On the outskirts of Konoha, at Tatsuya's cabin.
Inside the house, Kakashi had fallen asleep, while outside, a bonfire burned brightly beside the farmland.
The brothers Hatake Sakumo and Tatsuya sat on opposite sides of the bonfire, using trunks as makeshift chairs.
"How many years has it been since you last went back to the village? I almost forgot..." Sukumo's face was illuminated by the flickering firelight as he laughed in amazement.
In Tatsuya's memory, it seemed like he had graduated early with the Sannin twenty years ago and obtained the title of Genin. At that time, Sarutobi Hiruzen had just ascended to the title of the Third Hokage and personally chose Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya as his disciples.
This surprised Tatsuya, who was only eleven years old at the time but was already a genius in the village. According to their strength, one of Sannin should have been eliminated, and it should have been Jiraiya.
Because of this, Tatsuya chose to move away from Konoha and repeatedly refused to take the Chūnin exam. He barely took on missions, sustaining himself by growing vegetables and hunting. Even the right to reside on this piece of land was bought by Hatake Sakumo for him.
Now Because of this, the people of Konoha referred to Tatsuya as the eternal Genin.
"Unlucky for me to be born in such an era," Tatsuya mumbled as he held a wooden stick with wild boar skewers.
Taking a bite, Tatsuya continued grumbling, "Whether early or late, it doesn't matter. I just happened to pass through this time period."
"Born early?" Hatake Sakumo blinked in confusion, used to his brother saying things he didn't understand.
From childhood to adulthood, Hatake Sakumo had gotten used to his brother's peculiarities. However, in his previous life, Tatsuya's parents had passed away early, and he was raised by their grandfather. But when he got older, their grandfather also died. Therefore, Tatsuya had no burden.
But what bothered Hatake Tatsuya the most was that he had crossed over during Sarutobi Hiruzen's reign, and it was during the early days of his rule.
If only Tatsuya had crossed over to the time of Senju Hashirama or Senju Tobirama, or perhaps when the Konoha Twelve was on the rise and the elders were about to die!
During that time, the Konoha elders were composed of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura. It was undoubtedly the longest and most corrupt period in Konoha's history. Killing your Geniuses and taking care of people who don't listen to you.
Senju Hashirama's legacy was nearly obliterated in the time after the Nine-Tails attack. And today, if it weren't for Tatsuya's interference, Hatake Sakumo's Kage-level strength would probably have been gone in two days.
Tatsuya, with a godlike perspective as a transmigrator, was left speechless. Damn Senju Tobirama, what kind of vision did he have when he chose his disciples?
"Although you are strong, your political wisdom is so stupid that I can hardly bear to look at it," Tatsuya contemptuously remarked.
"What do you mean?" Hatake blinked dumbfounded.
"Do you really think those ninjas attacked you just because you failed to save Sarutobi Shinnosuke on the mission?"
"Isn't it?" Hatake asked, puzzled.
Tatsuya rolled his eyes, too lazy to continue arguing with his brother. In his view, it was because Hatake Sakumo was not from Sarutobi Hiruzen's faction. Moreover, during the Sengoku period, the Hatake family and the Sarutobi family were enemies. The grandfather of Tatsuya and Hatake Sakumo, who was the patriarch of the Hatake family at that time, was killed by Sarutobi Hiruzen's father, Sarutobi Sasuke. It was only natural for Sarutobi Hiruzen to be wary of them.
Furthermore, Sarutobi Hiruzen's strength will inevitably decline due to age in the coming years. The time for considering a new Hokage candidate was approaching. Before Hatake Sakumo's incident, he had been the most likely candidate.
Unlike Minato be it Sakumo or Orochimaru these people won't be easy to control after they became the Hokage.
Sarutobi Hiruzen doesn't need to do anything because there is someone else in the village who wants to become the Hokage. Will such a person let such a strong competitor as Sukomo arise?
Behind the slander, there must be someone manipulating it.
Tatsuya wasn't sure of Sarutobi Hiruzen's role in it, but he was certain that the elders' council couldn't escape involvement. After all, if Hatake Sakumo indeed became the Fourth Hokage, it wouldn't be advantageous for the elder group. There might even be retaliation from Hatake Sakumo.
In the current situation, it would be best for them to have their relatives, children, or disciples take over the position of Hokage. However, considering the circumstances, the Hatake family no longer carried much significance to the current Konoha.
With Sarutobi Hiruzen still at his peak, Shimura Danzo's group maintaining their Kage-level strength, and the Sannin gradually reaching Kage-level, not to mention Namikaze Minato, who was already showing promise, Konoha was experiencing a peak period in its history—second only to the time when Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara joined forces.
Tatsuya smirked, "I'm not afraid of the waves. Konoha is still the well-deserved first village in the Ninja world. It's just that during this time of the Konoha, these powerful individuals died one after another—either by death, defection, or betrayal."
As the plan for the Konoha Crush was set in motion by Orochimaru, the once-prominent first Ninja village in the world had only Sarutobi Hiruzen left with Kage-level strength. The group of elders, who were once strong, were then useless. Danzo never came forward during the Pain invasion or Orochimaru's Konoha Collapse.
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