The moment Namikaze Minato was free, he instantly teleported to Kushina's side using the Flying Thunder God technique.
After confirming through a flurry of concerned words that Kushina was fine, Minato was finally at ease.
Konoha, having won the battle, returned to camp with two Tailed Beast Jinchūriki who had their chakra sealed.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru then wrote up the combat report and submitted it to the Third Hokage. For now, they just needed to remain on standby.
At the same time, not only the Third Hokage, but also Danzo and the two advisors received the war report.
The moment they saw that the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had appeared on the battlefield and defeated both the One-Tails and Five-Tails in full transformation, they immediately realized that Hiruzen had sent the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki into battle without informing them.
The three of them went straight to the Hokage's office to confront Hiruzen.
Hiruzen, upon reading the war report, had already anticipated their arrival and was prepared.
"HIRUZEN! Do you even realize what you've done? You sent the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to the battlefield! What if she's just pretending to be loyal and defects? Can you bear that responsibility?" Danzo burst into the office, immediately lashing out.
"Kushina won't do that. I trust her," said the Third Hokage as he puffed on his pipe.
"You trust her? Hiruzen, you are the Hokage. You shouldn't make such an important decision based purely on personal trust," Homura Mitokado said sternly.
"That's right, Hiruzen. This concerns the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. You should have consulted us first," added Koharu Utatane.
Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe and replied, "Have you considered—if Kushina wasn't there, who could've stopped two fully transformed Tailed Beasts?"
"Jiraiya and Orochimaru were both present. Couldn't they handle them with the help of their summoned beasts?" Danzo retorted without hesitation.
"They could suppress the Tailed Beasts, yes—but how many Konoha shinobi would be injured or killed in the process? This war has dragged on long enough. We've already lost too many excellent ninja. The village can't afford more losses."
Mitokado and Utatane exchanged a glance. They knew full well the current state of the village. From a results perspective, deploying the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki did indeed preserve their forces.
Danzo, seeing the two advisors staying silent, scoffed coldly. "Heh! Sounds nice on paper. But what if she failed to control the Nine-Tails' power and was consumed by its negative chakra? That would've caused far greater damage to the village."
"You don't need to worry about that. Before I made the decision, I had already seen Kushina use the Nine-Tails' chakra. She can perfectly control up to six tails," Hiruzen said.
That statement enraged Danzo even more. Hiruzen always claimed the Jinchūriki wasn't a weapon and never allowed Root to get close—yet he seemed to know everything about her condition, even how many tails she could control.
Mitokado was also surprised by how much Hiruzen knew and asked, "Aren't you interfering a bit too much in the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's affairs?"
Hiruzen was momentarily stunned, then shook his head. "Everything I know about Kushina, I learned from Minato and his team."
"So Jiraiya and Minato also knew about the deployment?" Danzo caught onto the key detail in Hiruzen's words and pressed him further.
"Not just Jiraiya and Minato—Orochimaru was informed as well."
Danzo's face darkened further. The two advisors also felt insulted for being excluded. Just as they were about to speak, Hiruzen put down his pipe and said:
"I know what you want to say, and what you're thinking. I've never tried to control Kushina, and I won't in the future. I won't allow anyone to do anything to her just because she holds a Tailed Beast.
Kushina is not a weapon. I hope you can remember that.
I've turned a blind eye to some of your actions for the village's sake. Because we are comrades, and I know your intentions are for the good of the village.
But when it comes to Kushina—she is off-limits. That is my bottom line. And I am the Hokage. Do you understand?"
He looked up at the three of them. He didn't release any chakra or make any threatening moves—just his gaze alone brought crushing pressure upon them.
"H-Hiruzen, what are you implying? Are you accusing us of having personal agendas regarding the Jinchūriki?" Homura Mitokado asked, sweating under the pressure.
"Whether or not you have ulterior motives, you know best. Especially you, Danzo—your Root agents have been secretly monitoring Kushina this whole time. You think I don't know?
Not just me—Kushina and Minato have long been aware. The only reason they haven't acted against your men is out of respect for me as Hokage."
"I was only concerned for the Jinchūriki's safety," Danzo argued.
"Do you even believe that yourself? From this day forward, Danzo, you are to withdraw all Root agents assigned to monitor Kushina. She's proven herself in this war. There's no longer any need for suspicion."
"That's impossible! The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki must be monitored, otherwise—"
"This isn't a negotiation. I'm informing you. If you don't withdraw them, Minato and Kushina will send them back to you personally."
Danzo understood the unspoken threat in Hiruzen's words—and realized that Minato and Kushina hadn't taken action before only because of Hiruzen's restraint.
But now, because of Kushina's outstanding performance at Kikyo Pass, Hiruzen was no longer restraining them.
Even Danzo wasn't arrogant enough to believe Root could stand up to Minato.
He had already received intel: Minato had defeated Onoki in a direct fight.
That old man Onoki wasn't even someone Hiruzen could easily defeat.
With Minato's current power, Root operatives were like helpless children in front of him.
Let alone Kushina, who could wield the Nine-Tails' power.
At that thought, Danzo glared fiercely at Hiruzen and growled, "Hiruzen, spoiling the Jinchūriki like this will only lead to disaster. Don't come crying to us when it all falls apart!"
(To Be Continued...)