Namikaze Minato's eyes flickered.
Yes.
Even though Uchiha Kai had said so much before, when Sarutobi Hiruzen personally lectured him today, his heart instantly went cold.
Good grief!
Even he—a direct disciple of the Hokage—could be abandoned so casually.
What about everyone else then?
He could hardly imagine!
That was the final straw, the real reason he was now willing to change.
Uzumaki Kushina froze.
Her fiery red hair settled, her gaze softening as she looked at Minato again.
"Minato, I understand."
"Go sit on the couch, I'll make you some sobering soup."
"Kakashi, Obito—help your teacher."
"Rin, come with me to the kitchen!"
Kushina acted immediately.
She wasn't one for flowery words, but her heart ached for Minato in truth.
Inside the room—
As Kushina spoke, Obito and Kakashi rushed over to support their teacher.
As for Rin Nohara,
she sneaked a glance at Minato, then quickly hurried into the kitchen to help.
"Really, there's no need!" Minato gave a bitter smile. "I'm not drunk, no need for all the fuss."
But Kakashi and Obito didn't listen.
They forced him onto the sofa, and Obito went to pour water.
Handing the cup to Minato, he couldn't help but ask:
"Teacher… is Rin's situation really that troublesome?"
"Obito…" Kakashi quickly cut him off.
"Let the teacher rest first."
He was sharp.
From Minato's eyes and demeanor, he'd already gleaned plenty.
So, he didn't want to add pressure in such a moment.
But Minato only shook his head with a smile.
"Kakashi, I'm fine."
"Rin's situation is indeed complicated. Kai was right—the Hokage really does intend to sacrifice her, and he told me so directly."
"But at the same time—"
"Please believe in your teacher. I'll protect you all."
"Even the Hokage himself can't sacrifice Rin."
"Rin is mine to protect."
"If the Hokage goes too far, I'll call back my teacher, Jiraiya."
"So relax. For now, none of you are to go anywhere—stay safe at my home."
"As long as I'm here, no one will touch you."
Minato's face was firm.
Yes.
After today's conversation with Hiruzen, he had made his decision.
He couldn't yet change everything else in the village.
But he could protect his three students.
Unless he died,
no one would sacrifice them.
If it came down to it, as he'd said—he'd summon Jiraiya back.
Perhaps no one else, not even Hiruzen, could track Jiraiya wandering the shinobi world.
But Minato was different—sharing the Mount Myōboku contract, he could locate Jiraiya through the toads.
His teacher might look carefree and unreliable.
But Minato knew Jiraiya's true status in Konoha.
Even Hiruzen wouldn't dare dismiss him lightly.
He refused to believe that if Jiraiya personally intervened, Hiruzen would still dare talk of sacrifice.
Kakashi: "…"
Obito: "…"
Both of their hearts sank.
They had half-expected it already, but when it was truly confirmed, the pain was sharp.
The Hokage—how could he…
Rin was a Konoha shinobi, Minato's disciple no less.
And yet, for so-called peace and the greater good, she was to be sacrificed without reason?
At that moment, Kai's earlier words rang in their ears again.
In the academy, indoctrinated with the Will of Fire, they had resisted believing him—his cold, piercing words had seemed so wrong.
But reality?
Reality had shattered their illusions.
Kai's words lingered like a phantom, hovering constantly over their hearts,
like a shadow they couldn't shake off.
And that, too, was part of Kai's plan.
If he wanted to draw Minato's group over, he had to push them into despair toward Hiruzen's faction.
Otherwise, what alliance? A joke!
And Rin was the lynchpin.
As long as she lived, Minato's group would inevitably come into conflict with the Hokage.
A contradiction that could not be reconciled.
Divide and conquer, distant alliances, shifting coalitions—
strategies already played to death by tacticians in the Warring States of his past life.
In this world, still fumbling in the early stages of power struggles, Kai didn't even need mastery.
Imitating them crudely was enough.
"Damn it!" Obito scratched his head, face twisted.
"No one is going to hurt Rin!"
Kakashi's face, meanwhile, was cold.
"The Hokage, huh… heh."
A mocking smile tugged at his lips.
"Father, I still don't understand."
"Even now, I still can't accept your choice!"
Yes.
At this moment, he thought of his father—Hatake Sakumo!
How similar Rin's situation was to his.
For the sake of the village—die for us!
Heh.
Thinking of that, Kakashi's rage surged.
This move—he knew it too well.
It was exactly how his father had been destroyed.
Now seeing it again—
the fact he hadn't snapped outright was already restraint.
"What are you all doing?" Kushina came over.
"Why so gloomy? Don't be so negative."
"Your teacher is right here, isn't he? If he's not worried, why should you be?"
Rin walked over, balancing a bowl of soup in her hands.
She set it before Minato, smiling.
"Teacher, drink this."
"Mm, good."
Minato's smile shone like the sun.
He took the bowl and downed it in one gulp,
then looked solemnly at Rin and the others.
"Rin, all of you—"
"There's no need to worry too much. Your teacher's wife is right."
"I will protect you. Until I fall, no one can harm you."
"In the meantime, don't stir up trouble.
Don't even step outside the door of this house. Kushina, guard the children at home."
"As for me—I'll be very busy in the days ahead."
Minato's tone was deadly serious.
"Minato, is it really that serious?" Kushina asked, worried.
Minato nodded gravely.
"I'm not too worried about the Hokage. I may dislike his ways, but he is at least bound by rules."
"But Danzo, the head of Root… that I cannot guarantee."
"To ensure the children's absolute safety, Kushina, you'll have to endure some hardship."
"With you guarding them at home, I can work outside with peace of mind."
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