Chapter 181: The Second Hokage and the Fourth Hokage are both Bullies
The Spirit Transformation Technique was, without a doubt, the absolute pinnacle of intelligence-gathering ninjutsu.
Shielded by his squad's relentless feints over the past few days, Dan Kato finally secured the perfect vantage point. His physical body slumped into a meditative trance as his soul detached, slipping silently through the dense, chilling fog to infiltrate the Land of Water's border encampment. Yet, the sight that greeted his ethereal form left him entirely bewildered.
Beyond the rudimentary perimeter traps, the formidable defense line was practically a ghost town. The only significant deterrents anchoring the camp were the massive, looming presences of the Three-Tails and Six-Tails Jinchuriki. The expected legions of elite Mist shinobi were nowhere to be found, and more alarmingly, Gengetsu Hozuki was completely absent.
Had it not been for the complex sensory barriers and the perpetual shroud of the Hidden Mist Technique, this massive vulnerability would have been exposed days ago. Snapping his soul back into his physical vessel, Dan wasted no time. He rallied his squad and sprinted back to the Island Garrison at breakneck speed to deliver the critical intel to Danzo.
Inside the dimly lit command tent, Danzo stared intensely at the sprawling sand table. His lone exposed eye narrowed as the pieces clicked into place.
"They have been parading their Jinchuriki around as a smokescreen all this time," he muttered, his voice cold and precise. "Their main force must have secretly mobilized to reinforce the Land of Lightning."
The delicate balance of the Four Great Nations was currently resting on a knife's edge. A single fracture in any defense line could trigger a catastrophic collapse. Without a second thought, Danzo dispatched a covert messenger bird, ordering an intelligence operative to relay the discovery to Kagami Uchiha with utmost urgency.
"Lord Danzo," Dan asked, his brow furrowed with concern. "Should we detach a division to reinforce the Land of Lightning battlefield?"
Danzo waved his hand dismissively. "Unnecessary. With Stelle present, any supposed crisis is entirely irrelevant. Kagami merely needs to hold the line until she arrives to clean up the mess. Our objective lies elsewhere." He planted his hands firmly on the edge of the table, a ruthless glint flashing in his eye. "Assemble the main vanguard. We strike immediately. I will personally tear through the Hidden Mist Village and use their blood to wash the graves of our fallen brethren."
The looming threat of two fully armed Jinchuriki stationed on the coastline did not deter him in the slightest. They were merely vessels of chakra, and he was far from the weak, powerless man he had once been.
Reaching beneath his desk, he retrieved a massive, carefully inscribed sealing scroll. It was the exact same artifact Stelle had previously used to suppress the overwhelming might of the Nine-Tails. If it could bind the absolute pinnacle of Tailed Beast chakra, two heavily fatigued Jinchuriki would pose no challenge whatsoever. The Six-Tails host was a fresh, inexperienced vessel, hardly worth mentioning. Backed by the absolute suppression of the Uzumaki Clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains, victory was practically guaranteed.
A mere Six-Tails. A mere Three-Tails.
Danzo straightened his posture, his chest swelling with dark, triumphant pride. He had waited eight agonizing years for this exact moment. He would prove to the entire shinobi world that he could violently rip back everything the Jinchuriki had ever taken from him.
"Summon the Uzumaki Patriarch immediately," he commanded, his voice echoing with absolute authority. "Have him deploy his elite vanguard. Today, I will personally shatter the gates of the Hidden Mist and drag their Jinchuriki back in chains."
Miles away from the bloodshed, the brutal reality of the border wars completely failed to penetrate the tranquil daily life of Konoha.
Having unceremoniously dumped her remaining paperwork on her assistants, Stelle strolled casually toward the Ninja Academy. The afternoon sun cast a warm golden hue over the bustling school gates, where dozens of parents had gathered to collect their children. Spotting their Hokage lounging near the entrance, the civilians and shinobi alike bowed with deep reverence. Stelle offered a series of lazy, good-natured waves in return.
A few minutes later, the academy doors swung open. Minato Namikaze emerged from the courtyard, laughing easily as he walked shoulder-to-shoulder with a vibrant group of Elite Class students. Right beside him, her bright red hair catching the sunlight, was Kushina Uzumaki.
Watching the effortless chemistry between the two, Stelle could only sigh in deep admiration. The future Yellow Flash truly lived up to his reputation as the ultimate heartthrob of the ninja world. He had flawlessly integrated into his peer group, and his future wife was already gravitating toward his natural orbit. If she possessed even a fraction of that passive charm, farming emotional reactions for her system would be an absolute breeze.
"Minato!" she called out, waving at the bright-eyed boy commanding the crowd's attention.
"Master!" Minato's azure eyes lit up the moment he spotted her. Offering a polite, hasty goodbye to his friends, he jogged over, his backpack bouncing against his shoulder. "Shouldn't you be buried in the Hokage office right now? What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to pick my favorite student up from school, obviously. I bulldozed through my paperwork just to make it on time." Stelle reached out, affectionately ruffling his spiky blonde hair.
The boy's already radiant smile widened, though a hint of mature concern quickly crossed his features. "You are running the entire village and still recovering from your injuries, Master. You really need to rest. I am perfectly capable of walking home by myself."
"Absolutely not," Stelle replied, her tone softening with genuine warmth. "I made a promise. No matter how chaotic the war gets, I will always carve out one day a week to walk you home. I am the Hokage, after all. What kind of leader would I be if I broke my word to my own disciple?"
Despite the legendary status he would one day achieve, Minato was still just a child craving validation. Hearing his master focus on him over the village's endless demands filled his chest with immense joy. Beaming, he reached out and grabbed Stelle's hand, swinging it lightly as they walked down the bustling street.
"Master," Minato began, looking up curiously. "When you were a student, did the Second Hokage ever come to pick you up?"
Stelle tilted her head, pretending to ponder the question before shaking her head. "He only managed it exactly once. After that, I ended up walking home with Kagami every single day." She glanced down, a mischievous smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "Care to guess why?"
Minato nodded vigorously, his eyes wide with anticipation. "I really want to know!"
Stelle let out a bright laugh. "Well, the very first time Lord Tobirama came to collect me, he ended up standing by the gates for a solid hour. He had a front-row seat to watch me absolutely pummel Hiruzen, thrash Danzo, and completely wipe the floor with half the class. The parents of the kids I battered were standing right there, watching their precious children get folded like laundry. They desperately wanted to complain, but they were utterly terrified of the Second Hokage. So, they just stood there, glaring at him with these deeply resentful, pitiful expressions."
She paused for dramatic effect. "Lord Tobirama got so deeply annoyed by their silent whining that he realized if he stayed a minute longer, he would end up beating the parents himself. He never came back after that."
An incredibly vivid image formed in Minato's mind. He pictured a younger, feral version of his master swinging her tiny fists, leaving a trail of crying children in her wake. Then, he imagined the notoriously strict Second Hokage surrounded by a mob of trembling, aggrieved parents, glaring back at them so fiercely that his crimson eyes looked ready to awaken a Sharingan out of pure, unadulterated spite. The sheer absurdity of the mental image made the boy burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"When you picture it," Stelle mused, her tone dripping with dry amusement, "doesn't it sound exactly like two bullies—one giant and one pint-sized—just terrorizing a bunch of helpless adults and children?"
Minato giggled, clutching his stomach. "When you put it like that, Master, it really does!"
Later that evening, the dining table was set with a modest feast. Stelle had gone out of her way to personally prepare two of Minato's favorite dishes. She slid the plates across the table, offering a slightly sheepish grin.
"I only step into the kitchen about once a year, so my culinary skills are practically nonexistent. Give it a try and tell me if it's edible."
Minato obediently picked up his chopsticks and popped a piece of rolled egg into his mouth. An ungodly amount of salt and pepper immediately assaulted his taste buds, creating a flavor profile that defied the laws of nature. Yet, true to his future stoic nature, the boy chewed and swallowed without a single muscle twitching on his face.
"It is absolutely delicious," he lied smoothly, offering a bright smile. "Your cooking is wonderful, Master."
"Glad to hear it!" Stelle beamed, entirely oblivious to the culinary war crime she had just committed.
Lounging on a cushion nearby, the miniaturized Nine-Tails rolled its slitted red eyes in deep disgust. The great demon fox exclusively munched on the side dishes Minato had prepared, resolutely refusing to touch Stelle's vibrant but biologically hazardous creations.
Kurama desperately wanted to scream about how atrocious the food was. However, the very first time it had made the mistake of criticizing Stelle's cooking, Kagami Uchiha had happened to be visiting. The fiercely protective Uchiha had instantly pinned the ancient beast to the floor, locking it in a terrifying Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu just to teach it a lesson in manners. Afterward, Kagami had ruthlessly blackmailed the fox, threatening to permanently cut off its supply of limited-edition sweet dango and serialized storybooks if it ever insulted Stelle's food again.
It was a completely unreasonable abuse of power. Was the proud, dignified Nine-Tailed Demon Fox truly so easily cowed by mere snacks and threats? Of course not. It was simply choosing to be magnanimous. It didn't want to hurt Stelle's fragile human feelings. Yes, that was it. Still, Kurama silently thanked the Sage of Six Paths that the woman only cooked annually. Any more frequent, and its life as a domesticated fox would become a living hell.
Ignorant of the fox's internal crisis, Stelle picked up her own chopsticks, fully intending to sample her masterpiece. Before she could even reach across the table, Minato snatched the plate away, hugging it protectively to his chest.
"Master, you went through all the trouble of making this specifically for me," the boy insisted, his eyes wide with feigned greed. "Please let me have it all to myself. You can eat the portions I cooked!"
Stelle blinked in surprise, slowly lowering her chopsticks. "Alright then, if you insist!"
She couldn't help but shake her head in amusement. Why did Minato share the exact same weird quirk as Kagami? Both of them were incredibly territorial and fiercely protective of their food whenever she cooked for them. It was truly a baffling mystery.
Over the following weeks, as her physical injuries steadily healed, Stelle shifted her focus entirely toward molding the next generation. She initiated a brutal, complete training regimen for the Academy's Elite Class. Minato, naturally, received the brunt of her attention. While the other prodigies hailed from prestigious, wealthy clans with endless private backing, Minato was a civilian orphan. Every single kunai, scroll, and ounce of guidance he received came directly from her. As his master, it was her absolute duty to drag him through the most grueling, intense private lessons imaginable, ensuring her brilliant student would shine brighter than anyone else.
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