Starting Over As Minato

Konoha had seen many powerful figures throughout its history—Senju Hashirama, the God of Shinobi; Uchiha Madara, the Ghost of the Uchiha. But if we're talking about sheer number of titles, there was one man who stood above the rest.

Konoha's **5th Hokage**.

The **One-Eyed Bandage Man**.

The **Sexy Sun Brother** (who even came up with that one?).

And, of course, the legendary **Nabe Kage**.

Shimura Danzo.

A man with more nicknames than friends.

Minato had noticed something peculiar. During Orochimaru's invasion, Root had been eerily absent. No reinforcements, no counterattacks—just a convenient lack of action. What were they doing? Playing mahjong while the village burned?

That was reason enough for Minato to pay Danzo a visit.

But before he could go knocking on Root's door, it seemed they had come knocking on his.

---

The masked shinobi stood in formation outside the Hokage's office, their presence unnatural even in a village crawling with Anbu. Unlike Konoha's standard black-ops, whose masks were modeled after simple animal faces, these Root operatives bore grotesque variations—some smeared with ominous paint, others shaped into eerie expressions.

Minato narrowed his eyes. "They really sent Root?" he muttered. "Guess Danzo's getting impatient."

Without waiting, he stepped outside. Sure enough, Team 7 was still lingering nearby. He turned to them briefly.

"Let's go."

And with that, Minato disappeared.

Kakashi blinked, sighed, and snapped his book shut. "Looks like we're following," he said.

The three genin exchanged glances before hurriedly taking off after their sensei.

---

Minato's sudden departure had caught the attention of the Anbu still cleaning up after the invasion. They paused momentarily, confused by the Root agents' arrival.

Kakashi, who had just arrived at the scene, frowned beneath his mask.

**Root? Why now?**

Officially, Root was a branch of Anbu under the Third Hokage's authority. In reality, they answered only to Danzo, acting as his private militia. And yet, when Konoha had been under attack, they had been completely absent.

Now they were here in force.

Kakashi's grip on his kunai tightened. **If they lay a hand on sensei…**

The Third Hokage was still recovering from his battle with Orochimaru. That meant Danzo, for all intents and purposes, was unchecked. And Danzo was nothing if not opportunistic.

Minato stood calmly before the Root agents. He made no move to attack, but his posture radiated confidence—borderline arrogance. It was a silent declaration: **I am not trapped here with you. You are trapped here with me.**

One of the masked shinobi finally stepped forward.

"Lord Fourth, Danzo-sama requests your presence at Root headquarters."

Minato arched an eyebrow. "Danzo sent you to summon me?"

"Yes." The Root operative's voice was devoid of emotion, his words as flat as stone.

For a brief moment, there was silence. Then Minato did something unexpected.

He laughed.

It wasn't forced or mocking—it was genuine, a deep, amused chuckle that sent chills down the spines of those present.

The Root agents remained still, unfazed. But to the onlookers, Minato's reaction was terrifying. This wasn't the composed, diplomatic Fourth Hokage they knew. This was something colder.

When the laughter faded, Minato's voice dropped into an icy monotone.

"You really don't know how to pick your battles."

The lead Root ninja barely had time to react.

A faint *whoosh*—then his body hit the ground, blood trickling from a thin red line across his throat. His hands clutched at his neck, but it was pointless. The cut was clean, precise—instantaneous.

A few heartbeats later, the other Root agents launched themselves at Minato.

They shouldn't have.

Minato sighed as he moved. It wasn't a fight. It was a massacre.

Each step, each flicker of his form, left another Root operative crumpled on the ground. Kunai flashed, blood sprayed, and within mere seconds, half a dozen bodies littered the street.

Most weren't dead—Minato wasn't feeling particularly murderous today. But he had made his point.

The watching shinobi—Anbu, jōnin, even civilians—stood in stunned silence.

**This… this was the Yellow Flash.**

This was the man who had carved his legend into the history books, who had made entire enemy squadrons flee on sight.

This was why he was feared.

Kakashi exhaled slowly. "Even after all these years… I can barely keep up," he muttered.

Team 7 could only nod in silent agreement.

Minato knelt, retrieving his Flying Thunder God kunai from the fallen agents. He inspected them briefly before twirling them between his fingers.

"They thought I was an easy target," he muttered. "How disappointing."

Then his gaze turned toward the distance, toward the underground lair where Danzo lurked.

"Well then, might as well pay Root a visit."

Before that, though…

Minato opened his system interface.

---

The numbers on his system panel weren't particularly impressive.

- **Naruto Check-in:** 10 points (Critical Hit Reward)

- **Kakashi Check-in:** 5 points

- **Sasuke Check-in:** 5 points

- **Nine-Tails Check-in:** 10 points (Critical Hit Reward)

**Total: 30 Points**

Minato sighed. **Only thirty points?**

His gaze shifted to the system shop.

Let's see what was worth spending it on.