The day after Kiri's failed invasion, the Hokage Tower's official statement and the New Konoha Times tabloid hit together.
In the New Konoha Times newsroom, the cats—stuffed with catnip rice balls—pulled an all-nighter and barely cranked out an extra edition before delivery.
The headline was still Yorin's favorite "shock" style, peppered with extra exclamation marks.
But that wasn't the point. The point was: this time the headline and copy weren't far off from reality:
"Evil Elite Shinobi from Another Village Attack. Giant Monster Invades Konoha!"
…
The piece leaned hard on how badass and terrifying the enemy was.
Their superweapons wiped out ancient forest for kilometers around.
Their terrifying ninja blades each had strange and varied effects.
They even had high-level space-time ninjutsu, and Wood Release—the legendary technique said to belong only to the First Hokage, Hashirama!
…
Naturally, Yorin wanted the enemy portrayed as formidable.
The stronger they were, the greater his glory for defeating them and saving the village.
Of course, the Fourth Hokage did his part, too. Yorin had never worked a desk job, but he knew enough politics—praise your boss to keep your "Naruto–Sasuke stand-in" pairing stable.
As for everyone else—no names needed. "Anbu operatives" as a group label would do.
…
The puff for Yorin and the Fourth, rewritten by the cats, read like gospel. Villagers reading it burst into tears, wanting to shout, "We'll never repay the kindness of the Fourth and Yorin-sama!"
…
With public nerves soothed, the real trouble began.
Whoever the mastermind was, on the face of it this was a sneak attack by Kiri on Konoha.
If a handful of ninja swords weren't enough proof, how about Yagura—the Fourth Mizukage—lying in the ICU at Konoha Hospital on a ventilator?
However much of a bastard he might be, he was still the Fourth Mizukage.
His presence in Konoha spoke volumes.
…
So much so that Minato didn't have time to stay home and hold the baby. He immediately ordered a council of all clan heads and department chiefs to decide what to do.
Even the old Hokage advisors were summoned. The Third stopped "retirement" and went to the Hokage Tower conference room.
On one thing everyone agreed.
We must fight. Not fighting would fail to rally the troops—and fail to quell public outrage.
Even the conservative Third advocated force against Kiri.
After all, Kiri had brought the fight to our door. If you don't answer, Iwa, Kumo, and Suna will think you're soft.
At the end of the day, Konoha is a super-sized violent mercenary outfit.
For a force like that, you can be blunt, you can be sly, you can be good or bad at business—but fundamentally, you must be able to fight.
Retaliating against Kiri—no issue. The question was how. How hard to hit? How many troops? What composition? Which great clan sends how many?
That required debate.
Too light, and people will sneer you didn't eat breakfast. Too heavy, and you burn resources—opening an opportunity for the other three villages to jab you from behind.
As for force composition, in principle, those who send more should earn more.
Under the Third, it wasn't so. The Uchiha clan always did the heavy lifting—but when it came time to collect the war chest and indemnities, the cut was small. The Sarutobi clan—just the opposite.
This wasn't yet indemnities—but even at the troop-commitment stage, there was plenty to argue over.
The Sarutobi representative seemed intent on keeping the old rules, addressing Minato with "Back in the Third's day…"—again and again—leaving old man Hiruzen mortified. If people hadn't been watching, he'd have rushed over to clap a hand over that foolish nephew's mouth.
Is this the kind of thing you air out in public?
By contrast, Uchiha Fugaku slapped the table, righteously indignant.
"We captured the Mizukage!
We took the Swordsmen prisoner!
As for the invasion of Kiri, we Uchiha will shoulder it—we'll send men and materiel—no question.
But when it comes time to collect from Kiri, we get the lion's share!"
Hearing that, the Sarutobi clan head exploded—slapping on a hat the size of a mountain: "You bargain when serving the village?! Are the Uchiha planning rebellion?!" Fugaku nearly popped a nine-tomoe Sharingan.
"Ahem, ahem."
Seeing tempers spiking—and fists half-raised—Minato, seated at the head, coughed lightly to draw the room back.
"The Sarutobi clan head goes too far. Didn't Fugaku just say he's willing to shoulder the mission?"
At that, the Sarutobi head bristled, ready to retort: "But—"
"As for Fugaku's terms," Minato continued, "my view is this: If you serve the village, the village should reward you. You give more; you get more.
That is perfectly reasonable. What does everyone think?"
"The Fourth is right."
"Quite reasonable."
"Fair and proper."
"Seems fine to me."
The Sarutobi head looked around in disbelief—and found no one speaking up for him.
Even the Ino–Shika–Chō, who usually sided with the Sarutobi, stayed silent—neither helping nor hurting.
He met Nara Shikaku's eyes—saw a hint of helplessness—and a flicker of meaning.
If the Sarutobi head were sharp enough, he would have understood. Shikaku was saying: "Times have changed."
He didn't. The Sarutobi clan had been sheltered a bit too well—and long enough to dull their instincts.
"What is happening? Why? Is this some Uchiha plot?!"
"In that case, it's decided," Minato said with a gentle smile. "The Kiri operation will be led by the Uchiha clan. Of the gains, 30% goes to the village treasury, and 70% is at the Uchiha's discretion."
Then, like every new leader who knows how to honor his elders, he turned that same gentle smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi:
"Third, what do you think?"
As soon as he spoke, every eye in the room turned to Hiruzen.
Those gazes were blades. Hiruzen sat as if on needles.
After a brief silence, he opened his mouth:
"I…"
"…I also think Minato makes sense."
He deflated—head bowing low.
And everyone there felt it in their bones.
The era had changed.
The Fourth's era had arrived—swift and unexpected.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!