In truth, the dilemma of choosing between a mission and one's comrades was not uncommon.
Most of the shinobi present had encountered such choices at least once, several times, or even dozens of times.
The more missions a shinobi had undertaken and the longer they had survived, the more often they had been forced to face such decisions.
The problem was that when confronted with situations like these, most shinobi had no time to think things through.
They were already struggling to protect themselves, leaving them with no ability to worry about anyone else.
They had been forced to choose the mission.
Cases like Sakumo Hatake's, where a shinobi actually had enough leeway to make a conscious choice, were exceedingly rare.
And a case that had become public knowledge was rarer still—there was only this one.
After what had happened to Sakumo, everyone was now deeply affected by it.
Perhaps, in the future, even if they had the opportunity to rescue a comrade during a mission, they would hesitate to act.
They would prioritize completing the mission above all else.
That was definitely not a good development.
The most immediate consequence could be a crisis of trust among comrades, ultimately damaging teamwork and cooperation.
Ren had already thought of this before deciding to use Sakumo's case as an example.
He had also prepared himself to correct this unhealthy trend.
Seeing that the moment was right, Ren subtly signaled to Namikaze Minato.
There were some things that were clearly more appropriate coming from the Fourth Hokage himself.
"Ahem."
Minato cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.
Then he said,
"I believe everyone now understands what happened to Senior Sakumo Hatake. All I can say is that this tragedy was entirely caused by the selfish interests of certain high-ranking officials within our village."
"As a junior, I have no right to pass judgment on those seniors. But as Hokage, I can tell everyone clearly that Senior Sakumo Hatake's choice was not wrong!"
"Here, I sincerely apologize to Senior Sakumo Hatake on behalf of the village."
"The village was in the wrong."
As he spoke, Minato looked toward Kakashi Hatake, who was still standing where he had been, and gave him a slight nod.
Kakashi's eyes immediately reddened.
What Minato had done was nothing less than vindication for Sakumo Hatake.
He had washed away the disgrace that had been carried by the Hatake clan for more than a decade.
And he had finally untied the knot that had remained in Kakashi's heart.
Minato continued,
"At the same time, I would like to take this opportunity to make one thing absolutely clear."
"When faced with a choice between a mission and our comrades, our comrades must always come first!"
"People often say that shinobi are merely tools for carrying out missions and should have no emotions."
"But I want to say this: We are not merely shinobi."
"We are also sons, husbands, fathers, brothers..."
"We are the pillars of our families!"
"So I hope that whenever you undertake a mission, your first priority will always be protecting yourselves and protecting your comrades!"
"A single failed mission is nothing significant to the village."
"But the death of a shinobi often means the collapse of an entire family!"
"Perhaps in the eyes of someone like Shimura Danzō, Konoha has tens of thousands of shinobi, so losing a few people to complete a mission is nothing."
"But to me, every one of you is family."
"Not a single one of you can be lost!"
"You risk your lives outside the village because you are fighting for Konoha. If the village is still willing to abandon you because of the success or failure of a mission, then what meaning does such a village have?"
"So I hope that when you encounter a similar situation in the future, don't hesitate."
"Don't worry."
"Reach out and help."
"Believe in yourselves. Believe in your comrades. Believe in the village."
"The village will always be your strongest support!"
"Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!"
"Long live the Hokage! Long live Konoha!"
"Long live the Fourth Hokage! Lord Minato!"
As Minato finished speaking, thunderous applause and cheers erupted throughout the conference room.
They were not cheering merely because Minato had told them to choose their comrades.
They had genuinely felt his sincerity.
They had felt how much their Hokage cared about them.
For the first time, they clearly recognized the difference in governing style between Namikaze Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And they sincerely accepted Minato's leadership.
They believed that under Minato's leadership, Konoha's future would be bright.
There was an old saying: A man will die for the one who truly understands him.
If Minato could uphold this principle, then they too would willingly give their lives for Konoha and for Minato without hesitation.
Jiraiya looked proudly at Minato, who seemed to be shining before his eyes.
He was overjoyed.
This is the student I'm most proud of.
Tsunade and Orochimaru looked at Minato with somewhat complicated expressions as well.
Previously, they had harbored some doubts about whether Minato was capable of shouldering such an enormous responsibility because of his young age.
But now, their opinion of him had changed.
"All right. Next, Elder Uchiha will continue presenting the evidence against Shimura Danzō."
A few minutes later, the heated atmosphere in the conference room had settled somewhat.
Minato spoke again.
Everyone turned their attention back toward Ren.
Uchiha Ren remained completely composed as he took out another document.
"There are still many other comrades who were persecuted by Shimura Danzō. For all kinds of reasons and under all kinds of pretexts, there are simply too many cases to list."
"If I were to enumerate them one by one, I could speak for three days and three nights without finishing."
"So, to save everyone's time, I won't list them individually here."
"I'll hand this document to Commander Nara. After the Konoha Administration Department organizes the information, it will be posted on the public notice board outside the Hokage Tower."
"If anyone is interested, you can go there and examine it yourselves."
With that, Ren handed the document to Shikaku Nara beside him.
No one objected.
Shimura Danzō was already destined to die. He wasn't worth wasting everyone's time over.
Ren continued,
"That covers most of Shimura Danzō's crimes. However, given the limited time available, the Konoha Military Police Force cannot yet confirm whether he committed any other offenses."
"Nevertheless, his crimes that have already been established are more than enough to make him deserving of death a hundred times over."
"So I propose that we can continue collecting evidence of his other crimes at our leisure, but Shimura Danzō himself can be sentenced immediately."
"According to the village's laws and regulations, I propose that Shimura Danzō be subjected to a public execution."
Minato nodded slightly.
He looked toward Shikaku Nara and asked,
"Commander Nara, do you have any objections?"
Shikaku shook his head.
"I have none."
Minato then looked around the room.
"What about the rest of you? Does anyone have any objections?"
"I have none!"
"Neither do I! Shimura Danzō deserves death!"
"Same here!"
The people throughout the conference room voiced their agreement one after another.
Seeing this, Minato gave the final verdict.
"Since that is the case, we shall select a date for Shimura Danzō's public execution."
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