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Hashirama suddenly felt that the Third Hokage in the anime died too early, leaving no time for his plans to fully unfold.
Years of careful planning.
All disrupted by Orochimaru.
Even now that he had survived, the situation had drifted further from the Third's original plans.
"What… what do you mean?"
The Third Hokage's expression darkened. He wasn't upset with Hashirama personally, but he felt the situation growing more dire.
Standing before the First Hokage,
It felt as if he had no secrets left.
It seemed like Hashirama knew everything.
The Third's sense of this feeling grew stronger...
"Are you really so clueless that you don't understand when I call you hypocritical?"
Hashirama sneered coldly, his gaze filled with disappointment as he looked at the Third Hokage.
"Third Hokage, after all these years as Hokage, you've managed to transform an era of talent in Konoha into one of decline. While Danzo is partly to blame, you should be more aware of your own role in this than anyone."
Hashirama didn't give the Third Hokage a chance to argue. He shook his finger and continued speaking.
"Let's talk about the Second Great Ninja War."
"Your three disciples fought against Hanzo of the Salamander and were hailed as the Legendary Three Ninjas, famous throughout the ninja world!"
"Wasn't that enough for these three to qualify as the Fourth Hokage?"
"Unfortunately, after that, they all became disillusioned with the village and left."
"Was there no role for you in this?"
Hashirama's voice turned icy, filled with intense questioning that startled the Third Hokage.
Before the Third could respond,
Hashirama continued.
"At that time, Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, had a reputation that resonated throughout the ninja world. Even those three respected him. He had the resolve to sacrifice for missions and deeply valued his comrades!"
"Wasn't someone like that qualified to become the Fourth Hokage?"
"Even more regrettably, he chose to commit suicide under the pressure and criticism from the village."
"As the Third Hokage."
"In this storm of public opinion, what role did you play? Did you take the opportunity to stir things up?"
"At the very least..."
"You didn't manage to suppress the issue, did you?"
Hashirama's disappointment grew more intense. He remembered that in the anime, the Third Hokage seemed to only offer a brief consolation to Kakashi.
"This is someone who, during the Second Great Ninja War, had the chance to succeed you as Hokage but met with an unfortunate fate."
"Third Hokage."
"Explain it to me!"
"I just don't understand!"
"Didn't your mentor teach you that being Hokage requires a spirit of sacrifice, to be responsible for the village, and to leave hope for future generations?"
"This is something even the Fourth Hokage had!"
Hashirama's intense focus burst forth. He had always wished he could confront the Third Hokage directly when watching the anime.
Many details weren't explicitly covered.
But the Third Hokage's actions were difficult to hide.
If one successor had issues, it could be considered a stroke of bad luck. But why was it that during the Third Hokage's tenure, everyone who aspired to be Hokage seemed to encounter problems?
If it wasn't the Third Hokage's fault, could it be the fault of the position itself?
Or...
Hashirama suddenly felt that the Third Hokage in the anime died too early, leaving no time for his plans to fully unfold.
Years of careful planning.
All disrupted by Orochimaru.
Even now that he had survived, the situation had drifted further from the Third's original plans.
"What… what do you mean?"
The Third Hokage's expression darkened. He wasn't upset with Hashirama personally, but he felt the situation growing more dire.
Standing before the First Hokage,
It felt as if he had no secrets left.
It seemed like Hashirama knew everything.
The Third's sense of this feeling grew stronger...
"Are you really so clueless that you don't understand when I call you hypocritical?"
Hashirama sneered coldly, his gaze filled with disappointment as he looked at the Third Hokage.
"Third Hokage, after all these years as Hokage, you've managed to transform an era of talent in Konoha into one of decline. While Danzo is partly to blame, you should be more aware of your own role in this than anyone."
Hashirama didn't give the Third Hokage a chance to argue. He shook his finger and continued speaking.
"Let's talk about the Second Great Ninja War."
"Your three disciples fought against Hanzo of the Salamander and were hailed as the Legendary Three Ninjas, famous throughout the ninja world!"
"Wasn't that enough for these three to qualify as the Fourth Hokage?"
"Unfortunately, after that, they all became disillusioned with the village and left."
"Was there no role for you in this?"
Hashirama's voice turned icy, filled with intense questioning that startled the Third Hokage.
Before the Third could respond,
Hashirama continued.
"At that time, Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, had a reputation that resonated throughout the ninja world. Even those three respected him. He had the resolve to sacrifice for missions and deeply valued his comrades!"
"Wasn't someone like that qualified to become the Fourth Hokage?"
"Even more regrettably, he chose to commit suicide under the pressure and criticism from the village."
"As the Third Hokage."
"In this storm of public opinion, what role did you play? Did you take the opportunity to stir things up?"
"At the very least..."
"You didn't manage to suppress the issue, did you?"
Hashirama's disappointment grew more intense. He remembered that in the anime, the Third Hokage seemed to only offer a brief consolation to Kakashi.
"This is someone who, during the Second Great Ninja War, had the chance to succeed you as Hokage but met with an unfortunate fate."
"Third Hokage."
"Explain it to me!"
"I just don't understand!"
"Didn't your mentor teach you that being Hokage requires a spirit of sacrifice, to be responsible for the village, and to leave hope for future generations?"
"This is something even the Fourth Hokage had!"
Hashirama's intense focus burst forth. He had always wished he could confront the Third Hokage directly when watching the anime.
Many details weren't explicitly covered.
But the Third Hokage's actions were difficult to hide.
If one successor had issues, it could be considered a stroke of bad luck. But why was it that during the Third Hokage's tenure, everyone who aspired to be Hokage seemed to encounter problems?
If it wasn't the Third Hokage's fault, could it be the fault of the position itself?
Or...
The Third Hokage's mouth twitched, and his eyes trembled. He could hardly believe that someone, especially someone long deceased and not privy to recent events, could see through his thoughts so thoroughly.
The previous statements weren't entirely accurate.
Some details were incorrect.
But overall...
They aligned perfectly with his own thoughts.
His ideas had been laid bare!
"I didn't push the Three Ninjas out. They left on their own. I didn't think their hearts were no longer with Konoha!"
"I didn't slander the White Fang, nor did I control the public opinion. I merely remained silent. I didn't expect him to commit suicide!"
"The Nine-Tails incident had nothing to do with me. I never imagined the Fourth Hokage would die there!"
"The Uchiha clan… They were the ones planning a rebellion. Was I supposed to just watch Konoha fall to them?"
"I didn't expect Hiashi Hyuga to kill the head envoy from the Land of Lightning!"
"I didn't foresee…"
The Third Hokage tried to continue his explanations, but was abruptly interrupted by Hashirama.
"Enough."
"You didn't foresee anything."
"You're the most wronged Hokage."
"Hashirama, despite his wisdom, was hasty in choosing the Hokage successor."
Hashirama sighed in frustration. He always felt that if Danzo had been given the position of Hokage back then, things might have turned out differently.
With Danzo's tactics, Konoha might not have reached such a dire state. Perhaps Orochimaru wouldn't have become the Fourth Hokage. Konoha's technological advancements would have been unparalleled, and the subsequent wars wouldn't have put them in such a passive position.
After all, the Fourth Great Ninja War, with the appearance of the Edo Tensei army and Konoha's F4, was largely a result of Orochimaru's technological contributions.
"Lord First Hokage…"
The Third Hokage was on the brink of tears, feeling he had been unfairly burdened with blame, a burden laid upon him by the First Hokage himself.
He felt trapped with no way to escape.
"Shh!"
"Don't speak."
"Focus on what you need to leave for Konohamaru."
Hashirama silenced him with a gesture. He was done talking with the Third Hokage; everything that needed to be said had been said.
It was time for the next person.
The room was in stunned silence.
The implications were clear!
It was absurdly exaggerated!
The First Hokage's Five Kage Summit had barely begun, and the Third Hokage was already out of the discussion?
How could the meeting proceed now?
Everyone else felt the weight of the moment even more heavily. If the Hokage of their own village was dealt with this way, their own futures seemed even more uncertain.
"Well then…"
Hashirama glanced at Mei Terumi first, considering the interactions with the Mist Village. He then turned his attention to Onoki.
"Third Tsuchikage, it's your turn!"
(End of Chapter)