Jin's words ignited something fierce in everyone present.
Inuzuka Gaku absently stroked the large yellow hound resting beside him and sighed.
"Ah… youth really is something. You've got me fired up too."
Gaku was the eldest in Minato's squad, a seasoned jōnin who treated both Minato and Jin like younger brothers.
Jin smiled lightly.
"Don't sell yourself short, Gaku-nii. The world belongs to us—but it belongs to you too."
"We're the ten o'clock sun."
"And you're the noon sun."
"Even a single ray of light matters. Shine where you stand, and the world gets brighter."
Gaku snorted.
"So you want this old man to fight to the death, huh?"
His tone was teasing, but his eyes were steady.
"My hands are already stained. No washing that clean."
"But my boy… he's still spotless."
"If I can, I'd like to carve out a cleaner future for him."
His son was only three years old. Not even in the Academy yet.
With the war nearing its end, perhaps the child truly wouldn't have to see battle.
The mood grew heavy.
Everyone present was a jōnin. No one reached that level without blood on their hands.
Minato broke the silence.
"What's done is done."
His voice was gentle, warm—like sunlight after rain.
"We've found something worth devoting our lives to."
"And from now on, we won't live as tools."
There it was again—his quiet charisma. The way he spoke made people want to believe.
That warmth was no small thing.
On that alone, Minato had the makings of a Hokage.
Jin smoothly shifted the topic.
"Gatō and the Land of Waves will become our foundation."
"Beyond that… there's Shisui."
Minato's expression sharpened.
"You sent him to the Daimyō?"
Jin nodded.
"I arranged for him to join the Twelve Guardian Ninja."
Minato's brows knit.
"That's the Daimyō's private guard."
"In truth, it was created to counterbalance Konoha."
"In that situation, would they really accept a shinobi from the Leaf?"
Jin chuckled.
"You've improved, Minato."
Minato scratched his head awkwardly.
"I never thought that deeply before."
"But after reading those books you gave me… I started seeing the layers."
It was true.
The Fire Daimyō and Konoha were bound by shared fate.
But—
There cannot be two suns in the sky.
Nor two rulers in one land.
The Hokage controlled the strongest military force.
The Daimyō controlled the nation's wealth.
Conflict was inevitable.
During the era of the First and Second Hokage, relations were strong. Intermarriages, mutual trust, seamless cooperation. The Daimyō's safety had even been directly entrusted to Konoha.
But after Hiruzen took office, the relationship cooled.
At some point, the Daimyō dismissed Konoha's assigned guards and established his own elite unit—the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
That act alone spoke volumes.
It wasn't just distrust of Konoha.
It was distrust of the current leadership.
Jin spoke calmly.
"The tension exists."
"But more accurately, it exists between the Daimyō and Hiruzen's faction."
Minato's eyes narrowed slightly.
"There's more to it, isn't there?"
Jin considered his words carefully.
"It starts with the death of the Second Hokage."
Tobirama Senju
"At the end of the First Great Ninja War, Tobirama led his escort unit to negotiate with Kumogakure."
"Something went wrong."
"In the end, he chose to stay behind to cover their retreat."
"He died."
When the news reached Konoha, disbelief swept the village.
Not just because Tobirama was powerful—
But because he was known as the fastest shinobi alive.
Minato instinctively understood the implication.
He had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique—Tobirama's creation—beyond its original form.
If Minato wished to escape, few could stop him.
And the technique could transport others as well.
Tobirama had been escorting only six or seven guards.
If he had truly intended to retreat, he could have taken them all.
There would have been no need to sacrifice himself.
The death was… questionable.
Jin continued.
"When Hiruzen and the others returned, they carried a final message."
"They claimed Tobirama appointed Hiruzen as the Third Hokage before dying."
The group fell silent.
"In theory," Jin went on, "the Hokage is selected through jōnin voting."
"But Hiruzen assumed the position based on that final declaration alone."
"You could call it emergency succession."
"But that doesn't change the reality."
"He ascended without a formal mandate."
Hiruzen Sarutobi
"The seed of doubt was planted from the beginning."
Minato's expression grew serious.
If legitimacy was shaky—
Then distrust between the Daimyō and Hokage would only deepen over time.
Jin's voice lowered.
"And that… is why we must prepare for a world beyond the current structure."
The fire in Minato's eyes burned brighter.
The war might be ending.
But the real battle—
Was only just beginning.
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