A People's Betrayal

(Himiko's Point of View)

This whole experience had been terribly long and boring. Apparently, the village had some major happenings in recent days, making her conversation with the Hokage a lot less concerning.

That wasn't too much of a problem for her though. All it meant was that she had to spend more time meditating and refining her chakra; it was a constant exercise that needed doing to replenish the special chakra in her body. It happened passively, but her mother explained that actively doing it sped up the process and was highly recommended.

The only real interruption was when she was called to the council meeting; she was supposed to state her case then, but apparently, they had other things to take care of. As such, the Hokage informed her that their conversation would be private and the other clan heads would defer to his judgement.

Now, hours after that meeting, it was finally her turn. In front of her was both Kamui and the Hokage. Although he had planned to interview her privately, she requested Kamui be present too. She really didn't want to repeat herself twice after all. Fortunately for her, he agreed without hesitation. She didn't know whether it was due to her saving Kamui or just the Hokage's confidence in his own strength, but he presented himself as far more trusting than any village leader had the right to be.

Even stranger, they weren't in his office, but in a private booth at a local BBQ restaurant. Now, she wasn't worried about any eavesdropping; the man carried a portable silencing barrier on him, which wasn't all that surprising. She was just a little shocked that he would risk being alone with a stranger who could chase back a potential S-Rank combatant.

"I want to start off by thanking you for saving my daughter. I don't yet know your motives, but I'm grateful nonetheless."

Himiko shook her head with a smile.

"It was no trouble. I was happy to help, and that odd man was already sporting severe injuries. It doesn't hurt that my mistress has asked me to serve as Kamui's retainer." Himiko replied, cutting right to the chase.

"Oh?" Minato voiced his suspicion.

'Well, this should be good.' He privately thought.

He had heard many crazy things during his tenure as Hokage and this certainly promised to be one of the memorable ones, for better or worse.

Seeing the Hokage's visible suspicion, Himiko sighed and shook her head.

"*Sigh* Mother was right. You shinobi are overly paranoid." Himiko's earlier happy tone shifted into a casual, tired complaint.

Kamui's eyebrow raised in confusion.

She asked, "You're not native to this continent, are you? There's no way anyone who was would believe his reaction was 'overly paranoid.'"

Minato nodded at his daughter's question. It was an oddly naïve statement for someone as strong as this girl was.

Common sense dictated that one be cautious of enemy plots. Even without considering shinobi, nobles lived and died on their ability to scheme. A sign of mastery was the ability to slay all one's enemies while looking like a harmless 'nice old man/woman.' Good examples of these were the Third Hokage, the traitor Danzo, and even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. All of these were ruthless old men who mastered their crafts in all their aspects.

Himiko pondered Kamui's question for a moment.

"I am, just not from a land of shinobi. I'm from the Land of Sun, a large country east of the Land of Demons. It and the neighboring land of souls don't employ shinobi, only different varieties of samurai." She explained.

"I've never been there. The lands east of the land of Sky rarely hire shinobi and when they do, it's rarely for the tasks we're used to. Still, I find your reaction to paranoia surprising. You say it's a large country, which means that there are bound to be plots and schemes between the governing lords." Minato pondered.

"Well, when we first met, she did introduce herself as a deposed heiress and a current priestess of Amaterasu. She could just be ignorant of politics. I mean, priestesses don't often make good rulers." Kamui put her own thoughts forward.

Hearing one of her major shortcomings thrown out there had Himiko scratching her head in embarrassment.

"Well…" Her eyes looked to the side, suddenly finding a certain spot on the wall very interesting. "My mistress did say something to that effect…"

Her eyes snapped back to theirs, suddenly taking an indignant gaze.

"But, hey! My lady's blessing is critical to that land's military and economy, but she needs a bridge to provide it. It was the ruling clan's job to serve as that bridge between Takamagahara and the mortal world; it's not my fault it was time consuming!" She exclaimed indignantly.

Minato and Kamui chuckled at the girl's unintentional humor.

"Did it have to be the ruling clan running the country? Couldn't they separate church and state if one interfered with the time needed to perform the other?" Kamui asked after having settled down.

Before Himiko could respond, Minato shook his head and answered matter-of-factly.

"In most cases, the religion of a country, from a functional perspective, is mainly used for spiritual support and cultural influence, so it can be separated from the ruling body. If Himiko's words are correct though, Amaterasu indirectly ruled that country. Her blessing was vital to its prosperity and therefore, a key to rule."

"He's right." Himiko confirmed with a smile.

Kamui nodded in acknowledgement but stayed silent to contemplate the situation.

"I am curious though. If you're still Amaterasu's priestess, why would they depose you and how did they manage to secure the blessing?" Minato asked.

That was something that confused him. With the information Himiko just provided, it didn't make sense why they would remove her. Unless Amaterasu could make another bridge, their land should now be without a priestess, which would severely weaken the new ruling clan's ability to govern.

Himiko sighed.

"I don't know. I was in the middle of one of my longer rituals, the one's needed to actively funnel Amaterasu's power across the land, when the sealed door was breached by soldiers and the regent I left in charge in my absence. Before long, they brought me before the people, bound in chains. *Sigh*…" Himiko took a moment to collect her thoughts. It had just happened recently, so it was still a sore point for her, a betrayal by everyone she worked so hard to protect. She wasn't angry anymore, just disappointed.

She somberly continued, "The crowd threw stones at me, calling me a demon, a disgrace, and many other hurtful names. I was bound and gagged, preventing me from defending myself physically or verbally. Eventually, the regent ordered my immediate execution, culminating with him plunging his knife in my heart. I don't know what happened after that, but Lady Amaterasu used a beam of light to save me. According to her, I wasn't just her priestess but her daughter by blood, so she made every effort to do so. After that, she gave me a new heart to keep me alive."

Silence.

It was a terrifying betrayal to be executed by the very people her clan sacrificed so much to protect. Both Kamui and Minato now had a much clearer picture of the situation.

First, Himiko was politically ignorant for the most part. Due to her duties, she likely didn't have a lot of time to spend learning of human nature or how to properly navigate court schemes. As such, she was deceived, her people were likely manipulated, and she was executed before she could defend herself, allowing the lies to become reality. Either the regent was highly cunning or he was enticed and supported by someone who was.

Second, that land is likely suffering greatly. Unless they managed to force the Kami against her will, which is highly unlikely, there's almost no chance they have the blessing anymore. It doesn't sound like anyone realized the girl's true relation to the goddess. If they were planning on replacing her, that failed miserably. They will likely have realized it pretty quickly if the beam that saved her was the same type as the one that sent her to Kocho island; it would be obvious to a people who worshipped the deity what it saving her signified. How must it feel for the people to learn they did all that to a dutiful priestess and supported a wrongful regicide?

Third, Konoha would have to be careful with handling her. They had no experience interacting with the Kami, so this was new territory. Neither had detected any lies in the whole conversation, so that made them feel better, but again, they were dabbling into unknown territory.

From Minato's point of view, with what they now knew, it would be wise to keep this dangerous variable close, if only to learn more regarding these unknowns.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad that betrayal wasn't the end of you. That should cover everything we need for now. Before I make my decision though, I have one final question."

"Oh? Please speak." Himiko's tone returned to her earlier casual speech.

"You mentioned Amaterasu's want to have you as Kamui's retainer, but why is that? What are her intentions?" He asked firmly.

This was probably the most important question that needed answering. She didn't just want to be a Konoha shinobi, but Kamui's retainer. Why would Amaterasu send her daughter and priestess to do so?

Hearing the expected question, Himiko shrugged absentmindedly.

"I don't know. Apparently, there's a prophecy concerning two stars of change. One will bring calamity, while the other will restore order. We don't know who the calamity is, but Kamui's believed to be the other." Hearing this, Minato's eyes narrowed.

He had a sinking suspicion of who the calamity might be. It would be too easy for it to be anything else… Then again, he could be wrong and the other may be nowhere near here; they may have nothing to do with Konoha whatsoever.

"Aside from that, I don't have an information network to work with, am not very knowledgeable about the world itself, and am effectively without a support structure. If I want to be of any help to the world, I need to be connected to someone who has all these things. Basically, this really kills quite a few birds with one stone." Himiko explained casually.

"Hmm" Minato thought out loud, considering everything they'd just discussed.

"*Sigh* Kamui." Minato tiredly stated, getting her attention. "I'll be frank, I think it would be best to give this a shot and see how it goes. The one that'll be taking the biggest risk though will be you, so I'm letting you make the final decision. It's not a Hokage-like thing for me to do, but… that doesn't really matter, so what will you do?" His tone was calm, but serious. It also lacked any of his earlier tenseness.

Kamui nodded without hesitation.

"It's fine with me. We needed another squad member anyways and she certainly has the power to keep up." Kamui replied with a welcoming smile.

She had made her decision almost immediately after hearing the girl's story. Although she couldn't tell for certain if she was lying without her sight, Himiko would still have to go through the village entry process with T&I so she would let them do their jobs. If she was still on their team in a week, then Himiko's story checked out. She had no illusions that her father wouldn't send a team to investigate that land; he might even consider it important enough to send Master Jiraiya.

"Great! And here I was thinking I would be sitting in a prison cell, getting waterboarded for being suspicious. Lady Amaterasu was right about you two." Himiko cheerfully replied, getting awkward chuckles from the two.

If the Third was still Hokage and Danzo was still alive, that may very well have happened. Although it wasn't obvious to most Konoha shinobi, those with deeper knowledge on the intervillage workings saw it clear as day. They would do atrocious things to ensure they were in control of everything in the village.

For example, if Minato had gone with his original plan during the nine-tails incident and died, Naruto would have most likely been allowed to suffer due to being the jinchuriki and would have been 'rescued' by him to ensure loyalty; it would have also given the village an outlet for their grief, stabilizing the situation.

Sure, he would have genuinely cared for the boy, but those feelings would be buried by his commitment to Konoha as its Hokage. Minato had similar commitment but was powerful enough to not need everything in his absolute control.

Funny enough, it was only years after that event when Minato truly understood his predecessor's philosophy and the fickle hearts of the villagers. He shuttered at what the naivety he had during that incident could have caused him and the village by extension. Fugaku was truly a life saver.

From there, Minato 'took off' his Kage hat and took the role of a father. For the next hour, the three talked about the places to eat, see, and visit in Konoha and the surrounding lands, the apartment Himiko would be staying in, and anything else she needed to know.