Minato's heart wrenched with a sudden, sharp pain.
He knew exactly why.
For Kakashi, tonight was not just a crisis for the village; it was the night his entire world-view collapsed. His teacher had "disappeared," and a mysterious man had ripped open his old scars.
"I understand."
Minato took a deep breath, his gaze hardening with renewed resolve.
"Pass down my orders."
"Sir!"
"First, stand down from the Level One Combat Alert and transition to standard surveillance. Calm the villagers."
"Second, have the Anbu seal all news of my return. Keep it quiet for now; I need to see the Third and Jiraiya first."
"Third..." Minato paused, a flicker of complex emotion crossing his eyes. "Find Kakashi Hatake immediately and bring him to the Hokage's office. Tell him... I have something important to say to him."
"Understood!"
The Anbu vanished instantly.
Minato stood alone in the clearing, looking up at the moon, which was half-shrouded by dark clouds.
Obito was still trapped in the Kamui space.
Although the restrictive seal had been applied, Minato wasn't sure if Obito could ever wake up from that nightmare or escape that hellish obsession. At the very least, the hidden measures Minato had placed on him ensured the boy wouldn't be able to attack Konoha again anytime soon.
If Obito truly couldn't be brought back...
If he truly targeted Konoha again...
Minato clenched his fists.
"I am the Hokage..." he whispered to the wind. "But I am also... your teacher."
...
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi drew heavily on his pipe, his brow furrowed. The chaos outside was slowly dying down, but the old man's heart remained restless.
Minato had been gone for too long.
The masked man's abilities were far too bizarre. Even though they had made preparations, nothing was ever guaranteed in the world of shinobi.
"Lord Third."
A flash of gold illuminated the office.
Hiruzen spun around so quickly he nearly dropped his pipe. Seeing the somewhat disheveled but still upright figure before him, the old man's eyes glistened.
"Minato! You're back!"
"I'm sorry for worrying you." Minato offered a weary smile and pulled up a chair. He was exhausted—not just from the drain on his chakra, but from the sheer emotional weight of the night.
"The enemy...?" Hiruzen asked tentatively.
"Driven back," Minato replied briefly, avoiding Hiruzen's probing gaze. "He was heavily injured. He shouldn't dare set foot in Konoha again for a long time."
"That's good. That's good..." Hiruzen nodded repeatedly. However, as a veteran who had ruled for decades, he sensed the hesitation in Minato's words.
If the enemy was driven back, why wasn't he captured? Why wasn't he killed?
With the skills of the "Yellow Flash," there was no reason to let a heavily injured opponent escape. Minato had shared the masked man's abilities earlier, but out of a teacher's protective instinct, he had withheld the truth of the man's identity.
Unless...
Hiruzen looked at Minato's face—a map of exhaustion and inner conflict. A thought surfaced in his mind, but he immediately suppressed it.
Everyone had secrets. As long as Minato remained the Hokage who cared for Konoha, some things didn't need to be asked.
Hiruzen exhaled a cloud of smoke and said gravely, "Minato, Danzo has been very vocal about his grievances regarding the Uchiha clan."
"I warned him, but knowing him, I doubt he'll let the matter drop."
Minato's eyes narrowed.
This was exactly what he feared.
If the village found out that the attacker was truly Obito Uchiha, a member of their own, the friction between the Uchiha and the village would ignite instantly. A civil war would be inevitable.
Obito had committed a grave atrocity, but he was also a victim—a pawn used by Madara.
More importantly... he was Minato Namikaze's student.
Even if only to maintain the stability of Konoha, Minato had to take this secret to his grave.
"That man was not a member of the Uchiha."
Minato looked Hiruzen straight in the eye, his voice firm and absolute.
"That masked man's Sharingan... was likely stolen."
'This is... a lie.'
Minato spoke the words to himself in the silence of his mind.
It was a lie a Hokage had to tell for the sake of the greater good. It was also the last effort a teacher could make to protect a student who had lost his way.
Hiruzen stared at Minato for a long time. Finally, he sighed and nodded.
"If the Fourth Hokage says so, then that is the truth."
The old man stood up and patted Minato on the shoulder.
"I'll leave things here to you. I'm going to go smooth things over with the elders and advisors. Since the enemy is gone, we focus on reconstruction."
Just before stepping out the door, Hiruzen added one last thing. "Minato, do what you must. Don't worry about my opinion when it comes to Danzo."
Hiruzen left.
Minato was alone in the office. He leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes. His mind was flooded with images of Obito's scarred, tear-streaked face and that final "I'm sorry."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Come in." Minato opened his eyes and adjusted his posture, trying to mask his fatigue.
The door pushed open.
A silver-haired youth walked in.
He was soaked to the bone, his headband was crooked, and his visible eye was dull and lifeless. He radiated an aura of absolute desolation.
Kakashi Hatake.
Seeing his teacher sitting there unharmed, a flicker of emotion stirred in Kakashi's hollow gaze, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Lord Hokage."
Kakashi's voice was dry and raspy.
He didn't call him "Sensei." He used the formal title.
The distance in that choice stung Minato's heart once again.
Minato's hand clenched slightly under the desk. He could still feel the phantom sensation of touching Obito's heart back in the Kamui space. Two very different students, yet both were causing him equal pain at this moment.
"Kakashi," Minato said softly. "Change out of those wet clothes first."
He opened a drawer, pulled out a clean towel, and stood up to walk around the desk, holding it out to the boy.
Kakashi didn't take it.
He stood there like a soulless statue, his gaze drifting past Minato's shoulder to some empty point in space.
"Why?" the boy asked abruptly.
Minato's hand froze in mid-air.
"The masked man said..." Kakashi's body began to tremble slightly, a sign of suppressed emotion reaching its breaking point. "He said I was just bait."
"He said that to protect the real targets—to protect my master's wife and the unborn child—you... you threw me and the rest of the Anbu into that valley like we were nothing."
Kakashi snapped his head up, his dull eye now bloodshot, filled with a desperate need for answers.
"Teacher, tell me it isn't true."
"You didn't give up on us... did you?"