"Hokage?"
"That's what Minato Namikaze thought too. And how did that end?"
Shimura Danzo, quick-witted as ever, immediately brought up Minato Namikaze as a shield.
"He died!"
"If the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was something even Hiruzen Sarutobi could perform, why didn't Minato use it? Why didn't he sacrifice his aging body to seal the Nine-Tails?!"
Listening to Danzo's words, Sakura Haruno let out a soft sigh, her gaze growing slightly dim.
"Danzo-sama, do you really think that if the Fourth Hokage had survived, everything would have been fine?"
Danzo's tone faltered slightly at her words. He countered, "What do you mean by that?"
Ahem.
Sakura cleared her throat, looking seriously at Shimura Danzo.
She felt it was necessary to educate this man, who seemed to have wasted decades of his life, about what true responsibility meant.
Free of charge, of course.
"Minato Namikaze, as the Fourth Hokage, had a wife who was the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki."
"During his tenure, such a major incident occurred. Even if he had survived, what then?"
Danzo stared dumbfounded at Sakura as she entered lecture mode. Wasn't the plan to brainwash her against Hiruzen Sarutobi?
How had things flipped so completely?
Standing before her, he felt like a rookie fresh out of the Ninja Academy.
Danzo couldn't help but have such absurd thoughts.
"When a jinchuriki gives birth, the sealing technique is at its weakest."
"Even Lady Mito only sealed the Nine-Tails into herself after childbirth."
"And as far as I know, the Second jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails had it sealed within her from a young age."
"Strictly speaking, female jinchuriki aren't really suited for childbirth."
"And yet Minato allowed it. Not only did the Nine-Tails break free from the seal, but it also went on a rampage."
"Although it's true there was an external enemy involved that triggered the seal's collapse, Minato was the Hokage, and Kushina Uzumaki was his wife."
"This was a responsibility he couldn't avoid."
Damn it, Danzo cursed Hiruzen furiously in his heart. Just how many secrets did that dead monkey let this girl read? She knows even this?!
"The Nine-Tails broke free. With Minato's sealing prowess, sealing it back shouldn't have been overwhelmingly difficult."
"From the seal on Kushina Uzumaki alone, it's obvious that what she had wasn't the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, but the Four Symbols Seal."
"There was no need to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Nine-Tails."
Sakura pushed up imaginary glasses on her nose bridge, looking quite pleased as she observed Danzo's 'seeing-a-ghost' expression.
"Then, why did the Fourth use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?"
Danzo asked, playing along at just the right moment.
"Good question!"
Sakura tapped the table.
Pay attention, class. Take notes!
"How was the relationship between the Fourth Hokage and his wife?"
Sakura asked.
"It should have been... quite good, I guess..." Danzo answered, sounding a little hesitant.
In his memory, when Kumogakure tried to kidnap Kushina, a twelve-year-old Minato had rushed alone to save her without hesitation.
"Exactly. The Fourth died for love!"
???
Danzo frowned deeply, staring at the girl before him, falling into deep thought.
He wasn't unfamiliar with love.
In fact, he had manipulated quite a few Root members precisely through emotions like familial love, friendship, and romantic love.
Shimura Danzo knew better than anyone how dangerous the word love could be.
But the Fourth Hokage... abandoning a devastated Konoha for the death of one person?
Wasn't that a bit too... childish?
Where was the sense of duty as Hokage?
Wait—duty?
"It seems, Danzo-kun, you've caught onto the most critical point."
Sakura smiled at him, satisfied.
Danzo-kun?
Danzo opened his mouth to speak, but Sakura cut him off directly.
Completely in her element, Sakura said seriously:
"While serving as Hokage, he knowingly allowed his wife, a jinchuriki, to give birth."
"After the Nine-Tails rampaged, he didn't immediately subdue it. In fact, he was nowhere to be found."
"Konoha was ravaged by the Nine-Tails. Countless elite shinobi perished. Civilian casualties were enormous."
"His beloved wife was dying before his very eyes."
"As Hokage, as a husband, and now, as a newly-made father, Minato Namikaze was exhausted, body and soul."
"He watched his beloved wife's body grow cold in his arms."
"He saw his village, once thriving, now lying in ruins."
"He saw the corpses of countless comrades who had fought alongside him through the Third Shinobi World War."
"Those who died weren't low-level shinobi—most were elite jonin, special jonin, even those like Kurenai Yuhi's mother, a top-tier jonin."
"The devastating loss of so many jonin almost brought Konoha to its knees."
"Imagine the public outcry he would face afterward."
"Under such immense pressure, Minato made a decision."
"Rather than living on under the weight of blame and condemnation, he chose to die alongside his beloved wife, believing in the Third Hokage to take care of the aftermath."
"Thus, he could die a hero's death."
Sakura's words flowed like a river. Shimura Danzo fell into self-doubt.
Could it really have been like that?
The Fourth could have lived... but he chose death?
Danzo's lips trembled slightly. He seemed to glimpse Minato Namikaze's figure from that fateful night twelve years ago.
What kind of choice was he facing? What crushing burden weighed on him?
Wait, weren't we supposed to be discussing Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Oh... but I brought up Minato first... never mind then...
Danzo pressed his lips together tightly, then spoke:
"So you believe Minato Namikaze chose death because he couldn't bear the pressure?"
Sakura raised an eyebrow and replied casually:
"Who knows? I'm not him."
"But the power of public opinion... surely Danzo-sama has experienced that firsthand, haven't you?"
Feeling a bit parched from speaking so much, Sakura glanced at the water jug on Danzo's desk. She hesitated for a second—then decided she didn't want it.
"Indeed... like with the White Fang... Hmm?!"
Danzo had answered instinctively, but then snapped out of it immediately, his expression turning ugly as he glared at Sakura.
Damn this pink-haired brat for trapping me!
He had thought she was willing to talk so much because she intended to side with him, but now...
"It seems Danzo-sama knows very well how public opinion can cut down even the greatest of heroes," Sakura said with a half-smile, watching the one-eyed elder.
Looks like I got my answer.
Clearly, Danzo had had a hand in the tragedy of Sakumo Hatake.
After all, if Sakumo had lived, would Minato have even become Hokage?
But the old fool hadn't anticipated that killing one Sakumo would lead to another Minato.
"Next time you try to smear someone else's reputation, you should first ask yourself whether you're clean."
Sakura stood up, clearly intending to leave.
But Danzo spoke up coldly:
"Did you really think you could walk away so easily?"
The old man with a single eye rose from his seat, his gaze shadowed and chilling.
"Otherwise?" Sakura smiled sweetly. "My mom called me home for dinner."
"You should go home and eat too, Danzo-sama."
She twirled a strand of her pink hair around her pale fingers, her emerald eyes mischievous and utterly fearless before the elder's threats.
"Oh wait... my bad. Danzo-sama, you're an orphan."
"You don't have any parents~~~"
The words were like daggers, and Danzo's face darkened instantly.
At his command, dozens of Root members swarmed into the office, surrounding the girl!
"Disrespecting your elders is a grave offense!"
"Seize her!"
Danzo barked the order, and the Root operatives lunged toward her—
However...
"Kana~~~"
Poof!
A puff of white smoke rose in the office. Sakura was gone.
A shadow clone!
Even though she had enough Yin Release chakra to resist techniques like Tsukuyomi, she wasn't sure if she could withstand Kotoamatsukami. So midway, while being led by the Root escort, she had quietly used a Shadow Clone to pull a classic bait-and-switch.
Clearly, it worked beautifully.
Springtime Sakura!
Looking at the vanishing smoke where the clone disappeared, Danzo's face was ashen.
He wanted to report her to Hiruzen Sarutobi, but... he had no good reason to.
That jab about not having parents had hit him harder than he expected.
Meanwhile, Sakura, now back home, stirred the food in her bowl while enduring a lecture from Mebuki Haruno. A small, satisfied smile curved her lips.
As for whether Danzo would try to retaliate against her parents?
If a single hair on her mom or dad's head was harmed, Sakura would tear down Root and skin Shimura Danzo alive.
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