Minato Namikaze had always been a calm thinker — methodical, composed, deeply idealistic. But Kai's words hit him like a bolt of lightning to the chest, shattering that calm.
"Your idea," Kai began, arms crossed, eyes locked on the Fourth Hokage, "is good. Very good, in fact."
Minato straightened, listening closely.
Kai's voice didn't carry mockery — only firm appraisal.
"It might even be the only bloodless path forward for Konoha."
Minato felt a flicker of relief. After months spent crafting his strategy — pouring over data, rebuilding trust across clans, designing reforms rooted in education and meritocracy — hearing validation from someone like Kai carried immense weight.
But then Kai's tone shifted.
His expression hardened, his voice sharpening like drawn steel.
"But your plan," he said, "has two fatal flaws."
The light dimmed in Minato's eyes. He leaned forward slowly, brows tight. "Please… go on."
Kai didn't soften.
"First," he said bluntly, "you die too young."
Silence.
Minato blinked. For a moment, it seemed as though his heart simply stopped.
"You were supposed to die last night," Kai continued. "If I hadn't stepped in — if Hashirama hadn't helped — the masked man would've killed you. You know it."
Minato couldn't deny it. He'd felt it in his bones. That presence, that speed — Obito's attack had been precise, merciless.
"If you had died," Kai said, "all your reforms would've died with you. Within months, the Council would've shifted power back to the clans. Within years, your entire vision would've been erased. Nothing left but a name on a stone wall."
Minato's hands tightened into fists on the edge of the desk. "I… I see."
Kushina stood nearby, eyes wide. "He… would've died…?"
Kai turned to her, voice steady. "Yes. The masked man — Obito — was seconds away from killing him. You both would've died. The entire village could've fallen."
Minato bowed his head. "Then… thank you again. Truly. For saving us."
Kai waved him off. "You're welcome. But surviving once doesn't mean you'll survive the next time."
Kushina's brow furrowed. "There's more?"
"There is," Kai said. "Even if you live, you won't have time to wait for Konoha to evolve naturally. Your peaceful reform won't be fast enough."
Minato's gaze narrowed. "Why not?"
Kai didn't hesitate.
"Because Uchiha Madara is still alive."
The words landed like a landslide.
Minato's eyes widened in shock. Kushina staggered back a half-step, hand flying to her mouth.
"Madara? That's impossible! He—he died decades ago!" she said.
"That's what everyone thought," Kai said calmly. "But no. He faked it and disappeared underground. Hiding, watching silently, and waited at the right moment."
"But the masked man…" Minato said, voice uncertain. "Wasn't that… Obito?"
"It is," Kai confirmed. "But he didn't become that monster on his own."
Kai let the words hang for a moment.
"Someone had to find him. Someone had to break him."
Minato's blood ran cold.
Kai nodded. "Madara trained him. Warped his mind. Turned him into a tool. Evolve Obito's sharingan into a mangekyo, taught him forbidden techniques, and the knowledge to breach even Kushina's Eight Trigrams Seal. None of that came from Obito's own strength."
Minato sat down heavily, his legs suddenly weak.
That… explained too much.
Why Obito had been so strong. Why his attacks had been perfectly timed. Why he knew things he should never have known.
It was Madara. Always Madara.
"He used Obito as a weapon," Kai said. "Manipulated Rin's death, too. That wasn't an accident. It was well planned."
Minato's breath caught.
"Rin…?"
Kushina looked between them, horrified.
Kai's voice dropped. "Her death was the breaking point. It was what tipped Obito over the edge. Madara twisted that pain into hatred. Turned your student into a killing machine that sought to destroy the world."
Minato closed his eyes. The pain of failure, of betrayal, surged again.
"Everything…" he whispered. "Everything traces back to him."
Kai gave a single nod. "And he's not finished. He passed the plan to Obito. Then to Nagato in the future. The Akatsuki. Eventually to Black Zetsu."
Kushina was trembling now. "So we're already… caught in it?"
"You're living inside his plan all along," Kai said. "You just didn't know it."
Minato's voice was barely audible. "And I'm trying to fix this village… slowly… while someone like that is preparing to erase the world?"
"Exactly."
A cold silence filled the room.
Minato felt it now. The weight. The pressure. The futility of patience in the face of catastrophe.
"And you're sure this is true?" he finally asked.
"Go verify it," Kai said. "You're the Hokage. Ask Jiraiya. Talk to the Toads. Dig up the old records and you'll find I'm not lying."
Minato leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them, his gaze had changed.
Still kind, still thoughtful — but colder now.
More focused.
Kushina stepped beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Whatever path he had to take, she would be walking it with him.
He reached up and held her hand, then looked at Kai.
"I need to rethink everything," he said. "Plan faster and move quicker."
Kai nodded. "That's the spirit!"
Minato hesitated for just a second.
"Can I… really beat him? Madara?"
Kai tilted his head slightly. "Let me ask you this — can you beat Hashirama?"
Minato groaned.
"Exactly," Kai said. "So that's a no."
"But…" He gave a small smile. "You have something neither Madara nor Hashirama had."
Minato blinked. "What's that?"
Kai grinned. "Me."
Kushina laughed once, loud and sudden.
Minato stared, then let out a breath. "Well. That's… true."
Kai grew serious again.
"I'm not going to hand you power. I'm not giving you weapons, armies, or chakra artifacts. But if you stay on this path — if you make the hard choices — I'll stand behind you when it matters most."
Minato gave a quiet nod. "Then I'll give you results."
Kai nodded back. "Start by taking control of Konoha."
Minato frowned. "From whom?"
"Danzo. Homura. Koharu. Even Hiruzen if it comes to it."
Minato didn't respond immediately. Those names weighed heavy on his mind.
"They've had decades to shape this village," Kai said. "And look where it's led. You can't fix Konoha with a hand tied behind your back. You need full control."
Minato inhaled slowly, then exhaled through his nose.
"I understand."
Kai held up a hand. "And no — I don't mean charge to the enemy's den with kunai drawn in hand."
Kai smirked, just a little.
"There's a smarter way and cleaner way. This involves three steps."
The first one is to pull one faction and strike another…