Chapter 286: All Eyes on Him

Kitahara Kaede walked out of Konoha Hospital.

The midday sun shone overhead, carrying a dry heat.

He followed the main street and deliberately slowed his steps.

His mind continued replaying what had just happened inside the office.

He had made a slightly improper joke, and Tsunade visibly turned red.

She grabbed a medical record from the desk and threw it at him.

Kaede tilted his head and dodged.

The record fell to the floor, but Tsunade didn't continue raging.

Instead, the corners of her lips lifted slightly.

Although she quickly hardened her expression and pretended to drive him away, Kaede had seen it clearly.

He thought back over the last seven days.

Every morning, he went to the Hokage Building to handle intelligence reports from every direction.

At noon, he appeared at the door to Tsunade's office.

Sometimes he brought lunch along the way. Other times, he entered empty-handed.

At first, Tsunade maintained her pride and asked why he had come.

His answer—"Weren't you the one who told me to come?"—left her with nothing to say.

Then yesterday, he arrived a little late because he had been checking the details of Kirigakure's defenses.

When he opened the door, Tsunade had already placed two lunchboxes on the table.

She didn't explain anything and merely told him to hurry up and eat.

That was when Kaede became certain that Tsunade's attitude had completely softened.

He continued for some distance until the crowd around him thinned.

The smile on his face disappeared.

His hand entered an inner compartment of his ninja tool pouch and found a scroll.

Minato had sent it through the ANBU that morning. It contained intelligence Kaede needed.

Over the past week, mixed Konoha and Kirigakure ANBU teams had raised the Jinchuriki defensive perimeter to its highest level.

Yet Black Zetsu had made no move.

There had been no raid and no advance reconnaissance.

Not even a single White Zetsu clone skilled in infiltration had appeared.

Kaede frowned.

That made no sense.

He loosened the sealing cord with one hand and opened the scroll.

The farther he read, the deeper his frown became.

The situation was bad.

He rolled the scroll up and put it away.

Just as he reached the corner of the street, a dark figure dropped from a rooftop.

"Kaede-sama."

The ANBU spoke rapidly.

"Hokage-sama has summoned you urgently. Please proceed to the conference room immediately."

Kaede stopped and nodded.

His figure flickered and vanished.

...

Kaede pushed open the conference room door inside the Hokage Building.

Every gaze in the room immediately focused on him.

Minato Namikaze sat in the central seat at the head of the long table.

He wore his white Hokage cloak. An unopened scroll rested beside his hand, and his expression was exceptionally grave.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sat to Minato's left.

Freed from the burden of office, the old man wore ordinary dark gray clothing today.

The small beard beneath his chin had been neatly trimmed, giving him a sharp, capable appearance.

Hiruzen watched Kaede enter.

The wrinkles around his eyes relaxed as the corners of his lips rose slightly, his gaze filled with approval.

From an inconspicuous Genin on the battlefield, Kaede had advanced step by step until he now stood within Konoha's highest decision-making circle.

Hiruzen understood something else as well.

If Kaede hadn't noticed the abnormal situation in Kirigakure, brought the Six-Tails back to Konoha, and established a joint defense network, the village would have had no opportunity to sit here calmly and discuss countermeasures against such impossible infiltration.

They might not even have understood the enemy's true objective.

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane sat opposite Hiruzen.

The two advisors had held influence over Konoha's leadership for decades.

They valued rules and seniority above almost everything.

Homura raised a hand and adjusted the round glasses on the bridge of his nose.

His eyes behind the lenses also settled on Kaede, and he gave a slight nod.

Koharu's thin face remained expressionless, but she similarly inclined her head in greeting.

Kaede understood the meaning behind the two old politicians' actions perfectly.

In the past, both stubborn elders had objected to his involvement in village policy.

They always believed a teenager acted too recklessly to participate in such decisions.

But Kaede had silenced every objection with one indisputable achievement after another.

From his battlefield record to the current alliance and Jinchuriki arrangements, each matter concerned the survival of the village.

Faced with the advisors' acknowledgment, Kaede calmly returned the greeting and walked to his seat.

Minato raised a hand.

"Sit, Kaede."

"Once Representative Terumi arrives, we can formally begin."

Kaede pulled out the chair and sat down.

His hand had barely reached the tabletop when the conference room door opened again.

Mei entered.

She had replaced her casual clothing with a dark formal uniform.

Her reddish-brown hair was tied high, and her manner was dignified.

She perfectly displayed the authority and composure expected of a Great Nation's representative.

Not the slightest trace remained of the charming woman who clung to Kaede in private.

"My apologies," she said clearly. "I was handling several documents sent from Kirigakure."

"It took longer than expected. Thank you for waiting."

Homura and Koharu looked at her and nodded together.

Such proper, flawless conduct appealed greatly to traditional politicians like them.

Mei continued forward at an unhurried pace.

But from the moment she entered the conference room, the edge of her vision had remained fixed on the familiar figure seated in the middle of the long table.

She reached the empty chair opposite him and sat.

Once seated, she looked directly at Kaede.

The dignified facade she maintained before outsiders developed a crack.

She pressed her lips together.

Her eyes, normally filled with cunning and calculation, now held no disguise at all.

Their corners drooped faintly with deeply suppressed grievance.