Who are you calling a stable boy?!

Initiated by Danzo Shimura, who was assisted by the Hokage, the village's leaders immediately held a meeting.

The theme of the meeting goes without saying.

At that time, the Hokage persuaded Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who were serving as advisors, to strike first and completely eradicate the Uchiha clan.

However, he and his three generations of relatives strongly opposed the proposal.

With the two sides deadlocked, in order to determine whether the Uchiha clan truly intended to rebel, they even brought Itachi to the meeting.

Minato was relieved that, at the end of the meeting, thanks to his and the Third Hokage's efforts, the proposal to exterminate the Uchiha clan was rejected.

However, the village will still strengthen surveillance of the Uchiha clan's territory, just in case.

Minato knew this was just a temporary measure.

However, he still hasn't been able to come up with a way to fundamentally resolve the conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village.

The reason I came to visit this third generation was actually to hear the old man's insightful views on this problem.

"To my shame, I still have no clue..."

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I couldn’t properly solve this problem even after handing it over to you. In fact, I’m the one who should be ashamed.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes, his face showing some distress.

"Please don't say that! During your tenure, you devoted yourself wholeheartedly to Konoha, which everyone in the village witnessed!"

The Third Hokage waved to the somewhat flustered Minato, exhaled a puff of smoke, and covered his old face.

He was considering whether he should remind Minato that Danzo must have already taken some action after the meeting that day.

Based on his understanding of his old friend, the place where he would strike would probably be...

It's on that kid Itachi.

If Danzo's methods succeed, it might be very beneficial for Minato—

As the three generations were deep in thought, a kneeling figure appeared in the courtyard behind them.

It's the dark area.

"I'm very sorry to bother you, but an emergency has occurred."

"what happened?"

Minato turned around and asked.

The operative did not answer immediately. He lowered his head, and his mask prevented him from seeing his expression, but he seemed to be carefully considering his words.

"Reporting to the fourth generation, outside the village..."

He paused for a moment, then continued in a slightly hesitant tone.

“A monk wielding a staff broke in.”

Chapter 181: He should thank us!

Konoha Village is not hard to find.

To be precise, none of the five great ninja villages are hard to find.

Just because it's not hard to find doesn't mean anyone can get in.

At least, a stranger like Zheng Jing, who makes no attempt to conceal his identity, will definitely be stopped and questioned as soon as he enters the patrol area of ​​the Konoha ninjas.

Moreover, the three wars have only just ended, and the nerves of the major villages, which have been on edge for so long, are still very sensitive.

A group of strangers flying in strange vehicles over the mountains and forests near the village would naturally arouse suspicion among the patrolling Konoha ninjas.

If there were a few people among them who recognized Itachi, the greatest genius of the Uchiha clan, then it wouldn't be hard to predict what actions these Konoha ninjas, who were mostly Chunin, would take next.

However, Konoha has its own rules, and Zheng Jing has his own regulations.

So when Minato Namikaze arrived at the village entrance, the sight that greeted him made even the battle-hardened yellow flash pause in surprise.

Dozens of people were seen with their hands and feet bound, their limbs facing upwards, neatly stacked on the official road outside Konoha Village.

Judging from their clothing, especially the headbands with the Konoha symbol, these people are ninjas from Konoha Village.

Strangely, despite being placed like this, none of these dozens of people struggled, even though their eyes were wide open.

Do not!

More accurately, not a single person made a sound.

They were right at the entrance of their own village, but no matter who it was, they remained motionless and silent.

It was as if these dozens of people were merely overly realistic human models.

Or perhaps it's some kind of collective performance art that leaves people scratching their heads.

In front of these dozens of neatly arranged people, the creator, who was not immersed in the art, was squatting on the ground facing a group of tense Konoha ninjas, idly twirling the stick in his hand.

"Oh?"

Upon catching a glimpse of that striking, vibrant color, Zheng Jing blinked and jumped up.

Upon arriving at the scene, Minato stepped forward amidst the Konoha ninjas' gazes—some reassured, some filled with admiration, and some filled with shame—and met Zheng Jing's golden eyes.

"DOMO, Minato Namikaze = SAN, Desu the Monster Slayer."

Before he could even speak, Zheng Jing greeted him with his hands clasped together. Even Minato hesitated for a moment because of such a polite greeting.

“DOMO”.

In the end, he nodded to Zheng Jing.

Although brief, there is no doubt that Minato Namikaze was the first ninja to date to know how to respond to a greeting.

As expected of the Yellow Flash, a true ninja!

"The monster killer, Mr. Zheng Jing, right?"

The unexpected beginning led Minato to recall information related to the title of "Demon Slayer" after a brief moment of recollection.

At the same time, he had also noticed the figure behind Zheng Jing, who stood with his head down like a child who had made a mistake.

Sending Itachi to capture Akatsuki members who had entered the country was a mission he had approved.

The reason Itachi was specifically chosen was not only because of his superb genjutsu combined with his Sharingan, which made him adept at capturing prisoners alive, but also to allow Itachi to leave the village temporarily.

To be more precise, it was to keep Itachi away from Danzo for the time being.

Minato understood that this Hokage's advisor harbored deep prejudice against the Uchiha clan, and he was also aware of the Uchiha clan's ruthless and unscrupulous methods in achieving their goals.

Although there is no concrete evidence, Minato's intuition tells him that Danzo's suggestion to summon Itachi during the meeting that day indicates that Danzo intended to do something by starting with Itachi.

It can be said that the Akatsuki's brazen appearance within the village gave Minato a good reason to lure Itachi out of the village.

Of course, Minato wouldn't underestimate Akatsuki, a dangerous organization whose reputation had grown increasingly formidable since the Third Shinobi World War. He specially assigned an experienced ANBU squad leader to assist Itachi.

Meanwhile, he kept a closer eye on Danzo's actions in the village, just in case.

According to Minato's original plan, no matter how quickly Itachi completed this mission, it would still take him a week to return to the village.

During this time, he also needed to think about how to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village.

As the third generation said, this is a legacy of history.

He had a good personal relationship with Fugaku and knew that Fugaku intended to resolve this issue. However, just as he had Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado on his side, the radical faction within the Uchiha clan on Fugaku's side was also deeply rooted and entrenched.

Neither he nor Fugaku believed that this was a problem that could be solved overnight.

The situation was initially optimistic. He and Fugaku shared the consensus that working together could subtly resolve the issue.

But the fact that the intelligence indicating the Uchiha clan's intention to rebel had reached his desk meant that Danzo must have been behind it all.

Right now, he and the Third Hokage can indeed continue to suppress Danzo, preventing him from accomplishing anything openly, while also being careful not to give Danzo any leverage in secret.

But Minato knew very well that the key to the problem lay with the Uchiha clan.

That intelligence report was very well done; every detail was meticulously examined.

This means that the radical faction of the Uchiha clan definitely did have such thoughts...

Minato had planned to find an opportunity in the next couple of days to have a private talk with Fugaku.

But now, Itachi's return has surprised him.

His early return was unexpected, and the circumstances of his return caught him completely off guard.

Minato shifted his gaze and landed beside Itachi.

There, two people were sitting facing each other on a white blanket.

They were playing Go.

A person dressed in a black robe with red clouds, belonging to the Akatsuki organization.

A man wearing glasses with a gentle smile.

Kakuzu of the Akatsuki organization.

And the partner of the demon slayer Zheng Jing, the bespectacled Shinigami Aizen.

Minato quickly identified the two men.

In other words...

Has Itachi been captured?

"Yes, it's me. After waiting and waiting, I've finally found someone I can talk to properly."

As he spoke, Zheng Jing turned his head and shouted at Jiao Du, "Xiao Duzi! Release them!"

"...Since you're going to release them anyway, why bother tying them up?"

Kakuzu stood up with his head drooping, reached out, and took back the black silk of the Earth Grudge Fear that had been used to bind the hands and feet of the Konoha ninja.

"The way you're saying that's like saying, 'Since you're going to poop anyway, why bother eating well?' You get the feeling, right? You get the feeling!"

As he spoke, Zheng Jing pointed with his finger.

"untie."

In an instant, the dozens of ninjas lying on the ground began to move.

Some leaped up, some gasped for breath, and some crawled frantically.

Without exception, no one dared to lay a hand on Zheng Jing.

"Forget it! Do you expect me, Old Zheng, to see you off?"

The Konoha ninjas looked at each other, hesitating. One of them took two steps toward the village entrance, and seeing that Zheng Jingzhen did not intend to stop him, he immediately quickened his pace.

Once one person starts running, everyone else naturally gets moving too.

“Look, all your men are here, not one missing. Don’t say I, Old Zheng, didn’t give you face, fourth generation.”

Looking at these village ninjas whose expressions were filled with panic but who seemed to be truly safe and sound, and who didn't even seem to have a scratch, Minato quietly instructed his men to take good care of them before raising his head and looking at Zheng Jing again.

After a moment of silence, he spoke with a serious expression.

"Whatever your purpose in coming here, for the sake of Ping'an, I still want to thank you first, Mr. Zheng Jing."

　 ??? ?? ?? ????

"See? I told you so!"

Zheng Jing turned around with a grin, looked at Lao Lan and the others, and gave a thumbs-up to Shuimen.

"He should thank us!"

Chapter 182: Shaking Hands

Minato's gratitude was heartfelt.

The fact that dozens of fellow villagers could be captured so easily and strangely means that if the other side wanted, the people sent to the village entrance could be much more than just dozens of living people.

Instead, there were dozens of bloody heads.

Regardless of the other party's motives, at least for now, Minato is genuinely grateful that Jung Kyung is willing to spare his comrades.

"However, I'm sorry, as the Fourth Hokage, I still need to know..."

Shuimen said in a deep voice, "Mr. Zheng Jing, do you know what exactly you want to do?"

"Hey! Stop!"