Minato knew a bit about White Zetsu, but lately he'd been preoccupied with married life. The rest of his time was spent teaching his students, refining the Flying Thunder Formation, or carrying out missions outside the village.

As for the village's classified missions?

He'd rather not hear a word about them—because whenever Kyoichi brought him some "important news," it meant a major crisis had erupted, and he would have to take action.

But…

It never crossed his mind that behind all this might be Uchiha Madara, and that the man himself had now as good as admitted his identity.

Uchiha Madara!

A legend of the shinobi world since the First Hokage's era—still alive today, and the shadowy hand controlling everything behind the scenes.

Even Hashirama Senju would have found it hard to believe.

After hearing the story, Minato's feelings were complicated.

He thought for a moment before speaking.

"Uchiha Madara… do you have any way to lure him out now?"

"To be honest, no. I was hoping Kakuzu could lead me to him, but Kakuzu's been in the Land of Water all this time. Looks like Madara hasn't brought him into his inner circle. We might as well take him in ourselves later."

Kyoichi had a few ideas.

But… whether he could actually draw Madara out, he wasn't sure. If Madara didn't want to show himself, even summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path wouldn't help.

And even if they dragged him out—Madara's death would only be temporary. As long as Black Zetsu existed, one day Uchiha Madara could be resurrected.

As for "talking him into" changing sides…

That was about as likely as convincing Tobirama Senju to live in peace and harmony with the Uchiha clan—not a chance in hell.

Strong people are strong because they have their own convictions and absolute self-confidence.

Hashirama and Madara, Tobirama, the Third Raikage… even Kyoichi and Minato were no exception.

Only when ideals aligned was "persuasion" possible.

Clearly…

Madara wasn't someone who could be swayed so easily. If he were, he wouldn't have reached his current power, evolving from Sharingan to Rinnegan and weaving such a grand scheme.

Minato gave a slight nod.

He was about to speak when he suddenly rose and looked outside. Kyoichi, however, just waved a hand and opened the window to glance at the river beyond.

"You're here on Elder Genji's orders?"

Splash—

A figure emerged from the river.

An old acquaintance…

Hōzuki Chiren gave a slight bow and said respectfully:

"Kyoichi-sama, Genji-sama has sent me to invite you…"

"I've already been to Kirigakure. It's done. You can go back to Genji." Kyoichi cut straight to the point.

Hōzuki Chiren froze, unable to hide his surprise. After several seconds, he asked,

"Is that… true?"

"You can go back and confirm," Kyoichi replied calmly.

"Yes, my apologies. I wasn't doubting you—just… surprised. In any case, thank you, and Minato-sama as well, for stepping in."

Noticing Minato beside Kyoichi, Chiren guessed it might be the Flying Thunder God that had allowed Kyoichi to travel between Kirigakure and here even faster than him.

The truth was…

He hadn't followed Genji's instructions to the letter. As a jōnin, Chiren had sharp instincts—when he saw Genji taken away by the Third Mizukage's men, he knew something was wrong.

He'd come straight to find Kanda Kyoichi, only to be one step too late.

Still…

To have resolved things in such a short time—Konoha's strength was truly nothing to underestimate.

Better not to provoke them!

"Looks like you left too early. If you'd been a few minutes later, you wouldn't have had to make this trip at all… If there's nothing else, you can head back."

"Yes. I don't know the full story, but thank you all the same!"

Chiren thanked them repeatedly, polite to the extreme—almost as if afraid Kyoichi and Minato might suspect him of spying and decide to get rid of him.

Against anyone else, he could probably escape.

But…

Kanda Kyoichi was different.

After all—there was already Hōzuki Chikage's example to learn from.

With the "friendly exchange" over, Hōzuki Chiren dissolved into water and left.

Minato was silent for a moment.

This guy's attitude had changed drastically from before. Back when he was among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he was all arrogance, acting like no one in the world could touch him.

And now…

"Feels like he went from arrogant to deferential. Funny when you think about it, huh?"

"Something like that. Honestly, I preferred the way he used to be. This is… harder to get used to," Minato said, scratching his head. Besides, the guy seemed to have gotten the wrong idea.

Well…

Not a big deal.

They shut the window and returned to their earlier discussion.

There wasn't much more to say—everything revolved around Kakuzu and Madara.

As for Black Zetsu… Kyoichi found it hard to even explain. The thing was stranger than White Zetsu, and he'd never even seen its true form. Without hard proof, such a claim would be impossible to believe.

And even if Minato knew—what could they do? Kyoichi had no real countermeasures for it right now.

Better to set it aside for now.

---

After a night's rest, the next morning Minato came to Kyoichi.

"Kyoichi, Kakashi's been sitting by the window in a daze ever since he woke up. You should probably check on him."

"That's your student—why me?"

"Uh… I'm not much good at the emotional guidance part. You're better at that."

"…Right." Kyoichi paused. Something felt off.

Was this like how he treated Orochimaru as a "tool"?

In Minato's eyes, could he be one too?

Forget it… not worth overthinking.

He stood and knocked on the door.

Kakashi hurried to open it. When he saw Kyoichi, he bowed deeply.

"Thank you for saving us in time, Kyoichi-sensei. Otherwise… we might all be dead."

"It's nothing. I brought you out, so I'll see you back safely."

Kyoichi stepped inside, noting Kakashi's physical recovery—no serious issues. Without his mask, though, the boy looked a bit uncomfortable.

Kakashi quickly pulled over a chair for him.

"Your teacher's worried about you. I came to see if you're alright. Were you scared yesterday? Don't be discouraged—Sasori of the Red Sand was once Sunagakure's greatest prodigy."

Prodigy?

Who wasn't, in their own way? Sasori's talent was no less than Kakashi's—and given their age difference, losing to him was nothing shameful.

Kakashi nodded, then shook his head.

"It's not that, Kyoichi-sensei. You didn't assign me any mission yesterday, but at the last moment, the only thing I could think about was protecting Shisui and Kurenai… and then I suddenly understood."

He gazed out the window—toward Konoha.

"As you just said—if you bring us out, you bring us back. At that moment, my father must have thought the same."

"No one likes sacrifice or parting."

"True. But your father wasn't entirely wrong either…"

"That's enough, Kakashi. Don't overthink it. Sakumo faced a dilemma as old as time—one with no perfect answer, and no single 'right' solution."

Kyoichi was genuinely pleased.

Kakashi had truly untied the knot in his heart—not by replacing it with another, but by understanding it completely.

Still…

For the clever, thinking too much could just lead to a new dead end.

Sakumo's dilemma was like the trolley problem—one that stumped even the wisest.

"Ninjas are tools, yes—but not just tools. Because we have feelings and ideas, there's room for new possibilities."

"I get that. I was just wondering… if my father had another, better option back then." Kakashi scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

"Even understanding his feelings, I couldn't think of a better answer."

"The best answer is to make the village stronger. If there were ten or twenty Sakumos in Konoha, would this problem even exist?"

"…Well, I guess…"

Sakumo-level shinobi didn't exactly grow on trees.

Kakashi was about to argue—

But then he thought of all the things Kyoichi had done: improving education, giving every student a better environment and opportunities, ensuring every shinobi had ways to grow.

I see now.

While he'd been stuck thinking about right or wrong, his teacher had already been solving the root of the problem.

After a long moment, he stood and bowed deeply.

"Sensei… I understand."

***************************

Read advanced chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.

P@treon/GodDragcell