"Although that boy is still young, he has already understood the true nature of sacrifice that defines a ninja's existence," Uchiha Yoruki observed with characteristic calm. "When the time comes, he will comprehend the necessity of what must be done."
Minato remained silent, the weight of their discussion pressing heavily on his conscience.
Yoruki continued with measured deliberation. "In that case, I will inform both Uchiha Itachi and his parents about the situation. However, the final decision remains yours alone, so don't allow hesitation to compromise our village's security."
"I understand the burden," Minato replied, his voice carrying the gravity of absolute leadership responsibility.
Uchiha Yoruki nodded his acknowledgment before preparing to depart.
"There's another matter I need you to handle," Minato added, then proceeded to explain everything he wanted verified through investigation.
"You want us to search for Uchiha Madara's remains?" Yoruki asked, genuine surprise coloring his normally controlled tone.
Minato nodded grimly. "Take Hiashi with you for this mission, but keep the operation completely confidential from other personnel."
"I'll begin immediately," Yoruki confirmed.
The location that Minato had provided based on the Second Hokage's information had been completely devastated by Nagato's techniques, leaving the area in total ruins.
Starting tomorrow morning, Konoha's regular forces would begin systematic sweeps of all damaged areas, making immediate action essential to maintain operational security.
"Thank you for handling this," Minato said with genuine appreciation.
Yoruki acknowledged the assignment and departed into the gathering darkness.
"Sigh..."
After his subordinate left, Minato stood alone for several long minutes, the magnitude of recent revelations weighing on his shoulders like physical burdens.
Only today had he confirmed that both the Second Hokage's death and the Senju clan's mysterious disappearance were definitely connected to their enemies' ultimate objectives.
In order to protect against future threats, Minato found himself forced to contemplate decisions that challenged every moral principle he held dear.
After entrusting the investigation to Uchiha Yoruki, Minato's responsibilities continued to demand his attention. He sought out Tsunade to address more immediate concerns.
A temporary medical facility had been constructed using military-grade tents in the main gathering area for displaced civilians.
"You're here," Tsunade observed, noting his approach without turning from her current work.
Minato nodded in greeting before acknowledging the other figure present. "Sensei."
Jiraiya stood with deeply furrowed brows, his eyes moving systematically across five corpses laid out before him on improvised examination tables.
Each body had multiple black rods of varying lengths protruding from different locations—the same weapons that Nagato had wielded during their previous battle.
Minato was intimately familiar with these implements, having faced them in direct combat.
However, the most striking feature of these corpses was their eyes—every single one possessed the distinctive concentric pattern of the Rinnegan.
Shisui and Kushina stood nearby, having assisted in the preliminary examination of these mysterious remains.
"I have encountered all five of these individuals during my travels," Jiraiya announced with obvious shock after completing his careful observation.
He turned to address Kushina and Shisui directly. "And the sixth body that you described as being retrieved by our enemies must have been Yahiko!"
"What?!" Minato's eyes widened with alarm at this revelation.
Jiraiya faced the Fourth Hokage with grim certainty. "According to the descriptions provided by Kushina and Shisui, these six individuals could each utilize one of Nagato's distinctive abilities, but they were limited to a single technique per body."
"Lady Tsunade has analyzed the composition of the black rods embedded in their flesh. These devices function as chakra conduction apparatus."
His voice grew more troubled as he continued. "This suggests that Nagato possesses the ability to grant his own techniques to deceased bodies, then manipulate them remotely for combat purposes."
"I encountered these same five people during various missions outside the village over the past several years."
"So this is another capability of the Rinnegan," Minato murmured with sudden understanding. "That explains how Nagato was able to execute such powerful gravitational techniques during our battle."
The hand seals he had observed Nagato performing must have been commands for controlling these remote corpse-puppets and their individual abilities.
"Is everything else settled?" Kushina approached Minato and withdrew some compressed military rations from her supply pouch, offering them to her husband.
She was well aware that he hadn't eaten anything since the crisis began many hours ago.
"Most immediate concerns are addressed, but the Sand Village situation remains extremely complicated," Minato replied as he accepted the food gratefully.
"I never anticipated that Fourth Kazekage Rasa would end up assassinated," Tsunade muttered with visible distress.
At the conclusion of the Third Shinobi World War, she had personally met Rasa during diplomatic missions to the Land of Wind. Despite their villages' complex relationship, she had respected his capabilities as a leader.
The outcome was perhaps inevitable given the circumstances—while Rasa possessed considerable strength, facing Nagato and his allies would have been beyond any single individual's capabilities.
Minato withdrew the mysterious white substance he had recovered from the ruins and handed it to Tsunade.
"Please analyze the composition of this material when you have the opportunity."
Tsunade accepted the sealed container and examined its contents with professional interest. "What exactly is this substance?"
"Most of the individuals who attacked our village had a layer of this material coating their bodies," Minato explained. "It appears capable of altering a person's chakra signature while providing some form of protective enhancement."
He had encountered similar material before during previous conflicts. When he had struck the masked man with a Rasengan, the enemy's damaged limb had leaked a comparable white substance.
During the recent battle with Nagato, his successful attacks had caused the same mysterious liquid to emerge from his opponent's body.
"Such a thing actually exists?" Tsunade expressed genuine amazement at the implications.
She studied the white substance more intently before responding. "However, conducting a proper analysis will require considerable time. Most of our hospital's analytical equipment was destroyed during the assault."
Minato nodded with understanding. He wasn't particularly anxious about immediate results, given the pressing nature of more immediate concerns.
After all, the most critical priorities involved calming the traumatized population and beginning the massive reconstruction effort that lay ahead.
Nagato's devastating techniques had fundamentally altered Konoha's entire geographical profile. The village's naturally low-lying terrain meant that restoration would require extensive earth-style manipulation just to return the ground to its previous configuration.
Minato had already begun organizing the specific tasks that would be required. Returning the village to its former appearance would demand at least three to four months of concentrated effort from every available earth-style user.
Southwest of the Temporary Settlement
In what had once been the village's outer districts, another cluster of military tents had been established.
This area housed the foreign delegations who had come to Konoha for the Chunin Exams, as well as the Sand ninja forces that had been manipulated into attacking the village.
Dozens of ANBU operatives maintained constant surveillance over the temporary detention facility.
While Minato understood that the Sand Village had been used as unwitting pawns by Nagato's organization, the Fourth Kazekage's death created complex diplomatic obligations that required careful negotiation.
Unfortunately, the Sand ninja mission leader who had arrived in Konoha had died from poisoning shortly after the enemy assault began, eliminating the possibility of immediate high-level discussions.
Under these circumstances, Minato could only conduct preliminary negotiations with the commanders of the several hundred Sand ninja currently in custody.
However, substantive discussions would have to wait until genuine senior officials from the Sand Village arrived to address the situation.
Until that time, he couldn't permit these forces to return to their home territory without proper diplomatic resolution.
Whoosh!
Minato moved to the perimeter of the Sand ninja detention area, where an ANBU operative immediately appeared to provide a situational briefing.
"Thank you for your diligence," Minato acknowledged before directing his attention toward the Sand ninja encampment.
One tent stood isolated approximately one hundred meters away from all the others, separated by deliberate design rather than coincidence.
A small campfire burned outside this solitary shelter, and sitting cross-legged before the flames was a red-haired boy whose expression conveyed nothing but cold indifference to his surroundings.
The only individuals who dared approach Gaara were his siblings, Temari and Kankuro, and even they maintained careful distance.
"Has this child spent every day in such isolation?" Minato observed with narrowed eyes, recognizing the telltale signs of a troubled jinchūriki.
At that moment, Minato detected movement in the sky above and looked up to see a distinctive shadow.
An ANBU operative descended from one of Sai's ink birds and immediately knelt before the Fourth Hokage upon landing.
"Lord Hokage, a diplomatic delegation from Kirigakure has arrived at our borders."