In order to prevent Danzo from causing trouble, Namikaze Minato confirmed the new captain of the Konoha Defense Force three days later. He recommended Nara Shinsuke for the position and eliminated the deputy captain role altogether.
Namikaze Minato didn't make this change public, treating it as just an ordinary personnel adjustment. As for why Sora resigned, Minato went with her own statement: she needed to take care of the pregnant Uzumaki Kushina and therefore stepped down voluntarily.
Seeing that the matter had reached its conclusion, Danzo could only angrily recall all thirty of his Root ANBU ninjas who had been placed within the Konoha Defense Force.
However, this was exactly what Namikaze Minato had hoped for. If Danzo hadn't recalled those thirty Root ninjas, Minato wouldn't have been able to dismiss them himself. Those Root agents would have remained like thorns in the Konoha Defense Force, causing endless trouble.
After all, these Root ninjas only took orders from Danzo. If he decided to use them to create problems, there would be little Namikaze Minato could do about it. But now Danzo had removed the thorns himself, unknowingly solving Minato's problem.
At this time, Namikaze Minato was sitting face-to-face with Uchiha Fugaku in the Uchiha compound.
Uchiha Fugaku expressed his gratitude: "I'm truly thankful to you, Fourth Hokage. Now our Uchiha clan members can finally walk freely without worrying about being detained for no reason."
Namikaze Minato smiled and replied: "The main reason is that Sora and Danzo have split up. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had such an opportunity."
Uchiha Fugaku breathed a sigh of relief. "If Yahiko and Danzo are no longer working together, then the situation for the Uchiha clan will improve significantly. If those two had remained allies, our clan's living space would have continued to be restricted."
Minato reminded him: "But Chief Fugaku, although the Konoha Defense Force will no longer arrest Uchiha ninjas without cause, your clan members must still exercise restraint. This will leave critics with nothing to say against you, and it will allow me to begin changing the current circumstances of the Uchiha clan."
Uchiha Fugaku nodded. "I will strictly control the clan members and ensure they cause no trouble for your plans, Fourth Hokage. Please continue to look after us in the future."
Namikaze Minato smiled and nodded in return. "As fellow villagers, I will do my best."
...
Days passed, and Konoha enjoyed a period of peace.
But this was merely the calm before the storm.
A month went by in the blink of an eye.
Kakashi had resumed accepting missions and was away on assignment.
Since her resignation, Sora had been taking care of Uzumaki Kushina at home every day.
There weren't many entertainment options in the ninja world, but watching television wasn't bad.
Most shows on TV featured ninjas, which Sora didn't particularly enjoy. Uzumaki Kushina, however, loved them and watched with great enthusiasm.
Currently, Sora and Uzumaki Kushina were watching a movie about romance between ninjas. The hero and heroine were from two hostile shinobi villages. Due to an unexpected incident, they were caught between their duty as ninjas and their feelings as lovers.
The movie was already halfway through, and Kushina was nestled in Sora's arms, watching with complete focus.
Sora's eyes, which had been on the screen, suddenly sharpened. She whispered to Kushina: "Kushina, continue watching the movie here. I need to step out for a moment, but I'll be back soon."
Uzumaki Kushina, fully engrossed in the film, simply nodded without looking away from the television. "Okay, don't be long."
Sora rose from the sofa and walked to the door. She created a Shadow Clone to guard the entrance, then proceeded about ten steps before stopping abruptly. "Come out," she said coldly.
A Yin-Yang face emerged from the wall.
This half-black, half-white face belonged to Zetsu, who had come to find Sora.
Before Zetsu could speak, Sora violently grabbed his hair and dragged him quickly into the forest outside Konoha Village.
After reaching the woods, Sora released Zetsu's hair, clapped her hands together to shake off the strands.
Sora glared at Zetsu with murderous intent. "You're quite brave, approaching my house like that. Do you have a death wish?"
Black Zetsu was horrified.
His Mayfly Technique allowed him to merge with the earth and move rapidly to any location by navigating through the network of plant roots and underground water currents. The most important aspect of this jutsu was that when activated, it completely masked his chakra signature. Even the Kagura Mind ability of the Uzumaki clan shouldn't be able to detect him.
Yet Sora had discovered his presence, which left Zetsu shocked and confused.
Suddenly, a ninja sword pierced through Zetsu's chest, pinning him to a tree trunk.
"No answer? Then die!"
Lightning coursed through Sora's body and into the blade, causing Zetsu to twitch uncontrollably under the electric shock.
A minute later, Sora withdrew the ninja sword from Zetsu's chest. He collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud.
Sora sheathed her weapon and looked down at the motionless Zetsu. "That was just a warning. If you continue to lie there pretending, I'll seal you directly!"
Zetsu instantly rose from the ground, staring at Sora in disbelief, a creeping fear taking hold in his mind.
Sora had just stabbed through his chest and subjected him to a lightning attack that would have killed any normal being. Yet she called it "just a warning" and threatened to seal him.
Did that mean she knew he was immortal and could only be sealed?
How was that possible?
This was their first encounter, yet somehow Sora knew his secret.
Zetsu frowned, fixed his gaze on Sora, and demanded, "What do you know?!"
Sora smiled contemptuously. "Do you really think I'd tell you? Now speak—why have you come to me? Did Uchiha Obito send you, or did you come of your own accord? Tell me what business you have!"
Zetsu stared at Sora. Initially, he had viewed her as merely a nuisance that might interfere with his plans.
But now it seemed that Sora was a dangerous individual who could directly threaten him.
"Let me warn you in advance," Sora said. "If you dare plant your spores on me, I will immediately seal you and kill both Uchiha Obito and Nagato. Of course, you're welcome to gamble on whether I can find your spores or not!"
Before coming, Zetsu had indeed planned to plant spores on Sora, but now he didn't dare take such a risk.
If Sora could detect him while using the Mayfly Technique, there was a high probability she would discover his spores as well.
And he had never expected that Sora would even know about Nagato.
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