"Obito… didn't die?!"
Ten minutes later, after hearing the second report from Minato, Hiruzen was shocked!
Where Obito was buried alive, there was an underground passage in the ground, which connected a huge underground space. Obito fell into the underground passage and was rescued by a mysterious Shinobi in the underground space!
And that mysterious Shinobi is good at Genjutsu and Summoning Technique, and seems to have a slight hostility towards Konoha.
This is matter is kind of shocking, and it looks like this matter is not small, so Hiruzen needs some time to digest.
"Hokage-sama, we can investigate the identity of the mysterious Shinobi in the underground space later, but about Kakashi…" Minato looked at Hiruzen with some hesitation.
Hiruzen came back to his senses, thought for a while and agreed: "That's true! When Iwagakure receives my letter, they should announce their surrender. At that time, the situation in the Shinobi World will completely fall to Konoha's side. Kirigakure, who is already at a disadvantage, will certainly withdraw their troops, and the Uchiha clan will be able to come back…"
Uchiha Clan has been fighting on the battlefield for so long and has made countless contributions. Their purpose is to break free from the shackle of being the Military Police Force in the village, and they wanted more right to speak, so that they can have higher position!
Now that Hiruzen intends to push Minato to the top position, he will definitely offend the Uchiha Clan, and if he let them know that Minato's disciple, Kakashi has transplanted their clan's Sharingan…
'Haah, why would all the things come at once like this?'
"Hokage-sama!"
Rin, who was standing on the side, stepped forward bravely, clasped her hands on her chest, and said nervously, "Sharingan is a gift from Obito to Kakashi, so it shouldn't have anything to do with Uchiha Clan, right? And, Obito is not dead, so even if they want to take the Sharingan back, they have to wait for Obito to come back!"
Hiruzen shook his head and said: "What you said is not wrong, but things are not as simple as you think."
"Hokage-sama!"
Suddenly, an Anbu appeared in the office, knelt down on one knee, and said, "I just received the latest information that Iwagakure has officially announced to the Shinobi World that it will conditionally surrender to Konoha!"
Hiruzen and Minato's expressions tightened when they heard this. They just received the information here, so after half a day at the latest, Kirigakure will also receive information.
'It seems that the Uchiha Clan will be back soon!'
"Kakashi, you should leave the village first for the time being."
Hiruzen mused, "While you are away, I will complete the discussion with the Uchiha Clan."
"I understand." Kakashi nodded.
"Kakashi, I'm going too!" Rin said.
Kakashi nodded: "Okay."
When the two left, Hiruzen told the Anbu to retreat, and soon, he and Minato were the only ones left in the office.
"Hokage-sama, please leave the discussion with the Uchiha Clan to me." Minato said.
Hiruzen shook his head and said: "As I'm still sitting in Hokage's position, I'll be the one who take care of the troublesome things that offend people."
"Hokage-sama…" Minato was about to say more, but Hiruzen raised his hand to stop him.
"Minato, do you have any thoughts about the mysterious Shinobi in the underground space?" Hiruzen directly skipped over the matter and talked about the mysterious Shinobi.
Minato did not reply, but bowed deeply, then raised his head and said: "I suspect… they may be related to the Uchiha Clan."
Hiruzen said: "Tell me the reason."
"Yes!"
Minato pondered for a while, and slowly opened his mouth and told his analysis, "First, the mysterious Shinobi is good at Genjutsu, and the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan Genjutsu should be the best in the Shinobi World! Second, Uchiha Clan is also proficient in Summoning Technique! Third, to build a huge secret space underground, the mysterious Shinobi shouldn't alone, then there must be a clan behind them. Fourth, the mysterious Shinobi saves Obito but does not show up, which is kind of strange. If the mysterious Shinobi is hostile to our Konoha, then he should not save Obito, who is a Konoha's Shinobi. And if the mysterious Shinobi's attitude towards Konoha is friendly, then why didn't he show up after he saved Obito?"
Hiruzen nodded while listening: "What you said make sense."
"Based on the above four points, I suspected that the underground space might be the Uchiha Clan's secret base. They didn't want to reveal that the base was built by the Uchiha Clan, but they didn't want to watch Obito being buried alive, so they rescued him, and at the same time, they used Genjutsu to prevent Kanpū's investigation, and then used Summoning Technique to fill the underground space with mud and rocks." Minato concluded.
Hiruzen lit his tobacco pipe and took a deep breath.
Smoke entered his lungs from the throat, and then comes out from his nose and mouth. Hiruzen coughed heavily and said: "Minato, there is another possibility!"
"What is it?" Minato asked.
"Have you ever thought that Kanpū is lying to you, and he may not have fall into Genjutsu at all!"
Hiruzen said in a low voice, "What if Kanpū's shadow clone had entered the underground space and meet the people inside?"
Minato frowned and asked: "Why did Hokage-sama say that?"
"It's time to let you know."
Hiruzen stood up and closed the window, his back looked bleak, "In the Shinobi World, there is a mysterious organization secretly lurking, it is called Abyss!"
Minato frowned when he heard this: "Abyss? Hokage-sama, I've never heard of it."
"I only learned about it during this war."
Hiruzen turned around, sat back in his seat, and said, "And Kanpū is the one who told me."
"Abyss… what kind of organization is this? Why does Kanpū know this Abyss?" Minato asked solemnly.
"On Crescent Moon Island, Kirigakure's Shinobi, Yuki Aoi, openly betrayed Kirigakure and teamed up with Kanpū to assassinate his companions. Have you heard about it, Minato?" Hiruzen asked.
Minato nodded: "I know, I heard that this incident directly led to the internal strife at the Kirigakure's frontline."
Hiruzen took another puff of his tobacco pipe and said: "That's right, but that's for later, what I want to talk about is Yuki Aoi!"
Minato narrowed his eyes and said: "Yuki Aoi is a person from the Abyss?"
Hiruzen nodded slightly, and said, "The reason why Yuki Aoi betrayed Kirigakure and worked together with Kanpū to assassinate Kirigakure's Shinobi… According to Kanpū, it was because the abyss had taken a fancy to his Kekkei Genkai, and Yuki Aoi wanted him to join the Abyss, but Kanpū said he refused."
Hearing this, Minato's heart moved: "Kekkei Genkai?"
"Yes, Kekkei Genkai."
Hiruzen spewed out the smoke and said, "The Abyss is a mysterious organization that only accepts Kekkei Genkai Shinobi! And Obito… just happens to have Sharingan!"
"Does Hokage-sama suspect that underground space is the secret base of the Abyss? And the Abyss saved Obito, who owns Sharingan, because they want to absorb him into their organization? If it is really so, it can indeed explain why the other party is unwilling to contact us after saving Obito."
Minato frowned, "As for Kanpū, he entered the base of Abyss and lied to us in order to conceal the information about Abyss, that's why he lied to us and saying that he fell into Genjutsu?"
"Do you think it's possible?" Hiruzen said and then thought, 'If this is the case, then it can be confirmed that Kanpū have joined the Abyss.'
Minato carefully recalled the scene at that time. After Kanpū came up from the ground, he first stated that he had not found Obito, and then hinted that he might be rescued by someone. Finally, under his questioning, Kanpū told them about the underground passage.
'If Kanpū really wants to conceal the Abyss, then he could have concealed everything from the beginning. Why bother hinting that Obito was rescued? Why would he tell us about the underground passage?'
Minato told Hiruzen about his doubts, and the latter murmured: "Perhaps…Kanpū is faltering now."
'Konoha... and Abyss?'
Minato frowned slightly, and after a while, he shook his head with a wry smile and said: "Hokage-sama, but we still can't confirm whether the underground space is created by the Abyss or by the Uchiha Clan, or it may even be built by a third-party force."
Hiruzen was stunned, then he smiled wryly and shook his head: "You are right, everything is just a guess, I am too impatient."
"Hokage-sama, let me investigate this matter!" Minato said seriously.
Hiruzen subconsciously wants to refuse, but after thinking that he is about to step down and hand over the power to Minato, he felt that it is not unreasonable to hand over this matter to him.
Because of that, he nodded and said: "Minato, no matter what the truth is, you must be careful!"
"Understood!"
Minato responded, and then asked, "Hokage-sama, since Iwagakure has announced their surrender, will the allied forces stationed at Kannabi Bridge be withdrawn?"
Hiruzen nodded: "Let them come back."
Hearing this, Minato immediately created a shadow clone and said: "Notify Dove, and Crow to bring the Shinobi from the village back."
The shadow clone nodded, and then disbanded directly.
In the next instant, Minato's shadow clone that is staying at the Kannabi Bridge instantly received the order to retreat, as well as all the content of the chat between his main body and Hiruzen.