Chapter 16: I Am the Hokage
This is... just great!
Next to Tsunade sat a one-eyed man in black, holding a cane, who had been silent the whole time.
Hearing Tsunade's words, a sharp glint flashed for a moment in the dark gaze hidden behind his lowered eyelids.
"The Uchiha clan is a part of Konoha. Now that they have such a powerful enemy, we must be prepared."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting in the Hokage's seat, smoked his pipe, his brow furrowed.
"If that Uchiha Mumei is truly the culprit of the Nine-Tails attack..."
"Wait a minute."
Hiruzen hadn't finished speaking before Tsunade interrupted him.
Tsunade glanced at the man beside her and spoke unhurriedly:
"According to the records, Uchiha Mumei is a woman."
"And according to what Kakashi, Might Guy, and Fugaku Uchiha said, the guy calling himself 'Uchiha Madara' was, without a doubt, a man."
"Also, based on what Fugaku Uchiha revealed, Uchiha Mumei hates the Uchiha clan."
"It's highly unlikely she would disguise herself as another Uchiha."
"Of course, it's possible she's trying to redirect the blame."
"But if she were trying to frame them, she should have disguised herself as Fugaku Uchiha, not Uchiha Madara."
Tsunade spoke casually. Interrupting the Hokage so rudely seemed to be a perfectly normal thing for her.
Hiruzen nodded. He was panicking, which had caused him to overlook that point.
Uchiha Mumei. Uchiha Madara.
These two names were like two great mountains pressing down on Hiruzen's shoulders.
The former was a being from hundreds of years ago who possessed four Mangekyō techniques and fought the top masters of the Senju, Uzumaki, and Sarutobi clans all at once.
The latter was the Asura of the Shinobi World, who could rival the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, and whose name made the world tremble.
No matter which one the masked man was, it was a massive pressure for Hiruzen.
And all the clues he had now pointed to the former.
Uchiha Mumei.
The Uchiha's ultimate powerhouse from 500 years ago.
"Should we go see it?"
"The sealing place of Uchiha Mumei."
A sudden voice spoke up, hoarse and a little sinister.
Hiruzen looked up.
Shimura Danzō.
His lifelong friend and rival.
"As someone who was persecuted by the Uchiha, Uchiha Mumei is an extremely dangerous person to Konoha."
"We must find out if she has broken the seal."
Danzō spoke slowly, word by word, looking at Hiruzen.
Their gazes met in mid-air. Hiruzen looked at his old friend.
After decades together, he knew Danzō all too well.
Danzō claimed to have inherited the will of the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and had always seen the Uchiha as a thorn in his side.
During the Nine-Tails attack, it was Danzō who had stopped the Uchiha clan from joining the battle.
Hiruzen knew this.
But...
The Yondaime Hokage was dead. Konoha could not withstand any more chaos or persecution.
If this matter got out—if everyone learned that the Uchiha had been held back by Root and that's why they didn't save the Yondaime—the resulting fallout would be enough to cause a massive earthquake in Konoha.
So, Hiruzen had suppressed the matter.
Hiruzen didn't know if he was right or wrong, but he knew that Konoha needed Danzō and his Root right now.
"I will handle this matter."
"But we must be prepared."
"During this time, the archives of the Sarutobi, Senju, Uchiha, and all other major clans are forbidden to everyone except the clan heads."
Hiruzen looked at Danzō and said, word by word.
"Hiruzen!"
Danzō immediately shot to his feet, his one exposed eye staring hard at Hiruzen.
What is this! Is he guarding against me? Am I, Danzō Shimura, that untrustworthy!
The current heads of the Senju and Sarutobi clans were right here in this office. It was impossible for him to get into the Uchiha archives.
Even if he could, he wouldn't find the exact location of Mumei's seal—otherwise, why would Fugaku be asking Hiruzen? He would have just organized his own search party.
As for the Uzumaki clan, they had been divided and destroyed by Kumo and Kiri decades ago.
So, the only way to get the exact location of the seal was from the Senju and Sarutobi archives.
"You will regret this, Hiruzen!"
Seeing that Hiruzen was completely unmoved, Danzō said through gritted teeth.
"I am the Hokage, Danzō."
Hiruzen was already used to his old friend's dissatisfaction.
Slam!
With the heavy sound of a slamming door, Danzō stormed out of the Hokage's office, fuming.
"So, are you really not going to look? Old man."
Tsunade, having enjoyed the show, looked at Hiruzen teasingly.
"Of course, we'll look."
"But Danzō can't be the one to do it. Otherwise, even if Uchiha Mumei hasn't broken the seal, Danzō will find a way to let her out."
Hiruzen sighed. He was weary of his old friend.
"Then who will you send?"
Tsunade yawned and asked.
Hearing her question, Hiruzen glanced at her subtly.
If he could, Tsunade and Jiraiya would be the best choices.
But...
Jiraiya could be recalled at any time.
But Tsunade...
"When Kakashi has recovered, I'll have Jiraiya lead a team. He'll be joined by Shibi and Hizashi, forming a four-man cell."
Jiraiya's strength needed no explanation; he was, without a doubt, Konoha's peak fighting power besides Hiruzen himself.
Aburame Shibi, the head of the Aburame clan, was also a long-time teammate of Minato Namikaze. His strength was formidable, a peak-level Jōnin.
And Hyūga Hizashi was also a top master of the Hyūga clan. His Byakugan was highly developed. Even with the Caged Bird Seal, his detection radius was a full eight kilometers.
Among these people, Kakashi was the one at the bottom in terms of strength, experience, and knowledge.
Putting him on a team with them... it was less about the mission and more about having them pass on their experience to Kakashi.
But this also showed how much Hiruzen valued this rising star.
"In that case, you handle it, old man."
"In a couple of days, when the hospital isn't so busy, I'm leaving."
Tsunade glanced at Hiruzen, then stood up and left.
Watching her retreating back, Hiruzen subconsciously reached out, wanting to ask her to stay in Konoha. But the words, having reached his lips, just wouldn't come out.