When Hakken spoke of resolving the Root problem, the Yellow Flash had already gotten the answer he wanted.
It was a sign that his long speech earlier had been acknowledged—a signal that the boy before him was willing to help. This meant the youth had agreed.
Minato felt a surge of excitement, but before he could say anything else, he realized with horror that the boy was actually raising his blade, ready to strike at Root. His eyes widened in shock.
Some people said such things as a joke—but not all. Hakken Yoru was one of the latter. When he said he'd cut down Root, he meant it, and he'd do it without hesitation.
But now wasn't the time. Even if Root needed to be eliminated—if that hidden threat had to be removed—this wasn't the moment to act.
Besides, there was no need for such bloodshed. Not everyone in Root was a cold-blooded killer. There were still comrades worth saving. That Wood Release boy, Tenzō, was one of them.
The village had just emerged from the chaos of the Third Shinobi World War, and border skirmishes with the Land of Lightning still flared up from time to time. Under these conditions, neither the timing nor the situation could support Hakken's approach.
An internal conflict would only spark panic throughout the village, possibly shattering its morale.
More importantly, Minato still lacked solid evidence of Root's years of corruption and crimes against Konoha. Danzō Shimura had controlled Root for many years. Ever since the Third Hokage took office and allowed its founding, Danzō's power and influence had grown deep—too deep for Minato to confront head-on.
Not to mention Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had grown up with Danzō since childhood. Perhaps Hiruzen hadn't been directly involved in Root's affairs, but his excessive compassion would certainly drive him to plead on Danzō's behalf.
That much was certain.
Just like when Orochimaru defected—he slaughtered countless ANBU right before Hiruzen's eyes, yet the Third still let him go.
At that moment, the Third Hokage had forgotten that every fallen ANBU ninja left behind a family. From that day on, Konoha would have more children who lost their fathers, more widows left behind in grief.
Mercy, leniency, and hesitation had led to one tragedy after another.
Hiruzen had indeed worked tirelessly for Konoha, but his methods had always fallen short.
So, if one was to act, the strike had to be absolute—swift and merciless.
Gather all the evidence. Make the Third Hokage see what Root had done all these years, leaving him no excuse to defend Danzō.
That was Minato's plan.
He was the Hokage, after all. He had to think from the Hokage's perspective.
"So, this can't be rushed. Leave it to me. In the end, I'll make sure you're satisfied with the result."
Standing before Hakken, Minato voiced his proposal.
"Oh, I'll take your word for it."
Retracting his Zanpakutō, Hakken shrugged casually. "But really, is it fitting for the Hokage to say something like that?"
"Give me a satisfactory result? I'm not the Hokage."
He couldn't be bothered to overthink such things. That time was better spent training with his sword—that was what truly mattered.
From start to finish, Hakken believed only one thing: when your strength reached a certain level, everything else would fall into place naturally.
Still, judging from the Yellow Flash's expression, he clearly had his own ideas about changing the village and governing Konoha.
Hakken found himself curious about it.
Even in the original story, across all seven Hokage—from Hashirama Senju to Naruto—only the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had truly excelled at governing Konoha. The rest lacked that talent.
Including Naruto.
But if it were Minato… what kind of Konoha would he create?
He'd help him.
After all, this was his teacher—the man who had even gone so far as to confront Danzō for his sake. From Minato-sensei's perspective, that was no small act of courage.
"Oh, right—Hakken."
As if recalling something, Minato suddenly lowered his voice, his gaze shifting toward Yugito.
"The Two-Tails Jinchūriki—how do you think we should handle her?"
Today, aside from sharing his thoughts with Hakken, Yugito's presence was also of great importance.
Truth be told, Minato hadn't expected his student to return from the Land of Lightning having captured the Two-Tails Jinchūriki alive. It was an astonishing surprise.
But on second thought, deciding what to do with her was another matter entirely.
Without question, using the Two-Tails as leverage to negotiate with Kumogakure would give Konoha a strong advantage. Yet judging by Hakken's attitude toward her, he clearly had no intention of letting her go.
That was why Minato wanted to hear his opinion on how to make use of this bargaining chip.
"I thought you already had it figured out."
Hakken gave Minato a slightly surprised look. "Honestly, politics isn't really my thing."
"But I can give you a piece of advice—four words: stall for time."
"Kumogakure didn't just lose the Two-Tails this time. You probably don't know this, but the Eight-Tails was also seriously injured."
"They don't have the strength or the confidence to fight another decisive battle right now."
Hakken raised an eyebrow and smiled.
The Eight-Tails is badly injured too?
Minato's eyes widened in disbelief.
Not only had his student captured the Two-Tails, but he'd also managed to severely wound the Eight-Tails?
What kind of battle had he fought in the Land of Lightning?
And his growth—wasn't it progressing far too quickly?
Minato had initially thought the capture of the Two-Tails was sheer coincidence, but it turned out to be the outcome of a direct, hard-fought confrontation.
Unexpected, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
In that instant, countless battle scenes flashed through Minato's mind.
Hakken, who had risked everything for Konoha, yet had clashed with the village at its gates... no wonder he'd acted without mercy. All of Minato's doubts melted away, leaving only trust.
"So, if I were Hokage, I'd simply placate Kumogakure and drag out the talks for as long as possible. The longer we delay, the better it is for Konoha."
"As long as there's no full-scale war, Konoha can continue to recover day by day. Using the Two-Tails as leverage will keep them in check and make them too afraid to attack. That's the smartest strategy."
"Because once Konoha returns the Two-Tails, they'll attack again. The so-called peace talks would only be a façade. In the end, interests are the only true means to resolve things."
"In short, don't hand over the Two-Tails. Keep them hanging—they won't be able to do anything about it anyway. Kumogakure doesn't have the leverage to make demands right now. As for how you handle it, or how long you stall, that's up to you."
"And most importantly… I'm not done playing with this cat yet."
Who's your cat!
Yugito, who had been listening intently the whole time, cursed inwardly.
This bastard had completely seen through Kumogakure's situation. It was hard to believe someone his age could think so deeply—or be so devious.
"Understood."
Minato was quick to catch on. From Hakken's words, he already knew what needed to be done next.
"Alright, that's enough for today. You've just returned from a mission, so get some rest."
"When you have time, let Shisui know that the Root Division has been disbanded. He doesn't need to go back."
"Once you've rested, head to the ANBU and find Shinku Yūhi. I'll inform him in advance and have him teach you how the ANBU operates."