Chapter 33 – Retreating to Advance
Minato appeared in a golden flicker of chakra, re-entering the Konoha council chamber with a sharp gust of displaced air.
Inside, nothing had changed.
Danzo, Homura, and Koharu were still arguing — voices rising and falling as they debated how to assign blame for the Nine-Tails attack, and more importantly, how to redistribute the Fourth Hokage's authority.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat silently at the far end of the table, eyes half-lidded, pipe held between weathered fingers. He looked neither surprised nor invested — only tired. Weary of the infighting, weary of the weight of a village that never stopped bleeding, even in peacetime.
Minato's arrival silenced the room.
Hiruzen blinked and sat up straighter. "Minato. What's the situation?"
Minato folded his arms, his expression carefully controlled.
"Kushina's condition is… poor," he said.
Danzo's eyes narrowed. Homura and Koharu exchanged glances.
"What exactly happened?" Hiruzen asked.
Minato's reply was deliberate. "You all know what happens when a Jinchūriki has their tailed beast forcibly extracted. Instant death. The only reason Kushina survived the initial event is because of her Uzumaki vitality. But…"
He paused, gaze flickering downward.
"…the damage has already been done. Even though the Nine-Tails was sealed back inside her, the life force she lost can't be replenished."
A beat of silence passed.
Sarutobi's fingers curled slightly around his pipe. "So you're saying…"
Minato nodded. "Her condition is deteriorating. Slowly, but steadily."
That sobered the room.
Even Danzo's rigid stance faltered.
"What about the seal?" Homura asked quickly. "Can it still be maintained?"
"I can stabilize it," Minato said. "But not indefinitely. And not from a distance."
"Then… what do you propose?" Koharu asked carefully.
Minato answered without hesitation. "I won't look for a new Jinchūriki until Kushina's condition changes definitively. If she dies… I will take the Nine-Tails into myself."
The statement dropped like a kunai onto stone.
"What?!" Homura was the first to object. "That's insane! You're the Hokage. You can't just become a Jinchūriki!"
"It's not your role," Koharu added sharply. "A Kage must remain above such risk!"
Danzo's voice cut through them both. "You would become a living weapon. A liability."
Minato's voice turned to steel. "Better that than let my wife die alone — or let another Uzumaki child be sacrificed."
Danzo leaned forward, tone venomous. "Is this about your emotions, Fourth? Or your duties as Hokage?"
Minato turned to him, his chakra flaring without warning.
The air in the room shifted. Heavy. Suffocating.
Golden energy rippled faintly around him as his blue eyes narrowed.
"Danzo," he said, voice dangerously quiet, "are you suggesting I kill my own wife to preserve political appearances?"
Danzo froze.
That pressure — he'd felt it before. On the battlefield. The real Yellow Flash. Unpredictable. Unrelenting.
"I…" he started, but no words came.
"Because if that's your suggestion," Minato continued, stepping closer, "then I will ask only once more — and very clearly — are you prepared to make me your enemy?"
The silence that followed was louder than a scream.
Danzo swallowed his pride — and his tongue. "No. Of course not."
Minato turned away without another word.
The moment passed, and the tension slowly receded. But no one in the room forgot it.
Sarutobi sighed heavily, flicking ashes into a nearby tray. "And the village's administration?"
Minato faced the table again.
"Third-sama, I must apologize. But I intend to remain by Kushina's side in the coming months — to help stabilize the seal and ease her condition."
"And what of the Hokage's responsibilities?" Koharu asked.
Minato bowed his head. "I must temporarily relinquish them."
That landed like another blow.
"Wait—" Danzo's eyes lit up.
Minato continued, ignoring the glint of excitement already forming in the elder's expression.
"During my absence, I request that the three advisors — including yourself, Danzo — share the administrative burden of Hokage authority. Temporarily. For the sake of the village."
It was bait.
And Danzo swallowed it whole.
"Of course," he said quickly, practically tripping over himself to agree. "Absolutely. The village must come first."
Minato didn't respond.
But he saw it — the flash of hunger in Danzo's eyes. That momentary break in composure.
The others, too, looked intrigued. More power, even temporary, was not a gift easily refused.
"How long will you be… away?" Homura asked.
Minato didn't flinch. "Three to six months."
"That long?!" Koharu looked shocked.
Minato nodded slowly. "I've owed Kushina this for a long time. And… I want to be with her, if this truly is the end."
The room was quiet again.
Even Danzo didn't speak.
He didn't need to. His silence was victory enough.
A few more weeks like this, and Minato's political grip would be gone for good.
"Very well," Hiruzen said finally. "We'll make the arrangements."
"There is one matter left," Minato added.
He looked each elder in the eye.
"We'll tell the public that I was gravely injured during the Nine-Tails attack — and require an extended recovery period. Better that than risk panic by admitting the Jinchūriki's condition is unstable."
Danzo nodded quickly. "That's acceptable."
"You may even pin the blame on me," Minato said flatly. "If it helps quell unrest."
Danzo nearly grinned.
What a naive child.
Give up your power, take the blame, and disappear? You won't be getting any of it back.
"Of course," Danzo said. "We'll manage the situation discreetly."
Minato inclined his head once. "Thank you. I leave things in your hands."
And with that — he vanished.
Outside the Hokage Building, Minato did not return home.
Instead, he reappeared silently on the outskirts of the Uchiha district — where a single light still burned in the residence of the clan head.
Uchiha Fugaku stood on his porch, eyes narrowing as Minato approached. Then his eyes widened in relief.
"Minato!" he said, quickly stepping forward. "You're alive. Thank the gods. What of Kushina?"
Minato raised a hand, glancing around. "We need privacy."
Without another word, Fugaku ushered him inside. The door slid shut. Minato weaved a quick seal, throwing up a chakra barrier to block surveillance.
Fugaku's expression turned grim. "You're not just here about Kushina."
"No."
Minato met his gaze.
"I need to ask you something. And I need your answer not as a friend, but as the head of your clan."
Fugaku nodded slowly, face serious.
"Are you willing to support me — fully, unconditionally — against the Council?"
Fugaku blinked once. Then again.
He knew what that meant. Knew what it implied.
A choice that would determine not just his future, but the future of the entire Uchiha clan.
Minato didn't rush him.
Fugaku's mind raced.
The Nine-Tails had barely been beaten back. Already, rumors were spreading — villagers whispering that the beast had been controlled by a Sharingan.
The Uchiha had been ordered to stay out of the fight. No one would believe that had been the elders' decision. The optics were damning. The damage irreversible.
Even now, he could feel it — the weight of suspicion pressing against their gates.
There was no retreat.
No option left to remain neutral.
The clan's last line of defense — their alliance with Minato — was all that remained.
"I've been waiting for this day," Fugaku said, voice quiet but steady.
"In the name of the Uchiha clan, I pledge our loyalty to you, Hokage Namikaze Minato. We will follow you — and we will not betray you."
Minato didn't smile.
But his eyes softened, just slightly.
"Thank you," he said.
The war hadn't begun yet.
But the first line had been drawn.