Chapter 17 - The Talk

Minato still had two big problems to solve. One was the Uchiha Clan and their relations to the rest of the village. And the second one was the Masked Man was still out. He loomed as a threat to both his village and his family. It was his job to fix these problems somehow. To which Minato wasn't being very successful at right now.

It was morning again and he was in his office early trying to solve something. So far nothing had come to mind. He was going to have a talk with the two brawlers today. Enough time had passed for them to think about what they did. Minato had also calmed down enough to deal with them more fairly. He would ream them out for endangering his son. Minato needed to do that but he had to do it carefully. Otherwise he could make things worse.

That's why he was not going to punish them severely. This was despite his intense desire to beat them to a pulp. A Hokage couldn't act out a need for personal revenge. Especially if that hurt the village in the process. That didn't mean that he show them know how angry he was though.

He called in Hiashi first. He wanted to have a chat with him about making things worse with the Uchiha and ruining his son's party. He hadn't forgotten that part. He wouldn't be forgetting that for sometime. He had to make sure that Hyuga understood that as well.

When Hiashi arrived, Minato made him wait for a half hour before he would see him. Minato busied himself with paperwork while the Hyuga waited and waited. Minato was aware that Hiashi could see him. He wanted him to see him. He wanted to establish control over the Hyuga from the start. Minato made sure that all the paperwork he took care of was trivial and unimportant. He wanted to hit home his message.

After that half hour Minato finally let him in. He did not acknowledge his presence though. Instead, he resumed resumed his paperwork immediately after Hiashi entered. For a few minutes neither man said anything. Eventually, Minato broke the silence.

"What you did was unacceptable." Minato's tone was harsh and unforgiving. He gave Hiashi a cold stare. He stopped his paperwork and continued his onslaught. "You are a clan leader and a fine shinobi. There is no reason to behave that way during a child's birthday party."

Hiashi said nothing in his defense. This was all true. He had behaved inappropriately and had shamed his family with his actions. Getting into a brawl at the Hokage's house was shameful. Doing it during his son's birthday party was even worse. It had become the talk of the town. Which made the whole situation worse. For last week or so, he hadn't been able to get away from it. Now he was finally receiving his punishment from the Hokage.

Since the incident, the Hokage had not spoken to him once. Which spoke to the quiet rage building inside the young man. Hiashi had expected to be summoned before today, but Minato had taken his time. Which increased the Hyuga's fear of what was to happen next.

"You endangered the lives of many children with this stunt. Including my son."

Those words hung in the air. He wasn't just here to receive punishment losing control of himself. He was also here for making a scene. He was here for ruining the Hokage's party. And he was here for endangering the life of the Hokage's son.

Minato's tone changed, allowing some of his frustration to leak it's way through. "Not only that but you made a bad situation worse."

Hiashi looked at the Hokage in surprise. What was he talking about? He wondered. What situation? Surely he doesn't mean . . .

Minato interrupted his thoughts, "The relations with the Uchiha are at an all time low. I have worked for the last few months to rebuild some of the trust and respect lost over the years." Minato sighed. "You have damaged my efforts in this matter." He was so worn out that it wasn't funny. But he had to keep going. "Hiashi, I am disappointed in you. I hope I never have to speak to you about this again."

Hiashi promised the Young Hokage that he would never do this again then he bowed and left. Leaving in his place a very exhausted and frustrated Minato Namikaze.

With one combatant out of the way, it was time to bring in the second. This one was going to be a lot harder. It was true that he was angry at Fugaku but he wanted to close the rift between the Uchiha and the village as well. Flying off the handle would hinder that. Minato had to take care of this carefully.

Unlike his meeting with Hiashi, Minato didn't make the Uchiha wait. Instead, he let him in immediately upon arrival. Once they were alone Minato started:

"I don't know what to do with you." Minato sighed. He looked defeated, worn out. "You demand respect for your clan then you do this." Minato sighed, "I just don't know what to do."

Fugaku said nothing. What was there to say? Minato was right. It stung and he didn't like it. It was justified but he still hated it. It hurt his pride to have to go through this. He was an Uchiha after all. He shouldn't need to go through this.

"Our families have been friends for a long time. I care about what happens to the Uchiha. I truly do. I hope that one day the village sees the Uchiha the way I do. I am trying to change things. I really am. But stunts like this aren't helping."

Fugaku couldn't bring himself to speak. He had nothing useful to say. Fugaku did ruin friend's, son's birthday party. Something he hadn't planned to do. He also endangered that same boy. Something he wasn't proud of. This was not the talking to that Fugaku expected. It made him feel guilty. Fugaku was glad that Minato became Hokage. He was his best shot at improving things for the clan. He truly believed that Minato wished to see the Uchiha prosper. Minato was almost a clan member himself. He was known for his close relationship with the clan. He was a true friend of the Uchiha. Which made his actions that much more unforgivable.

"Not only did you act so poorly but you endangered the lives of a lot of children. Including my son. I won't be forgetting that any time soon. I won't tolerate any such behavior again. Understood?"

Minato stared at him with eyes that Fugaku had never seen before. They cold and hard. There was little warmth in them. He was serious. Next time he would not let him off so easily. No, he'd provably kill me. Fugaku thought. He respected him for that. His sons were the most valuable things to him in the world. He'd kill anyone that tried to hurt them.

"Understood."

Minato nodded. His eyes remained cold as he said, "You may go."

Fugaku knew better than to stay when his friend was like this. It was best to avoid Minato for a while. He will have to wait to make amends properly.

Please note that this chapter originally had answers to your reviews. That has since been removed. It worked at the time, but now seems redundant. This story is complete and there is no need for this anymore. I thank you for reading and reviewing. Please go on to the next chapter!