimizu seemed insignificant in the Third Hokage's eyes. A few impressive missions meant little.
Power and interests—
Those were what truly mattered to the people at the top.
"Has Jiraiya returned? Summon him!"
"Old man, I'm already here!" Jiraiya appeared at the doorway. "When I saw you call Minato over in the middle of the night, I figured something was up."
"There is." The Third Hokage spoke plainly. "Someone tried to kill Minato."
"Who?" Jiraiya's tone sharpened immediately.
"A group of unidentified shinobi. Their leader wore a white spiral mask. Extremely powerful. He used Wood Release."
These details had been given directly to the Hokage by Minato and were not recorded in the official ANBU logs.
In that ambush, an entire ANBU division of thirty-six shinobi—plus the three members of Minato's squad—had been wiped out.
Only Minato survived.
"Wood Release? The First Hokage's Wood Release?" Jiraiya asked in shock.
"Yes. That's what Minato reported personally."
The Third Hokage continued:
"I want you to go to the site of the attack. See if you can find any clues. ANBU currently has the area under lockdown. We know nothing about this enemy."
"Is this about the seat of the Hokage?" D Jiraiya's normally carefree demeanor vanished; his mind was already racing. "Is it Danzo?"
"It's only a suspicion. There's no evidence," the Third Hokage said, brows tightly furrowed. "Moreover, Danzo suffered heavy losses this time as well. That doesn't seem like something he would orchestrate. And falling out with Hanzo would only cost him more…"
"A self-inflicted ploy?" Jiraiya speculated further.
The two exchanged glances and shook their heads.
At this point, without sufficient intelligence, no further deductions could be made.
"Then the ten tons of gold being stolen—was that false information?" Jiraiya asked.
"I've already sent people to Sunagakure to verify it. Based on the timing, they should return tomorrow. Then we'll know."
"So you suspect the Third Kazekage as well?"
"The letter is here. It is indeed in the Third Kazekage's handwriting, and bears his seal. If Sunagakure cannot provide us with a reasonable explanation… I will personally intervene."
A cold killing intent flickered in the Third Hokage's eyes.
For years, Hiruzen Sarutobi had played the role of a rational statesman, restrained and measured in speech and action.
But he was still the Hokage.
The strongest man in the village.
If such a man grew angry—
How would Sunagakure quell it?
Thirty-nine elite Konoha ANBU had been lost.
On top of that, there had been an attempt to assassinate the heir apparent to the Hokage.
Third Kazekage—
Had your hand stretched too far?
Jiraiya picked up the letter and read it carefully before sighing. "Danzo might be involved. The Kazekage might be involved… This…"
They both stopped there.
To continue down that line of thought would mean effectively accusing one of the village's most senior and respected leaders of colluding with a foreign power to betray Konoha.
That would unleash a storm of blood.
Such a conclusion required solid proof.
Groundless suspicion would only fracture the village—especially when it was entirely possible this was the Third Kazekage's scheme. After all, that man harbored ambitions befitting a great nation.
"Oh, right," the Third Hokage added. "Before you depart tomorrow, make contact with Shimizu Uzuki. The ANBU report says he encountered the Rinnegan wielder and barely escaped."
"Nagato? And that student of Maruboshi Kosuke?" Jiraiya might not clearly remember Shimizu's name, but Maruboshi Kosuke he knew well—the man even the Second Hokage had valued highly.
"Yes. A dark red–haired boy, about fourteen or fifteen. It's been several years since you left them—that would make him around that age."
Nagato... my former student... he's grown up...
The Third Hokage pondered briefly, then continued:
"The report also states that Shimizu developed a new technique—an seal-less Lightning Release jutsu performed with a Lightning chakra-infused kunai. Remarkable. Unfortunately, the key physical evidence was lost. However, since he borrowed the kunai from Kosuke, I later confirmed it with him. It checks out."
He felt it was a good idea for Jiraiya to meet Shimizu. Jiraiya had always possessed sharp judgment when it came to people.
"Do you suspect this Shimizu as well?" Jiraiya asked.
"Danzo asked me to hand him over. He believes the disappearance of one of his Root members is related to Shimizu."
"Evidence?"
"He has none. He wants the man first—then he'll provide the evidence."
Jiraiya frowned. "I say, old man, are you really just going to let Danzo interfere like that? He's a member of your direct Anbu, after all."
The Third Hokage coughed lightly. "Someone cares about Shimizu even more than I do. Maruboshi Kosuke stepped forward and guaranteed him with his life."
"And what do you think? Does this Shimizu have a problem or not?"
"In theory, after an S-rank mission with casualties this severe, not investigating would be irresponsible. But the other three members of his team are missing, and the Land of Rain is under military lockdown. How do we investigate?" The Third Hokage shook his head. "I can keep Danzo out of it. But aside from handing the matter to ANBU's Interrogation Division, is there any other option?"
"Yes."
The Third Hokage took a drag from his pipe. "Let's hear it."
"Trust him."
The Third Hokage sighed.
"If not for what happened before, I could fully trust him. Although that decision was made for the village's benefit… I fear that a proud young man like him might harbor resentment."
He paused before continuing:
"Since Maruboshi Kosuke has staked his life on it… and now is not the time for internal strife… Jiraiya, go and see this young man for me."
"Alright."