Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Konoha, Year 42.
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"What? Yesterday!? How did he do that?!" Hiruzen shouted with such desperation that he stuttered upon hearing about it, while he and the three other advisors gathered in the Hokage building.
All of them, except Hiruzen, had received a letter from Minato informing them about his departure from the Village with the intention of going to help the Uzumaki clan by leaving with them, never returning.
"He left the Village and took Tsuna Senju, Mikoto Uchiha, Kushina Uzumaki, and Hanabi Hyuuga!" everyone there could clearly see the frustration in the Hokage's words.
"No... No! This is terrible! I thought he was only going to take the Uzumaki away... Do you have any idea what he just did?" said the Hokage to the three.
"Yeah, we know that, but there's nothing to be done. He's already with the Uzumakis by now." said Mazu Uchiha with a slightly calm tone.
"The Village is without its jinchūriki... I can't believe they did this! Do you realize the danger we're in right now? When the villages find out we no longer have the Kyūbi, they'll see us as a weak Village, as an easy target! And when they see the Kyūbi's chakra being used against them in the Uzumaki clan's attack, they'll assume we helped them!" Hiruzen raised his voice to a somewhat desperate tone.
"That might not happen." Lord Nara said this time, with a calm, gleaming look. "I believe their headbands were torn. They didn't hide it. They're rogue ninjas. The villages could very well see us as victims too."
"Even so, they might attack us!" Hiruzen said.
"Hiruzen, you said they would keep the peace. Are you telling me they wouldn't honor the agreement? Then you were failing to preserve peace!" Sakumo said calmly. This seemed to frustrate the Hokage even more.
"You don't understand... The bijūs serve to maintain the balance between the villages, since they can be used as bargaining chips to preserve peace, as a threat of a war of mass destruction. Without it, we'll be targets of the other villages' greed." said Hiruzen.
"Well, we're already targets of greed, aren't we? It's no wonder you had to negotiate with an allied clan. I won't say whether Minato is right or wrong... but I admit he's doing what he believes in." Mizu said.
"We must immediately send a group to Uzushiogakure. We have to bring them back!" said Hiruzen with an urgent tone.
"We have some time before the attack, yes. But I doubt Minato will do anything if he doesn't want to return. Hokage, what do you plan to do? We'll still have a chance to talk to them before the Four Nations' attack arrives." Nara said.
Hiruzen only gave a dark look before nodding. The situation was becoming even worse than he imagined.
"Still, we should extend the selection of the new Hokage." Sakumo said at the end.
"No. The decision of a new Hokage must be postponed, with this we might be facing a war, another crisis is arising right now." The Hokage spoke in a grim tone, how could he abandon his post when the village was in this situation.
For Hiruzen, they could not risk the Village's stability now. They had to remain united.
"She must be kept... All this is happening because of his actions. There is no reason to keep him." Sakumo spoke in a serious tone, while the Hokage grew increasingly grim.
In the end, the discussion continued a little longer, and they had to report the information to the Village publicly, since the entire village needed to know that Minato had deserted, taking with him Tsuna Senju, Mikoto Uchiha, Kushina Uzumaki, and Hanabi Hyūga. Hiruzen announced this to everyone with sorrow. However, Sakumo could see him trying to turn the village against Minato, which left everyone shocked, and the news spread like wildfire.
As Nawaki had predicted, a large number of ninjas went to the Senju clan to investigate Minato's departure, while he answered questions from the ANBU and even from the Hokage himself, who looked far from pleased with the situation.
The information began to spread throughout the Village, and it didn't take long before everyone, even civilians, knew that Minato Namikaze had gone to the Senju clan and intended to fight alone.
Some people were angry at him for fleeing the Village like that, but most felt deeply ashamed to see that Konoha had decided to turn its back on the Uzumakis in exchange for peace. The boy stuck to his decision to help the clan, even though the entirety of Konoha had abandoned the Uzumakis.
In the center of the village.
"Why are we here? Shouldn't we be helping them?"
"I don't think it's that simple. The Village's decision has already been made."
"And we'll stay here as cowards? Is that what we want to be?"
"He fled the Village as well. That makes him a coward."
"He's going to fight against four nations alone, and you still say he's a coward?"
"Did we do the right thing? In the end, we are here inside our gates and Minato will fight alone against the nations..."
Meanwhile, at Ramen Ichiraku, with Teuchi serving lunch at that table full of Jonins, he couldn't help but pay attention to the conversation among the shinobi about Minato.
He let out a sigh as he returned to the counter. Teuchi already knew Minato had left the village, thinking back to how he had stopped by to have lunch there the day before with his companions, while Kushina, more cheerful, had exclaimed the entire time about the ramen, asking for more.
The news that Minato had left the Village had certainly caught him by surprise. After everything he had done, now people at every table spoke of nothing else.
"I hope the boy will be alright," was all Teuchi could say as he returned to the kitchen to prepare more food for the customers.
In another corner of the village.
"Father..." young Guy murmured as he was training.
Guy had been quite confused and surprised over the past few days, ever since he started hearing about what was happening in the village after that night.
On the night when all the commotion broke out in the center of the Village, his father had told him that Minato asked him to stay safe and that at any sign of danger, he should remain alert.
Duy went looking for Minato, wanting to know what was happening in the village after all the explosions. He knew some ninjas were watching his house, but none of them approached. Still, the feeling of being observed was far from pleasant. That's why Duy went to the center of the Village as soon as the watchful eyes were gone and witnessed Minato arguing with Hiruzen about what Konoha planned to do, right in front of the Hokage's building.
Duy was shocked when Minato accused the Hokage of having tried to kill him in an ambush planned with Danzou. He never imagined the Village would act that way against one of its own, even more so a war hero, much less with the mastermind being the Hokage himself, who even admitted to being behind it.
Duy then realized that not everything was as bright as he thought, and that the Village was much darker than he had once believed.
Duy believed Minato without hesitation. Even without initial proof, he trusted that Minato was an honest man who fought for what was right. He had faith that things could still be set right.
Duy would never doubt Minato and, certainly, it was a shock to see, that same morning, some ANBU ninjas coming to him asking questions about Minato, since they were known to be close. He was even more surprised when he heard from them that Minato had left the Village.
He went to train with his son right after that, but his mind remained stuck on all the events in the Village. He was saddened that Konoha had not chosen to help the Uzumakis, as he too supported aiding them.
Duy himself had met many of them at the northern border, where he fought alongside the red-haired allies, and it was thanks to them that they managed to reverse situations of extreme danger when Minato wasn't there.
It would be unfair to abandon the Uzumakis when they needed help the most. For Duy, that was cowardice, but unfortunately, it had been the decision of the Village and its majority, and there was nothing he could do, even as an elite Jonin of the village now.
His son soon noticed the distraction. While Guy trained that morning, he noticed that his father wasn't shouting or motivating him as usual. Duy kept his head down, silent and in low spirits.
He had called him earlier, but Duy didn't even seem to hear, which should have been impossible, making him raise his voice. "Father, what happened?" his son asked, shouting in worry.
Duy finally looked at Guy with a bit of hesitation, but he couldn't hide the truth from him.
"It's about Minato... Guy... He left the Village to help the Uzumakis." He revealed.
The boy was stunned, his mouth falling open and his eyes widening. "You said he left the Village? Like... he deserted the Village?" he asked, realizing from his father's tone that it didn't sound like an official mission.
"Yes, Guy. Minato has become a rogue ninja." he answered, his voice divided, hesitant.
"We'll never see him again?!" Guy shouted, stunned, as tears immediately streamed down his face when he realized what his father meant, realizing he would never see Minato again.
"I hope so, son... I hope so. I still don't really understand what's happening..." said Duy, tired. Then he added.
"I'll go to the Senju clan to talk with Lord Nawaki. I'm sure he can tell me exactly what happened. I'm going there. If you want to keep training, you can stay."
"Can't I go with you, father? I'd like to see Miss Kushina..." asked Guy, still crying.
"Kushina also left the Village with Minato." Duy replied, while his son grew even more stunned, crying harder.
Guy stayed silent for a while, remembering how he and his mother had stayed at the Senju clan for many months, and Mito and Kushina had always taken care of them when they were there. It was obvious they had a strong bond with the latter.
"Let's go to the clan, son. I think Nawaki will give us all the answers, but at least we'll better understand what happened." Duy said in the end, while Guy, still in tears, followed him in silence.
There were ANBU ninjas around the clan, but they entered without any problem. They found Nawaki talking with some before finally turning to them.
"I see you finally arrived." he said with a sigh. He didn't seem very happy, but not sad either, just tired.
"Lord Nawaki... Minato is gone... We'll never see him again!?" the first to shout was Guy, crying beside his father.
Nawaki only gave a sad smile to the son of the man who had become his sensei in a way, after all, Nawaki had learned to open the gates thanks to him. "Don't be so desperate. Minato will soon return to the Village." he said.
"Are you sure, Lord Nawaki?" Guy widened his eyes, stunned.
"Of course. Minato only went to protect the Uzumakis. There's no doubt the Village will welcome him with open arms as soon as everything is alright." Nawaki replied confidently.
"If you say so... then I feel relieved." Duy murmured.
"Well, in any case, come. I want to give you a scroll. Minato asked me to pass it on to you when I found you. After all, he needed to say goodbye somehow. At the same time, he had to be discreet." Nawaki said in the end