All the ninjas gathered together with the citizens of the Village before the faces of the Hokages, the ninjas were placing chakra into a paper within a large crowd while depositing the paper into an urn.
There were two options: "In favor" or "Against" following and sheltering the Uzumaki in the Land of Fire. While the common citizens of the village marked their choices on the paper with the two options, the urns were being filled.
Thus it continued throughout the morning. It took time for the last vote to be deposited into one of the several urns, while the security carried out by the anbu and a team under the direct command of the hokage confirmed that no one had voted twice or tried to sabotage.
Since it was a decision for the future of the Village, everyone ended up going to vote, even though it was not an obligation. Everyone did it, since their lives would be affected depending on the result.
At the end of the day, the result came out. And, as had already been predicted, the Village chose not to help the Uzumaki. Many were angry, ashamed, and feeling cowardly because of the results. Others, however, were quite relieved, crying with joy for not having to return to war, or simply calm for seeing their loved ones no longer risking their lives. Even if that came through the sacrifice of thousands of people who were their allies.
However, the Village still seemed divided, since even though some voted against helping the Uzumaki clan, they felt ashamed of it... but everyone should respect the decision. While some shouts of joy were heard, the council had been summoned once again.
The five members were there, discussing.
"As you know, the Village has chosen." Hiruzen began, looking at the other four members, especially Minato. "I hope you all accept the result." He added, while the atmosphere seemed quite gloomy in that room.
"We know that, so yes, we accept the result." Minato spoke in a calm tone, looking into Hiruzen's eyes.
Hiruzen, in a way, wanted to mock Minato, as if all his efforts had been in vain in the end. But much had changed since that night. He might have kept his decisions and agreements with the four other leaders of the villages, but he had paid a high price.
He had lost power. Soon he would leave the position of Hokage. The elders would also no longer have influence over the Village. Danzō was dead. Whoever said that Hiruzen was not worried about the future of the Village would be lying. He was terrified as he watched everything slip through his hands.
So, there was no desire to find amusement in the victory, in the end. The Village now regarded him almost as if he were a plague, hostile eyes coming from all sides, even from those who agreed with his decisions about the Uzumaki.
Had he known that his actions would have led to this, perhaps Hiruzen would have changed his decision at the Kage summit and would not have sacrificed the Uzumaki.
But now it was too late. At the very least, they would have peace and not war.
"Anyway, there is nothing more to discuss here. We will meet again in two days to deal with the new Hokage selection." Minato then said.
"Wait, this can still be postponed." Hiruzen protested. He knew that his position was no longer sustainable, but it was still too soon to leave. The crisis was not over.
"I agree with Lord Namikaze. In the coming weeks we must have a new person wearing that hat." Mizu Uchiha spoke in a serious tone.
Perhaps this was the only way to help the surviving Uzumaki with what was to come in the following days. Clearly, the next Hokage was among the four ninjas there. And, aside from Hiruzen, all had ideas aligned with what Minato thought regarding helping the Uzumaki.
The meeting went on for a little longer. Hiruzen tried to delay the decision, but it was useless, for he was outnumbered there. The council now had the power to decide any matter of the Village through majority vote, precisely to no longer leave the Hokage at the center of all orders. It was time to begin removing him from the post once and for all.
Minato, in turn, teleported to a corner of the Village as night had already fallen, appearing in front of his house, more specifically at the gate, where the plaque above it was still blank. It should have been filled in, but it was useless now, as Minato could almost see the name 'Namikaze Clan' painted on it.
He entered calmly and walked toward the large residence, which was already practically complete — only a few details such as seals were missing, but the entire place was closed, with the basics ready to live in. The construction had been completed about two weeks earlier, but Minato had not yet had time to enjoy it.
He came there because he knew he would find his girls gathered, as they had agreed to have dinner there today. The intention was at least to enjoy this place, perhaps the only time they would do so.
He entered calmly into the kitchen, quite spacious, where a small table was occupied by four of them conversing, with the food already being set on the table.
"Minato." Kushina smiled when she saw him, wearing an apron while taking more food from the stove before bringing it to the table. He smiled back at her, and all the pairs of female eyes were on him the moment Kushina announced it. When he approached the table, Kushina came to him and kissed him lightly before returning to the stove to get a few more things.
"How did things go, Minato? How was the meeting?" Tsuna asked, curious.
Mikoto, who was sitting with her eyes blindfolded, also paid attention, as did Hanabi. None of them were wearing headbands at that moment.
"Well... I requested a new organization for the selection of a new Hokage in two days. This will make our next actions easier with the village pressing us." Minato spoke calmly.
"Smart. We are going to leave with the Uzumaki then, aren't we?" Tsuna guessed.
"Exactly. I don't want to make a big surprise for the Village by announcing our departure." He replied. For some days now, he had been discussing with his companions the decision to carry out plan B:
Minato himself would go to the Uzumaki clan to defend them alone—or rather, he would take his future Namikaze family there. None of them thought twice about following him down this path, even knowing they could be considered criminals. Still, Minato wanted to do what was right. He would not let the Uzumaki clan be wiped out, even if he were considered a rogue ninja.
And all of them supported his decision.
"We'll have little time. As soon as we reach the Uzumaki clan, the war will already be upon us. It will take only a few days before the enemies arrive. And now I can see... Even if the Village had decided to help them, we would still be in a very difficult situation, because there would be no time to organize a full evacuation. The Hokage ensured that none of our ninjas were prepared to assist them. It's frustrating, I know... but even so, we will choose to do this." Minato said with conviction, in a very serious tone.
"We are with you, Minato." Mikoto said, looking at him even while blindfolded. "We are more than enough to face all four nations. Wasn't it for this that we trained during the last year and developed so much power?"
"Yes, all of you are at the top of this Village... if not at the top of the ninja world." Minato spoke with a proud smile.
He had his fruit, the hakis, and his S-rank jutsus. Even without creating a megazord like Kushina and Mikoto could at their maximum potential, he was far more powerful and was already among the top of the world.
And Minato knew: the powers of the girls in front of him were simply overwhelming.
Hanabi was already at the level of an adult Kakashi. Tsuna even surpassed the legendary Sannin with her Sage Mode, since, beyond Senjutsu, she also possessed all her mother's abilities, being able to even invoke the Seal of a Hundred Forces after having accumulated chakra her entire life. She had surpassed Sakura at her peak by a wide margin.
Then came Kushina. Even without full mastery of Kurama—since the seal still remained inside her—she was easily in second place among the girls. Still, she was more powerful than most kages, if not all. Minato had made sure to train her to that level. It was no wonder she managed to bring down Hiruzen and his summon with ease, even though the Third Hokage was not a very powerful kage in Minato's opinion.
And finally, Mikoto. And according to Minato, she might stand above all the others. With her Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, she would soon awaken a complete Susanoo.
Looking at his four girls, Minato could not ask for anything better. They were ready to face any force. And soon, the ninja world would tremble at this small group of ninjas who had risen in the Leaf, fighting alongside the Uzumaki against the attack of the four great nations.
"Leave it to us, dattebane! We'll make everyone run away from there real quick!" Kushina shouted excitedly, finally joining the table.
Minato pulled out his chair. A plate was already waiting for him at the head of the table, and he sat down calmly before his four companions, accepting the dinner and smiling.
"Of course. And we'll leave tonight." He decided.
If the Uzumaki clan would be attacked in the coming days, then he himself would go there as quickly as possible in order to begin outlining the defense strategy for the island.
No one disagreed, and they enjoyed dinner peacefully, forgetting their problems for a while.
"Looks like we won't be able to enjoy this house..." Hanabi commented as everyone finished eating.
"Yes. It won't be this time that we'll enjoy this home." Minato replied, shifting his gaze toward Mikoto's belly. There was already a larger-than-normal swelling, beginning to expand with the baby growing inside her womb.
He would have preferred to be able to stay there, see his child born, and live peacefully without worrying about wars and conflicts. But that was a luxury he didn't have. This was the ninja world — a cruel world.
His child would probably be born in Uzushiogakure, while they all took care of defending the island.
"Do you think we'll come back?" Tsuna asked in a low voice.
"I have a feeling we will." Minato gave a small smile and said with confidence, while the girls remained silent. He knew that helping the Uzumaki was temporary and that their future was to return to the village one day.
They stayed there until it was late in the end, without speaking much. There was nothing to do, only to enjoy the house that, deep down, they knew they would never truly have.
"Do you think the Hokage will try to get rid of your property?" Hanabi asked with concern.
"If he dares do that, we'll come back and beat him up! We'll thrash him!" Kushina shouted angrily, but Minato only shrugged.
"I don't know what will happen. But that no longer matters now. I doubt the new Hokage will do that, since Hiruzen will no longer have power over the village... Now, it's time to return to the Senju clan, we need to take the Uzumaki to Uzushiogakure." Minato said.
Before actually leaving his chair, while the table was already cleared with Kushina herself having taken the dishes, Minato brought his hands to the back of his head and untied the knot that held his Konoha headband to his forehead. As he loosened the knot, it fell into his hands. He placed it on the table.
All of them watched his actions in silence.
His gaze fell for a few seconds in silence upon the symbol of the Leaf. It was decided.
He was doing this for Konoha.
He was doing this for his own Desires.
He was doing this because he believed it was the right thing.
All the girls remained silent, watching Minato pick up a kunai and strike it against the metal of the headband. With a firm stroke, he drew a cut from end to end through the middle of Konoha's symbol, marking his decision.
From this moment on, he was officially a rogue ninja.
Surprisingly, one by one, all the girls began to take their headbands from their pockets, where they had kept them. They imitated Minato and also slashed their symbols.
Kushina, who no longer wore the headband Minato had given her when the academy ended, had never received one because she was to be the jinchūriki after Mito and could not become a ninja. Minato had given her his own, saying that he would always be with her.
He had to get another headband the next day. Kushina had always kept that one with care. And for so many years, she hadn't worn it. After such a long time, she took it and also cut through it with her kunai, while the sound of metal being slashed echoed in that room.
It was not only Minato's decision, but that of his whole family