"What is the meaning of this, Minato? Are you framing me for something?!" Danzo asked angrily.
"I never said you had done anything, Danzo," Minato replied, holding Danzo's gaze. "However, I'm not saying you didn't do anything either. Now, take off the bandages," he ordered once more.
"Tsk, this is nonsense. I don't have time for games!" Danzo retorted, turning around, ready to leave, but Jiraiya's hand stopped him again.
"What you are carrying on you does not belong to you," Minato spoke. "It is time we discuss Konoha's recent events, and above all, you and Root."
————
Hours passed. From outside the office, Danzo and Hiruzen could occasionally be heard shouting in anger as they argued with each other.
"I did it for the good of the village, Hiruzen!"
"Peace between the clans and the village is the good of the village! The Uchihas are part of the village too, just like any other clan!"
"The safety of the village is the most important thing! Unstable clans like the Uchiha must be controlled or eradicated immediately; that is what you have never understood. You are not worthy of being the Hokage. I am the one who controls and eliminates threats from the shadows!"
"And the one who creates them too! You were causing a civil war!"
The shouting continued for several minutes. Everyone in the hallway grew tense at the mention of a civil war, except for Finn, who understood that these were problems that didn't even affect him since he lived in Earthland. Everyone else in the hallway knew that a civil war wouldn't be the biggest issue, but rather what would come after: potential Shinobi World Wars would erupt again once the other nations learned that Konoha was weakened.
"This is going to take a while..." Finn sighed, interrupting everyone's thoughts as he sat down on the hallway floor.
The others said nothing, but they thought exactly like him. The meeting had already been going on for two hours, and it seemed it was only just reaching its climax.
Nobody knew for sure what they were discussing right now, but it seemed the Third Hokage's anger practically pierced through the door separating them; his words were barely intelligible. Then there was Fugaku, who sounded like a rabid dog barking; not even Itachi could understand what he was saying.
"Do you think this will solve that problem?" Itachi asked in a whisper, referring to the conflict between the Uchihas and the Leaf Village.
Shisui didn't answer with words but nodded his head firmly. He didn't doubt for a single second that the Fourth Hokage would fix the conflict between them.
Suddenly, a sharp scream echoed from inside; several recognized it as Danzo's.
"I wonder if they already took his eye out?..." Finn said curiously, catching everyone's attention in the hallway.
"Whose eye are they taking out?" Kakashi asked immediately.
Finn didn't even have to answer as the office door swung open violently and two Anbu came out, escorting a wounded Danzo, who was covering the eye that had previously been hidden by bandages.
"I think you have your answer..." Finn commented, looking at the puddle of blood Danzo was leaving behind as he walked. "God, for someone so cold-blooded, he sure has a lot of it."
Itachi and Shisui watched Danzo silently, suspecting what had just happened. Shisui, who was standing in front of the door, could see Minato holding a glass jar with green liquid and an eye submerged inside it; he then saw him hand it over to Fugaku, who took it carefully.
Jiraiya peeked out the door, scanning everyone in the hallway before calling Shisui over and pointing at Finn with a threatening glare.
"Stay put," Jiraiya ordered before closing the door after Shisui stepped inside.
"They don't seem to trust you very much," Itachi commented.
"They're exaggerating... I don't even get into trouble that often," Finn replied, while simultaneously creating some marbles and starting to play with them.
(Where did he get those from?) Itachi wondered, watching the marbles.
Finn started playing by himself until he thought of creating clones to hold a mini-tournament among them. In the end, he lost in the early rounds and had to just sit there watching until the tournament finished, because the clones didn't want to restart the bracket.
"Whatever, I never liked marbles anyway," Finn grumbled, dispelling the clones.
(He lost against himself,) Itachi thought.
"God, it's so boring being here!" Finn complained again.
The Anbu rolled their eyes and Itachi sighed tiredly, but right at that moment, an Anbu's radio went off in the hallway, catching Finn's attention.
"Oh right, you guys have radios... and televisions," Finn commented, his expression shifting from curiosity to a thoughtful, intrigued look. "Radios and televisions..." Finn repeated to himself once more.
Several ideas began to flow through Finn's head. He believed he had finally figured out how to complete his mission to obtain the Arc of Embodiment magic, and it hadn't even taken much effort. Plus, it would be a brand-new form of entertainment.
(I'll create a phone,) he thought with determination.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was to build the phone. It would be an excellent way to stay in contact between worlds if they ever needed to.
After a few more minutes, Hiruzen stepped out with a heavy sigh, yet he looked more relaxed. He knew a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and now everything was back in Minato's hands. As he walked down the hallway, he observed the Anbu and Itachi, giving them a slight nod with his typical calm smile. However, when he saw Finn, he paused for a few seconds, examining him with a mix of confusion and awe.
(He looks a lot like Master Tobirama...) Hiruzen thought in astonishment.
"Is something wrong, old man?" Finn asked casually upon noticing Hiruzen's stare.
"Uh... no, child. It's just that you reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago," Hiruzen admitted with a kind smile.
"He'd better be good-looking," Finn commented, drawing a chuckle from Hiruzen before the old man walked away.
"Tomorrow morning, we will hold a meeting with the other clan heads to relocate the clans within the village and find a more suitable position for each one," Minato's voice echoed through the open door.
Itachi peeked in slightly and saw his father nod quickly before saying his goodbyes and heading toward him.
"Let's go, Itachi. We have a lot of things to do and need to start packing," Fugaku ordered, leaving Shisui behind in the Hokage's office.
"Isn't Shisui coming?" Itachi asked.
"He still has work to do under the Fourth Lord's command; he will report in later," Fugaku assured him.
Finn watched the two of them walk away down the hallway, then looked into the office and saw Minato sitting at his desk, gesturing with his finger for him to come in. Finn entered carefully, avoiding the puddles of Danzo's blood spilled on the floor.
"You ninjas are really bloody," Finn commented.
"It's part of the job," Jiraiya replied with an amused grin.
Minato didn't say a word and just looked at Finn with a gentle smile, searching for the right words before speaking.
"So Finn, do you plan on heading back soon, or would you like to explore Konoha a bit first?" Minato asked calmly.
"I'll be leaving as soon as possible, of course. I have work to do at the guild; I don't want to break my streak," Finn answered quickly and without hesitation.
"Are you sure? There are plenty of cute girls here, and if you stay, you'd be incredibly popular for being the one who helped the Great Fourth Hokage return," Jiraiya suggested with a sly smirk, but Finn couldn't have cared less.
"Sorry, but you're way too early to offer me that. I don't have any interest in those things yet..." Finn replied with a shrug. "Besides, I think I'd still go back to my world if that were the case; the women in Earthland are generally more voluptuous."
"Wait, what did you say?" Jiraiya instantly showed a profound interest.
"In that case, we won't hold you back any longer, but I want you to know you'll always be welcome here," Minato said as he reached into his clothes and pulled out a scroll, extending it toward Finn. "Would you do me the favor of giving this to your guild master?"
"Sure!" Finn replied, ready to grab it, but just as he reached for it, Minato pulled his hand back.
"First, promise me you won't open it. It's classified content intended only for him," Minato said.
"Huh?! You're so boring. Why does everything have to be classified with you ninjas?" Finn asked, annoyed that he couldn't read it. However, Minato didn't budge and gave him a steady look until Finn finally relented. "Alright, alright, I promise I won't read it."
"Thank you," Minato replied, handing over the scroll.
"By the way, if you ever consider or want to learn more about us, don't hesitate to look for me. I'm more than willing to teach you some jutsus," Jiraiya offered.
"Then get ready, because one day I'll come back to train!" Finn answered quickly. He then looked at the scroll in his hands and said, "Well... I'll take my leave then. I'll come back later to drop something off for you guys," Finn said before disappearing, leaving everyone intrigued.
The office fell silent for a few seconds. They all knew that what lay ahead was the hardest part, especially for Minato and Jiraiya, who had to prepare for the future. Shisui, on the other hand, hoped that the conflict between the Uchihas and Konoha would be resolved in the coming days or weeks.
"No trace of his DNA was left behind, right?" Minato asked, receiving a negative shake of the head from Shisui. (Good, I can't let anything about his family leak out. At least not for now. I don't know how Lady Tsunade would react if she found out about Finn's lineage.)