Chapter 16 — Minato: "He Was Afraid of Me."
A short while earlier—
After attending the funeral of his late student, Uchiha Obito, Minato Namikaze had wandered through the drizzle-veiled streets of Konoha, heavy-hearted and silent. That was when he happened to cross paths with someone unexpected:
the Hyūga Clan's "greatest Branch House prodigy," Hyūga Ritsu—dusty, travel-worn, and moving with hurried purpose.
At the time, Minato hadn't thought much of it.
He assumed Ritsu had simply been recalled from the eastern front for rest and recovery.
But later that evening, as he sat numbly on the sofa, his wife Uzumaki Kushina tried to cheer him up—chatting to steer him away from grief.
"You know," she said casually, "I heard something strange today. Apparently, the Hyūga Clan's Main House lost a Byakugan to the Hidden Mist, and they're blaming that Ritsu kid for failing to provide support. So the clan head, Hyūga Hiashi, and a few elders headed to the front to punish him—and maybe recover the lost eye."
Minato suddenly sat upright, startling her.
"So you're saying… the Byakugan was taken by Kirigakure, Ritsu was blamed for negligence, and now Hiashi and the elders are at the eastern front to deal with him?"
"Uh—yeah, that's about it," Kushina said, blinking.
"And the Ritsu you're talking about," Minato pressed, "that's the Hyūga Ritsu? The Branch prodigy—the one who became a student of Orochimaru's former peer, Lord Hiruko?"
"Um… yeah? I don't think there's another Hyūga Ritsu running around," she replied, sounding suddenly uncertain.
But Minato's expression had already hardened.
"Kushina," he said quietly, "I met Ritsu earlier."
Her eyes widened. "You what?"
Quick as she was, Kushina instantly grasped what her husband was implying. A supposed criminal, meant to face punishment on the battlefield, showing up casually in the village—that was no small thing.
"Maybe Lord Orochimaru sent him back?" she offered. "He and Hiruko-sensei studied together, right? It's possible he wanted to protect his classmate's student."
Minato shook his head.
"If the goal was to protect him from the Main House's judgment, the last thing they'd do is send him back here. They'd assign him to a covert mission, keep him far away until things blew over.
Returning to the village…" he frowned. "That's walking into the wolf's den."
Kushina thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah… that does sound weird."
"So what's really going on? Is it serious?"
"I don't know yet," Minato admitted. "Maybe I'm just overthinking it. But—"
He paused, recalling that brief encounter in the street.
"At first, when we met, Ritsu's body was… tense. Like a man ready to react at any moment. That's normal for someone fresh off the battlefield. But then, when I asked about the eastern front, he suddenly relaxed."
His voice dropped lower.
"That's when I realized—"
"He was afraid of me."
Kushina blinked. "Huh?"
"When I ran into him, he was on edge because he thought I might confront him. He didn't have an official recall order—he must've deserted the front and returned on his own."
Minato rose to his feet, the realization chilling him.
"Kushina, I'm sorry. I have to go out again. I need to report this to the Hokage immediately."
He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Wait for me, okay? I'll be back soon—and when I am, we'll make dinner together."
"Then take an umbrella—or better yet, this."
Kushina hurried off, rummaging through a closet before returning with a bright yellow raincoat folded neatly in a tote bag. "This rain's gonna come down hard any minute."
Minato smiled, taking it from her. "I'll be quick."
And in the next instant, he vanished—
leaving only a swirl of wind in the doorway as he reappeared atop the Hokage Tower.
He pushed open the unlocked rooftop door and descended the stairs to the office floor.
Knock, knock.
"Come in," came a gravelly voice through the haze of smoke.
Minato stepped inside.
The spacious room was veiled in curling clouds of tobacco, all emanating from the pipe clenched between the fingers of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen looked up with weary eyes.
"Ah, Minato. What is it?"
"I've heard some troubling reports—something about the Hyūga Clan's Main House losing a Byakugan to Kirigakure, and blaming the Branch member, Hyūga Ritsu. Do you know what's really going on there?"
Minato stepped forward until he stood before the Hokage's desk.
"I've heard the same, sir. But I'm here because… I ran into Hyūga Ritsu earlier today."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. "Oh? You met Ritsu?"
"From your reaction," Minato replied, his brow furrowing, "I take it you weren't aware that he's returned to the village."
For a heartbeat, the air was still—
then thunder cracked outside, lightning illuminating the office through the tall glass windows. Moments later, rain began hammering down in sheets, the droplets exploding against the glass with sharp splashes.
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
He spoke quietly but with unmistakable steel in his tone.
"ANBU."
A shadow flickered—one of the masked agents appeared before the desk, kneeling.
"Find out exactly when Hyūga Ritsu returned to the village."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
And in an instant, the agent vanished.
Hiruzen took a long, hard drag on his pipe, exhaled a thick curl of smoke, and fixed his gaze on Minato.
"Tell me, Minato—what do you think Ritsu came back to do?"
Minato hesitated. "There's too little information to draw conclusions. I can't—"
"Then guess," Hiruzen interrupted softly, his eyes sharp beneath his shadowed brow.
"…The worst-case scenario," Minato said after a moment's thought, "is that Ritsu intends to defect. If that's the case, then he likely returned to retrieve his parents. I know him fairly well—he's extremely devoted to his family. He wouldn't abandon them and flee alone."
Hiruzen nodded slowly. "So you believe this is personal, not political."
"That's my assumption, yes."
The Third Hokage sighed—a deep, tired sound that seemed to carry the weight of years.
"Your guess matches my own. If Ritsu can't accept the punishment from the Main House, fleeing may be his only path. But still…"
He rubbed his temples, muttering as if to himself.
"What a headache this Hyūga situation has become."
Konoha had two great clans.
The Uchiha, with their cursed and fiery Sharingan, and the Hyūga, with their serene, godlike Byakugan.
The former were known for their passion—and their volatility.
As the Second Hokage once said, "They are a clan born of love, doomed to hatred."
The latter, in contrast, were stable, disciplined… yet bound by a cruel system unlike any other in the ninja world.
To outsiders, the Hyūga's Main House–Branch House structure looked less like a hierarchy and more like slavery. The Caged Bird Seal chained every Branch member's life to the whims of the Main House. Without that curse mark, the clan would likely have torn itself apart long ago.
And so, even as concern crept into Hiruzen's voice, his conclusion remained the same:
"As long as that cursed seal still binds them, Ritsu's rebellion—if it truly exists—can only go so far. At worst, he'll try to take his family and run."
He tapped his pipe against the ashtray, the sound sharp and final.
"Still," he murmured, looking toward the rain-smeared window, "something tells me this storm over the Hyūga is only just beginning."