The Child Of Prophecy (A Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter 13

It had already been a year since Naruto had left to train with Jiraiya, and Minato was extremely done with the nagging of Danzo and his 'underlings', the elders. They were always asking when Naruto would be back, where they were, how long they were staying at that spot, but he never had an answer for them; it was safer for both Naruto and Jiraiya that way.

"Lord Fourth Hokage, you must understand, having the Nine-tail's Jinchuriki in the village is an essential factor to the safety and overall power of the Leaf Village. He should not be gone for this long, especially when we don't know where he is located."

Minato mentally rolled his eyes as he listened to Danzo speaking to him. The man's voice alone was a drag to listen to, and having to hear it all the time, while pretending to listen to laughable excuses was just getting aggravating. "Danzo." His tone left no room for argument as he shot a firm glare towards the older man. "It is not the safety of this village I am concerned with, but rather that of Naruto himself. He is staying on the move, away from our knowledge, so that he can train away from any sinister eyes. Him being here would inevitably cause him and the village itself harm. I don't know when they will be back, but I am done with these fruitless conversations. You may leave now."

It looked like Danzo wanted to say more, but Minato just held up his hand to silence any protests. After that, Danzo just turned around sharply, stiffly walking from the office with obvious anger. Minato himself just smirked to himself proudly at finally getting the arrogant and callous man to shut up.

Not much time had passed from when Danzo left to when he suddenly felt a presence behind him. He knew exactly who it was without even turning around. "How has the intel gathering been going? Have you been able to find anything concrete?"

"It's been going well, Lord Hokage. This Akatsuki group is mysterious, and they hide their tracks extremely well, but I found that they do seem to be operating out of the Hidden Rain Village at the moment." The man spoke softly, his mask concealing any emotion.

"That's good to know at least. Anything else."

"Yes, there is. They don't seem to be a large group, but they are all dangerous rogue shinobi. There also seems to be someone working behind the scenes. The supposed leader is just the face of the group. Someone is calling the shots from the shadows."

Minato didn't know what to take away from that bombshell. If someone was actually controlling the group while staying completely hidden, then it could be anyone and they would have no idea how to fight against them. "That's unsettling. Unless we find out the real mastermind, we won't be able to do anything to counter them."

"That's correct, Lord Hokage. I will continue to search to the best of my abilities, and I will let you know as soon as I have more information for you."

Smiling to himself, Minato finally turned around facing the ANBU ninja that was now in front of him. "Thank you. Now, enough about work for just a moment. How is your family doing?"

The man removed his mask, offering a kind smile as he spoke. "They are doing good. Sasuke has been training a lot harder lately, he is getting quite strong now. I'm proud of him. Our parents have been taking time to relax a little more now as well, since conflicts and feuds within the Uchiha have subsided." The older Uchiha seemed to relax as he spoke to Minato. Their families were close and he felt comfortable around him.

"That's good. Sasuke is indeed going to be a strong shinobi. He has so much potential."

The two continued to speak to each other about meaningless things, content to just enjoy the calmness of each other's company. It wasn't until much later when Minato had to get back to work that he broke the comfortable atmosphere they had created. "I wish I had more time to just sit and talk, but we both know I have more work to do. And I am sure your family would like to see you before you leave again."