Chapter 674: Abdicate and Let Others Take Over?
After the battle, Hiruzen and his group secretly returned to Konoha.
Because the time frame was short, only a small number of people knew that the Hokage had left the Village.
Among those who knew Hiruzen had gone out, only a select few knew why he had left.
"Sigh."
Looking at Konoha's bustling streets, Hiruzen, still disguised for his return, let out a soft sigh.
The Third Shinobi World War had ended, and Konoha, as the victor, had gained significant benefits.
This should have been the beginning of Konoha reaching a new peak, but because of his mistake, uncertainties had arisen.
"Hiruzen, go home and get some proper rest. As long as we are here, Konoha will surely continue to prosper and flourish," Homura said, comforting him.
He could understand Hiruzen's feelings.
The plan to battle Sōsuke had been decided by Hiruzen despite the opposition of the other three high ranking officials. The unexpected outcome had undoubtedly filled him with regret and guilt.
This time had truly been dangerous.
If Sōsuke had not chosen to stop, most of them would have died at the border.
If he had not seen that Hiruzen's defeat was already so severe, Homura would have wanted to scold him a bit. This had almost led to a huge mistake.
"Can Konoha prosper and flourish with us here…?"
Hiruzen's expression was complicated as he walked toward the Hokage Building.
"It's only early afternoon. There's no time to rest. I'm going to the Hokage Building to handle affairs."
At this time, everyone was still working. How could someone who had made a mistake go home and rest at this hour?
Seeing Hiruzen heading to the Hokage Building, Homura had no choice but to follow.
Since the Hokage was actively going to work, how could he, an Advisor, go home?
When they reached the floor where the Advisor's office was located, the two happened to run into Koharu, who was coming out of her office.
"Homura, Hiruzen, you're back," Koharu greeted them as usual, not finding anything strange about their presence in the Hokage Building.
After all, their trip out of the Village this time was not supposed to be a major issue, so there had been no need to contact her in advance.
"What's the situation with Ninshū? Have they completely fallen out with us because of Sōsuke's death?" Koharu asked casually.
In her opinion, Hiruzen killing Sōsuke was a certainty. The only slight concern was whether Ninshū would want to break ties with Konoha because of it.
"Hmm?"
Looking at the silent Hiruzen, Koharu felt a little puzzled.
"Did something unexpected happen?"
"Cough, cough."
Seeing Koharu wildly dancing across a minefield, Homura coughed twice to get her attention.
"Koharu, there's something I want to discuss with you. Let's talk in the office."
If Koharu kept speaking, Homura was worried that Hiruzen would not be able to sleep at night.
"Okay." Koharu nodded.
Although she did not know what had happened, Koharu was not stupid. She could tell that something bad had occurred.
"Let's talk in my office." Just as Homura and Koharu were about to leave, Hiruzen spoke.
"I also have something to discuss with both of you."
Homura had intended to speak with Koharu alone and save Hiruzen some face, but since Hiruzen had said so himself, he could only nod.
Then the three went together to the Hokage Office.
Hiruzen was the first to push open the wooden door of the Hokage Office and sat down in the only office chair, while Homura and Koharu stood before the desk.
Hiruzen took out his pipe, lit it, took a deep drag, exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke, and said, "I lost the battle."
Koharu showed an expression of extreme surprise. She thought she had misheard and instinctively looked at Homura.
Seeing Homura nod with a helpless expression, Koharu finally confirmed that she had not misheard.
This was the truth.
"Hiruzen, it's alright. After all, you're not young anymore, and Sōsuke is young and strong. That gave him an advantage," Koharu said, carefully choosing her words to comfort him.
"It has nothing to do with age. Sōsuke's strength is immense, far surpassing mine," Hiruzen said, shaking his head.
If he had only narrowly lost, if there had only been a small difference between him and Sōsuke, perhaps he could have used this reason to save face.
Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Hiruzen had been almost completely overwhelmed by Sōsuke. He had not even touched him once.
Because of that, Hiruzen did not want to make excuses or belittle Sōsuke.
That would be both disrespectful to Sōsuke's strength and a denial of himself.
"Koharu, Sōsuke is far more extraordinary than you imagine. If we had to compare him to someone, perhaps only ninja like the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara could surpass him," Homura explained.
Koharu's pupils contracted sharply, and she instantly understood the terrifying power of Sōsuke.
Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were the only two publicly recognized legendary ninja in the Ninja World.
This legend was not something the so called Legendary Sannin could compare to. It was a true Ninja World legend, carved into the history of various nations.
She finally understood why Hiruzen had been silent on the other floors.
Your teammate thought you had won, but in reality, you had lost terribly.
How could one even explain that?
Koharu, worried about stepping on another landmine, did not want to speak. Homura did not know what to say either, and for a moment, the atmosphere grew silent.
"I want to pass the Hokage position to Mugetsu," Hiruzen said after a moment of silence.
He felt that he was no longer qualified to be Hokage and was not suitable to continue holding the position.
Homura had said that the primary responsibility for this matter lay with Danzo, but Hiruzen knew in his heart that even if it was Danzo's fault, he could not escape responsibility.
If he had not been so lenient with Danzo before, overlooking some of his mistakes, how would Danzo have dared to do such a thing?
So Hiruzen planned to change his strategy and pass the position to Mugetsu earlier.
However, to avoid affecting Mugetsu's training, Hiruzen felt that he could truly retire a bit later. After stepping down, he would continue contributing at the higher levels and share some of the pressure with Mugetsu.
"It isn't that serious," Homura quickly advised.
Hiruzen had made a mistake, but in Homura's opinion, he did not need to step down because of this single error.
In the battle with Sōsuke, not a single Konoha ninja had died. The losses were only theoretical.
"Mugetsu is still too young. It would be better for him to stay in the Assistant position for a few more years. Hiruzen, you shouldn't underestimate yourself because of one setback."
"Exactly. Konoha is in a critical period of development. More than a new Hokage, it needs you, an experienced Hokage, to steer the ship," Koharu added.
She did not want Hiruzen to step down now, both for public and private reasons.
"Young is young, but Mugetsu has the ability to command respect. As for experience, how can one gain experience without doing the work? Besides, aren't we here to guide him?" Hiruzen retorted.
The reason he had decided to pass on the position was because Mugetsu had performed exceptionally well.
Even if he passed the position to Mugetsu now, there would be no dissenting voices in Konoha.
"Hiruzen, you can't be so headstrong again! You need to fully consider everyone's opinions," Koharu said, a little anxious.
This time, Hiruzen did not retort to Koharu. Instead, he fell into deep thought.
Indeed, the battle with Sōsuke was the bitter fruit of his stubbornness.
Would his persistence this time be correct?
Hiruzen was not sure.
"Although Koharu's words are a bit harsh, they are indeed reasonable. Hiruzen, don't make a hasty decision. Think it over carefully," Homura continued.
Hiruzen showed hesitation. Finally, he relented and said, "I'll think about it again."
Homura and Koharu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Hiruzen continued handling affairs in the Hokage Office until seven in the evening before returning home.
"You're back! You must be tired. I'll go warm up your food," Sarutobi Biwako said, standing up when she saw Hiruzen return.
She and Asuma had already finished dinner at six.
Hiruzen nodded, took off his Hokage hat and coat, and walked toward his room to get a set of casual clothes for a bath.
He was still wearing the combat uniform he had worn for the mission and battle.
"You left the Village? Did something big happen?" Asuma, hearing footsteps, looked up just as Hiruzen was about to enter his room.
He was well aware that the Hokage needed to remain in Konoha.
Hiruzen paused but did not answer Asuma's question.
How could he say, "Your old man overestimated himself and went to fight someone, only to be utterly crushed"?
Or that he, at his age, had acted willfully and brought a huge problem to Konoha?
Facing Koharu, an old friend who knew the truth, Hiruzen could admit his mistake without evasion.
Facing Mugetsu, the future Hokage he favored, Hiruzen was also willing to tell the truth.
But Asuma was his son, and a son with whom he had a small conflict.
If he said it, would he still be able to earn Asuma's respect in the future?
"This is Konoha classified information," Hiruzen replied.
"If you couldn't say, you should have said so earlier!" Asuma rolled his eyes.
He had just been worried because Hiruzen was acting so unusually, only for him to finally say "classified information" after such a long buildup.
Hiruzen opened the door to his room. Just as he was about to step inside, he remembered something, looked at Asuma, and asked, "How do you think I've done as Hokage?"
"Not very well. My suggestion is to retire early and let Teacher Mugetsu become Hokage," Asuma replied without thinking.
"Is that so…"
Seeing that Hiruzen actually showed a thoughtful expression, Asuma changed his words after a moment.
"Of course, saying not very well doesn't mean you've done poorly. It's just that I feel Teacher Mugetsu would do even better as Hokage."
Asuma evaluated it objectively.
Hiruzen had not done badly. If he had, he would not have so many supporters in Konoha, nor would so many ninja genuinely want to become Hokage.
"Mugetsu has never been Hokage. Why do you feel that way?" Hiruzen asked.
He really should fully consider more people's opinions.
"Because Teacher Mugetsu does everything very well! Whether it's teaching at the Ninja Academy, running training, or serving as a battlefield commander," Asuma said, listing Mugetsu's various achievements.
"Is Teacher Mugetsu not doing well as Hokage Assistant now?" Asuma retorted.
Hiruzen shook his head.
Of course, that was not the case.
Mugetsu felt very skilled to him. Perhaps that was what it meant to be a prodigy.
It could not be that he had trained his leadership ability by being a leader in the Ninja Academy. That would be too absurd.
"Then that's it! Teacher Mugetsu is so young and can already do well as Hokage Assistant, so why wouldn't he do well as Hokage?"
"Didn't the Second Hokage act as Hokage in all but name during his time as Hokage Assistant? That shows an excellent Hokage Assistant becoming Hokage is completely fine," Asuma said confidently.
"That's two different things," Hiruzen said with a wry smile.
Letting the First Hokage handle political affairs alone?
That would be ridiculous.
Senju Hashirama had many strengths, but also many flaws.
"In short, if you ask me about Hokage, I can only say that I would definitely choose Teacher Mugetsu!" Asuma declared his stance.
"Then you should go find your Teacher Mugetsu more often. Maybe he won't have as much time to see you later," Hiruzen said as he walked into his room to choose clothes.
Asuma's eyes instantly lit up, and he quickly followed him in.
"Are you really going to pass on the position?"
He was not sleepy at all when talking about this.
Hiruzen looked at Asuma with a dark line forming on his forehead.
Was his old man's retirement really worth this much joy to him?
Just now, he had said Hiruzen had not done badly.
"Stop guessing wildly. I don't even know myself yet, and you're already guessing," Hiruzen said as he opened the wardrobe.
Homura and Koharu were firmly against it. He had not made up his mind yet.
"Hehe, if you ask me, Dad, passing it to Teacher Mugetsu is absolutely the right decision. Teacher Mugetsu was promoted by you back then. That proves your discernment!" Asuma praised, changing his usual demeanor.
Hiruzen's mouth twitched.
He changed his tune so quickly.
He had just been arguing with him a while ago.
However, Hiruzen still ignored Asuma, packed his clothes, and went for a bath.
"Tsk."
Asuma, having been ignored, reverted to his usual attitude toward Hiruzen.
After his bath, Hiruzen began to eat.
Although Biwako did not eat, she sat at the table with Hiruzen, pouring tea and water for him.
"What do you think of Mugetsu?" Hiruzen asked after eating about half his fill.
"I won't give a casual opinion. I don't know him very well, but from what I do know, he is a teacher deeply respected by his students," Biwako said after recalling for a moment.
She had not had much contact with Mugetsu and had only exchanged polite words with him, but Biwako had a very good impression of Mugetsu.
After Asuma was taught by Mugetsu, his strength improved faster, and he also became a bit more sensible.
Aside from Asuma, her personal experience, Biwako had also heard about Mugetsu from other Sarutobi clan members, and it was basically all praise.
Among the students taught by Mugetsu, whether they were genin under ten years old or adult jonin, all held Mugetsu in great reverence.
Biwako felt that someone who could gain the recognition of so many people could not be bad in any way.
"Mmm."
Hiruzen generally understood Biwako's opinion of Mugetsu.
Although she had not explicitly praised him, for someone with Biwako's personality, that was already a very good evaluation.
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