Genma relayed the exact words of the ANBU squad captain without missing a single detail.
Minato's first reaction was…
A descendant of the Senju clan has come to visit the graves?
"What do you think?" Minato asked.
Genma immediately felt like rolling his eyes.
This Hokage, if you say he's lazy, he works overtime every day.
If you say he's diligent, he asks everyone, "What do you think?"
Even the ANBU couldn't figure this out, how was he supposed to?
"I don't see anything."
"Genma~~" Minato sighed. "You can't just focus on being a bodyguard."
"..."
Was he being dismissed? Sorry, but he wasn't Masashi.
"Forget it. Let them in first, we'll listen to what they have to say."
"Understood, Hokage-sama."
A while later, Genma returned with the ANBU squad captain.
Although Masashi often came and went from the Hokage's office, not just anyone could casually enter. Even a single sheet of paper lying around in this office contained classified information.
According to the unspoken rules acknowledged by the Five Great Ninja Villages, only those who could enter the Kage's office without being stopped were truly high-ranking.
In recent years, Masashi had already "fallen" to the point where he wasn't even allowed to request an audience anymore.
The reason was simple, Minato's "What do you think?" was too powerful. Very few people could answer him properly each time.
The ninjas working on this floor had at least some political awareness. If they couldn't answer the Hokage's question, they'd look like idiots. If they answered but the Hokage was dissatisfied, it was still a headache.
As long as Masashi was around, everyone else could avoid this suffering.
The ANBU squad captain who entered the Hokage's office was visibly tense.
He didn't dare let his eyes wander.
"What exactly happened?" Minato asked.
Seeing the nervous ANBU squad captain before him, he honestly felt disappointed, this wasn't the attitude he wanted from the ANBU.
Today's ANBU had far more resources than before, with stronger financial, human, and material support, as well as enhanced ideological training. Yet their overall performance was still subpar.
Minato roughly understood the reason, he had been delegating authority in recent years, but it hadn't had much effect.
No matter the size of the issue, everything still ended up on his desk. As Hokage, he was concerned, but he had no clear solution.
Now, with an incident at the Senju graveyard, he felt even more frustrated, was the ANBU half-dead at this point?
The ANBU squad captain saw the disappointment in the Hokage's eyes, but he could only give his report.
After listening, Minato had to admit, the captain's handling of the situation was appropriate.
This lessened his disappointment slightly.
"Understood. Everyone has worked hard. For now, return to monitoring the Hokage's grave. The village is currently preparing for the joint chunin exams, and we don't have extra manpower. Keep this matter quiet."
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
"Alright, you may go."
After the ANBU squad captain left, Minato turned to Genma.
"Genma, I need you to check on the ANBU who were on duty last night. Investigate all of them, but be mindful of your approach, don't hurt your comrades' feelings."
"Hokage-sama, do you think there's an insider?"
"That's not the main issue. What matters is why the enemy infiltrated the graveyard yet didn't touch the Hokage's grave."
Minato thought of Danzō and Root.
The village had completely abandoned the Wood Release experiments. Relations between the Uchiha and the Hokage's office had improved, and the Uzumaki clan had been rebuilt. Given the poor investment-return ratio of those experiments, continuing them was no longer feasible.
All research data had been sealed.
"But like you said, we don't have enough manpower for a deeper investigation."
"Exactly. More than this issue, what worries me most is the current state of the ANBU."
The more Minato thought about it, the more troubled he felt.
Back in the Third Hokage's era, even though the ANBU had extreme internal divisions, they were still one of the most formidable forces.
Outside the Land of Fire, the mere mention of Konoha's ANBU could make children stop crying, their deterrence was at maximum level.
But after ten years, Konoha's ANBU had become the weakest among the Five Great Nations.
Did he need to replace someone?
But there was no one in the Hokage's faction who was fit for the role.
The Sarutobi clan was out of the question, the only capable one was still the Third Hokage himself.
Torifu had been an option before, but he was too old now. Besides, his style didn't match the ANBU's at all.
His old friend Shikaku was definitely smart enough, but his personality wasn't suited to leading the ANBU.
Minato went through all the candidates in his mind, even considering members of the Uzumaki clan.
In the end, none were suitable.
Now he truly understood why the Third Hokage had tolerated Danzō for so long.
A leader shapes their soldiers.
During the Third Hokage's time, the ANBU Commander was essentially a figurehead, Danzō was the one really in charge of most ANBU operations.
This was a real headache…
Thinking about the upcoming joint Chunin Exams made him feel even more overwhelmed.
Konoha had officially announced the schedule for the Joint chunin exams. Considering that this event would attract participants from across the continent, a long preparation period had been set aside.
Right now, Konoha was experiencing an unprecedented influx of people.
Even the prices of small inns had tripled.
Some villagers had even started renting out their own homes. Even though some of these places were in remote areas, with the number of visitors coming for this grand event, they had no trouble finding tenants.
With the rise in population, security concerns also increased.
The Police Force was overwhelmed, and due to the shortage of manpower, he had to temporarily issue missions to involve the village's regular shinobi in law enforcement.
The ANBU's primary task was intelligence gathering, one, to ensure that no one would use the chunin exams as an opportunity to cause trouble for Konoha, and two, to prevent external forces from taking advantage of Konoha's distraction to engage in actions detrimental to the village.
But with this incident happening at home, and the ANBU failing to produce any results for such a long time, he felt that reforming the ANBU was now urgent.
No troublemakers? What a joke. If no one was causing trouble, then the shinobi world wouldn't be normal.
The saying "Choosing the lesser of two evils" might not be the best fit here, but Minato really needed someone to help him reorganize the ANBU, even if that person wasn't from the Hokage's faction.
"Genma." Minato made up his mind. "Go to the Uchiha clan and ask Masashi to come over. Oh, and bring the ANBU Commander here first."
"Hokage-sama?" Genma was stunned.
Although Masashi currently had Minato's trust, as someone who served in the Hokage's personal guard, Genma knew that trust came in many forms.
The Hokage and the Uchiha clan, these were still two different factions in the village.
The big names in the village were constantly maintaining a delicate balance.
When Masashi returned to the village with Matatabi, the matter of the Uzumaki clan's reconstruction was immediately set into motion. To persuade the Uzumaki survivors to change their minds, the Hokage's faction had made significant sacrifices.
The Hokage's graveyard was the same, none of the matters involved would typically allow the Uchiha clan to interfere.
"Just go. I have my reasons." Minato said.
Seeing that he wasn't joking, Genma nodded and left to find the people.
The Hokage's office fell silent again as Minato resumed reviewing documents.
After a while, the door opened, and the head of the ANBU walked in.
"Take a seat, Torabe," Minato said without looking up.
The ANBU Commander's full name was Sarutobi Torabe.
He was a direct descendant of the Third Hokage's lineage.
In his generation, the most outstanding members of the Sarutobi clan in the ANBU had been Konohamaru's parents. During the Third Hokage's era, that couple had been his trusted right-hand.
Unfortunately, they had sacrificed their lives.
Torabe could roughly guess why the Hokage had summoned him.
The ANBU's performance had been abysmal.
Their external operations had been unsatisfactory.
Internally, there was now an incident at the Hokage's graveyard, if he were in Minato's position, he'd be furious too.
But Torabe didn't have many solutions. The ANBU was truly difficult to manage, and he didn't know how to handle many of these issues.
The current situation was completely different from the past.
For a while, only the sound of Minato flipping through documents filled the office.
Torabe felt like he was sitting on needles.
When a knock finally came at the door, he let out a huge sigh of relief.
He didn't care who it was, anyone would do. This silence was suffocating.
"Come in." Minato finally looked up.
The door opened. Torabe turned to see Genma and Masashi standing at the entrance.
Masashi had probably been dragged here in the middle of something, his face was full of reluctance.
Seeing the White Ghost, Torabe had a bad feeling.
"Masashi, come in!" Minato warmly waved him over.
Masashi also noticed Torabe sitting on the couch, and his heart sank.
He already knew about the incident at the Senju graveyard.
The ANBU squad captain might not have made it public, but with the ANBU's large-scale movements at the Senju graveyard, the Police Force wasn't blind.
They just didn't know what had actually happened.
But seeing Torabe sitting here, Masashi could tell, this was serious.
Probably a case of "old grudges and new hatreds combined."
He had heard about the ANBU's poor performance lately.
Masashi didn't understand it, compared to the Third Great Ninja War era, the ANBU now had far better conditions.
So how did they manage to screw up this badly?
Even if they were idiots, after ten years, they should have sharpened their skills at least a little.
"Hokage-sama, I'm still training students right now," he spoke first. "I have some promising candidates for this exam."
"You're overthinking," Minato waved it off. "I just need a little help from you, don't worry, it's a small matter. Won't take much of your time."
Hearing those all-too-familiar words, Masashi knew he was doomed.
I don't believe you at all! You always say that!
"Oh, come on, Hokage-sama…" Masashi said. "It's not that I'm picky and unwilling to do things for the village, but could you change it up a bit? You can't just use the same formula every time, right? People will get tired of it."
"Hahaha." Despite the complaint, Minato wasn't embarrassed at all. He laughed heartily. "Don't say that. After thinking about it over and over, I figured you might be the only one who can handle this."
"Oh." Masashi remained expressionless. "You might be mistaken. I do have some ideas, but they all rely on the village's overall strength. If the 'hardware' isn't up to standard, my ideas are useless."
Torabe, standing to the side, suddenly felt like he was being insulted.
So frustrating! But he held it in.
After all, not only could he not win in a fight, but he also couldn't win in an argument.
He hadn't forgotten how Masashi would dominate every budget meeting, arguing circles around all the shinobi in attendance.
No one could out-talk this guy, his responses were just too fast.
But when he thought about how much of a mess the ANBU was in right now, he wasn't even mad anymore.
Mock all you want! Let's see how you handle this! You might end up doing even worse than me!
All-powerful? Full of ideas? Yeah, that's because you've never actually worked in the ANBU!
As someone who had been in the ANBU for over a decade, he firmly believed that no matter who took over, the situation wouldn't improve.
The people were the same, so how could things change just by swapping out the leader?
"Masashi~~" Minato stretched out his words. "I heard you've been doing a great job with the Police Force."
"I haven't worked in the Police Department for a long time. Besides, the Police Force is under Hiashi's command, what does that have to do with me?" Masashi was baffled.
Did Minato eat something weird today? When had he ever led the Police Force?
Unless… you mean getting them to clock in and out on time?
"But you've given a lot of effective suggestions."
"Making suggestions is just a routine thing at clan meetings. The Hyūga clan does it too."
"Well, it's decided then." Minato forcefully concluded. "You're a member of the jonin corps, you can't just focus on your old department and ignore your current one."
Do you believe I won't take Naruto out for tea tonight and tell him you told me to? Let's see if your wife doesn't beat you to death!
"This is the ANBU Commander, Torabe. You know him, right?"
"I know him…" Masashi looked again at this poor soul who had survived since the village's founding but never had a chance to shine.
What a tragedy. Over a decade in the ANBU, only to be known as the weakest ANBU Commander in history.
If it were him, he'd have quit ages ago, too embarrassing.
"As long as you know him." Minato nodded in satisfaction. "You already understand the current situation. There's trouble both inside and outside the village."
"Hokage-sama, stop joking." Masashi raised an eyebrow. "Who would be so reckless? Just say the name, approve the order, and give me a squad from the Police Force, I'll go pay them a 'friendly visit.'"
"Masashi-sama." Torabe finally couldn't hold back. "The village is the center of attention in the ninja world right now. Everyone is watching. You need to be mindful of your approach."
Hearing that, Masashi was truly amazed.
He thought he finally understood why this guy hadn't been able to make a name for himself.
Even Minato was speechless.
Who would've thought? A rugged, thick-browed warrior like Torabe, with a face that would make any girl feel unsafe if he stared too long, was actually this… honest?
Minato's resolve only grew stronger.
"Masashi, I'm not joking." Minato sighed. "I'm already troubled enough preparing for the upcoming exams, but the ANBU's situation is really worrying me. I want you to work with Torabe and help run things for a while."
"Lead the ANBU? I've never done that before." Masashi was stunned. "Is this really a good idea? Torabe has been in the ANBU for so long, and even he's struggling. I don't think I can handle it."
"Come on, don't be so quick to refuse." Minato reassured him. "Everyone in the ANBU, including Torabe, listens to you. I won't interfere, just show me results. Even if it doesn't work out, that's fine."
So, you basically think it can't get any worse, right? You're saying we've hit rock bottom? Have you considered how Torabe feels about this?
Masashi glanced at Torabe again and saw him forcing a smile, awkward yet polite.
Poor guy.
"… Alright then, since you're insisting, I guess I have no choice." Masashi looked hesitant, as if he lacked confidence. "I'll do my best, but I really don't know… I mean, I really have no experience in this."
"Don't worry, I'm the Hokage. Just do whatever you want. The ANBU needs your creativity. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility." Minato spoke with full confidence, making even Genma, who was standing nearby, repeatedly glance over.
In his impression, he never spoke so absolutely.
This level of trust… was "heavy."
The once-legendary Yellow Flash, after years as Hokage, had now turned into a full-fledged, doting, yellow "mother hen."
Genma couldn't help but feel nostalgic.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered a certain man from the Third Ninja War, back when he was just a genin on the Kiri battlefield.
A man who had remained a genin his entire life but single-handedly crushed the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
If that man were still alive, what kind of person would he be now?
"…Alright, I'll take the job." Masashi decided it was time to wrap things up and nodded "reluctantly."
"Do your best, I believe in you." Minato, ever the actor, didn't miss his cue. He patted Masashi's shoulder firmly, looking as if he were sending him off to war.
Torabe's face had lost all emotion.
These two… were putting on quite the act.
Sure, his management of the ANBU had been terrible, but he wasn't blind.
But what could he do? One was the Hokage, and the other was the White Ghost, the undeniable future head of the Uchiha clan.
He couldn't afford to offend either of them.
So, he simply chose to turn a blind eye.
Under Minato's enthusiastic shouts of "Go get 'em, champ!", he followed Masashi out of the Hokage's office.
As soon as the door closed, both of them dropped their expressions.
Even though he had been silently criticizing the whole situation in his mind, Torabe was quick to get into character. That was one of his strengths, he always knew his role.
From now on, he was Masashi's subordinate.
Until Minato reclaimed his authority, Masashi was now in charge of Konoha's ANBU, one of the village's most crucial military forces.
Meanwhile, Torabe was still technically the head of the ANBU, but now he was the second-in-command.
He just wondered how Masashi would make his grand debut as the new leader.
His expectations weren't high. He just hoped he wouldn't be seen as incompetent too much.
However, as soon as Masashi spoke, he realized that maybe, just maybe, the White Ghost wasn't so bad to work with.
"Torabe, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you these next few days." Masashi said. "Tonight, let's have a gathering. I'll treat everyone to a meal. That should be fine, right?"
"Masashi-sama, you're too kind." Torabe instinctively lowered his stance even further. "I wouldn't dream of letting you spend your own money."
"We're all colleagues. Work is work, and off-duty is off-duty. Since I'm the newcomer, it's only right for me to organize the first get-together. That's the custom, isn't it?" Masashi said, giving Torabe a firm pat on the shoulder.
Torabe responded with a simple, honest smile.
He couldn't help but think, so, anyone who knows the Flying Thunder God technique just loves patting people on the shoulder, huh?
The Hokage pats you, you pat me… so it evens out, huh?
"Where are we heading next?"
"First, to your office. Gather all the ANBU officers who are currently in the village. Let's hold a preliminary meeting."
"Understood. I'll notify them immediately."
Torabe didn't dare delay. He quickly led Masashi to his office before hurrying off to summon the others.
Left alone in the office, Masashi began to look around.
The ANBU Commander's office was huge, bigger than the Hokage's office.
The reason for this was simple: this place served as the intelligence hub of Konoha. It had to be big.
Additionally, the ANBU Commander's office was responsible for multiple functions.
Strategic planning, special operations coordination, everything was handled here.
Masashi wandered around before making his way to the commander's desk. There, he found neatly stacked documents, each labeled with their place of origin.
At least the ANBU's office work was well-organized.
Just this desk alone looked way better than Minato's messy disaster zone. That thing looked like a bird's nest.
Now, this was an office that made people feel comfortable.
Masashi sat down, gazing around the temporarily empty office, his thoughts drifting.
After all these years, he had returned to this place.
Decades had passed. Konoha had changed so much, but inside the Hokage Building… not much had changed at all.
Finally, Torabe returned, bringing with him all the ranking ANBU officers who were currently in the village.
The moment they stepped into the office, the first thing they noticed was the young man sitting at the commander's desk.
A suffocating pressure filled the room, making it hard to breathe.
Torabe felt it the most.
Looking at the man now seated in his chair, he no longer saw Masashi.
For a moment, it felt like something terrifying was sitting there instead.
But the sensation lasted only an instant.
Masashi quickly stood up, his expression warm and welcoming as he gestured for everyone to take a seat.
Torabe shook off the thought. He must be too exhausted from work, to be having such hallucinations.
After all, this was the White Ghost, his innate killing intent was impossible to fully suppress. He was probably just bored from sitting alone, and unconsciously let his aura slip.
Or maybe… it was intentional?
"Relax. Have a seat." Masashi smiled, looking nothing like someone about to stir up trouble. "The Hokage has entrusted me with assisting Torabe, since he's been working so hard these days. I'm not familiar with ANBU operations, so I'll need everyone's help."
Hearing this, the officers visibly relaxed, their tense expressions easing into smiles.
On the way here, they had all felt a bit on edge.
The White Ghost had quite the reputation. But none of them had ever actually worked with Masashi before.
Fighting together on the battlefield was one thing.
Working together in an office was another.
But now, it seemed… he wasn't that difficult to get along with.
Masashi took note of all this, observing their attitudes and mental states.
He kept the warm smile on his face.
But in his mind, he was shaking his head.