[send power stones please]
When the Hokage speaks with a subordinate, ANBU guards being present is normal.
But if the Hokage is speaking in a private capacity—say, as a teacher, or as the teacher of his disciple—then the ANBU would normally withdraw and give him a confidential space.
Hikaru had once had a subordinate stationed in the Hokage's office, and he clearly remembered the routine: almost every time Danzō Shimura, Koharu Utatane, or Homura Mitokado arrived, the ANBU on duty were required to leave.
Yet now?
Not only had the ANBU not left—they seemed even more "diligent," guarding the office with extra seriousness.
And inside ANBU itself, it was rare to hear the Fourth Hokage's voice at all. Most orders felt like they came from the Third Hokage's unilateral decisions.
It was hard to ignore how suggestive that was.
Hikaru didn't worry that Minato Namikaze would fail to notice it.
After all, Hikaru had already "blown some wind" through Kakashi—quiet, carefully placed hints.
Combined with the visible trust between him and Kakashi, his five-year ANBU record, and his current position as a squad captain… he had every "qualification" needed to catch the Fourth's attention.
If Minato truly wanted the Hokage's authority in full—not just the title—and genuinely wanted to change Konoha through that authority… then the clash between him and the Third Hokage's faction was inevitable.
Even setting everything else aside, the Uchiha alone were enough to guarantee friction.
Minato carried Jiraiya's ideals: he wanted the Uchiha to reintegrate with Konoha.
But for the Third's interest bloc—especially the men who inherited the Second Hokage's suspicion, like Danzō—the Uchiha were a problem destined to be "handled."
Old and new beliefs.
Reality and idealism.
Hikaru couldn't deny it—he was curious to see what kind of sparks that collision might throw.
…Though it was a pity.
He sighed inwardly.
Then, slowly, he walked out of the Hokage Tower.
It was a beautiful day. Sunlight poured down, warming his body—yet it made him frown.
Maybe it was because he'd lived too long behind a mask: whenever he wore it, walking under Konoha's bright sun felt… wrong.
A strange, faintly bitter sensation.
He couldn't help but laugh at himself.
ANBU really isn't a place meant for humans.
Still…
"This meeting was basically perfect."
He touched the scroll tucked in his pocket, steadied his mood, then slipped smoothly back into the shadows as he moved.
Minato had handed him what looked like nothing more than an introductory sealing scroll—the kind of beginner material Hikaru already owned.
He was still a Senju, even if the clan had declined so far that many of them barely remembered who they were. A little foundation remained.
Uzumaki Mito had been an Uzumaki princess. Even if part of the Uzumaki sealing legacy had been given to Konoha, there was still plenty that never left the family.
Some of that stayed with the Senju and was guarded by the clan elder.
And some… had "disappeared."
Most people assumed it had vanished with the fall of the Uzumaki clan—washed away by history.
But Hikaru didn't buy that.
He'd never had the chance to properly investigate the old Uzumaki residence on Konoha's outskirts—half-abandoned, half-forgotten—but he strongly believed it still hid valuable things.
The only reason he hadn't searched it yet was simple: Konoha still had a living Uzumaki.
Uzumaki Kushina had married Minato, but Hikaru didn't believe she'd never gone there to look around.
And as long as she lived, Konoha itself probably hadn't dared to "clean it out."
"Still… when Konoha finally moved, the Shinigami mask being left there was just unbelievable."
He only thought it in passing.
Konoha didn't know the solution to the Reaper Death Seal, so they wouldn't understand what the mask really meant.
In any case, Hikaru didn't need the mask.
He only needed to remember where that second portion of sealing knowledge likely lay.
He'd already decided: no matter what choices he made in the future, there were certain moments when he would go check that place.
Especially now—he needed sealing techniques badly. Whether or not he became a master, he wasn't going to let that "wealth" fall into someone else's hands.
Which meant Minato's "beginner textbook" wasn't truly interesting.
And Hikaru also believed Minato knew something basic: sealing is best learned with hands-on instruction.
"Reading a manual alone doesn't get you started—otherwise what would teachers be for?"
As he walked, hidden in the shade, he slowly pieced it together.
Minato's gift wasn't meant to be read.
It was meant to smuggle something.
If you didn't study sealing, you wouldn't know the flaw in that logic.
And even if you did study sealing, it wouldn't look suspicious to give a student a primer early.
Either way, it was safe.
And it told Hikaru something important: Minato was testing the waters—quietly—because even as Hokage, he couldn't "speak freely" inside his own office.
The scroll itself was ordinary.
But the instant Hikaru received it, he had used his sensory ability to examine it thoroughly.
And sure enough—there was a hidden detail.
A very special mark inside the scroll.
"If I'm not mistaken…"
"…that mark is the Flying Thunder God formula."
Yes.
Minato had planted a Flying Thunder God mark inside the scroll.
If the office wasn't safe to talk…
Then the only way was to speak somewhere outside ANBU "protection"—somewhere no one else was watching.
Hikaru didn't know when Minato intended to activate it and come find him.
But he also didn't care.
Because Hikaru had already read Flying Thunder God notes himself.
"And rather than waiting for him to reach out first…"
"…it's better if I activate the mark and contact him."
If you want someone's trust, you have to be willing to show a degree of honesty first.
This time, Hikaru intended to be direct.
He would make it clear: he understood what the mark meant.
He might even tell Minato that "Deep-see Hikaru" wasn't truly his name at all—
That he was Senju Hikaru.
And he believed Minato already knew.
After all…
Even without real power in his hands—
Minato was still the Hokage.
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