Undercover in Konoha: I Was the Real Hokage All Along!

For a moment, Minato Namikaze didn't know how to respond to Saharu Kiri's calm greeting.

He wasn't even entirely sure… if the young man standing before him was the same classmate who had once graduated alongside him.

Two headless corpses lay nearby, blood soaking the ground. The street was cratered and destroyed. Kiri, standing tall in the center of it all, was completely unscathed.

And the chakra Minato sensed coming from him—it was like a blazing inferno. Immense. Dangerous.

It took Minato a long moment before he finally jumped down from the rooftop, cautiously approaching.

His voice still held doubt.

Are you… Saharu Kiri?

You're him, right?

Kiri, by contrast, seemed completely unfazed, like he had been expecting this moment. He opened his hands slightly, keeping a non-threatening posture, and replied gently:

Yes.

Special Advisor, Rank Two, Intelligence Division.

Saharu Kiri.

Before Minato could ask anything else, Kiri stepped back slightly, revealing the S-rank sealed scroll box and the corpses.

But before we talk more…

You should secure the confidential scroll first.

He gestured toward the distance.

There'll be a lot of people arriving soon.

As for everything else, I'll report directly to the Third Hokage.

…Understood.

Minato nodded, giving Kiri a long look.

As a member of the ANBU, he understood that some matters were not for everyone to question.

No matter how curious he was about Kiri right now, he swallowed the urge to ask.

Instead, he quickly searched the corpses of Ash Soiled and Gendo, retrieved the intel scroll Tsunade had marked, and placed it into the now broken S-rank seal box.

Even before he was finished, the backup forces had arrived, led by Hyūga scouts guiding the larger unit to the scene.

From the rooftops, Uchiha Yayoi and her police team were the first to drop down and run toward them.

But the moment they saw the gruesome corpses, they hesitated slightly.

Yayoi's two-tomoe Sharingan locked onto Minato, who was holding the classified scroll. Her gaze was wary.

Clearly—

She had misunderstood.

She wasn't sure whether she, a Police Force officer, should even approach, considering the man was ANBU.

Then her peripheral vision caught something.

Kiri.

Standing off to the side.

"Kiri?!"

Almost instinctively, Yayoi ran over and grabbed him, holding onto the tattered remains of his bloodstained sleeve and clutching his shoulder tightly.

Her voice was sharp with concern:

"What are you doing here?!"

"Are you hurt?!"

Though the earlier fight had been swift and clean, blood from the executions of Ash Soiled and Gendo had drenched much of Kiri's shirt, making it look like he'd been gravely wounded.

Minato turned and glanced their way, eyebrows twitching slightly behind his mask.

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

Kiri quickly raised his hands, smiling softly.

"See? Not a scratch."

Yayoi checked him over, confirming that the blood wasn't his. Only then did she breathe out in relief, muttering under her breath:

"Honestly…"

"You should've just stayed home. Do you know how dangerous it is out here this late?!"

"I was just heading home from work and ran into it," Kiri replied sheepishly.

"Anyway!" Yayoi's tone grew firm again. She glanced around at the crowd of shinobi arriving and ordered decisively:

"This has nothing to do with you now. Come rest in the Police Division's lounge for the night. Head home in the morning."

She leaned in a little, her voice low and serious.

"You were exposed to high-level suspects tonight. If ANBU or the Interrogation Division drag you in during tomorrow's cleanup, we won't be able to help you."

"And I don't trust those freaks not to… do something nasty."

She was determined to protect him—to get him out before official procedures took over.

Even if Kiri was, in truth, a deep-cover spy, he couldn't help but feel a touch of warmth in his chest.

Still, he sighed softly and declined:

"Sorry, Yayoi."

"I'll probably be summoned by the Third Hokage soon."

"Huh…?"

Meanwhile—

Minato stood silently, clutching the sealed box.

Several black-clad figures landed around him shortly after.

But one stood out from the rest.

He wasn't wearing a mask. He wore standard clothing. A short sword at his hip. And over his shoulders, the signature white fire-trimmed cloak of the Hokage's office.

His silver hair shimmered in the moonlight.

Sakumo Hatake.

He didn't need more than a glance at the corpses to understand—they had been killed with extreme-speed taijutsu and a terrifyingly powerful close-range jutsu.

He turned to Minato with a curious but approving expression.

"Minato-kun… a new jutsu of yours?"

"That strike to the chest shattered Earth Release defenses. Crushed them completely."

"Incredible destructive power."

"Even I would have to be careful against that."

Minato, clearly embarrassed, quickly corrected him:

"Lord Sakumo…"

"I didn't kill those spies."

"It was him."

Sakumo blinked and turned toward where Minato pointed.

There, standing calmly despite his bloodstained shirt, Kiri met Sakumo's eyes and gave him a polite nod.

A face he didn't recognize.

"Who is…?"

Sakumo murmured, visibly puzzled.

Someone that powerful—at that age—shouldn't be a stranger.

Minato's tone turned serious:

Regarding this incident, I need to give you a full report. And it needs to be passed on to the Third Hokage immediately."

"Please keep it confidential for now."

Sakumo nodded.

His expression turned solemn.

One hour later – Hokage Tower

Not long ago, this place had been partially destroyed by large-scale ninjutsu. But with the combined efforts of numerous Earth Release users, it had already been rebuilt.

Though the furniture had been cleared out, a temporary desk had been set up on the lower floor.

At it sat Hiruzen Sarutobi, freshly woken from sleep.

On either side of him:

His trusted advisor, Danzo Shimura, and his prized student, Orochimaru.

In front of them, spread across the desk, was an extensively reviewed dossier—Saharu Kiri's full file, including his academic record and mission history.

Standing before them were four people:

Sakumo Hatake, Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Yayoi, and Saharu Kiri.

Minato was finishing a concise and precise report on everything that had transpired.

Despite being awakened in the middle of the night, Hiruzen was not yet the weary old man he'd become two decades later.

He was still sharp. Energetic. Unyielding.

The title "Shinobi no Kami"—The Professor—still held.

When the report concluded, Hiruzen turned to look at Kiri, who had remained quiet and subtle the entire time.

Surprise flickered across the Hokage's eyes.

But he didn't jump to conclusions.

Instead, his voice was warm and measured:

"Kiri-kun."

Even though I pass you in the halls of the Tower nearly every day… I never realized a talent like you was hidden right under my nose.

That is my failure, as Hokage.

"You've done a great service for the village tonight.

You'll be rewarded appropriately.

However…

Suddenly, Hiruzen's tone shifted.

The pressure in the room spiked, his immense chakra leaking into the space like a tidal wave.

Even the floor seemed to tremble slightly.

Yet his voice remained calm:

At a time like this—during wartime…

Why… have you been hiding your true strength?