Yes, the Hokage!

When Shisui arrived at the Third Hokage's residence to deliver the message, his mind was still filled with the image of Minato cursing. He never imagined that the gentle and handsome Fourth Hokage would stomp his feet and beat his chest like a gorilla, roaring, "Fenglan, I'm going to kill you!"

Still in the tea room, he met the Third Hokage, who never put down his pipe.

After handing over the secret letter, Shisui couldn't help but secretly observe the old man he once admired so much. Perhaps it was because he was too tired from preparing for the battle, but a few more wrinkles had appeared on his cheeks. Shisui didn't understand... He was already so tired, wouldn't it be better to let the Fourth Hokage share the burden a little? Why did he have to hold on to everything so tightly?

When the Third Hokage read Feng Lan's secret letter, a strange expression appeared on his face. It read: "Third Hokage, Minato has caused you a lot of trouble lately. That's enough. Considering that I have already settled the war with Kumogakure, send some of Konoha's village protection barrier team over. After all, they used Nagato as an exchange."

The barrier team issue is easy to resolve. Although the village protection barrier is very valuable, it's an affordable expense if it can be obtained through the Rinnegan.

But, but!

But what do you mean by saying that I've already settled the war with Kumogakure?

For the first time ever, the third generation felt that "I must be doing something wrong."

He put down the letter, took a deep drag on his pipe, put on his reading glasses, and looked down again. It was the same words, the same wording, no extra explanations, no preamble, no pretexts like "I'm working hard to get it done"—it was simply, straightforwardly, done.

"What makes him so special?" the Third Hokage murmured, as if talking to himself, or perhaps asking Shisui across from him.

Shisui did not answer, but maintained a reporting posture. He did not even know the contents of the secret letter, so how could he answer?

When did he do it? What methods did he use? Negotiation? A deal? Or a fight? Did he rely on the power of Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama...? But that kid is still in Amegakure, how could he have affected Kumogakure?

Even someone as cunning and calculating as the Third Generation couldn't guess what Feng Lan was planning to do, because he didn't know the original plot.

While finding it absurd, he was also somewhat annoyed. In preparation for the war against Kumogakure, he had been mobilizing troops, allocating supplies, and arranging defenses in the village... He was so busy that he didn't get to sleep until the early hours of the morning every day. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were also on high alert at the elders' council. All of the ANBU's intelligence lines were pointing to the northern border. Everyone was preparing for this possible war.

Then that kid Fenglan, far away in Amegakure, across half of the Land of Fire, casually said, "It's all taken care of."

If you could have handled it earlier, you should have said so sooner!

If it weren't for his advanced age, the third generation would have to imitate Minato, slamming his pipe on the table and saying "Chao!"

【wrong……】

But suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and his expression became extremely sharp.

He knew we would be fully focused on preparing for the battle against Kumogakure, and he knew we would be too busy to undertake any major operations within the village. That's why he deliberately didn't say anything, allowing us to concentrate all our efforts on the outer defenses... while he himself could focus on his work in Amegakure without worrying about trouble at home.

The Third Hokage took a deep breath, recalling what Feng Lan had said at the final meeting: "I only ask that you all help Minato while I am away."

His answer at the time was: "Village affairs are the most important."

He knows we'll take advantage of his absence to attack Minato, which is why he's using the threat of Kumogakure to wear us down and preserve Minato's power!

But what could he say? If Feng Lan could really bring an end to the war with Yun Yin, then he would not only be blameless, but also meritorious, and a great one at that.

"Shisui, the barrier team can set off tomorrow. You can rest tonight and escort the team to Amegakure tomorrow."

"Yes."

"By the way, could you pass on a message to Fenglan for me?" The Third Generation exhaled a smoke ring.

"Yes, sir." Shisui couldn't help but be curious. The Fourth Hokage had asked him to deliver the message to Fenglan, "I'm going to kill you." What message would the Third Hokage have him deliver?

"This will not be repeated."

Given the current situation, the Third Generation couldn't say anything harsh, but he had to let Feng Lan know that he understood all of his plans, which is why he used those four indifferent words.

"Yes……"

Although Shisui didn't know what those four words meant, he still accepted the order and left. Ninjas don't need so much curiosity; they just need to obediently complete their missions.

After he left, the door next to him opened, and Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu walked in. It turned out that when Shisui arrived, the three of them were having a meeting in the tea room.

"You can see for yourselves." The Third Hokage waved his hand; he really wasn't in the mood to speak anymore.

Mitokado's lips twitched violently, but she managed to hold it in.

Koharu, on the other hand, coughed violently as if she had choked: "Wait, what did he mean by that?"

“Literal meaning.” The Third Generation’s voice came from the window, carrying an unusual weariness. “He said it’s done, so it’s done.”

"How did he manage to do that?" Koharu Utatane slammed the letter on the table. "What did he use to do it? He's in Amegakure, and Kumogakure is in the far north. Even if he had wings, he couldn't fly there in such a short time, could he?"

“So he definitely didn’t use flying.” Mitomon Homura turned around, his gaze falling on the letter on the table. “It was negotiation, or a deal, or some other means we don’t know about.”

"But what makes him qualified...?"

“Because he is Fenglan.” Mitomon En interrupted her. “Do you think he would write his trump card in a letter and tell us? I’m sure there wouldn’t be any relevant information in the secret letter to Minato.”

Koharu opened her mouth, picked up the letter again, and read it once more. Then her expression gradually turned annoyed: "Hiruzen, we've been tricked!"

Clearly, she also realized that Feng Lan did it on purpose, just to keep the F3 members occupied.

"That kid, that kid really dares to do that!" Koharu Utatane was so angry she was panting heavily. "Was that threat from Kumogakure real or fake?"

"The threat is real, and we dare not gamble now," the Third Hokage said calmly. "Does Feng Lan mean we should withdraw all the Anbu from the border just because he says it's resolved? What if the Hidden Cloud Village really attacks?"

People like them, who hold great power, will never trust anyone, especially young people who rise to power later in life.

"Then what do we do?" Mitokado Yanagi said unwillingly, "Are we just going to let it go like this?"

"We can only wait, wait for Fenglan to return, and wait for news from Yunyin." The Third Hokage sighed. "He acted so recklessly because he knew we wouldn't dare to gamble. Even if I knew now, all I could do was tell him 'Don't do it again.'"

"At least send someone to Amegakure to check," Koharu said, frowning.

“It’s too late to send someone now. Besides, Xiong Yi has been on his way with supplies for a day and a night. He’ll be able to bring back some intelligence by then… But given Feng Lan’s personality, he won’t let him find out too much.”

As the Third Hokage answered, he delivered an epic lung-burst, then exhaled a long breath, expelling all the smoke, and gazed at the Second Hokage's statue on the Hokage Rock: "Sensei... you must have gotten along very well with him."

"The younger generation is truly formidable, indeed..."

Chapter 98 Fenglan's True Colors Revealed

The next morning, the barrier team, escorted by elite ANBU, set off. Shisui naturally followed the team back to Amegakure. Although he knew that even without him, Lord Fenglan was protected by many experts, and the First and Second Hokage were also present, he was still a little worried.

After watching the group leave, Minato felt a mix of emotions. Although he didn't know that Feng Lan had boasted that he would resolve the war in Kumogakure, he was also worried about Feng Lan's safety. After all, no matter how many guards were outside, it was not as reassuring as being in the village.

He stared intently as the procession receded into the distance, disappearing in the same spot as the delegation. That empty feeling returned to him, and this time, there was no scroll left by Feng Lan to help him regain his confidence.

"Fourth Hokage..." Shizune whispered a reminder from the side.

"It's nothing." Minato shook his head, took a deep breath to clear his head, and said, "Let's go back. We still have a lot of work to do."

"Um……"

He returned to the Hokage's office with an almost tragic feeling, only to find that there was nothing on the table.

"What's going on? Haven't the documents for today arrived yet?" Minato raised an eyebrow.

"Then I'll go prepare breakfast for you first." Jingyin immediately made the most of the time.

However, even after Minato finished breakfast, there was no further movement, as if the heavy burden of having to watch it every day had suddenly vanished without a trace.

Minato stared blankly for a few seconds, then the contents of the secret letter suddenly appeared in his mind: [Take a rest these few days and spend time with Kushina. I'll help you with the administrative matters when I return.]

"He really did it..."

Just a secret letter to the Third Hokage freed him from this endless sea of ​​documents. The string that had been supporting him these past few days suddenly snapped, and Minato lost all his strength, collapsing directly into the chair behind his desk.

"Yondaime-sama!"

Shizune was startled and rushed over to check on him, only to find that Minato was just asleep on the table, muttering to himself, "Fenglan, you're not really a god, are you...?"

……

On the other hand, Amegakure was peaceful and quiet. The White Zetsu never bothered them again. Everyone was living a fulfilling life, either helping Amegakure rebuild or seizing the time to train. As time went by, the distance between them and the Akatsuki organization diminished.

With his excellent leadership and the strategic advice of Fenglan, Yahiko successfully gained the support of the villagers and became the new leader of Amegakure.

Of course, Fenglan will not assist Yahiko in the same way he assisted Minato, otherwise it would be terrible if Yahiko entered his final form during the Minato era. He cannot stay in Amegakure forever, and Yahiko must be able to stand on his own.

He now spends most of his time pestering Tobirama Senju. Since Obito could learn skills from Hashirama, why can't he get a few moves from Tobirama? Don't forget that this man is a genuine master of forbidden techniques, and his Water Release is at the Grandmaster level!

For example, Zabuza is one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. His Water Dragon Bullet requires a total of forty-four hand seals, while the Second Hokage only needs to form four. In the anime's original content, there was an old soldier named Maruboshi Kosuke. Because he had been taught the essence of Water Release by the Second Hokage, his Water Dragon Bullet could also be simplified to six hand seals.

Being given a few pointers by someone like that would be a huge boost to one's skills, so how could someone as shameless as Feng Lan possibly let such an opportunity slip by?

Tobirama initially ignored Fenglan because his suggestion to have his older brother teach the Uchiha Wood Release greatly displeased our Second Hokage. But the kid was so persistent and shameless, what could he do but kill him with a single Flying Thunder God Slash?

Finally, considering Feng Lan's recent good performance, Tobirama agreed to let him study with him, and he was very disgusted by the boy's poor talent in combat.

Feng Lan was quite helpless about this. The more skilled he was when he was using his brain, the more awkward he became when he actually tried it. Especially since the second generation taught him things at a very advanced level, and someone as clumsy as him would get numb as he practiced.

Fortunately, there was the Flying Thunder God Technique as a breakthrough point. The second generation taught other things for a while and then the Flying Thunder God Technique, so they felt that they could barely endure such a life.

A few days passed, and the supply delivery team led by Sarutobi Yuichi arrived first. The team seemed to have been through several major battles, but thanks to the abundance of talent under the Third Hokage, they ultimately suffered no losses.

Feng Lan probed him briefly and found that this guy had no intention of taking the Rinnegan and obeyed her every command, so she understood what was going on.

[It seems Inuzuka Tetsuya really didn't hesitate at all, directly revealing the matter of the Edo Tensei Twin Shadows to the Third Hokage. He truly is a good subordinate I chose.]

He chuckled. Now that the supplies had arrived, it was time to start his final plan. After all, he had boasted in the letter that he would resolve the war in Kumogakure.

That evening, Feng Lan summoned all the Kage-level powerhouses under his command, along with the trio of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, for a meeting.

"Everyone is aware of Konoha's predicament. My plan is now in its final stage, aimed at eliminating the war between Kumogakure and Konoha without a trace."

"Hmm?" Tobirama's sharp eyes fixed on him. "What's your plan?"

He had analyzed the situation quite a bit during this time, but he couldn't find a good way to stop the war. He never expected that Feng Lan, who was exhausted from training every day, would still find time to come up with a plan.

Feng Lan leaned forward slightly and said, word by word, "Capture Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki of Kumogakure."

This was a method that even the second and third Hokage couldn't have come up with, because they didn't know Killer Bee's exact location. They usually assumed he was in Kumogakure. If Konoha could directly storm the village and capture the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, it would be almost the same as destroying the Land of Lightning.

But Feng Lan was different. He was familiar with the plot and knew that after losing his father in the Third Shinobi World War, the Fourth Raikage poured all his love into his younger brother Bee, who was not related to him by blood. He vowed not to let the enemy harm Bee and then ordered that Bee be strictly forbidden from leaving the village. He confined Bee in the Cloud Thunder Gorge to train for the Tailed Beast Ball. Even if the war resumed, Bee would not have to appear on the front line. He could just launch the Tailed Beast Ball from a distance.

In the original work, this training period lasted until Sasuke and Team Taka went to capture the Eight-Tails, which was a long period of nearly twenty years. At this point in time, Killer Bee must be in the Cloud and Thunder Gorge!

Feng Lan wasn't actually as amazing as the Third Hokage thought. When he left the village, he did plan to capture the Eight-Tails, but he couldn't guarantee that he would succeed. Even with Nagato's Rinnegan, a perfect Jinchuriki wasn't so easy to capture.

Moreover, Yunlei Gorge is right next to Yunyin Village. If we can't strike silently and successfully, we'll soon be surrounded by people sent by Yunyin Village, and then we'll probably get a beating from the Raikage's black elbow.

However, as the plan progressed step by step, various events, whether calculated inevitabilities or coincidental occurrences, gave Fenglan an incredibly strong hand.

The trump card here is naturally the First and Second Hokage, especially since the First Hokage was willing to teach him Earth and Wood Release and Sage Mode. This gave Feng Lan enough confidence to make this attempt, because in his calculations, the success rate was over 90%!

That's why he dared to make such a boast in his secret letter.

In fact, Feng Lan is usually the type to not act until he sees a clear outcome, and he doesn't want to make any rash statements before there are concrete results. But he has no choice... He's been away from Konoha for so long, and Minato is probably being bullied to death by those old guys. He has to make a show of force first and buy Minato some time to rest.

"Do you know the exact location of the Eight-Tails?" Tobirama's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I need a few reliable subordinates, right?" Feng Lan spread his palms, making it seem as if he had only just received the news today, and since the supply convoy had only arrived today, Tobirama was naturally misled.