After learning that Orochimaru had secretly built a laboratory on the frontlines to conduct human experiments, Hiruzen Sarutobi acted immediately.
Although Shinichi had always thought of Hiruzen as an old man who clung to power, the truth was that Hiruzen did have lines he refused to cross.
One of those unshakable lines was this:
Konoha shinobi must never harm their own comrades without cause.
When it came to Danzō, Hiruzen had not taken things to the extreme.
But that was because Danzō's actions had not caused irreversible damage.
Orochimaru's situation was different.
He had used Leaf shinobi as test subjects — this was already a fact.
And Minato now knew everything.
From Minato's expression and tone, Hiruzen could tell:
The Fourth Hokage would never cover for Orochimaru.
There was another reason Hiruzen had to decide quickly.
Orochimaru was his student.
If the matter became fully exposed… it would severely tarnish Hiruzen's reputation.
That was something he absolutely could not allow.
The only option now was to "cut down evil for the greater good."
Only by personally disciplining his own disciple could he salvage his image once the scandal broke.
He had stepped down after the heavy losses of the Third Shinobi War; his current prestige was already fragile.
Another scandal would destroy him entirely.
He himself could endure that — after all, half his body was already in the grave.
But his sons, and the Sarutobi clan, still living in the village…
He could not allow them to be dragged into disgrace.
Understanding this, Hiruzen acted swiftly.
First, he sent his son to lead ANBU to the frontline to seal off Orochimaru's exposed lab.
Then he personally wrote a letter summoning Orochimaru back.
Even now, Hiruzen's heart softened.
He did not accompany ANBU to capture Orochimaru — effectively giving his disciple a chance to escape.
Or perhaps…
Hiruzen wanted Orochimaru to flee.
…
Minato Namikaze quickly realized what the Third Hokage was doing.
He hadn't stationed watchers around Hiruzen, but by checking gate logs and ANBU reports, he could see Hiruzen had dispatched secret units.
Combined with other movements, Minato could clearly read the Third's intentions.
Orochimaru had killed the ANBU who investigated the lab.
And now, he received a letter telling him to return.
With Orochimaru's personality, he would never allow himself to be put in such a passive position.
Hiruzen's approach avoided confronting or punishing his disciple personally.
It also avoided losing too many ANBU in a direct fight with Orochimaru.
The only victims of this entire incident were:
The Konoha ninja were murdered as test subjects
and the ANBU were killed while investigating the base
Events unfolded exactly as Minato predicted.
Even before the letter reached him, Orochimaru vanished without a trace once the lab was discovered.
The frontline remained orderly.
Kirigakure had already adopted a defensive stance, so even with Orochimaru's disappearance, nothing collapsed.
In fact, no one noticed he was missing until three days later, when he failed to preside over the weekly command meeting.
When the frontline realized he was gone, they quickly sent a report back to the village — still unaware he had defected.
Many even believed he had been assassinated by Mist shinobi.
Minato did not reveal the truth to avoid shaking morale.
He immediately sent Nara Shikaku to stabilize the situation, and quietly issued a "wanted order" for Orochimaru to all jonin.
But that wanted notice was merely symbolic.
The Leaf had no idea where Orochimaru was.
A bounty without a target meant nothing.
Among higher-ups, the news caused shock and unrest.
But for regular shinobi and ordinary villagers, life continued unchanged.
Only close associates or collaborators of Orochimaru cared about his fate.
…
Mist Frontline.
A week after Orochimaru vanished, Danzō finally learned the truth.
He was stunned.
He and Orochimaru had been cooperating for years — but he did not know how much the village had uncovered.
Since no action had been taken against him yet, Danzō concluded the village knew very little.
At least they did not seem to know his part in supplying Orochimaru with resources and test subjects.
If it had only been human experimentation… Orochimaru wouldn't need to defect.
His fatal mistake was using Leaf shinobi as test material.
Danzō remained silent.
He chose to observe quietly — saying or doing too much would only bring suspicion upon himself.
But in truth, once Orochimaru's defection became known among high-ranking personnel, Minato had already turned his attention toward Danzō.
The problem was:
Danzō had made no move so far.
Minato had no excuse to strike yet.
…
The situation in Konoha did not reach Mount Myōboku — but by coincidence, Jiraiya wasn't at the mountain either.
While slacking off, he wandered through taverns and bars — places where rumors spread easily.
The wanted order for Orochimaru had been circulated to all jonin, and it naturally became a topic of bitter disbelief among them.
A shinobi of Orochimaru's status abandoning the village was unimaginable.
Jiraiya overheard the news by chance.
Like the others, he couldn't believe it at first.
But after confirming it personally, he returned to Konoha immediately.
There were few people Jiraiya truly cared about in this world — and Orochimaru was one of them.
He refused to believe his comrade and teammate would abandon the Leaf.
Upon learning the truth, he felt he had the duty — the responsibility — to bring Orochimaru back.
Just like Naruto would one day try to bring Sasuke home.
Before leaving, Jiraiya made sure to update Minato on Kushina's sage training progress.
Minato could not stop his teacher, nor did he have the right to.
Losing Orochimaru — a genius tactician and combat powerhouse — was already a huge blow.
Now losing Jiraiya from the village's manpower was another enormous loss.
But fortunately for Konoha, Kirigakure was already exhausted internally.
Their continued fighting had been driven mostly by Orochimaru's pressure, not true strategic intent.
With Orochimaru gone, the Leaf shifted from offense to consolidation.
The former Land of Whirlpools had already been absorbed into Fire Country territory, serving as a forward defense point — a major strategic gain.
With tensions eased, many Leaf shinobi returned home in glory, bringing prosperity back to Konoha's markets and districts.
Meanwhile, Kumogakure, upon hearing the Leaf had defeated Mist, realized their border mobilization was now pointless.
The previous diplomatic clash had dragged on long enough; both sides were tired of the political theater.
Cloud Village finally withdrew its standing army, leaving only regular patrols.
The Leaf also relaxed.
Though Danzō's Root remained deployed, Minato recalled many chūnin and genin squads to restore the village workforce.
The elites stayed on the field.
The "expendables" returned home.
At last, the Leaf could truly begin recovery.
After the wars ended, Minato promoted many talented shinobi, expanding his influence inside the village.
He also took the chance to form his own ANBU division.
Hiruzen's control over the old ANBU was too strong; the current captain was Hiruzen's own son.
Minato could use them, but never fully trusts them.
So he created a second, parallel ANBU structure.
This new ANBU had no fixed commander — only temporary squad leaders — to prevent any single person from accumulating too much control.
To strengthen it quickly, Minato recruited:
Kakashi Hatake
Hyūga Hiashi's clan elites
Uchiha Fugaku's clan elites
This was unprecedented trust toward the Uchiha clan, who had always been confined to the Police Force.
Fugaku sent twenty-three-tomoe Uchiha to join the ANBU — including Shisui and his own highly talented son.
Minato personally welcomed them and explained the new ANBU structure.
The Hyūga clan was also surprised; past Hokage had never allowed branch families near core ANBU roles.
But Minato broke the old rule, and Hiashi fully supported promising clan members joining.
Once filled with Uchiha and Hyūga elites, plus veteran battlefield shinobi, Minato's ANBU quickly expanded to nearly 100 members.
This force could not monitor the entire Fire Country, but it could absolutely monitor the entire Leaf Village.
Konoha's internal structure shifted dramatically — but overall, for the better.
…
Meanwhile, on Mount Myōboku:
Kushina reorganized her training plan.
Since she couldn't yet control the four-tailed state, she focused entirely on sage arts.
Thanks to the special nature of Mount Myōboku, Minato could sometimes visit her via summoning — even bringing Naruto along — which made her training life far less lonely.
As for Shinichi and Shisui, they were at an age where they grew just by breathing.
Training anywhere was productive.
As time passed, Kushina gradually mastered the use of sage chakra.
To adapt, she needed sparring partners.
Originally, Fukusaku and Shima were assigned as her sparring opponents — only sage chakra users could withstand a sage-mode Kushina.
But surprisingly, Shinichi Hyūga, who wielded the Flying Thunder God and could open the Eight Gates, was able to stand against her.
After opening the fourth gate, he could even pressure Kushina in early sage mode.
His growth impressed the toad sages, and the role of primary sparring partner shifted to him.
Immersed in training, Shinichi barely noticed time passing.
He only knew he was growing taller, stronger, swelling with chakra, and becoming more confident in battle.
As Kushina became more comfortable fighting in sage mode, Shinichi handled her more and more easily.
He soon broke through to the fifth gate of the Eight Gates.
His growth rate was even faster than Kushina's sage training.
Unknowingly, several years slipped by.
…
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