The stars twinkled in the night sky.
Sarutobi Ryo sat in his living room, enjoying a cup of tea after finishing dinner.
Time passed, and soon enough, the unwelcome guest he had been expecting finally arrived.
The moment Sarutobi Ryo saw that striking red hair, he knew his plan had worked perfectly.
"Kushina, it's late… what brings you here?" he asked.
He gently placed his teacup on the table.
They were alone together in the large living room.
Kushina, who had come to see him, pressed her lips together tightly, her face showing mixed feelings.
She still seemed strong and determined, but her eyes showed a hint of worry.
After all, the leaders who used to be in charge had lost their power, and Namikaze Minato had been captured.
Things had changed completely. The village was about to be controlled entirely by Sarutobi Ryo's group.
"Sarutobi Ryo, you need to let Minato go right now!"
Kushina took a deep breath and spoke immediately.
She stood in the middle of the living room, looking down at Sarutobi Ryo as he sat in his chair, and spoke in a loud voice.
Her voice still sounded proud and bossy.
It was clear she was trying to talk to him the way she always had. She thought she could get what she wanted by acting superior.
"..."
Sarutobi Ryo's eyebrows barely moved. Silence filled the room.
The heavy atmosphere quickly spread throughout the living room.
Just as Kushina started to feel very uncomfortable, Sarutobi Ryo finally spoke, after a pause.
"Who do you think you are talking to?"
His cold, scolding tone hit Kushina like a wave, making her shiver.
His icy expression and sharp gaze showed clear anger.
"!"
Kushina was surprised by how quickly Sarutobi Ryo reacted.
For as long as she had known him, she had thought of him as someone who didn't show his feelings.
He would either ignore things or quietly put up with them.
Now, he had completely changed, making his opinion very clear.
This made Kushina feel even less confident.
"Y-you're just the Third Hokage's son, ya know!"
Because she was nervous, Kushina even started using her old verbal tic.
She was still trying to use their past relationship to get Sarutobi Ryo to release Namikaze Minato.
However, that was no longer possible…
This was when Sarutobi Ryo showed his true self, letting out the darkness inside him.
"Heh…"
Sarutobi Ryo chuckled quietly, a slight smile on his face.
Then, he picked up his teacup and slowly drank his tea.
He completely ignored Kushina, leaving her standing there.
How could she possibly accept this?
"Release Minato now!" she repeated, her voice louder.
Her raised voice sounded like a command.
Her clenched fists showed how hard she was trying to stay calm.
Sarutobi Ryo continued to drink his tea, looking down, still ignoring her.
He treated Kushina's demands as if they were coming from a child.
Sarutobi Ryo, holding all the power, was slowly breaking her down… to achieve his own goals.
After a while, seeing that Sarutobi Ryo still hadn't reacted, Kushina started to feel worried.
Her stern scolding had absolutely no effect.
Sarutobi Ryo still sat calmly in his chair, completely ignoring her feelings.
In fact, Kushina knew very well that doing this… was completely useless.
But she was clinging to a small hope, wanting to give it a try.
Her threats and demands couldn't scare him.
Realizing that things had changed for her side, Kushina couldn't help but start to change her approach.
"Sarutobi Ryo… what do you want in order to release Minato…"
As she said these words, Kushina finally lowered her pride, her voice much softer.
Her attitude had also improved slightly.
Even though she was an orphan of the Uzumaki clan and Uzumaki Mito's adopted granddaughter…
That didn't change anything.
Sarutobi Ryo had great power, and he was the one making the real decisions in Konoha.
The Third Hokage had retired and couldn't manage things anymore. Most of the time, his power was even less than that of his oldest son, Sarutobi Ryo.
The Fourth Hokage was a good person and didn't interfere much, trusting his student and friends a lot.
Also, the leaders who used to be in charge had all been punished, and Orochimaru had been helped to get a high position, standing on Sarutobi Ryo's side…
So, anyone could see that the power in Konoha had fallen into the hands of Sarutobi Ryo!
To save Minato, she had to find a way to get through to him…
This was why Kushina had thought carefully and come here herself.
"Release Namikaze Minato?"
Sarutobi Ryo placed his teacup down, finally willing to look at Kushina.
Her beautiful face, now looked somewhat sad because of her worry, making her… pitiable.
This stirred up even darker thoughts in Sarutobi Ryo's heart.
"Do you know what serious crimes Namikaze Minato has committed?"
Sarutobi Ryo's voice turned cold as he began to list Namikaze Minato's wrongdoings.
Bringing back the dead was already a great offense.
Ordering Senju Tobirama to kill the leaders of Konoha was an even greater crime. This… was even worse than what Danzo had done.
Danzo had already killed himself to pay for his crimes.
So…
"What kind of punishment do you think Namikaze Minato deserves?"
Danzo was killed because he murdered an unimportant member of the Uchiha clan.
Minato ordered the assassination of Sarutobi Ryo, and yet…
Kushina's eyes widened in shock. Hearing the truth from Sarutobi Ryo, she finally understood why he was being so cold.
So…
The story about the Second Hokage destroying Princess Tsunade's mansion was just a cover-up.
The real reason was that he planned to kill Sarutobi Ryo directly!
No one could ignore that kind of hatred!
This…
Knowing that things were serious, Kushina trembled slightly and immediately pleaded, "T-there must be some misunderstanding, Sarutobi Ryo… Minato would never want to kill you…"
Kushina believed that no matter what Minato did, he would never hurt a comrade from the village.
So…
"Oh, of course, I believe Namikaze Minato wouldn't want to get his own hands dirty…"
Sarutobi Ryo nodded slightly, agreeing with Kushina's statement.
But his words also had another meaning.
Namikaze Minato didn't want to dirty his own hands, so he had Senju Tobirama do it… that was what he meant.
Anyway, Senju Tobirama would take the blame.
Just like Danzo taking the blame, this was a Konoha tradition.
Wasn't it?
"N-no, that's not it!"
Kushina's voice was sorrowful as she immediately shook her head, looking distressed.
*
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[T/N:
Final Total Power Stone Collection : 403 PS
Goal : Reach +50 Total PS = +2 Bonus Chapters next day! 🚀
This and the next Chapter are bonus chapters for today's release
This novel is completely translated on Patreon
Want to support my work and get early access to chapters? Check out my Patreon! 👇
➡️ patreon.com/Boundless_Beacon
]