Although Hyūga Shinichi was young, Minato Namikaze's understanding of him was far deeper than that of Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Ever since Hyūga Hiashi and Hyūga Shin left the village for the front lines, Kakashi Hatake and Shisui Uchiha became Shinichi's personal guards, representing the Leaf's "attitude." Their relationship with Shinichi went far beyond that of a typical employer and employed ninja;
They were deeply involved in his life, from eating and living to training. Minato was fully aware of Shinichi's newly developed techniques and current combat strength through Kakashi's reports.
Apart from the physical limitations imposed by his age, Shinichi's progress in other abilities was terrifyingly fast and seemed to have no upper limit.
If judged solely by the power of his techniques, Minato felt that the number of people in the Leaf capable of withstanding his attacks could be counted on one hand.
Shinichi himself felt that his training was incredibly smooth. Everything, from chakra transformation to nature transformation, felt natural, as if he truly achieved "effort equals reward."
He had never encountered a jutsu or technique he couldn't master. As he continued to accumulate experience, his strength soared to the point where Shinichi himself didn't know what level of opponent he could handle when going all out.
However, the increase in strength did not affect Shinichi's mindset, as his true hypothetical enemies were never people at Danzō's level.
Minato valued the Hyūga Clan, but he also wanted the Leaf to engage the Cloud Village in a stable internal situation.
He did not want to see a large-scale conflict erupt between the Hyūga and Danzō's Root over this incident. Minato did not have absolute control over either the Hyūga or Root.
Unfortunately, these two factions now had an irreconcilable conflict, and both possessed formidable strength. A full-blown clash would be an absolute disaster for the Leaf Village. The winner, whether Root or the Hyūga, would undoubtedly shake the foundations of the Leaf.
His relationship with the Hyūga was indeed very close, but at this moment, he could not allow the Hyūga to seek revenge.
"Hand this matter over to you? Minato-nii, how do you plan to deal with Root?"
Hearing Minato's intention to take charge, Hyūga Shinichi looked at him, not avoiding the other clan members present, and asked directly. Personal friendship was one thing, but this matter concerned the fundamental interests of the Hyūga Clan. At this moment, Hyūga Shinichi had to speak on behalf of his clan.
"This..."
Minato only knew that he couldn't let the Hyūga and Root erupt into an all-out conflict, but he didn't have a complete plan for how to resolve the situation. Should he appease the Hyūga? Ask them to silently swallow the bitter pill of the assassination attempt?
That was out of the question. Based on Minato's understanding of Shinichi, the boy would never let it go. Although Hyūga Shinichi lived a secluded life and appeared amiable in his interactions, his decisive killing intent during the recent fight with Danzō wouldn't lie. If Minato hadn't appeared in time, Danzō would have been reduced to ashes by Shinichi's attack.
So... should he punish Danzō? Kill him?
Don't be ridiculous. Although Minato was the Fourth Hokage, his power wasn't enough to simply kill Danzō; Root was not to be trifled with. Unless... Minato could resolve to wipe out the entirety of Root!
But sadly, though Minato was generally firm externally, he couldn't bring himself to be ruthless towards his "comrades" within the village.
In Minato's view, the fault lay only with Danzō as an individual. The Root ninjas were merely following orders; they were a blade that could be forgiven. It was simply that this sharp blade was held by the wrong person. If possible, eliminating Danzō and preserving Root would be the best approach.
But...
Minato sighed softly as he thought of Danzō and his comrades. The Third Hokage had been his benefactor, and Sarutobi would surely not agree to kill Danzō...
Seeing Minato sigh and fall silent, Shinichi knew that Minato currently had no means of reconciliation. It was nothing more than asking the Hyūga to remain silent...
"Minato-nii, I am not the kind of person who would disregard the village's safety for a personal feud."
"Since you don't have a good solution, I have an idea that I hope you can adopt."
Hyūga Shinichi glanced in the direction of the ancestral hall and spoke suddenly.
"Hmm?"
"What idea?"
As the victim, it would be best if Shinichi did not intend to pursue the matter, so Minato was genuinely interested in hearing his idea.
"It seems that Elder Danzō and his Root are very strong."
"And they appear quite idle during wartime, even having the time and spare effort to assassinate a comrade in the same village. Well done."
Minato understood the sarcasm and could only remain awkwardly silent. This was a criticism of him, the Hokage, for failing to properly supervise certain factions.
"Since Danzō and his Root are so formidable, I believe the front lines against the Cloud Village could greatly use their help."
"I hope to withdraw all Hyūga clan members from the Cloud front lines and have Root replace them!"
"If they have the energy to assassinate a comrade, they should also have the energy to step onto the battlefield to protect their comrades, shouldn't they?"
"Let them become the main force against Kumogakure, and the Hyūga will temporarily drop this matter!"
The true intent was revealed. Shinichi knew it was impossible to use this incident as leverage to get the Fourth Hokage to personally execute Danzō.
Even if the attempt had succeeded, Shinichi doubted Minato would execute Danzō. The reason the opponent could establish himself in the Leaf was not courage or a network of relationships, but his firm control over a combat force like Root. So-called politics is the art of compromise.
Compared to simple revenge, the lives of the Hyūga clan members were clearly more important.
The reason Shinichi hoped to withdraw the Hyūga from the Cloud front was not only because Hyūga Shin was closer to him than Hiashi and himself. It was simply because, if war broke out on that front, the intensity would be far greater than on the Mist front. Furthermore, Hyūga Shin was old and frail.
Even with the protection of elites, it was a battlefield, and Shinichi feared that Hyūga Shin's current stamina and strength would be unable to cope with sudden accidents. Compared to Hiashi, Hyūga Shin, who was also on the front lines, faced a greater risk. Shinichi did not want his grand-uncle to be lost on the battlefield at his age.
"What did you say?"
Minato clearly had not anticipated such a demand from Shinichi. To be honest, he hadn't even thought about it before. Was it that he didn't want Root to go to the front? The truth was, he had no way to command Root's actions.
Forget Root, even with the Leaf in a state of full mobilization, there were still certain forces that Minato could not mobilize.
Besides Danzō's Root, there were the Third Hokage's direct guard units, and some ninja from the Sarutobi and Shimura clans that he could not deploy.
The excuse given to Minato was very simple: these ninjas were a vital force for protecting the village's security and should not be moved away from the Leaf unless necessary. But everyone knew the real situation—it was simply a way to preserve their political power, far less noble than they claimed.
Minato had neither the power to execute Danzō nor the ability to order Root's ninjas into action. Shinichi's demand...
"I believe I was clear."
"Minato-nii, you can completely relay my words to Danzō. And while you're at it, send this corpse back to Root."
"If Danzō disagrees... I will personally write to my father and grand-uncle, telling them to bring the clan members back to the Leaf."
"No matter what situation the village faces in the future, the uncooperative Danzō and his Root, who threaten the survival of the Hyūga while our members are on the battlefield, must be eradicated!"
Hyūga Shinichi's tone was resolute, and his eyes revealed intense killing intent. The branch family elders present, who had originally intended to voice their opinions on the matter, chose to remain silent after sensing Shinichi's determination, thus tacitly agreeing with his stance.
"Shinichi..."
Minato felt a headache coming on. He wanted to say something to persuade Shinichi, but when he saw the surrounding Hyūga clan members all casting their gaze towards him, Minato swallowed his words of persuasion.
Yes... Why should I persuade the Hyūga?!
The root of the matter, after all, was Danzō's betrayal of a comrade. The Hyūga Clan was already considering the greater good at this stage and had made a significant concession. If those in power remained unreasonable, the Hyūga would absolutely seek an all-out confrontation.
Minato understood this clan too well. By attempting to assassinate Hyūga Shinichi, whom the entire clan viewed as the successor, Danzō's action had undoubtedly touched the Hyūga's reverse scale. Such a great clan is most sensitive about the safety of its successor.
"I understand. I will have Danzō and his Root replace your Hyūga Clan."
"If that can't be done..."
Shinichi interrupted before Minato could finish: "If it can't be done, please invite Elder Danzō to your office for a meeting, and you shall take his head."
Shinichi's words were murderous, and it was utterly impolite to speak in such a manner in front of the Hokage. However, Minato couldn't bring himself to be angry. Putting himself in Shinichi's shoes, he wouldn't necessarily forgive Danzō's actions either. If Danzō had sent people to assassinate his wife and child, Minato would turn against him, even if it meant risking everything.
"I understand."
"Until I have a result, the Hyūga Clan should not act rashly."
Minato nodded, accepting Shinichi's proposed resolution. Hyūga Shinichi politely nodded, but a branch family elder took this moment to quietly utter a sarcastic remark:
"Fourth Hokage-sama, your action needs to be swift!"
"If we don't see Elder Shimura Danzō's sincere repentance, the Hyūga will have to act on their own!"
The elder who spoke was about sixty or seventy years old, clearly a veteran, and his words showed no respect for the Fourth Hokage as a mediator, nor for the elder consultant Danzō. However, his words did, to some extent, align with Shinichi's inner thoughts.
"Rest assured."
Minato had already begun to make his choice in his heart. If necessary, he would disband Danzō's Root... As Shinichi said, a Root that was unwilling to go to the front lines to protect the village and instead focused on internal strife had lost its value to him.
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