Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

However, the pent-up resentment of the people over the years is there. Once the news spreads among the villagers, this resentment will erupt, and he will be unable to stop it. And now, judging from the posture of his three friends, it is obvious that they want to use the Uchiha as a scapegoat. It is a fact that when Kurama came out, his eyes were Sharingan. No matter how much he explains, it will be useless.

However, having inherited Hashirama Senju's ideology, Hiruzen Sarutobi always believed that the Uchiha clan could coexist peacefully with the village. So, no matter how distressed he was or how much his head ached, he still wanted to dissuade his three friends from their idea.

Menyan was beaten by the Uchiha clan back then, and his best friend inherited his second teacher's ideas, so he could only focus his attention on Koharu Utatane. As far as he knew, there were some unclear rumors about Koharu and Kagami back then, which only stopped after Kagami got married. Moreover, Koharu's stance on the Uchiha issue has been rather ambiguous over the years.

So after Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, he looked at Koharu Utatane, clearly hoping that his friend would side with him this time for Kagami's sake.

"...Hiruzen's words make sense. It would be too one-sided and disheartening to simply say that the Uchiha are the founders of the village. However...no matter what connection that mysterious person has with the Uchiha, the Nine-Tails was indeed created by this guy. This guy is, after all, one of the Uchiha. So, just in case, I think it's no longer appropriate for the Uchiha to live in the center of the village."

Koharu, seeing the look in her friend's eyes, understood perfectly what he meant. After all, they had grown up together, and she felt it wasn't appropriate to push her friend too hard. However, she couldn't go back on her word after promising Danzo to suppress the Uchiha. So, she came up with a compromise: keep the Uchiha away from the heart of Konoha. This way, they could prevent a second incident from happening. As the head of logistics, she knew the cost of rebuilding Konoha was enormous, almost equal to the combined cost of the two World Wars.

793. How about... letting Rope Tree take over?

"...Xiaochun is right. Let's do it this way. For the sake of the village and the villagers, the Uchiha can no longer live in their old place."

After Koharu Utatane finished speaking, Homura Mitokado nodded in agreement. Although he had accepted a large amount of medicinal herbs and supplements from Danzo and agreed to stand on his side, he also knew Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude towards the Uchiha clan. It was almost impossible to drag the Uchiha clan down in one fell swoop. Moreover, Koharu was clearly biased towards Hiruzen Sarutobi. After all, they were childhood friends who had grown up together, so they couldn't be pushed too hard. Koharu Utatane's suggestion was very good. Letting the Uchiha clan live on the edge of the village was tantamount to marginalizing the Uchiha clan in a roundabout way.

"...In that case, let's find out what Xiaochun thinks."

After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the heavy smoker, finally agreed to Koharu Utatane's plan. It wasn't that he wanted to marginalize the Uchiha clan; Danzo hadn't even raised his hand to vote yet, and the vote was already two to one, so his opposition was useless. Besides, the Uchiha clan was indeed a troublemaker, and the mysterious person had been confirmed to be a member of the Uchiha clan—an undeniable fact. Just as Homura Mitokado said, for the sake of the village and its residents, moving the Uchiha to the outskirts of the village was most beneficial for the village.

"Now let's talk about something else. The Fourth Hokage has already passed away. Hiruzen, who do you plan to appoint as the next Hokage...?"

After a long silence, Danzo finally spoke, his voice trembling slightly as he tried to suppress his racing heart. His eyes shone as he looked at his best friend, his face practically screaming "Pick me!"

This time.

This time, he truly has no rivals!

His lifelong wish is finally about to be fulfilled.

This is his real purpose; all that talk about targeting the Uchiha and marginalizing them was just a prelude.

Since Minato Namikaze's sacrifice last night, he has been thinking about the question of who will succeed him as Hokage.

In the current Konoha, Tsunade and Orochimaru have left, Jiraiya is no longer up to the task, and Sakumo Hatake is not interested in becoming Hokage. He really can't think of anyone else who can threaten his candidacy for Hokage. However, some things cannot be said outright, and some things cannot be done too obviously. Moreover, if he tells his best friend that he wants to become Hokage from the beginning, knowing his best friend, he will definitely find all sorts of excuses to refuse. So he must not speak directly, but first find various things to give him a headache. When he is annoyed, he can throw the question out, and his best friend will brush it off.

Whatever you want!

Then the matter is settled, isn't it?

So, the very night after the Nine-Tails was sealed, he immediately ran to his best friend to ask for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He knew that the chances of his best friend agreeing to hand over the Jinchuriki to him were slim, but he didn't care. If his best friend agreed, that would be great, as he would have another bargaining chip to become Hokage. If not, it didn't matter. So, after a fruitless night of arguing with his best friend, he didn't give his best friend any time to rest and immediately ran to find his former teammates, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, to team up and storm the Hokage Building. Targeting the marginalization of the Uchiha clan was just the prelude. Now that he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi agree to Koharu's method, he knew that the plan was more than half successful.

My best buddy is having a terrible headache right now...

"Hokage... hiss...! How about... letting Nawaki take over?"

When this topic comes up, Hiruzen Sarutobi really gets a headache. He put so much effort into promoting his perfect grand-disciple to the position, but fate was cruel to him. Now, suddenly having to choose a Hokage is really difficult. The key is that Konoha doesn't have a suitable candidate right now. Back then, Sakumo asked him to leave the Anbu, which already showed his attitude. He couldn't force him to do something against his will. Moreover, Kakashi's changes after the Third Shinobi World War were indeed worrying.

He used to be emotionless and disregard his companions' feelings in order to complete missions. But now that he has a pair of Sharingan, his potential has been lowered. It's already difficult for him to reach the Double Flower Red Stick level, but he's also incredibly emotional. Last night, during the Nine-Tails Night, he actually dared to fight the Nine-Tails to the death for his companions. If he hadn't been rescued by Golden Lion, he probably would have been turned into a meat sandwich by the Nine-Tails.

Although Kakashi's potential has been lowered, he can still grow into a Red Staff member, and with good luck, he might even become a Double Flower. Having already lost his perfect grand-disciple, a Double Flower Red Staff member, he can only place his hopes on Kakashi. Therefore, compared to the Anbu, Kakashi's education is more important, especially now that his perfect grand-disciple has sacrificed himself. Konoha is showing signs of a talent gap, making Kakashi's situation paramount.

Actually, there's another kid I'm quite optimistic about, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the son of the strongest genin, Might Guy, the green-skinned Guy. However, this kid is too special, so special that he doesn't dare to use him carelessly. He already knows about the super forbidden taijutsu, no wonder Shiki lowered his status to fool him. This forbidden technique is very strong, so strong that even he at his peak could probably kill him instantly. But this forbidden technique is also very special, it's a one-time use artifact. Putting aside how many gates Green-skinned Guy can open now, even if he can open the legendary Eight Gates, he wouldn't dare to use this kid like a normal double-flower red stick.

Don't you know how terrifying this forbidden technique is? In order to force a 50/50 fight against his perfect grand-disciple, the disciple of the Golden Lion opened six gates for a few minutes and ended up bedridden for months.

Therefore, among the next generation, only Kakashi can carry the torch, but Kakashi is still inexperienced and needs a lot of guidance from Sakumo.

Although his eldest son was a very good candidate, apart from being less talented and less handsome than his perfect grand-disciple, he had no other flaws. Unfortunately, he didn't have the Senju surname, so it was impossible for his eldest son to become Hokage. Besides, his three friends wouldn't agree, and the clan leaders in the village wouldn't agree either.

The remaining candidates... Danzo... Danzo was immediately passed over. Of course, he saw Danzo's "pick me" expression, but he ignored it. Ever since what Danzo did over the years, he had decided in his mind that Danzo was destined to be unfit for the Hokage position, no matter how well he maintained his persona over the years.

Does he really think he doesn't know that it was this bastard who tricked his beloved disciple Orochimaru into joining Root and caused Orochimaru to drift further and further away from him?

He only refrained from settling scores with Danzo because of their long-standing relationship and the fact that this bastard had taken the blame for him back then. What's more, this bastard even tried to harm his precious Nawaki, causing Tsunade to leave Konoha with Nawaki. All of this demonstrates that Danzo is unfit to be Hokage.

Not to mention, this guy's slogan is still "Lead Konoha to the moon"... If he were to be promoted, the ninja world would be thrown into chaos.

794. The rope tree is the ultimate weapon.

So Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered and pondered, and the images of various young talents in Konoha formed a huge wheel in his mind, which began to spin. Finally, the pointer stopped on the image of his precious Nawaki, which gave him a flash of inspiration.

Yes!.

While Nawaki's talent wasn't particularly impressive, even bordering on weak, that was relative to geniuses and super geniuses. Compared to ordinary people, his incredible vitality alone put many ordinary ninjas far ahead. Although his talent was somewhat haphazard, lacking mastery in any one area, after being relentlessly challenged by Tsunade for so many years, his taijutsu alone had reached Jonin level. In the past, with the perfect grand-disciple as a benchmark and the case of the Third Kazekage as a precedent, it would have been difficult for Hiruzen Sarutobi to push Nawaki to the position of Hokage.

But now the village is truly deserted, and Nawaki, with the halo of the Senju clan, has always been extremely popular in the village. The fact that he and Jiraiya were discovered on the roof of the bathhouse and only Jiraiya got beaten up is proof of that. So if Nawaki becomes Hokage, there's no need for him to promote him. The only drawback is that his strength is a bit weak, not even reaching the Red Staff level. But that's okay, we can just give him a few high-level bodyguards to protect him 24 hours a day. If all else fails, his old bones can still handle it, and he can personally take action. Then, we can have Sakumo frequently visit Nawaki's side.

Thinking about it that way... Hiruzen Sarutobi actually thinks Nawaki might be quite suitable.

He originally had the idea of ​​making Nawaki the Hokage. Back then, he had trained his perfect grand-disciple to be the Hokage's assistant. However, Danzo's actions and the case of the Third Kazekage forced him to abandon this idea. Now, he is just restarting the old plan.

The only obstacle now is what Tsunade says. As for Nawaki, he's alright. As the heir of the Senju clan, no matter how long he wanders outside, Konoha is always his home. Konoha is always the village established by his two grandfathers. His roots are always there. Plus, with his silver tongue, he's confident he can persuade this precious Nawaki to come back.

However, the biggest problem lies with Tsunade. Tsunade's temper was spoiled by the First Hokage and Mito from a young age, making her incredibly stubborn. She often doesn't even give him face as her teacher, so he has no confidence in persuading her. If Tsunade doesn't want Nawaki to come back, it will be difficult to handle.

Besides, Nawaki's dream of becoming Hokage dates back to over a decade ago when he was just starting school. Now, after all these years of wandering, who knows if he still has that ambition? If he ignores his rhetoric to appease Tsunade, that would be a real problem...

"puff!"

"What? Nawaki? Nawaki won't do, Nawaki can't be Hokage!"

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo's excited face instantly darkened. He had truly forgotten that there was still someone who could pose a threat to him after Minato Namikaze's death. Only now, with Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, did he remember that there was still a legitimate heir of the Senju family wandering outside!

If Minato Namikaze hadn't been farming maps before, and he might have had a chance against him, then against Konoha's precious treasure, he truly had no hope whatsoever; he was already doomed from the start.

Although the First and Second Hokage have been dead for decades, their contributions to Konoha are immense. The First Hokage, in particular, pacified the Warring States period, founded the village, and ensured that children in the ninja world could have a happy childhood. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi had served as Hokage for another hundred years, he could not have achieved such a feat. Furthermore, the Hokage Rock is still there, so even though the Senju clan has declined, they still hold a special place in the hearts of all Konoha people.

It's fair to say that if Nawaki had stood up and challenged Minato Namikaze for the Hokage position, no matter how many chapters Minato completed or how popular he was, people would still have voted for Nawaki. That's the halo effect of the Senju clan.

He just didn't expect that his best friend hadn't brought out the Nawaki Tree, the ultimate weapon, when he helped Minato Namikaze become Hokage. Now that Minato Namikaze is dead and no one in the village is competing with him for the Hokage position, his best friend actually ignored him and brought out the Nawaki Tree, the ultimate weapon.

Danzo was filled with such hatred!

You've been Hokage for decades and had your fun, but I just want to be Hokage for once and have some fun, is that so wrong?

"Oh? Why? I think Hiruzen's idea is pretty good. In every aspect, Nawaki is qualified to be the next Hokage..."

This time, it was Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's turn to look at him curiously, wanting to know why their friend was so determined not to let Nawaki become Hokage. They were both taught by the Second Hokage, and Nawaki was a descendant of the Second Hokage and the First Hokage's grandson. Given the current situation in the village, Nawaki seemed to be the most suitable candidate.

If Nawaki comes out to wave his flag, even the Uchiha clan would probably vote for him against their conscience...

"Nawaki... Nawaki's strength is too weak. Have you forgotten about the Third Kazekage? The threat of that mysterious Uchiha is still there. If Nawaki becomes Hokage, it will be very dangerous!"

Danzo's eyes darted around several times before he finally managed to come up with a reasonably plausible excuse.

He forgot that his own strength wasn't that great; at best, he was just incredibly tough and couldn't be killed no matter how hard he was attacked...

"That's true. Rope Tree is fine in every other aspect, but in terms of strength... it is indeed very dangerous."

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado agreed with this reasoning, nodding in agreement. For decades, Konoha had been the dominant force in the ninja world, the number one ninja. It wouldn't be good to have someone who hadn't even reached the Red Pole level as their leader.

This is not the era after the Fourth Shinobi World War, when Kaguya-sama appears decades later, and any Tom, Dick, or Harry can become a leader. In today's ninja world, which leader of any of the major ninja villages doesn't have a special skill that is worthy of being discussed?

The Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure has Golden Sand, the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure has Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and the situation in Kirigakure is unclear and not a case study. Their Fourth Hokage of Konoha also has a flashy Flying Thunder God Technique. Aren't they all top-tier chakra masters? It's because the next generation of Iwagakure doesn't have a top-tier chakra master that Onoki has been able to hold onto his position until now.

If someone like Nawaki, who isn't even at the Red Pole level, were to become the leader of the number one village in the ninja world, wouldn't that automatically lower the village's status?

Since the incident involving the Third Kazekage, the position of Hokage has become a place of both prestige and risk. The more glamorous one appears in public, the more dangerous one is behind the scenes, with the constant possibility of being silenced. Moreover, one of their known enemies is that wild Uchiha who can control the Nine-Tails. If their Hokage were to mysteriously disappear like the Third Kazekage, they would lose all face...

795. Danzo is no good; he will damage the village's image.

"...Sigh! Since you don't agree with Nawaki, then I'll temporarily take over as Hokage until someone else is chosen."

Seeing that his two friends disagreed, and once again ignoring his best friend's longing gaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed helplessly and said...

It wasn't that he wanted to continue as Hokage. Since retiring, during his time off, watching his perfect grand-disciple busy with work every day, he realized that being Hokage really wasn't a job for humans. He admired himself for surviving those thirty years. No wonder he was only over fifty and could still take on ten people at once, yet he looked much older than the weak Danzo.

If he could, he really wouldn't want to continue being the Hokage. He could comfortably enjoy his retirement, running to his best buddies every morning for morning tea to chat and reminisce about the old days, and occasionally strolling around the streets to listen to the villagers' daily praises. How damn carefree that would be!

But since the two friends had already said all that, although they had eliminated Danzo, that weakling, they had also passed on Nawaki. Now there were only three double-flower red sticks in the village. Sakumo had no idea about it, so they couldn't force him to take over. Jiraiya, their beloved disciple, was kind-hearted, like them, but he wasn't steady enough to shoulder great responsibilities. In the end, only Nawaki was left.

"I agree."

I agree.

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane nodded. Although they sometimes stood on the same side as Danzo, they wouldn't let personal feelings interfere when it came to matters of principle. They never had any ambition to become Hokage. In the past, they were just outer disciples in front of the Second Hokage, and their status was not as high as Hiruzen Sarutobi or Kagami Uchiha. Therefore, they always recognized their own position and never had too many fantasies about becoming Hokage.

When faced with matters of principle, we must consider the bigger picture. There are only a few people in the village who have the ability and qualifications to become Hokage. One doesn't want to be Hokage, and another is unreliable. So, only my comrades can continue to shine in this position.

They could all see the look in Danzo's eyes, but they really didn't want to discourage their friend, so they simply ignored him.

Don't you have a clear idea of ​​your own level, like the tree between A and C?

Someone who's not even as good as Nawaki has the nerve to say Nawaki is no good, and has the nerve to be Hokage.

Look at this guy, he's gotten uglier and uglier over the years, now he has to wrap half his face with bandages. Hiruzen is short and old, but at least his features are still quite striking.

If this guy really becomes Hokage, Konoha will lose all its image...

"You... Hmph! I have something to do, I'm leaving!"

"boom!"

When Danzo saw that two of his former allies, who had promised to stand with him, had suddenly changed their minds and were now supporting his political enemies, his ugly face darkened instantly, and he turned around, slammed the door, and left in one swift motion.

Even his two previously agreed-upon teammates no longer support him, so there's no point in him staying any longer.

......

Are you leaving soon?

A week later, Konoha began its reconstruction. Lacking a suitable candidate, Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to the Hokage position, shining brightly once again. Shinto wasn't surprised by this decision; although Konoha now had the White Fang of Konoha, its roster depth was at its weakest in history. Sakumo Hatake would have been the best choice, but he clearly didn't want to be a politician, nor could he. Therefore, the aging and fading Hiruzen Sarutobi filling the position was a logical choice. Jiraiya's heart was now with Orochimaru, and without the Crystal Ball, he probably wouldn't have accepted the Hokage position. The Crystal Ball, however, was Hiruzen Sarutobi's exclusive artifact, something no one else could possess.

According to Sakumo Hatake's inside information, Hiruzen Sarutobi almost promoted Nawaki to a core starting position, which shows just how bad Konoha's current roster is. However, Nawaki's fundamentals are simply too weak; he doesn't even meet the basic requirements...

Meanwhile, Masato, who had been teaching Sakumo Hatake's son how to properly develop his power, received a message from his nominal disciple, Maki: Rasa's youngest son was about to be born, and Rasa planned to make his youngest son a Jinchūriki, so he hoped that Maki would return to the village as a protector.

Originally, the fat cat had been well-coaxed by him, and the sealing team had been praising it over the years. Everyone had basically found a way to get along with the fat cat, so nothing should happen. Moreover, the village still had Shuri, the perfect Jinchūriki. Even if the fat cat really caused trouble, it wouldn't be able to. Although the fat cat had a bad temper, its strength was far inferior to that of the Seven-Tails.

However, out of respect for his former leader, he also had to go back. Besides, Tsunade and Nawaki were also in Sunagakure, and he wondered how Nawaki's progress was.

So after teaching Kakashi how to properly develop his character in a sneaky way for a week, he prepared to return to the village. In the past, when he came to Konoha, Hatake Sakumo was sent by Sarutobi Hiruzen to keep an eye on him like a thief and couldn't wait for him to leave. But this time, Hatake Sakumo was really reluctant to leave.

Although he disagreed with this guy's teaching methods, which were completely opposite to the traditional education of the Hatake clan, the traditional education of the Hatake clan had too many drawbacks. Being brave, decisive, and fearless was true, and it worked well for him. His career over the decades had been smooth sailing, and his talent and ancestral swordsmanship were perfectly combined, so he hadn't encountered many troublesome things in his career. He had been a tough guy since he was a child, so being brave, decisive, and fearless was not a problem.

But it wasn't the same with his son. His son's talent was clearly not in swordsmanship. He had maxed out his ninjutsu talent, but unfortunately, the Hatake clan was known for being weak-willed. With the Sharingan, his son was only a "real man for five minutes." His growth rate couldn't even reach half of his father's back then. He couldn't be as brave and decisive as his father.

On the night of the Nine-Tails, he dared to confront even the Nine-Tails for the sake of his companions. Although his courage is commendable, he will die quickly. The Hatake clan has only one son per generation. He is unwilling to fight against the second generation in his forties as the truth of what Shiki said. Does the Hatake clan have no face left?

However, given the impact of his previous mission failure on his son, he found it inconvenient to change his son's mindset, lest it affect his son's outlook on life again like last time. Therefore, when he saw that Golden Lion was helping him educate his son and teaching him how to develop stealthily when he was weak, he was happy to see it happen.