Naruto - Minato Namikaze SI - Chapter 262 - Plans and Problems in the Southwest.

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.] Third Person POV Konoha, Year 42. ... ... A group of people began to arrive at the secret location within the Se

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.] Third Person POV Konoha, Year 42. ... ... A group of people began to arrive at the secret location within the Se

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.] Third Person POV Konoha, Year 42. ... ... A group of people began to arrive at the secret location within the Se

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Konoha, Year 42.
...

...

A group of people began to arrive at the secret location within the Senju clan, where Minato was, along with all the village clan leaders he had been meeting with over the past few months—those from the first meeting, along with Mikoto's father, with whom Minato spoke later.

An Uzumaki appeared a moment later, after Minato had spoken with the Aburame clan leader and secretly sent a bug to the house where the Uzumakis were staying within the Senju clan, carrying a message.

They sought out Kushina, went to her house, and took Minato's kunai, allowing him to bring them there as well, protected from any sensor, ears, or eyes of the village.

That Uzumaki was not the same person Minato had spoken with before, but she was aware of the conversation Minato had more than a year ago, as she was his master.

Minato asked him to explain the situation, with everyone listening attentively, their gazes cautious and worried, each one having their own thoughts as they heard the Uzumaki's account of the situation on the border and his request for help from Konoha.

Hiruzen, on the other hand, didn't seem to care.

"This also concerns us," Minato said at one point in the conversation.
"The village is not preparing for a possible war.
And if all four nations that plan to attack Uzushiogakure suddenly turn against Konoha?
We’ll be attacked from all directions.
The same argument Hiruzen used to betray our allies can very well be used to break the agreement and bring the hatred of the five nations upon us."

This triggered a look of alertness and caution in everyone.

"But more importantly, we have to try to convince the village, even if that suggests war.
That’s how Konoha has always had to act.
Today it may be an allied clan outside the country...
Tomorrow it could be our own children who will be sacrificed in the name of peace.
Is that what you want?
Is that what you expect for your children and grandchildren?" he said in a serious tone, while many remained silent, thinking about it.

"The Uchiha clan is being targeted, because some Nukenins were seen at the border.
They're accusing us of things that have nothing to do with us," said Mazu Uchiha, as the pressure against the Uchiha clan within the village leadership had intensified significantly recently.

"If it's not a coup, I agree we should act," said Shuran Nara, Shikaku's father.

"Yes, political pressure could be beneficial," another responded, agreeing.

"But if we truly want to help the Uzumaki, we can't just send our ninjas outside the country.
Fighting against four nations is not a simple matter.
This sounds like madness," another leader murmured.

"Yes, on that, I agree," Minato said at that moment.
"But I am certain we can shelter the Uzumaki in the Land of Fire."

An Uzumaki was about to respond, clearly not wanting to leave behind their homeland, when Minato continued:

"I can even understand that you love your land.
But what’s the point, if everyone dies?
I will also not leave the village and the Land of Fire at the mercy of an attack from four nations just to protect you, sacrificing our own people.
That is not going to happen," he said firmly.

It was a solid point: he would never let Konoha be attacked to protect another Uzumaki clan, obviously.

The place went silent, and he continued.

"If you truly want to survive, you’ll have to live within the Land of Fire. And we can wage the same kind of war we fought in the past. We've already defeated the four nations... We can do it again," Minato said, as the place fell into silence.

"But to throw us into another war like that... Lord Minato, it will kill thousands of us again. No one has recovered from the last one," one of the leaders murmured, torn between truly helping an ally or preserving peace, sharing a thought Hiruzen once had.

"Starting another war? That doesn’t seem like a smart thing to do, sacrificing thousands of our ninjas again to help them... I don’t think that’s the right path," another leader said harshly.

"So that means we’re disposable to you?" the Uzumaki raised his voice at that moment, exclaiming to everyone present with anger.

"Calm down. But let’s be honest as well," Minato turned to the Uzumaki.
"You’re still standing precisely because Konoha is your ally. Since you never wanted to bind yourselves to the Land of Fire, you became an easy target—just like what’s happening now. And without Konoha’s protection, you would’ve been destroyed a long time ago."

Minato was harsh with the member of the Uzumaki clan too, but there were things he had to say no matter what.

He paused before continuing.
"But don’t get me wrong. I’m being logical here—I'm not saying the Uzumaki should sacrifice themselves for Konoha. Still, we’re allies. And if you want to survive, this is the most rational way we can offer. You must bind yourselves to the Land of Fire and abandon your land. As painful as it may be, your people are more important than the land. And you’ll be well received here."

He finished, while the Uzumaki remained silent.

Minato turned back to the leader who had said provoking another war wasn’t a good idea.
"And about the war... trust me, they’ve always existed," he said.
"Think about it—if the other four nations see Konoha weakened, and that will happen when Uzushiogakure is destroyed, they will all turn their weapons on Konoha. A third world war is already at our doorstep. The question is: will we face it as Konoha’s shinobi protecting our allies, or will we just keep closing our eyes like cowards chasing a false peace?"

Minato said, looking at each of them.

The discussion continued, with everyone arguing, while Minato listened carefully.
Shikaku, as always, was very logical with the details and answered some of the others’ questions, confirming his reputation within the Nara clan, with words of wisdom.

In the end, Minato sent everyone back to their clans, while recovering some chakra using Sage Mode, putting on his mask and switching places with a clone that was near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, resuming command of his squad as usual the next day.

They headed to the border, encountering a Konoha ninja team already investigating the area.

"It’s a squad!" they said as Minato, along with the others, appeared.

"What’s the situation?" Minato asked from behind his mask.

"It’s a bit hard to explain—we went to the village, but didn’t even collect the bodies... You should go, and you’ll understand," one of them said, as Lumen and the others guided the team to the site, finding an entire village dead.

"This..." Lumen murmured, upon checking the place filled with corpses.

"The people died from poison," said one of the ANBU from Minato’s team.
"They were hit with needles," some stuck in the bodies, others embedded in the wooden houses.

"But one question... These strings say they’re puppets... That’s why the mission came in as men from the Land of Wind crossing the border..." another member of the ANBU team commented.
"I’ve fought many Sand ninjas before, and there’s no doubt—whoever did this, it was them."

Minato remained silent as he observed the area.
"It looks like many bodies are missing. There are fewer corpses than houses in this place. Whoever attacked them wanted them dead, but also wanted to leave the bodies intact. That’s why they used poison needles. How strange..." Minato commented.

"What should we do, Commander?" another member asked.

"We’ll follow the trail. We need to find whoever did this, whether it’s a person or a group.
But first, search the region—I want any trace you can find," Minato said as they began scouring the area.

Minato stayed in the village, sitting on top of a house, trying to sense anything with his observation haki, closing his eyes in deep concentration, beginning to hear echoes in that place, on a more spiritual plane.

A sudden burst of smoke occurred, as a puppet appeared to everyone in the village, who had been having a normal day—then came the screams of panicked people, followed by the sounds of needles whistling through the air...

Striking people as they collapsed to the ground...

Minato remained there, watching everything, searching for anything that could lead to the culprit.

Then, when silence returned and Minato knew the entire village was dead, with people agonizing for minutes before dying, footsteps began to echo—indicating only one person among the corpses.

‘I think this number of bodies is good enough to continue the research,’ the voice came to Minato, and he couldn’t tell whether it was young or old, male or female.

"This..." he murmured, opening his eyes, unable to identify the direction of the voice. It came from the entrance of the village, facing the border, where he could sense a spiritual presence and find the trail of the culprit like fragments of their spirit.

‘I feel like I’ve encountered this person before...’
Minato couldn’t know everything, but his intuition—enhanced by the observation haki—suggested it.

"Alert everyone. Tell them to follow me," Minato said, notifying an ANBU nearby, as he advanced into the forest, following that faint spiritual presence.

The ninja who had done this was good. They had erased all traces, as if there were a group behind them just to do that.
And, sensing only one voice, Minato imagined it could be just one person—perhaps using their own puppets behind them to clean up every trace.

This task was supposed to be handled by another ANBU team responsible for that border area. Minato's team's operating zone was farther north, between the Land of Waterfalls and part of the Land of Rain.

But he wouldn’t abandon his duty. Seeing all those people slaughtered like animals was far from acceptable, so he moved quickly, with his team members joining him shortly afterward, one by one.

"Commander, did you find the trail?" they asked, curious since they hadn’t found anything—and Minato had, without even leaving the village. Minato nodded.

"It’s a lead... But let’s check it," he said, as they continued toward the border, until they finally reached the limits of the Land of Fire, where some Konoha patrols began to approach them.

But he ignored them and stopped, dropping to the ground, finally finding a flaw in the enemy’s plan: the trail they had all been searching for, with small marks on the ground and on the trees in that area.

Here, the culprit no longer seemed to care—after cleaning the entire path from the village to this point, he no longer appeared concerned, confident that no one would be able to track him.

Minato looked ahead.
There was still forest, roughly a kilometer of it, known as the neutral zone—the border—before finally reaching the desert of the Land of Wind.
He simply sighed, knowing he couldn't cross that area without the Hokage’s authorization, which was deeply frustrating.

“We can’t go any further... What will we do?” one ninja asked Minato.

“We have no choice. Let’s write a report. I’ll deliver it personally,” Minato said.

As some patrol teams reached them, he asked them to explain the situation, while Minato returned to the village.

A moment later, he came back with a sigh.
“The Hokage didn’t give us permission to continue—only to remain in the region for a few days, in case there’s another attack by whoever committed the last one,” he said, disappointed.

After all, he had clearly shown his willingness to continue—he was excellent at infiltration, capable of operating alone and tracking whoever did this, being a disciple of Jiraiya.

But the Hokage did not agree, since the villages were mobilizing their armies, and Minato had no choice but to obey.
Even if he found the culprit, Hiruzen would treat him as a rogue ninja at this point.