As soon as Danzo started blaming everyone else, Homura quickly snapped back. "We agreed to let you keep Sakumo in check, not push him to kill himself."
Danzo scoffed. "Don't act innocent. If you didn't agree with it, why didn't you stop me? You're not going to tell me you couldn't, are you?"
The room went quiet.
No one said a word because, well… he had a point.
Back then, all four of them had gone along with the plan. If even one of them had spoken out, Sakumo Hatake's mission details wouldn't have ever been leaked. But they all kept silent—and Sakumo, realizing what was happening, chose to take his own life to avoid a messy conflict with people he once trusted.
Why did they do it?
Simple. At the time, Sakumo was the favorite to become the next Hokage. But that didn't sit right with the elders. They didn't think he had what it took. To them, a real Hokage had to be like Minato Namikaze—someone willing to sacrifice anything, even his family, for the village.
Sakumo wasn't that kind of guy. He once gave up a mission to save a teammate, and that alone made him "unfit" in their eyes. With his popularity growing, he was becoming a threat. And to the old guard, removing him was the safest option.
Same story with Orochimaru. Once they chose Minato, Orochimaru became another "unstable element" that had to go. Even though Hiruzen himself had approved of Orochimaru's research in the past, they turned on him the moment he became inconvenient.
Trying to move things along, Hiruzen coughed awkwardly and changed the subject. "Alright, enough about the past. As for the Uchiha Clan, we should avoid any drastic moves if we can help it. If we force a confrontation and lose them, the other villages could take advantage. Let's just keep a close eye on them for now."
Just then, someone knocked frantically on the door.
"Report! Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto is trying to storm the Hokage Building. He's not listening to anyone trying to stop him."
The room went silent again.
Honestly, if the messenger hadn't said Naruto's name, the old guard might've forgotten he even existed. Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, their attention had mostly been focused on the Uchiha situation. Once Hiruzen had assigned people to monitor Naruto 24/7, they basically stopped paying attention to him.
Danzo, too, hadn't thought much about the kid lately. At first, he'd leaked Naruto's status as a Jinchuriki hoping it'd push Hiruzen to hand Naruto over to Root. And even if that didn't work, having people know Naruto housed the Nine-Tails would justify cracking down on the Uchiha—since if they ever rebelled, Naruto would be their prime target.
Now that everyone knew who Naruto really was, the second goal had already been met. Danzo didn't care what happened to the boy anymore.
Hiruzen finally broke the silence. "Let him in."
A few seconds later, loud footsteps echoed down the hallway. Then—BAM!—the door flew open.
Naruto stormed in, eyes blazing with emotion. He barely noticed the others in the room. His gaze locked straight onto Hiruzen.
He marched right up to the table, climbed on top of it, and pointed a finger at the old man.
"Old man! I'm asking you—why did you hide the fact that the Fourth Hokage is my dad?!"
The room went cold.
Danzo immediately asked, "Who told you that?"
Naruto looked at the one-eyed man, confused. He didn't even know who this old guy with bandages was. So, he just turned back to Hiruzen, waiting for an answer.
Hiruzen looked shaken. Forget who told him—the real issue now was what Naruto thought about the village. A Jinchuriki who resented Konoha could become a serious problem.
He tried to sound gentle. "Naruto… can you tell Grandpa Hokage who told you Minato was your father?"
Naruto, still fuming, shouted, "Hmph! Don't lie to me again! My dad told me himself! I saw him—and my mom too!"
Homura looked stunned. "You saw Minato?"
Koharu added, "Naruto, tell us everything that happened. Right now."
The room tensed up. They were all thinking the same thing—was Minato still alive?
Their faces showed it all: surprise, guilt, fear.
Only Danzo looked like he'd swallowed something rotten.
Naruto didn't really get what the big deal was, but he started explaining. He rambled a bit, talking about a cage, a big fox, the seal, and how both his parents appeared.
His story was messy, but it was enough for the experienced elders to piece things together.
Minato had clearly set up a backup plan inside the seal. That much was obvious.
They relaxed for a second—until one detail hit them like a brick.
The Fox.
The Nine-Tailed Fox told Naruto to rip the seal off?
That… wasn't supposed to happen.