Inside Minato's house.
The room was unusually quiet.
Jiraiya sat with both elbows resting on the table, his fingers intertwined in front of him. His brows remained tightly furrowed as if he were trapped in his own thoughts.
From the moment he had arrived, he had immediately asked Minato to contact the leaders of the Pig-Deer-Butterfly alliance and the Hyuga Clan.
Kakashi had already left to invite the Hyuga Clan Head.
Now, only three people had arrived.
Shikaku Nara.
Inoichi Yamanaka.
Choza Akimichi.
None of them understood why Jiraiya had gathered them so suddenly.
Minato quietly glanced at his teacher before leaning slightly toward Shikaku.
"Shikaku-san..."
He looked at Shikaku, who nudged him.
"Has Jiraiya-sama always been like this?"
Shikaku looked at Jiraiya, who hadn't spoken a word since they arrived.
"No."
Minato shook his head.
"He's been like this since he came here."
"He said we'll wait until the Hyuga Clan Head arrives."
Shikaku narrowed his eyes.
Whatever had happened...
It was serious enough to make even Jiraiya quiet.
Just then—
Bang!
A bowl of ramen landed heavily on the table.
"Don't sulk here, old man."
Kushina placed another pair of chopsticks beside the bowl.
"Your stomach has been growling this whole time."
The aroma of fresh ramen instantly spread through the room.
Choza's eyes lit up.
"I was trying to endure..."
He immediately pulled the bowl toward himself.
"But after smelling this..."
He picked up the chopsticks without any hesitation.
"I couldn't control myself anymore."
He took a large bite.
"Mmm..."
He looked at Kushina with satisfaction.
"You took too long."
Kushina proudly placed another bowl in front of Jiraiya.
"Here."
"Eat before you start crying."
Jiraiya glanced at the steaming ramen.
For the first time since arriving...
He finally moved.
Seeing that, Minato quietly let out the breath he had been holding.
At least...
His teacher was reacting again.
Kushina sat down beside Minato before looking at Jiraiya curiously.
"So..."
She tilted her head.
"Why are you sulking this much?"
A mischievous smile slowly appeared on her face.
"Did Sister Tsunade reject you again?"
The room instantly became silent.
Jiraiya felt as if an invisible boulder had crashed onto his head.
His eye twitched.
"You brat..."
He said through gritted teeth.
Across the table...
Shikaku quietly lowered his head.
Inoichi suddenly became very interested in the ramen inside his bowl.
Neither of them wanted to get involved.
But Kushina didn't notice at all.
She simply patted Jiraiya's shoulder.
"Come on."
"By now, you should've accepted it."
"You're just not good enough for Sister Tsunade."
Her voice was filled with genuine sympathy.
"There, there."
Crack.
The chopsticks in Jiraiya's hand snapped clean in half.
For a moment...
Nobody said a word.
Then Choza quietly looked at the broken chopsticks before taking another bite of ramen.
"...Good thing I already got mine."
"Take these, Sensei."
Minato quietly handed Jiraiya a new pair of chopsticks.
At the same time, he secretly winked at Kushina, silently asking her to stop teasing him.
Kushina noticed the signal.
She pouted a little but obediently remained quiet.
Knock. Knock.
Creak...
After the second knock, the door slowly opened.
Everyone at the table instinctively turned toward the entrance.
Kakashi stepped inside first.
Behind him walked Hiashi Hyuga.
Beside Hiashi was his younger brother, Hizashi.
"Jiraiya-sama."
Hiashi gave a respectful nod.
"I heard you wanted to see us."
He then nodded toward the other Clan Heads.
"Shikaku-san."
"Inoichi-san."
"Choza-san."
The three returned the greeting.
Without wasting any time, Hiashi and Hizashi took their seats.
The lighthearted atmosphere from a few moments ago quietly disappeared.
Jiraiya slowly looked around the table.
His eyes swept across every Clan Head present.
Only after making sure everyone had arrived did he finally speak.
"The situation..."
His voice was low.
"...has gone far beyond what any of us expected."
Everyone became serious.
"If we don't do something..."
He paused for a brief moment.
"...it won't just be the Hokage who suffers."
His eyes hardened.
"The entire village will pay the price."
The room fell silent.
Even Kushina's playful expression disappeared.
After thinking for a moment, Shikaku finally spoke.
"Jiraiya-sama..."
His voice remained calm as always.
"But this involves the Fire Daimyo."
He slowly folded his hands together.
"Someone has to take responsibility for what happened."
"I'm afraid..."
"This isn't something we can simply interfere with."
Silence returned to the room once again.
Jiraiya slowly looked around the room.
Then he spoke.
"I'm not talking about the Fire Daimyo."
Everyone looked at him.
"It's the Uchiha."
A brief pause followed.
"Today..."
"They handed over several jutsu to the Fire Daimyo to help build his own shinobi force."
Silence.
For a single heartbeat...
Nobody reacted.
Then—
"What?!"
The room erupted.
Even the usually calm Shikaku couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes.
Hiashi frowned deeply.
Inoichi stared at Jiraiya in disbelief.
Even Choza stopped eating.
Only Kushina looked around in confusion, unable to understand why everyone was reacting so strongly.
After a few moments, Shikaku was the first to regain his composure.
He looked at Jiraiya seriously.
"...What level of jutsu are we talking about?"
Jiraiya answered without hesitation.
"There was at least one B-rank Fire Style jutsu."
He paused before continuing.
"The rest were mostly C-rank and D-rank techniques."
The room became even quieter.
The expressions of every Clan Head turned grim.
Unlike ordinary shinobi...
They all understood exactly what that meant.
Their clans had dealt with noble houses long before the hidden villages were created.
They knew better than anyone how desperately the nobles had always wanted genuine high-level ninjutsu.
Hiashi slowly clenched his fist.
"...Are the Uchiha really willing to go this far?"
His voice was low.
Inoichi frowned as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
"The Fire Daimyo has always wanted to strengthen his own shinobi force."
He slowly looked down at the table.
"But if those forces begin learning jutsu of this level..."
He fell silent for a moment.
"...how many shinobi will they be able to train in the future?"
His eyes narrowed.
"And if the noble houses can raise enough capable shinobi..."
He looked toward Jiraiya.
"...will they still need to rely on Konoha for every mission?"
The question lingered in the room.
No one answered immediately.
After a long silence, Shikaku finally spoke.
"They'll still need Konoha."
Everyone turned toward him.
"But..."
He slowly intertwined his fingers.
"Only to the extent that they have no other choice."
His expression grew serious.
"If their own forces become stronger..."
"They'll gradually become less dependent on us."
He let out a slow breath.
"The balance between Konoha and the Fire Daimyo..."
"...will begin to change."
The room fell completely silent.
Even Choza had lost his appetite.
Shikaku looked back at Jiraiya.
His eyes were unusually serious.
"Jiraiya..."
"Are you certain..."
"...the Uchiha really handed over a B-rank jutsu?"
Jiraiya slowly nodded.
"I saw it with my own eyes."
Shikaku leaned back in his seat.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Then...
A long sigh escaped his lips.
"They've made their move..."
"And it's far bigger than I imagined."
Minato looked toward Shikaku.
Concern was clearly visible on his face.
"Is it really that bad?"
He hesitated for a moment.
"Maybe... I could speak with Fuga—"
He suddenly stopped.
Fugaku.
The moment the name came to his mind...
He remembered the Uchiha Clan was already being divided.
Even Fugaku no longer had complete control over his own clan.
Minato quietly lowered his eyes.
"...Is there really nothing we can do?"
Shikaku slowly shook his head.
"No."
"The Uchiha are doing everything openly."
"They have enough hatred toward the Third Hokage."
He folded his hands together.
"They're trying to make everything as difficult as possible for Hiruzen."
He paused before adding,
"Now..."
"The village is getting caught in the middle of the fight between the Hokage and the Uchiha."
Silence filled the room.
No one could deny it.
Hiashi was the next to speak.
"Blaming the Uchiha directly isn't possible anymore."
His expression remained serious.
"They have the support of Daimyo and noble houses."
"And now..."
"They're slowly gaining the samurai's support as well."
His words made the atmosphere even heavier.
After a long silence...
Shikaku spoke once more.
"This situation will probably continue..."
"...until a new Hokage is chosen."
As he said those words...
His eyes slowly shifted toward Jiraiya.
Then...
Toward Minato.
The meaning behind that glance was obvious.
Jiraiya noticed it.
A complicated expression appeared on his face.
He didn't say anything.
But inwardly...
He understood exactly what Shikaku was implying.
Creak...
The door slowly opened.
Everyone instinctively turned toward the entrance.
The moment they saw who had arrived...
Several people froze.
"Elder Homura?"
Jiraiya unconsciously stood up.
Surprise was written across his face.
Homura gave a small nod before entering.
Behind him walked Tsunade.
Orochimaru quietly followed.
The three sat down without wasting time.
Homura looked directly at Jiraiya.
"When I saw you turn back from the Hokage Building..."
He spoke calmly.
"I understood..."
"...something must have happened."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"So..."
"What did the Uchiha do this time?"
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P@treon - Hear_tteeth [18 +]
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