Minato Namikaze put down the documents in his hand and waved to the Anbu.
As the heavy wooden door was pushed open, two figures, one large and one small, walked into the Hokage's office.
The woman in the lead was dressed in a nun's habit, with a pair of round-framed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. She looked somewhat exhausted, but the eyes hidden behind her lenses gleamed with shrewdness and caution.
Nonou Yakushi, a former ace spy of Root, codenamed the "Walking Miko."
And behind her, tightly clutching the corner of her clothes, was a boy with short silver-gray hair who also wore large round glasses.
The boy looked quite timid, keeping his head down and not daring to look at the people in the room. He only occasionally lifted his eyelids to quickly scan the surroundings with his peripheral vision, showing a level of alertness that didn't match his age.
Gamakon, perched on Minato's shoulder, saw the silver-haired boy, and his golden horizontal pupils constricted slightly.
Kabuto Yakushi.
This key figure who would later stir up the entire shinobi world and even trigger the Fourth Great Ninja War was currently standing there like a startled little quail.
"Hokage-sama."
Nonou walked to the desk and bowed respectfully.
Her gaze lingered briefly on the purple toad on Minato's shoulder, but her professional training as a veteran spy prevented her from showing any unnecessary surprise.
"You've worked hard, Director Nonou."
Minato put down his pen and pointed to a nearby chair. "Sit down and let's talk. I want to hear your report regarding the situation in Kirigakure."
Nonou nodded but did not sit. Instead, she stood straight and began reporting what she had seen during her infiltration into the Land of Water.
"The current situation in Kirigakure is... unexpectedly calm."
Nonou chose her words carefully, her brow furrowed as if even she was confused by the intel. "Based on my external observations and the intelligence I gathered, although the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, keeps to himself, his orders are being executed smoothly. No large-scale purges have occurred in the village, nor has there been any obvious persecution of the clans with Bloodline Traits."
"Compared to the previous Mizukage, the Fourth seems to have realized the village's plight and is attempting to let the village rest and recover to make Kirigakure better."
"They are even trying to restore a small amount of trade with the outside world."
Hearing this, Gamakon, who had been lounging lazily on Minato's shoulder, suddenly narrowed his golden horizontal pupils.
'Calm? No persecution?'
This didn't match the original story at all.
According to the original timeline, after Rin's death, Obito controlled the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, to take revenge on Kirigakure. He implemented the cruel "Bloody Mist Village" policy, forcing Academy students to kill each other and conducting genocidal purges against the Bloodline clans.
But now, Nonou had brought back news of a "calm" Kirigakure.
Minato's expression also became solemn.
Since he knew the future's trajectory through Gamakon, he naturally understood what this "calm" implied—the tracks of history had shifted.
"Are you sure?" Minato asked in a deep voice. "Is it possible it's only calm on the surface while purges are happening in the shadows?"
"I can't rule out that possibility."
Nonou shook her head. "But if it were a purge of that magnitude, it would be impossible for no news to leak out. The number of refugees and the movement of rogue ninja on the black market—these indicators are all normal."
Minato and Gamakon exchanged a look.
Both read the confusion in each other's eyes.
If Yagura wasn't practicing tyranny, it meant Obito might not have controlled him yet, or perhaps Obito's plan had changed?
Or... was Obito still hesitating?
But that didn't fit the character of a man driven mad to create a "world with Rin."
"I understand."
Minato drew a heavy circle on his notepad, temporarily suppressing his doubts. "This intelligence is critical. It seems we need to re-evaluate our strategy toward the Mist."
He closed his notebook and turned his gaze to the silver-haired boy behind Nonou.
"So, who is this child?"
Nonou's body visibly tensed.
She turned and pulled the boy in front of her, shielding his shoulders with her hands like a mother hen protecting her chick.
"His name is Kabuto."
There was a hint of earnestness in Nonou's voice. "He is a child from our orphanage."
Kabuto pushed up his sliding glasses and bowed awkwardly to Minato. He didn't speak, but his eyes peered through the lenses, timidly observing the young Hokage.
"This child has great talent."
Nonou continued, her tone carrying a trace of complexity. "Whether it's chakra control or intelligence analysis, he has incredible intuition. Back when Lord Danzo was still around, he hinted multiple times that he wanted him to join Root for training."
At the mention of "Danzo," Kabuto's body trembled slightly.
"But I didn't want him to go."
Nonou looked up, meeting Minato's gaze directly. "I know what kind of place Root is. It erases human emotions and turns people into tools. After Danzo's death and Root's dissolution, I thought I could breathe a sigh of relief, but I was worried..."
She didn't finish, but her meaning was clear.
She feared Kabuto's talent would be targeted by someone else, forcing him to repeat her mistakes and walk the path of a spy or assassin.
"So, you brought him to me," Minato finished her thought gently.
"Yes."
Nonou bit her lip. "If it's you, Lord Fourth, you can surely give him a different future. I hope he can live in the light, rather than hiding in the shadows his whole life like I have."
The office fell silent.
Gamakon watched the silver-haired boy with his head bowed.
Kabuto Yakushi.
In the original story, this key figure played both sides with deep schemes and eventually triggered the Fourth Great Ninja War. Right now, he was just a child desperate for a place to belong.
If there were no coercion from Danzo and no tragedy of accidentally killing his foster mother, his life might truly be completely different.
"Look up, Kabuto."
Minato's voice was warm yet firm.
Kabuto instinctively looked up, his gaze meeting a pair of clear blue eyes.
"Do you like medical ninjutsu?" Minato asked.
Kabuto was stunned for a moment, then nodded. His voice was very small. "Director Nonou taught me some... I think being able to heal other people's pain is a very good thing."
"That's good."
Minato smiled, a smile as warm as a spring breeze.
He took a piece of stationery from his drawer, wrote a line, and stamped it with the Hokage's seal.
"Since you have this talent, put it to good use."
Minato handed the note to Nonou. "Lord Tsunade is currently reorganizing Konoha Hospital and is short on hands. Let the child intern at the hospital; he can start by learning the basics from Shizune."
"If he performs well, he can be formally assigned to the Medical Corps later as an official medical ninja."
Nonou held the note, her hands trembling slightly.
Konoha Hospital.
It was one of the most respected places in the village, a sanctuary for saving lives—the polar opposite of Root's darkness.
"Hurry, thank the Hokage-sama!" Nonou's voice was slightly choked as she gently patted Kabuto's back.
Kabuto looked at the note and then at Minato.
The heart that had been suspended in anxiety finally seemed to find solid ground.
"Th... Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Kabuto bowed deeply and didn't straighten up for a long time.
"Go on," Minato waved. "Report there tomorrow. Director Nonou, if the orphanage faces any difficulties, feel free to apply for assistance from the village at any time."
"Yes! Thank you so much!"
Nonou wiped the corner of her eyes, took Kabuto's hand, and left the office with a thousand thanks.
As the door closed, only Minato and Gamakon remained in the office.
The warm atmosphere dissipated instantly.
"Getting a job for a future major villain of the shinobi world, that feels pretty good."
"Though his mentorship might be better off with Orochimaru eventually, we can't rush it; it has to be done step by step."
Gamakon hopped from Minato's shoulder to the desk, making a joke before turning serious. "But what do you think about the situation in Kirigakure?"
The smile faded from Minato's face, and he tapped his finger lightly on the desk.
"Yagura not implementing the 'Bloody Mist' is far too abnormal," Minato said deeply. "If Obito hasn't controlled Yagura, where is he now? What is he planning? Compared to a tyrant out in the open, an enemy hiding in the shadows who has completely diverged from our knowledge is much more terrifying."
"True."
Gamakon narrowed his golden horizontal pupils. "It seems that once Jiraiya finishes dealing with Black Zetsu, we'll need to thoroughly investigate the Land of Water. The wings of the butterfly I flapped seem to have already taken effect in the Mist."