Chapter 33: The Dead Shinobi Hero
"Forget it!"
In less than a second, Sarutobi Hiruzen rejected his previous thought.
Smoke swirled around him. The wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen. "That idea is still too dangerous. We can't take that risk. There must be another way. Let me think more."
"Konoha now can't withstand any more blows. The village's vitality hasn't recovered. Any move, even small ones, might plunge Konoha into irredeemable catastrophe."
"So you'll do nothing?" Tsunade sighed. "Watch the problem grow increasingly severe?"
"I didn't say I'd do nothing. We just need a more stable, better solution."
Tsunade looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen sinking into hesitation again, understanding in her heart—that "Shinobi Hero" had truly died.
The formidable strength he once possessed, decisive judgment, and the determination to take charge twice in crisis, leading Konoha forward through chaos... all gone.
Actually, back when she'd proposed medical ninja reforms, the signs had already appeared. But after all these years, no improvement whatsoever.
Even knowing the situation would only worsen, as long as he couldn't find a "perfect" method, he wouldn't take any action.
He would rather do nothing now than make mistakes.
However, as Hokage, inaction itself was a mistake. Where in this world existed perfect decisions?
Any decision carried risks, could go wrong. A truly qualified leader didn't need to find a flawless plan, but needed the ability to solve problems.
Without problem-solving ability, what kind of leader are you?
A task distributor?
But Sarutobi Hiruzen had lost this ability. He was troubled by past mistakes, frightened by future risks. He could only wait, only observe, then shelve or delegate problems, hoping a solution perfectly matching his wishes would appear on its own.
But Konoha couldn't lose the Uchiha.
Whether the Akatsuki threat mentioned in the drift bottle or considering longer-term development, losing the Uchiha would be like pulling Konoha's sharpest fangs.
Just losing the Fourth Hokage made the Cloud Village dare get cocky. What would the four great nations eyeing them think if they lost the Uchiha? By then, probably even the Rain Village would dare interfere.
Tsunade pressed against his desk, eyes sharp. "Old man, since you don't dare act, just unconditionally support me."
Sarutobi Hiruzen froze, astonishment flashing through his cloudy eyes. "Tsunade, you..."
"I know what you're worried about," Tsunade interrupted him.
...
On the day she'd decided to take Hyuga Kiyonari as her student, she'd asked a similar question.
"What if everyone disapproves or even tries to stop you?"
Now she gave the same answer Kiyonari had given back then:
"But some things must be done by someone, and I just happen to have that ability."
"Tsunade!"
Tsunade stopped walking but didn't turn around.
Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking. "You must remember—Konoha cannot afford any failure."
She pushed open the door and strode out of the Hokage office.
The Hyuga, the Cloud Village, the Uchiha... she sorted through the complex situation in her mind.
The Cloud delegation had only just left Konoha. Time was still needed to know the Raikage's attitude. If the Cloud Village truly wanted to make an issue of this—whether they genuinely wanted war or just intimidation—Konoha could use this opportunity to pull the Uchiha back into Konoha's power center.
This way, it could greatly alleviate dissatisfaction within the Uchiha clan. Uchiha Fugaku would definitely be happy to see such results.
But... as the old man said, this wasn't exactly a good idea.
War wasn't so easily controlled. It was like walking a tightrope—one misstep and you'd plunge into the abyss. You think you're controlling the situation, but actually, the situation might be controlling you.
Konoha had to consider other nations' attitudes. The Cloud Village couldn't avoid this problem either. Could they really fight when the time came?
But... the Raikage's personality was always impulsive. He might really get hot-headed.
Then there was Akatsuki. If the world fell into chaos, would they take advantage?
Walking along, Tsunade suddenly remembered this morning's incident.
Besides bringing soup, Kiyonari must have had something else he didn't get to say. She'd just left too hastily then.
An orange-red sunset hung on the horizon. At this time, Shizune should have already returned from the hospital.
Since her return to the village, the medical division constantly came bothering her. Finding it unbearable, she simply pushed Shizune forward to deal with them.
Tsunade quickened her pace. Pushing open the door, she happened to see Shizune carrying a basket, standing before the remaining chicken soup from noon.
"Shizune, please call Kiyonari over for dinner. I have some things I want his opinion on."
"Alright, I'll go now."
Shizune acknowledged and prepared to leave. She didn't hesitate—or rather, since being convinced by Hyuga Kiyonari's insights that day, she wouldn't find this surprising.
Before long, Kiyonari arrived again.
"You're here." Tsunade pointed at the chair across from her. "Sit first. Shizune, I'll trouble you to prepare dinner."
Tsunade poured two cups of water, handing one to Kiyonari. "This morning when you came to find me, was there something else?"
Kiyonari accepted the cup, took a sip, then spoke. "I originally wanted Sensei to guide me in practicing Shadow Clone Jutsu, but it's already resolved now. Met a kind person."
"Who was this kind person you met?"
"Uchiha Itachi."
"Uchiha Itachi?" Tsunade froze. "How do you know him?"
Kiyonari found her reaction somewhat strange and explained truthfully. "It was a few days ago. I encountered an enormously large wild boar in the Forest of Death. Itachi and his brother Sasuke came and helped me out."
"Today I ran into them again at the training ground. I guess... Sasuke helped persuade his brother."
Tsunade nodded. With the meal not yet ready, she briefly explained the cause and effect of what happened in the Hokage office that afternoon.
"War..."
Hyuga Kiyonari was also somewhat surprised this would be a solution proposed by the Third Hokage, even though he'd rejected it.
"Sensei, I once read a story in a book."
Kiyonari organized his thoughts slightly before slowly speaking. "Long ago, two brothers needed to divide their inheritance. The older brother thought that as the eldest, he should get more. The younger brother thought it should be split equally. Just then, a strong man suddenly burst in and told them, 'Your family's land should also give me a share because I'm your neighbor.'"
"So the brothers who'd been at odds set aside their disagreements and fought side by side, first driving away this greedy neighbor. After working together to chase the neighbor off, the older brother saw his younger brother had just taken a heavy punch for him. Realizing the demand to split equally wasn't unreasonable, he agreed."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You're saying... Konoha and the Uchiha are the brothers in this story, while the Cloud Village is that greedy neighbor."
Could it be... war truly is the cure for the Uchiha problem?
However, Kiyonari's tone shifted as he continued. "But this story has another ending—both brothers were defeated by this strong neighbor."
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