Neither side spoke. Makiya had no intention of initiating a greeting; he and these people were destined to have nothing in common. He passed through the middle of the crowd in silence.
News of Kushina Uzumaki's pregnancy only circulated within a small circle. Aside from Makiya, the only people in the know were a few of Minato Namikaze's trusted subordinates, Hiruzen, and the village elders.
The pregnancy of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was massive news. If leaked to those with ill intent, they would likely cause trouble on the day of delivery, as the seal inside the Jinchuriki was at its weakest during childbirth.
With Kushina Uzumaki pregnant, Minato, as her husband, was busy around the clock. His meticulous care caused Kushina's weight to skyrocket, leaving her with a healthy dose of "happy fat."
The cost, however, was that Minato grew increasingly thin. His cheeks began to sink slightly, looking as though he were utterly drained. Clearly, the heavy workload was wearing him down physically and mentally, pushing him to his breaking point.
Faced with Minato's repeated pleas, Makiya reluctantly agreed to take on the role of Hokage Advisor. However, he made it clear beforehand that he wouldn't get too involved in the village's administration and would only offer his opinions and thoughts during discussions.
Minato readily agreed, so long as Makiya was willing to advise him. As one of Konoha's top combatants, Makiya's every word and action carried immense weight. Even a casual remark would force others into deep thought, making it impossible to ignore.
The consequences of ignoring Makiya were severe. In a world of supernatural power, people always feared strength rather than cherishing virtue.
A month after Kushina's pregnancy began, one morning, Makiya—who was sleeping in—suddenly heard a knocking sound.
"Who is it?" Makiya opened his bleary eyes and sensed the soul signature. It was Kakashi.
Minato had placed Kakashi in the Anbu, where he had risen quickly to the rank of squad commander, overseeing several Anbu teams.
From the looks of it, Minato seemed to be grooming Kakashi to become the Anbu Commander, replacing the current one.
The Anbu was critical. As the Kage's direct subordinates, the commander had to be the most trusted confidant who obeyed orders without question. The current commander understood this and knew his replacement was only a matter of time, so he didn't cause any trouble.
"Advisor Makiya, Lord Hokage requests your presence in the office," Kakashi's voice drifted in from outside the room.
"This early?" Makiya yawned and picked up the alarm clock by his pillow, finding it was only 11:00 AM.
"..." Kakashi outside the door:
Early... is it early?
The masked Kakashi looked up. The sun hung high in the sky, casting endless light upon the earth. It was clearly noon!
'Advisor Makiya is far too lazy. How can he slack off so openly!'
Kakashi thought resentfully. Having not yet suffered the blow of the Rin Nohara incident, he hadn't yet seen through the complexities of life or learned the benefits of slacking off.
The previous night, Makiya had been at the Seireitei base, exploring the origins of life and the nature of humanity with Nono Yakushi until late. He was physically and mentally exhausted.
Don't get the wrong idea; their relationship was perfectly pure. They were researching the literal creation of people, using cloning technology obtained from Orochimaru combined with the Living Corpse Reincarnation and the Spirit Transformation Jutsu to see if they could realize the concept of body replacement.
Makiya hadn't gone to sleep until six in the morning and was now incredibly drowsy. If he didn't get at least eight hours of sleep, he felt miserable all over.
But since he had promised Minato, the work had to be done.
"Coming, coming! Just a second!" Makiya stretched, quickly washed up, and stepped out with a piece of bread in his mouth, following Kakashi toward the Hokage Building.
Even though Kakashi wore a mask, his shock of silver-grey hair was so distinct that anyone could guess his identity. Makiya wondered what the point of wearing a mask in the village even was.
Perhaps it was a form of warning. Anbu only wore masks when on missions; besides the special uniform, the mask was a symbol of status.
When Makiya arrived at the office, he found Hiruzen Sarutobi there as well. Minato was pouring tea for Hiruzen and poured a cup for Makiya as soon as he entered.
Under Makiya's influence, Minato had grown very fond of tea. This had triggered a tea-drinking craze among Konoha's high-ranking officials. Following the example of their leaders, the trend gradually spread throughout the entire village.
The leader's hobby is my hobby.jpg
"Minato, what happened? Why the rush to call me over?"
Makiya drained his cup in one go. The bread from earlier had left him a bit choked up, and the tea helped wash it down.
Minato refilled Makiya's tea and picked up a secret letter from the desk, handing it to him.
The letter was crumpled, and a third of it was stained a dark red. Makiya was no stranger to that color—it was the look of dried blood.
It seemed the messenger had met a grim end. For this letter to reach the Hokage's hands, there must have been a series of rough and treacherous events behind it, perhaps even a drama of life and death.
Such things were common in the ninja world; during wartime, they happened almost every day.
A special seal was drawn on the envelope. It was different from those of the major powers or the small countries sandwiched between them. Makiya found the seal unfamiliar and couldn't place it immediately.
"It's from the Land of Demons," Minato prompted from the side.
"Oh, it's them!" Makiya realized. The Land of Demons was very low-profile in the ninja world. There weren't many shinobi within its borders, and it never participated in the world's various affairs. They kept to themselves, essentially acting as the ostriches of the ninja world.
Makiya didn't know much about the Land of Demons; his few memories came from a movie he'd seen in his past life: Naruto Shippuden: The Movie.
Opening the letter, Makiya read it line by line, his brow furrowing as he took occasional sips of tea.
Minato waited silently for Makiya to finish, holding the teapot to refill his cup. This scene sat poorly with Hiruzen Sarutobi, who found it quite an eyesore.
He was highly dissatisfied with Minato's behavior. A Hokage should maintain the dignity and bearing of their office. What was the Fourth Hokage doing, pouring tea for an advisor?
If Makiya knew what Hiruzen was thinking, he would have snapped back. Minato pouring tea was nothing; wasn't Hiruzen always cleaning up Danzo's messes? It was obvious who lacked dignity.
Hiruzen didn't make a scene, keeping a calm exterior. He planned to find a moment to be alone with Minato and impart some of his own experience in governing Konoha to the young Fourth, hoping to set him on the right path.
Makiya read all the way to the bottom before finding the actual point of the letter.
A request for aid!
They were asking Konoha for help. A giant demon had appeared in the Land of Demons, and they needed Kage-level support to assist the Priestess in sealing it.
Makiya shook his head. At a time like this, if you need help, just say it. Instead, they had written long paragraphs of flowery rhetoric and embellishments; it took forever to find the main point.
"Makiya, what do you think?" Minato asked immediately upon seeing him finish.
Makiya looked thoughtful. "I'm looking at it with my Sharingan!"
Minato: "???"
"Cough, cough. Just joking." Makiya coughed twice and waved the letter. "Does the Land of Demons have a connection to us? Why does the letter say they are Konoha's allies?"
Minato didn't know much about the Land of Demons either. Faced with Makiya's question, the two just stared at each other, blank-faced.
Minato: 'Don't look at me. I don't know either.'
Makiya: 'Who else should I look at? You're the Hokage!'
Minato: 'Oh, right. I am the Hokage...'
Hiruzen stepped in to bridge the gap, sighing as he spoke slowly. "The Land of Demons did indeed sign a treaty of alliance with us. It was a long time ago, dating back as far as the era of the First Hokage."
"They really are allies!" Minato said in surprise, and Makiya's eyes widened too.
That explained it. It made sense why Konoha was willing to send such a large force so far to aid the Land of Demons in the movie. They were allies after all.
In the movie, Konoha's ruling Kage was the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. Makiya knew her personality well; she certainly wouldn't ignore a plea for help from an ally.
"So, should we provide aid? What do you think, Makiya?" Minato looked at him.
"I think..." Makiya paused for a moment. "I think we should help. They are allies with a signed treaty, after all. According to the agreement, Konoha is indeed obligated to send people."
If he remembered correctly, the monster in the Land of Demons was Moryo. It seemed to be a creature that existed even before Kaguya Otsutsuki's arrival. Makiya was quite curious about it.
"I believe we should not provide aid," Hiruzen's aged voice interrupted Makiya. "Konoha is currently in a state of recovery. Although we have reached ceasefire agreements with the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning, no one knows if they will attack again. Konoha simply doesn't have the energy to care for others right now."