Land of Fire.
Konohagakure.
Hokage Building.
At this very moment, the entire Hokage Building was steeped in a strange, heavy atmosphere. Especially among Konoha's upper echelon—Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō—their faces were tinged with an ugly bluish pallor.
Seated calmly behind the desk was the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. Before him stood a group of newly promoted elite Konoha shinobi he had personally appointed, as well as Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan.
Compared to the grim expressions of Hiruzen and Danzō, Fugaku and his people looked excited—no, thrilled.
Yes. Thrilled.
The news that Uchiha Feng had successfully infiltrated the Hidden Rain Village and become its Third Amekage had reached Konoha early that morning.
When Minato, Fugaku, and the others learned of it, their first reaction was the same:
That kid Uchiha Feng has pulled off another massive surprise.
Their second reaction was even clearer—
Though the Hidden Rain Village was small, having it as a base would significantly increase Konoha's leverage. Even more importantly, it would give Minato far greater room to maneuver politically—especially when it came to eventually handing power over to Uchiha Feng.
In short, the better Uchiha Feng performed, the happier Minato and Fugaku became.
At the same time, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō—who had been quietly undermined by Ning Feng—were utterly miserable.
They knew very well that once Uchiha Feng fully controlled the Hidden Rain Village, he would possess the political capital to openly challenge these old Konoha power brokers.
Even worse, many shinobi would inevitably align themselves with his teacher, Namikaze Minato.
Although Hiruzen and Danzō were still nominally high-ranking figures in Konoha, Minato's increasingly iron-fisted governance had already freed him from Hiruzen's shadow. If this continued, Hiruzen feared he would soon lose all authority in the village.
In short—
The more dazzling Uchiha Feng became, the darker the future looked for Hiruzen and Danzō.
At that moment, Minato, seated behind his desk, slowly spoke:
"I believe everyone here already knows the news—Uchiha Feng, the young lord of the Uchiha clan, has successfully become the Third Amekage of the Hidden Rain Village."
"I called this meeting today to discuss how we should handle this matter."
"Uchiha Feng is, in theory, a shinobi of Konoha. For him to become the leader of another village could be construed as treason."
"However," Minato continued evenly, "he not only eliminated a major hidden threat to the Land of Fire, but may also have turned that threat into our ally."
"There are pros and cons here, so I want to hear everyone's opinions."
On the surface, Minato was asking for advice.
In reality, he had already framed the issue clearly:
This was a good thing—a very good thing.
If Ning Feng were present, he would immediately understand:
This meeting was not just discussion—it was public protection.
Sure enough, as soon as Minato finished speaking, several sharp-minded shinobi grasped his intent and spoke up immediately:
"The Hidden Rain Village borders the Land of Fire and has long harassed our Konoha shinobi. If Uchiha Feng truly controls it, Konoha could easily form an alliance with them."
"And we could even grant Lord Uchiha Feng a higher official position within Konoha. A vacancy like Konoha Advisor would fit perfectly."
"In that case, Konoha would no longer have to worry about the Hidden Rain Village as a constant thorn in our side."
Another shinobi quickly added:
"Exactly! With that threat gone, we could focus all our strength on dealing with the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind."
"Uchiha Feng truly lives up to his status as the Uchiha clan's young lord—this is something no ordinary person could accomplish!"
The discussion instantly heated up, voices rising one after another.
Faced with this momentum, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō—who had been preparing to launch an attack—found themselves momentarily speechless.
Danzō, however, was not one to give up easily.
"Ahem," he said coldly. "Minato, regardless of how you dress it up, Uchiha Feng's actions constitute defection from Konoha."
"I suggest he be classified as a missing-nin."
Hiruzen followed immediately, his tone gentler but no less lethal:
"Minato, you're still too young when it comes to governing the village. If this sets a precedent, more shinobi may follow his example."
"Managing Konoha will become far more difficult in the future."
Minato's eyes hardened.
He slammed his palm on the desk with a loud bang.
"If either of you could do what Uchiha Feng has done—take control of the Hidden Rain Village—I wouldn't say a word!"
"Minato, you—!"
Hiruzen hadn't expected Minato to be this uncompromising and was left at a loss for words.
At that very moment, a figure strode into the Hokage Building.
An Iwagakure envoy.
"Heh," the envoy sneered. "So the Hokage of Konoha intends to shelter Uchiha Feng so openly?"
"Are you planning to tear up the decades-long peace agreement between Iwagakure and Konoha?"
"Lord Minato," the envoy continued coldly, "if you wish to avoid triggering another great shinobi war, I advise you to arrest Uchiha Feng as a traitor and return the Hidden Rain Village to Iwagakure."
"Otherwise, Iwagakure will mobilize its armies and, together with Kumogakure, deal Konoha a devastating blow."
The sudden appearance of the Iwagakure envoy plunged the Hokage Building into heavy silence.
Hiruzen and Danzō were secretly delighted—reinforcements had arrived.
Danzō immediately pressed the advantage:
"Minato, if you spark another great war, the responsibility will fall squarely on you. Whether you remain Fourth Hokage will be questionable."
"Yes," Hiruzen added, fanning the flames. "Uchiha Feng may be outstanding, but he has also brought calamity upon Konoha…"
Minato chuckled softly.
At that moment, he felt even more certain that paving the way for Uchiha Feng had been the right decision.
Leaders like Hiruzen and Danzō—strong against their own people yet weak before foreign threats—could never give Konoha a future.
He firmly believed that Uchiha Feng's control of the Hidden Rain Village was ultimately for Konoha's benefit.
"If a great shinobi war truly breaks out," Minato said calmly, "I, Namikaze Minato, am willing to step down as Fourth Hokage—"
Before he could finish—
A familiar, leisurely voice echoed through the hall:
"Well, well… aren't you the envoys of Iwagakure, my defeated opponents?"
"You lost the war, and yet you still dare to come to Konoha and issue threats?"
Ning Feng had arrived.
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