Chapter Seventy-Seven: Minato Namikaze

"For the sake of the village's stability, he chose to continue his convalescence voluntarily and even requested protection from the Anbu..." Upon hearing Fugaku Uchiha's explanation, Li Uchiha more or less grasped the situation. Minato's body had, in truth, recovered long ago; returning to his duties as Hokage was no issue. But at that point, the Third Hokage had already stepped in as acting Hokage. Minato had no desire to clash with the Third, nor did he wish to create any instability within the village. So, he was willing to stay home and rest, never once mentioning the prospect of resuming his role. As long as the village remained safe and sound, Minato cared little if his authority as Hokage was compromised.

Fugaku sighed with a touch of emotion. "Minato is, after all, Jiraiya's student, and Jiraiya was the Third's disciple, so he's always held great respect for the Third." Li shook his head at these words and replied, "Respect is one thing, but that's not reason enough for the Third to continue ruling." Feeling somewhat indignant on Minato's behalf, Li spoke plainly, "Some people claim to hold power for the village's sake, but aren't the very circumstances they're trying to fix ones they themselves created?"

This wasn't some baseless accusation on Li's part; there was ample evidence to support it. In the original timeline, after Minato's death, the village never immediately elected a Fifth Hokage. Instead, the Third maintained his grip on power, ruling until Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush and the Third perished, only then did the Fifth Hokage take up the mantle. During this period, why did the Third insist on holding onto the position of Hokage? The answer was simple: internal and external strife.

Outside the village, rival shinobi villages eyed Konoha's weakened state with predatory intent, forcing the Third to step up and lead. Internally, the village had lost much of its elite fighting strength, leaving the Third with no suitable candidate to succeed him as Fifth Hokage. These two factors combined compelled him to remain in power. Yet the irony was that both the internal and external crises had arisen during the Third's own leadership. Under his rule, Konoha had—due to various reasons—lost a great many talented individuals: Sakumo Hatake's suicide, Tsunade's departure, Orochimaru's defection, Jiraiya's wanderings, Hizashi Hyuga's sacrificial death, the Uchiha massacre... Each of these events had its own cause, of course, and some could be attributed to personal reasons—like the Uchiha's own radical tendencies and dissatisfaction with the village. But it was far-fetched to blame every tragedy solely on individuals. In Li's eyes, the true issue was the village leadership under the Third, quietly fueling the flames behind the scenes.

"Enough," Fugaku said, "let's not dwell on this for now. We should hurry and find Minato." He gestured to the nearby Anbu standing guard; some had already slipped away, clearly to relay news of their arrival.

Li was unfazed. "It doesn't matter. Even if they didn't report it, the Police Force would have spread the news by now." Without wasting any more words, the two men ignored the wary glances of the distant Anbu and entered Minato's residence. Walking through to the sitting room, Li at last saw Minato again. It had been a year since their last, fleeting meeting—longer than he had anticipated. Minato first greeted Fugaku, then turned to Li with a gentle smile. "Li, it's good to see you again."

"It's been a long time, Minato-senpai," Li replied quickly, feeling a wave of emotion rise within him. This was, in fact, their first formal meeting. Even without exchanging many words, Li found an inexplicable sense of kinship with Minato. The warmth of Minato's smile had a disarming gentleness, as though basking in the spring sun—an infectious quality that was hard to resist. No wonder he was so popular in the village; with a smile like that, he could win over any number of admirers.

"Please, sit," Minato offered. "I've been resting at home, and never properly thanked you for your help last time. I'm truly sorry." Li took a seat and replied calmly, "There's no need for that. It was simply the duty of the Police Force." Minato shook his head, his demeanor earnest. "No, if it weren't for you that day, neither Kushina nor I would have survived..." He hadn't known then why an Uchiha had come to his aid, but later he had pieced together the truth. Without Li, the Nine Tails' rampage would have ended very differently. It was Li who had persuaded Fugaku and the Police Force to stand firmly by the Fourth Hokage's side. Otherwise, faced with the situation as it was, Minato would have had no choice but to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal—and Naruto, just born, would have been orphaned.

"Minato-senpai, in fact, I have something I need your help with," Li said, cutting through the formalities. Minato was slightly taken aback, his expression growing serious. He may have been convalescing, but he still kept abreast of the village's affairs—especially regarding Li, who, after the incident with the Hidden Cloud, had become a central figure of discussion in Konoha. For Li to come to him now meant that the matter could hardly be trivial. Minato sighed inwardly, then regained his composure. "Li, is this about the village?" he asked.

Li nodded. "Yes. It has to do with the Anbu—or, more precisely, with Root, which should have been disbanded long ago." As he spoke, Li drew a sealing scroll from his robes and produced the bodies of Root operatives.

Minato's brows furrowed deeply as he looked at the corpses. Li pointed to them and began to explain, "These Root members tried to assassinate me when I returned to the village yesterday, intent on killing me..." "Such actions, directed at me and at the Uchiha, can no longer be considered ordinary attacks." "If the village believes I or the Uchiha clan are guilty of something, then let there be a public trial." "But to strike at us in the shadows clearly shows that the Uchiha are not truly regarded as part of this village." Li's expression grew cold. "Minato-senpai, as the Hokage, I would like to ask you a question."

A heavy feeling settled over Minato, and he managed a wry smile. "Go ahead." He more or less understood the reason for Li's visit. This time, some things would not be so easily brushed aside. Li glanced at Fugaku, then rose to his feet. "I want to know: are the Uchiha still a part of Konoha?"

"Of course. Without a doubt, the Uchiha are an integral part of the village," Minato answered without hesitation. Li nodded, looking seriously into Minato's eyes, his voice steady. "If that's the case, then I ask you, as the true Hokage, to see justice done for me and the Uchiha." "Our clan has always sought to genuinely integrate with the village, but incidents like this keep happening. It's disheartening." "To be blunt, the Uchiha's patience has reached its limit." "Yet we still choose to trust you, Minato-senpai, so the clan leader and I have come here today."

Hearing this, Minato looked into Li's resolute gaze, then at Fugaku, who wore the same determined expression. He sighed and pleaded, "Li, is there really no other way?" Under these circumstances, with Li blameless and Root—supposedly disbanded—resorting to secret assassinations, if word of this spread, Konoha would face a total crisis of trust. Not long ago, there had already been an incident of the Anbu stealing Sharingan eyes. That scandal was still fresh. If another one broke now, how would the villagers and the great clans see the village...