Though young, Hinata Satoru was someone Namikaze Minato understood far better than men like Shimura Danzō or Sarutobi Hiruzen ever could.
Ever since Hyūga Hiashi and Hyūga Shinsuke had both been dispatched to the front lines, Minato had personally arranged for Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui to serve as Satoru 's guards—representatives of Konoha's "official stance," yet in truth much closer to him than mere bodyguards.
They lived with him, ate with him, trained beside him. They had seen his growth firsthand.
Through Kakashi's detailed reports, Minato was well aware of just how terrifying Satoru 's progress had become. Aside from the natural limits of his still-developing body, his mastery of every other field—chakra control, elemental transformation, and advanced technique—was advancing at a rate that could only be described as monstrous.
If Minato were to rank shinobi in the village purely by the power of their techniques, he could count on one hand the number of people capable of withstanding Hyuga Satoru 's full-force attack.
Even Satoru himself could feel how smooth his cultivation had become. Chakra shape and nature transformations that others struggled years to master came to him with ease. Everything flowed naturally, as though the world itself conspired to reward his effort. There was no ninjutsu, no principle, that refused to yield to his understanding.
His strength was soaring—but power had not clouded his composure.
Because in his eyes, enemies like Danzō weren't even worth being called his true opponents.
Minato valued the Hyūga Clan greatly. But he also needed stability. The coming war with Kumogakure demanded that Konoha remain unified. A full-blown conflict between the Hyūga and Root would tear the village apart—and whoever won, Root or Hyūga, Konoha itself would lose.
Both sides were too powerful. Both beyond his complete control.
And unfortunately, both now stood on the brink of war.
"Leave this matter to me," Minato said at last, his tone calm yet firm.
Satoru 's gaze sharpened, his expression unreadable. "If I hand this over to you, Minato-nii-san, how exactly do you intend to deal with Root?"
The question silenced the room. The other Hyūga watched quietly.
Minato hesitated. Truthfully, he had no clear answer.
Appease the Hyūga? Ask them to swallow the humiliation and remain silent? Impossible. He knew Satoru too well.
For all his mild manners and humility, when he fought Danzō earlier, there had been nothing but lethal resolve in his eyes. If Minato hadn't intervened, Danzō would already be ash and dust.
So then—punish Danzō? Execute him?
That, too, was laughable. Even as Hokage, Minato couldn't simply kill Danzō. Not when Root's existence was tied so deeply to Konoha's foundations. Unless he was prepared to completely annihilate Root along with its leader, that path was impossible.
But Minato wasn't that kind of man.
He could be firm against enemies—but when it came to comrades, no matter how misguided, his heart wavered.
To him, the real mistake lay not in Root's existence, but in the hand that guided it. Root's operatives were merely weapons—loyal, obedient, and ultimately innocent.
If possible, Minato wished only to remove Danzō and preserve Root.
But when he thought of the old war comrades who stood behind Danzō—the Third Hokage and his generation—he could only sigh inwardly.
Hiruzen would never agree to Danzō's death.
Seeing Minato's troubled silence, Satoru already understood. There was no concrete solution in the Hokage's mind—only vague hopes that the Hyūga would once again tolerate the injustice.
"Minato-nii-san," Satoru said suddenly, his voice steady, "I'm not someone who would endanger the village out of personal hatred."
He paused, then continued, his eyes glinting coldly. "Since you don't have a way forward, I do. And I hope you'll accept it."
Minato looked up. "Oh? What are you proposing?"
He genuinely wanted to know. If the victim himself could offer terms, then perhaps peace could still be salvaged.
Satoru smiled faintly, though there was no warmth in it.
"It's clear that Lord Danzō and his Root are very capable. Even in wartime, they seem to have plenty of spare time and manpower—enough to send assassins against their own comrades. Impressive, really."
The sarcasm was sharp enough to make even Minato flinch. It was a pointed reminder of his own failure to control the shadows of the village.
"So since Danzō and Root are so strong, I imagine the front lines against Kumogakure could use their help."
"I propose we withdraw all Hyūga from the Cloud front—and have Root take our place."
"If they have the energy to plot against allies, then surely they have the strength to fight the enemy."
"If Root goes to the front as the main assault force, we'll consider this matter settled—for now."
At last, the true bargaining chip was revealed.
Satoru knew perfectly well that getting Minato to execute Danzō was impossible. Even if Danzō's assassination attempt had succeeded, the Hokage might still hesitate. Danzō's influence didn't come from charisma—it came from control. He commanded Root, and Root held power.
Politics, after all, was the art of compromise.
For Satoru , this compromise wasn't born from mercy—it was calculation.
He didn't make the demand merely to save his family's pride. He wanted to bring back the Hyūga stationed on the front lines against the Cloud Village. That battlefield was far more brutal than the Mist front, and among those deployed was his great-uncle Hyūga Shinsuke—aged, weary, and no longer in peak form.
Even under the clan's best protection, a battlefield was still a battlefield.
Compared to Hiashi, who was commanding elsewhere, Shinsuke was in far greater danger.
Satoru refused to let his elderly great-uncle die in the mud of a foreign war.
"You… what?" Minato's brows rose in surprise. That was the last condition he'd expected.
It wasn't that he didn't want to send Root to the front. It was simply that he couldn't.
Even as Hokage, Minato did not have full authority over all of Konoha's forces.
He could not command the Root operatives loyal to Danzō. Nor could he easily mobilize the Third Hokage's personal guard, or the private forces maintained by the Sarutobi and Shimura clans.
Their excuse was always the same: 'These units exist to protect the village's core. They cannot be deployed lightly.'
But everyone knew the truth—those were political armies, not defenders. Their purpose was to maintain influence, not security.
Minato could neither kill Danzō nor command his Root. And now Satoru 's "proposal" left him no graceful way out.
Satoru 's voice cut through the silence again.
"I believe my meaning is clear enough," he said evenly. "You can relay my message to Danzō—and return this corpse to Root while you're at it."
"If he refuses…" Satoru 's tone turned to steel, "then I'll write to my father and great-uncle personally and have them withdraw the Hyūga forces from the front."
"Whatever crisis the village faces afterward—it will be Danzō's doing."
"And if that man and his Root dare to threaten the Hyūga again…"
His eyes glowed with killing intent. "…then they must be erased."
The clan elders exchanged uneasy looks. One or two opened their mouths as if to object—but the deadly certainty in Satoru 's expression silenced them.
"Satoru …" Minato rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He wanted to argue, to calm things down—but when he glanced around and saw the Hyūga's unified, cold stares, he swallowed the words.
He understood.
Why should he be asking them to compromise?
It was Danzō who had ordered the assassination. The Hyūga had already shown restraint simply by not demanding his head immediately.
If the village's leadership still failed to act, the Hyūga would not hesitate to burn everything down.
Minato knew this clan too well.
For a great house like the Hyūga, nothing was more sacred than the safety of its heir. Danzō's attack on Satoru had crossed the one line they would never forgive.
"…I understand," Minato said quietly. "I'll ensure that Danzō and Root are sent to replace your clan at the front."
"And if that can't be done—"
"If it can't," Satoru interrupted, his tone cutting like a blade, "then please invite Elder Danzō to your office… and take his head yourself."
His words dripped with murderous intent. Such blunt insolence toward the Hokage would have been unthinkable from anyone else.
Yet Minato couldn't bring himself to be angry.
If their positions were reversed—if someone had tried to assassinate Kushina or Naruto—he knew he would have done the same.
"I understand," Minato said again. "Until I have results, I ask that the Hyūga remain patient and avoid rash action."
Satoru inclined his head politely.
But an elder from the branch family, an old man of seventy with sharp eyes, gave a cold snort.
"Then you'd best act quickly, Fourth Hokage-sama," he said acidly. "If we see no sign of Lord Danzō's repentance soon… we'll take matters into our own hands."
His words dripped with defiance—but in truth, they spoke what many in the room were thinking.
Minato met the elder's gaze for a long moment, then nodded.
"Don't worry," he said softly.
In his heart, the decision was already made.
If worst came to worst, he would dissolve Root himself.
Because a force that refused to defend the village—but had time to assassinate its own—had already lost the right to exist.
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