"You wished to speak to me?" Minato asked as he reached the unfenced rooftop.

Hiruzen stood overlooking much of Konoha. Though his eye seemed specifically narrowed on the interior of its gates. A strong gale ruffled his white cloak. He drew a draught of his pipe before speaking, "You've been brushing off the elders."

No greeting. That was expected.

"I haven't been able to give them an audience with how occupied I am, unfortunately."

"I have been asked to function as their spokesperson in the hopes that you may respect my status more than theirs." Despite the caustic words, his demeanour remained as unchanged as ever. Aged, yet firm. Depreciatingly gentle.

To say that Minato routinely displeased Hiruzen wouldn't be untrue, but it would be an oversimplification of their relationship.

"I will formally apologize to the council for my negligence. In the time being, please let me hear their concerns."

Hiruzen removed the pipe and craned his head forward. Minato squinted to get a glimpse of what he was seeing. A bedraggled family of four was being escorted into Konoha. "You have good timing," the Third said. "You know of the evacuees?"

"Yes, I'm aware. We've received almost a dozen of them. Including these, it would make sixteen."

"Well, the council has asked me to speak to you about this. Larger waves of them will arrive in Konoha if the aggression on the border with the Land of Hot Water is allowed to continue. As of now, caravans of them are being held back only by the medic team that Tsunade and my wife lead. The evacuees - along with the elders and the people of Konoha who host them - are wondering where their hokage is. Wondering why he doesn't come to their aid, and fight back against Kumo's invasion. I don't have an answer for them."

Minato stepped up next to the Third. "I don't believe in escalating this conflict into a full-blown war, especially when those affected most will be the ones that have nothing to do with it"-Hiruzen exhaled loudly at the absurdity of his statement-"Right now, Kumo holds the Land of Hot Water hostage-"

"They gave their allegiance," he interjected.

"Why would they ally with us? I was there; we spent most of the war destabilizing them with pseudo-factions due to their proximity to the Land of Lightning. Fear of them doing this exact thing to us was the reason we worked to cripple their government. Since then, Yugakure has had no proper shinobi system to fall back on. When Kumo throws a sum of money to their corrupt daimyos - ones we helped install, I may add - they willingly kneel and allow for its nin to overrun the place. This was a monster of our own making. To raze towns brimming with noncombatants in hopes of scratching at the Kumo nin is a mistake."

"So you would rather that they raze our towns to the ground? And by your own admission, you helped to create this issue."

Minato smiled spiritlessly. "I was impressionable then, fresh into my tenure as Hokage."

I did as I was told, he thought.

I know better now.

"So, what are you going to do? By all means, you know Kumo won't relent. Ever since the Hyuuga affair, they have only communicated with us through violence. Even then, I advised you to send the body of Hizashi. The twin was willing, but you needed to establish yourself as a paragon of justice. Now, you've landed us in this situation.

"You can put an end to this if you wish, too. If you crush Kumo's border encampment now, they may back off."

"No. I'll find a better way. A measured response."

"It is not possible to be a humanitarian in war. When you are put in a position of responsibility, you must learn to prioritize those that depend on you." He sighed in defeat. "Do what you need to. Make good use of your resources. You have far more than I ever did. Whatever you do, find a way to end it. Otherwise, even you won't be able to withstand the pressure from the council or the people.

"Another thing before you leave, I hear you're holding a hearing for that man. What is this all about?"

'That man' was Danzo Shimura. It was out of the question to name him where they could be overheard though. The crimes he had committed during and after the Third's reign were so extensive that the matter had been promptly silenced. Initially, Hiruzen had advised against investigation. It was only after an avalanche of evidence was uncovered by Minato's own pupil, that he'd been locked up.

"He's requested that he have his points heard for several years now. I cannot deny it any longer."

"Why would you give a criminal the license to make demands of the Hokage? Do you not respect your own position? And surely anything you can wish to gain has already been extracted by the Interrogations Unit."

"I want to know what makes a man betray our country, especially while believing he serves it."

The notion undoubtedly troubled Hiruzen, regardless of the stony countenance. "Be cautious. That is all I had to say to you."

He disappeared with a puff of smoke. Minato closed his eyes, allowing the breeze to cool him down. His words bled with artificial certainty, and he continued to alienate Hiruzen and the civilian council with every decision he made. Right now, the one thing going for him was the general favour of the people, but he worried that Hiruzen's prediction may strike true in time.

But in all honesty, the Third was a lost cause. Minato had put his most loyal comrade and friend in prison and was in the process of acquiring evidence to do the same to his student. At some point, Minato had had a realization. It wasn't a streak of misfortune that Hiruzen happened to be surrounded by monsters. Rather, Hiruzen's method of leadership left room for evil to thrive.

He broke out of his thoughts to spy a shadow of movement in the distance. Within moments, an ANBU member was kneeling at his side.

Cat mask. Yugao.

"I have news regarding the target."

"You've scouted the area, I assume?"

"Yes, all chakra signatures in the general vicinity are too far to listen in or are preoccupied," she said. "I also set up a Mirage Sphere around this building. Sound and vision are distorted."

"Alright, let's hear it then."

"Of the eight to ten locations the trackee frequents on a regular basis, one is of particular note, specifically because of the span between his visits."

"And which location is that?"

"It's the rice market. He goes there every three weeks."

"There is nothing suspicious about that. There's such a thing as buying in bulk."

"That is not the reason I bring it up. New caravans arrive every three weeks. His visits coincide with the arrival of new caravans and departure of the previous ones. Although, neither me nor the team has seen him interacting with anyone suspicious, you see why this could be a concern."

That was it.

"You're suggesting he's sending something out? To the Country of Rice Paddies? Or perhaps to another location that happens to fall on the route?"

"Either covert messages that he doesn't trust to send through a messenger hawk - likely due to the interception system we've set up - or something more tangible. Do you think I'm reaching?"

"Not at all," he said, a tremor of excitement in his heart. "I'm glad to finally have someone who doesn't underestimate this man."

She nodded. "Your orders?"

"Decrease your activity. I don't want to arouse his suspicion."

"Of course," she hesitated. "I do take painstaking measures to ensure that he doesn't detect anything."

"I'm aware of that, but we're dealing with a monster. Remember that. You're dismissed."

She flickered away, and Minato sensed a mild change in pressure. The Mirage Sphere had lifted.

Orochimaru was aware he was being tracked, of course. But he was beyond grateful for any information on him. This would serve as a point of access where he could begin to investigate on his own.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in your reviews. The next chapter was meant to be the real genin exams, but this kind of took over.