After much thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi concluded that his most viable method of retaliation was to order attacks on any Hidden Mist ninja encountered and to impose limited trade sanctions against Kirigakure. Beyond that, there wasn't much else he could do.
In truth, he could have gone further. For example, he could have ordered Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to infiltrate the Hidden Mist Village and unleash the Nine-Tails—guaranteed devastation. But such an act would plunge the entire shinobi world into war.
Other forms of retaliation? Sarutobi simply wasn't creative or aggressive enough to come up with anything more decisive.
Now, if Uchiha Kei were the one making the call, he'd probably shock the entire shinobi world with tactics lifted straight out of Earth's most deranged online forums. He'd drag the bar of warfare to an unhinged new low.
How did Uchiha Kei know about such methods? Let's just say: never underestimate the abstract chaos and variety spawned by online trolls—especially those who play Paradox games. Those people? War criminals. Execute them a hundred times and it still wouldn't be enough.
In the end, Sarutobi stuck to his usual style. He issued a diplomatic warning to Kirigakure in the name of the Hidden Leaf Village, then summoned an Anbu agent to deliver a report on the ambush against Minato's team to Danzo Shimura. He also instructed Danzo to send Root shinobi to retaliate in kind.
This was Sarutobi's standard way of utilizing Root: to strike enemy nations indirectly when overt conflict wasn't an option.
As long as there was no concrete evidence and no official declaration, even if the enemy suspected Konoha's involvement, it wouldn't count as open hostilities. This reduced the risk of full-scale war.
After giving those orders, Sarutobi found himself in the mood to test Minato's understanding. He asked Minato if he understood why such an approach was necessary.
Minato, already well-schooled by Uchiha Kei, thought through the situation from Lord Third's perspective. He explained the logic calmly—"proportional retaliation," "avoiding open conflict," "minimizing the risk of war"—causing Sarutobi to nod repeatedly. His eyes brightened, and he smiled with sincere appreciation.
Minato remained humble. "You flatter me, Lord Third. Kei taught me these principles."
Sarutobi blinked. "Uchiha Kei taught you?"
Minato nodded with a sunny, sincere smile. "Yes. I believe Kei's wisdom surpasses that of most people. He has an extraordinary grasp of the big picture."
"Since we were young, he's always seen things others couldn't. And he's never kept it to himself—he's taught me so much that I could never have learned elsewhere."
"I can say with absolute honesty: without Kei, I wouldn't be where I am today."
Minato's words were completely genuine—no flattery, no exaggeration. In his mind, Kei deserved more credit than anyone else for his success.
Hearing this, Sarutobi couldn't help but nod again. Looking at Minato's warm and radiant smile, he was suddenly reminded of the First Hokage—always cheerful and carefree.
And when he thought of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, he couldn't help but draw parallels to Minato and Kei.
His smile widened.
"Minato," he said, "you must cherish your relationship with Kei-dono. If you are ever fortunate enough to become Hokage, Kei-dono will be your greatest asset—just as the Second was to the First."
Minato was momentarily surprised, then smiled again and replied humbly that he still had much to learn. Becoming Hokage was still far off—but it remained his dream, and he would work toward it.
After Minato left, Sarutobi walked happily to the window and looked out at the flourishing village. Then he spoke the words he often repeated—the motto that had become his life's creed:
"Where the leaves dance, so too does the fire burn. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village... and new leaves will grow."
"Minato... I believe that under your and Kei-dono's leadership, the future of the Hidden Leaf will be brighter than ever—just like in the days of the First and Second."
After some reflection, Sarutobi decided it was finally time to try the genjutsu game himself.
Previously, due to various concerns, he had avoided it. But now that the game had been fully deployed and even other great nations had begun acquiring it, he felt it was time.
With great anticipation, he finally made the decision.
Anbu quickly brought over the game system—one of the three already released titles.
Sarutobi glanced at them, immediately tossing "Returning Home" aside. He knew it was a horror game—and he was too old to care for such things.
Next was "Road to Survival." Though he acknowledged it was a good game, it required teamwork. Playing it solo wouldn't be much fun.
That left "Fruit Ninja."
Even though the game's name always made him want to roll his eyes, the game itself was undeniably effective. It had already become a must-have among shinobi—especially those seeking to sharpen their skills. Everyone was grinding it daily, using its hyper-realistic mechanics to hone their combat senses.
Without delay, Sarutobi entered the genjutsu game world.
Instantly, the realistic experience made his eyes light up. He nodded. "So this is the hyper-realism they talked about? Truly a genjutsu world almost indistinguishable from reality. The differences are minor—hardly worth noting."
Stroking his beard, Sarutobi appraised the game.
The game did not trigger any elder protection mechanics—he was still spry enough to play. Though in his fifties, Sarutobi was only at the tail end of his prime and had no injuries, so he jumped in as himself.
Though this was his first time playing, Sarutobi was a long-time observer. He wasn't unfamiliar with the mechanics. He immediately attacked the cherry blossom tree that determined difficulty level—triggering the highest setting.
He then tried summoning his companion Enma—and succeeded.
Though it was a simulated version, not the real Enma, it had no intelligence—just a functional tool.
Satisfied, Sarutobi transformed Enma into his signature Adamantine Staff and entered battle in his combat attire.
The visual was nearly identical to his appearance during the Nine-Tails' attack.
Facing a wave of fruit-plant enemies on the highest difficulty, Sarutobi—unlike Minato, who would flash around with the Flying Thunder God Technique—stood his ground. He started with a Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Style: Earth Wall) for defense, then created four Shadow Clones to unleash his signature jutsu: Goton: Dairetsudan no Jutsu (Five Style: Great Consecutive Bullet Technique).
Combining fire, lightning, water, earth, and wind into a massive area-of-effect attack, he obliterated everything in sight—clearing an area the size of a football field.
With pressure relieved, he let his Shadow Clones rush in as suicide bombers, each carrying Explosive Tags and detonating themselves into swathes of fruit-plant enemies.
Then Sarutobi followed with his staff, tearing through the fruit monsters like a farmer clearing weeds.
He let loose with countless ninjutsu—unrestrained and joyful.
It was only natural. Sarutobi, the Professor of Ninjutsu, had mastered countless techniques, including many forbidden ones.
But in the real world, he rarely had the chance to go all out. Sparring was limited, and there were few who could match him blow for blow.
The Sannin? Sure, they were strong—but unless all three teamed up, none could take him on one-on-one.
In the canon timeline, Sarutobi—years older than now—nearly crippled a thirty-something Orochimaru when the latter defected. Had he not held back, Orochimaru wouldn't have survived to execute the Konoha Crush.
Realistically, Sarutobi had very few opportunities to go all out.
And age was catching up to him. Though still in his prime's twilight, his stamina couldn't match his youth. A true battle might drain him to the point where his black hair turned white—just like in canon, where he visibly aged after the Nine-Tails' attack.
Being a shinobi had never been healthy. Chakra—the fusion of physical and spiritual energy—ultimately consumed life force.
It was only thanks to the naturally robust constitutions of people in the shinobi world that they didn't all drop dead early. If Earthlings tried using chakra, they'd probably be short-lived wrecks.
Now, with no restraints and no fear of death, Sarutobi let himself go.
He used forbidden jutsu he'd long avoided. He didn't need to worry about chakra consumption. He spammed every element—fire, lightning, water, earth, wind—and even used sealed jutsu from forbidden scrolls.
This sheer release of power made him feel reborn—like he was back in his youth, standing beside the Second Hokage as his loyal protector.
Right now, Sarutobi felt young again. His emotions surged, and with them, so too returned the dreams and ambition of his early days.
In short:
Combat is bliss.
Elsewhere, Uchiha Kei received a flood of emotional value and two golden spirit points.
After scanning the coordinates via his system, he grinned.
"Finally decided to play the game, huh? Old man Sarutobi... even if your title as 'Strongest Hokage' is just hype, your gold-drop rate is top-notch. Only Madara could possibly outdo you."