Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Concerns

The Third Hokage placed the photograph before Minato Namikaze.

Hair and the like could be disguised, but jutsu could not.

Minato Namikaze was completely dumbfounded.

He was starting to doubt himself.

Did I really do these things?

Why don’t I know about them?

"Third Lord, all I can say is that I truly haven’t left the village even once in the past few months. As for what happened in Kusagakure, either there is an imitator whose technique is extremely similar to the Flying Thunder Technique, or there is another me in this world.

"If you do not believe me, I can submit to an Anbu investigation, including a memory probe by the Yamanaka Clan."

Minato Namikaze spoke firmly.

"Minato, this old man believes you."

After pondering for a moment, the Third Hokage revealed a resolute expression as he looked at Minato Namikaze.

"Third Lord!"

Gratitude appeared on Minato Namikaze’s face.

"However, I want you to investigate this matter in secret, together with Jiraiya. I will have Anbu members assist you. Make sure you uncover the truth behind this!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said solemnly.

Just as he had said before, Kusagakure was not the key issue.

Twelve jonin and more than a thousand Kusagakure shinobi made for a force that Rogue Ninja would not dare provoke. To the Five Great Shinobi Villages, they might need to be won over during wartime, since they could play a considerable role on a local battlefield. But in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes, the entirety of Kusagakure was not worth as much as a single Minato Namikaze.

Not to mention that Minato was still young. In a few more years, he would at the very least become a powerhouse on the level of one of the Sannin.

The truly troublesome matter was the user of that Flying Thunder God Technique.

Hiruzen Sarutobi would not believe such an absurd conclusion as there being another Minato in the world. That left only one final possibility.

Someone had mastered a ninjutsu similar to the Flying Thunder God Technique and intended to frame Konoha, with Minato as the precise target.

That meant the other party must have a deep understanding of Konoha and harbored ill intentions.

Those ill intentions might be directed at Konoha, or perhaps…

At Minato personally, as well as the faction he represented.

"All right, Minato. You may leave for now."

The Third Hokage raised his pipe again and spoke gently to Minato Namikaze.

After Minato Namikaze left, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked toward his old companion at his side.

"Homura, has Danzo made any moves recently?"

"You know better than I do what Danzo has been doing, Monkey. Even if you replaced Root’s leader with Orochimaru, those people would still be Danzo’s people.

"When it comes to conditioning subordinates, Danzo surpasses even Teacher Tobirama. The reason Orochimaru can perform so outstandingly in Root now is, at the very least, because Root’s people received Danzo’s instructions to cooperate."

Mitokado Homura answered bluntly.

Of the five disciples of the Second Hokage who were still alive, including Torifu Akimichi, who no longer managed Konoha’s affairs, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the strongest, followed by Danzo.

When they were young, those two had been the most qualified to compete for the position of Third Hokage.

However, although Mitokado Homura lagged somewhat behind those two in raw strength, his grasp of the bigger picture and judgment were superior to Danzo’s.

At the very least, he understood his place better than Danzo did. He saw many things clearly and lived with enough clarity—people like that often lived the longest.

Among Konoha’s elders, Danzo was the Third Hokage’s dark side, his dirty glove. Through this arrangement, Hiruzen Sarutobi kept the person who posed the greatest threat to his position as Hokage firmly suppressed, eventually driving him so deep into darkness that he could no longer emerge and become Hokage through the bright side.

Mitokado Homura, on the other hand, was the Third Hokage’s true assistant. He understood major matters, handled minor ones well, had a clear sense of his own position, and possessed some ability without threatening the Hokage’s seat.

The Third Hokage understood the meaning behind Mitokado Homura’s words.

"Orochimaru…"

Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured the name of his prized disciple, his brow furrowing.

"Have you found out what they have been secretly doing?"

"Heh, Hiruzen, you think too highly of me."

Danzo alone was already skilled at such sneaky and underhanded dealings, let alone with the addition of the exceptionally cunning Orochimaru.

Mitokado Homura might truly have had the ability to dig it out, but the price was absolutely not something he could afford.

Precisely because they were old classmates, Mitokado Homura did not want to offend Danzo over such matters. Nor did he want to offend Orochimaru, the Third Hokage’s beloved disciple, who had a considerable chance of becoming the Fourth Hokage in the future and was equally ruthless in his methods.

Mitokado Homura still wanted to honestly live out his natural lifespan, while ensuring that the Mitokado Clan continued to enjoy wealth and status.

This matter required someone unafraid of offending those two, someone with sufficient strength and ability to investigate it. In any case, Mitokado Homura had no desire to wade into this muddy water.

If Utatane Koharu were here, she would most likely make the same choice.

That left only a few people of any weight.

Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze had just received their assignment from the Third Hokage, so they were clearly unsuitable for this. After Tsunade developed hemophobia, she spent every day taking Kato Shizune through the major casinos within Konoha’s sphere of influence.

That made it even more impossible for her to investigate Orochimaru and Danzo.

After counting them all, only the Third Hokage himself remained, someone with enough standing to investigate this matter.

"Ugh…"

The Third Hokage’s brow was furrowed deeply enough to crush flies.

No matter which possibility it was, neither was something he wished to see.

Danzo and Orochimaru were definitely hiding something from him. The Third Hokage had already noticed this some time ago.

If they were hiding it from him, then what they were doing could not be brought into the open, and it was something Hiruzen Sarutobi would absolutely never permit.

Otherwise, why would they secretly do it behind his back?

Orochimaru had most likely been led astray by Danzo and drawn into darkness, committing things he should not have done.

What Hiruzen Sarutobi needed to do was uncover the truth, selectively stop them, and then suppress the matter.

If it was not too serious, Orochimaru could still have hope of succeeding him and becoming the Fourth Hokage in the future.

But if it was truly serious, then even if Hiruzen Sarutobi covered it up, Orochimaru would still be stained with a blemish—and a blemish Danzo knew about. If there were other choices in the future, Orochimaru could no longer become Hokage.

And if it was an even more serious situation…

The Third Hokage was deeply worried.

There were not many people qualified to access the Scroll of Seals, but both Danzo and Orochimaru had had access to it.

Aside from Forbidden Jutsu like Impure World Reincarnation, which the First Hokage had explicitly ordered sealed away, Danzo and Orochimaru had both encountered Forbidden Jutsu such as the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Mutual Multiplication Exploding Tag. They simply had failed to learn them.

That was because both techniques were highly difficult Space Ninjutsu, far more difficult than the Summoning Technique.

Orochimaru and Danzo might not have been able to learn them, but that did not mean they could not remember them.