บท 174: 173-Another Madara
"So that's what happened," he concluded, pausing before he asked,
"Do you think Iwa and Suna will go to war?"
Hiruzen did not respond immediately, but Shiba spoke up. "It is highly unlikely. Apart from a few skirmishes here and there between the two nations, things will not escalate to a full-scale war. But it will be a drag to take care of it."
'There he goes again,'
Hiruzen thought as he listened to his subordinate. Minato who looked confused asked,
"How?"
Shiba shrugged as he said, "We are talking about two of the five major shinobi powers in the world. Though your squad did a good job setting events in motion, everything you did could still and probably will be traced back to Konoha.
While I hate to admit it, both Saitetsu and Onoki are not idiots. Once everything cools down on their ends and their various intelligence sources get to work, this will be traced back to Konoha no matter how careful your squad thought it was."
Minato and Hiruzen exchanged grim looks as Shiba continued,
"Though there is still some respite in this."
Hearing that, Minato's face lit up while Hiruzen's became visibly relaxed.
"And what is it?" Hiruzen asked.
"We have time to remedy the situation. If what Yano and that Chunin, Renjiro, did was true, then things will not settle down for them if they directly interfered with the Earth Daimyo.
It might even take Iwa a whole year to find out who was really behind this. They might even know it as we speak, but the Daimyo would put a leash on Onoki's actions, which will give us time."
Taking a sip of water, Hiruzen asked, "Then what do you propose we do?"
Shiba, deep in thought, responded, "The best thing we can do now is to enter a treaty with one or even both of them."
'A treaty?' Minato thought, visibly surprised. 'Weren't we supposed to keep them occupied so that they could leave us alone?'
Hiruzen, however, remained calm, having learned over the years to trust in Shiba's words and the sound logic behind his thinking.
"Why do you say so?" Hiruzen asked, leaning closer to hear what the Jounin Commander, who was standing next to Minato before him, was going to say.
"If we enter into a non-aggressive treaty with either Suna or Iwa now before they have a chance to act against us, we will essentially be tying their hands," Shiba remarked.
Hiruzen nodded as Minato asked, "Won't suggesting a treaty between us and them alarm them causing either of them to suspect us?"
This time it was not Shiba who answered but Hiruzen, who stared warmly at Minato and said,
"That's why we will leave this to the Fire Daimyo. If the Daimyos agree and we enter into a treaty, then breaking the agreement will be hard for either party since the Daimyos have good relationships between them, that is, in most cases."
Minato nodded, though his brow furrowed. "Still, I think we should prepare ourselves for whenever either Iwa or Suna respond to this."
Shiba nodded in agreement. "I agree. If we choose a person to send who could quickly handle this matter earlier, things will be better for us."
"Who should I send then?" Hiruzen asked.
Before Shiba could respond, Minato interjected, "You could send Sakumo-sama."
Immediately, the atmosphere of the office changed. It became dark and tense as if the very air had been sliced by Minato's words.
Minato thought, 'Did I say something wrong?'
"Minato, do not ever utter that name to me again," Hiruzen calmly said, his voice frightening in its own sense.
A shiver passed through Minato as he wondered, 'I have never seen Lord Third like this. What might have happened?'
Sensing the need to shift the mood, Shiba said, "Don't worry, Sakumo just went through some... complications on his last mission." Minato nodded, while Shiba continued,
"One of the Sanins would be better for this case since we do not know where Jiraiya is exactly, Orochimaru would be more suitable since he is always methodical in all his missions."
'Aaah, this is going to be bothersome.' Shiba thought.
Still trying to change the subject, he said, "You mentioned that you went with two other Chūnins apart from Sama. How were they during the missions? I hope they did well?"
This was a normal procedure when Chunins accompanied Jounins on higher-ranked missions, enabling the village to identify talented shinobi among their ranks.
While the mood did not suddenly improve, it got a bit better as Minato answered, "Yes, Renjiro and Hiro. They actually exceeded my expectations! Hiro showed talent and commitment, especially when we were alone in the Land of Wind.
And Renjiro, while I knew he was talented in Fuinjutsu, his raw talent still managed to surprise me. He was even able to deal with two Jounins when we were dealing with the Iron Fangs Mercenaries. While he says that his chains did most of the work, I still think that it is commendable."
'He can already go against Jounins and win? He is already that powerful? How he can't even be twelve!' Hiruzen thought, shocked.
"What chains are you talking about?" The third Hokage could not help but ask.
Minato had a contemplative look on his face as he answered, "I mean the Adamantine Chains. Renjiro says that it is a Chakra Seinou he awakened from his Uzumaki side with the help of Kushina."
'Kushina is also involved? I need to talk to her about this, her residency is one of the few places in the village where my Crystal ball cannot penetrate though. Those seals of hers are annoying.' Hiruzen thought.
Shiba immediately asked, "Are they similar to the Jinchuriki's?"
Minato nodded. "Yes, they are. Though he can't use them often since he says they take up too much chakra."
Shiba did not say anything else but spared a glance at the Hokage. Receiving the knowing look from Shiba, Hiruzen understood exactly what the Jounin Commander meant.
'The child is dangerous!'
Both Hiruzen were old enough to have witnessed the transfer of the Nine-Tailed Beast, Kurama, from its previous jinchuriki, Lady Mito who recently died to Kushina.
It was only thanks to Kushina's special ability that there were no issues in the transfer, and ever since things have been good for the village in general.
Even when the village slipped up and the Jinchuriki was abducted, something that Hiruzen took full responsibility for and fully regrets, the Nine-Tails did not go on a rampage.
Kushina had it under control saving both her abductors and the team that rescued her from Kurama's wrath and destruction. So it was understandable if both Hiruzen and Shiba's thoughts veered into the Nine-Tails when the Adamantine Chains were mentioned
'He has a Sharingan and the Adamantine Chains? I am sure that Danzo will want him to himself as soon as he hears about this, but I can't let that happen. I also need to be careful with this. If I don't handle things well and make a mistake along the way, we could basically have another Madara on our hands. He might even be more dangerous than Madara, especially if he awakens..."
Hiruzen could not afford to complete the thought without a cold shiver running down his spine. "He seems to be really talented," Hiruzen began, nodding his head.
"When did he awaken the Adamantine chains?" Hiruzen Inquired.
"I am not really sure," Minato said as he scratched his chin before continuing, "When I last saw him when he was a genin, I don't think that he had them so it was probable after he became a chunin, but I might be wrong."
"Aaah, that is good. Since you have spent time with him, do you think he is fit enough to be a Jounin?"
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