The more Shisui thought about it, the more ominous Byakuya's words seemed. The phrase, "If a Uchiha's dream is to become Hokage, then destruction is only a matter of time," weighed on his heart like some kind of fate, making it hard to breathe.
Reflecting on the clan's history of striving for power, he realized the tragic pattern. Madara once desired the position of Hokage but ended up as a rogue ninja, dying at the hands of the First Hokage. Shisui's own grandfather, who also aspired to be Hokage, perished on a secret mission.
Despite these painful lessons, the Uchiha still yearned for the title of Hokage.
Did the Hokage position truly hold such allure? Was it so powerful that it drove countless clan members to sacrifice themselves, much like moths to a flame?
Noticing Shisui's distracted expression, Itachi patiently waited before asking, "Shisui, what were you just thinking about? Were you thinking about how to become Hokage?"
Shisui, snapping out of his thoughts, shook his head with a hint of fear. "No, I wasn't. I was thinking that maybe neither the clan nor we should aim for the position of Hokage. We should stay quietly within the police force instead. The Uchiha can still uphold the Will of Fire by serving there."
Itachi looked surprised. Shisui wasn't just any ninja—he was the youngest jonin in the clan, and his future potential might even surpass his father's, putting him on par with the previous clan leaders.
For Shisui to have no aspirations of becoming Hokage was unexpected, especially since almost all Uchiha ninjas desired it, hoping for an Uchiha Hokage to emerge one day.
Just as Itachi was about to persuade his older cousin, he received feedback from his shadow clone. The clone he had left at the Ninja Academy had been dispelled, and he needed to return immediately; otherwise, the teachers would scold him, and his parents would be disappointed.
Realizing this, Itachi stood up slowly, bowed, and said, "My shadow clone has been discovered, so I have to return to the village right away. I'll come visit you tonight."
Shisui nodded and replied, "See you tonight, then."
As soon as Shisui finished speaking, Itachi used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished. His speed far surpassed that of an average academy student, even exceeding most genin and chunin.
Watching Itachi disappear into the distance, Shisui couldn't help but marvel at his talent, recognizing that Itachi's potential rivaled his own.
Once Itachi was gone, Shisui stood there, lost in thought. He had no idea what path lay ahead for him or the clan. Should he seek guidance from Lord Third? Or perhaps another ninja?
Byakuya of Amegakure was a good option, but Shisui had no reason to leave the village, let alone travel to Amegakure to seek him out.
With a sigh, Shisui began training alone.
If thinking wouldn't yield answers, then growing stronger was the only path forward. His three-tomoe Sharingan could easily see through an enemy's weaknesses, but it couldn't glimpse the future of the Uchiha.
---
At the Hokage's office.
Jiraiya anxiously pushed open the door to the office. Upon seeing his former teacher, the Third Hokage, seated behind the desk, his gaze dimmed with sorrow.
Before returning to the village, Jiraiya had already learned of the Fourth Hokage and Kushina's sacrifice, but seeing his teacher sitting in the Hokage's chair instead of Minato stirred a complex wave of emotions within him.
Noticing Jiraiya enter, the Third Hokage lifted his head.
Neither master nor student spoke. The air in the office was thick with sadness, as one had lost an heir, and the other had lost a beloved student.
After a moment of silence, Jiraiya hesitantly asked, "Old man, is Minato really gone? Didn't he master the Flying Thunder God technique? Could anyone in the ninja world really kill him?"
The Third Hokage sighed softly and replied, "To be precise, Minato and Kushina are listed as missing. But Minato used the Reaper Death Seal, and Kushina lost the Nine-Tails. After so many days with no news, their deaths are almost certain. They gave everything to keep the Nine-Tails in the village. Both of them fought with all they had."
Jiraiya sighed in response, unable to argue. The Third was right—if Minato had wanted to flee, no one in the ninja world could have stopped him.
But instead of escaping, Minato chose to use the Reaper Death Seal to seal the Nine-Tails within their newborn son, Naruto, ensuring the beast stayed within the village.
After all, if the Nine-Tails had been killed, there was no telling when or where it would reincarnate.
If Konoha lost the mighty Nine-Tails, the other ninja villages, always looking for an opportunity, would undoubtedly launch an attack, igniting yet another great war.
Additionally, Minato loved Kushina dearly and likely had thoughts of following her in death.
But this left their child to suffer—barely born, Naruto had lost both his parents, and his future would undoubtedly be filled with hardships.
Thinking of this, Jiraiya looked at the Third Hokage and asked, "Old man, where is Naruto right now? The masked man might attack him again!"
"Naruto has been properly taken care of by me."
After a pause, the Third Hokage revealed his plan: "In the days to come, I intend to conceal Naruto's identity and raise him as an ordinary child. This is also for his protection."
"Old man, I trust your arrangements."
Jiraiya nodded slightly, feeling reassured by the Third Hokage's plans. Even if they concealed Naruto's identity, the Third Hokage would never neglect him.
However, with Minato gone, it seemed like he had one less reason to stay in the village.
Of the few people he could talk to in the village, besides the old man, there was Orochimaru. He wondered how Orochimaru was doing and whether he had moved on from the shadow of losing the Hokage election.
At this moment, Jiraiya seemed to recall something and said, "Old man, since Minato has been confirmed missing, shouldn't the village elect the next Hokage? We can't have you overworking yourself forever."
The Third Hokage glanced at Jiraiya and said, "That's exactly why I called you here. With Minato's sacrifice, don't you, as his teacher, bear the responsibility to inherit the land and become the new Hokage?"
Jiraiya's expression turned difficult. He had grown accustomed to a free and easy life and couldn't handle the constraints that came with being Hokage.
Becoming Hokage was a difficult dream for most jōnin, but for him, it was a significant hassle.
Once he became Hokage, he wouldn't only have to deal with daily duties; his personal freedom would also be restricted. If he wanted to leave the village, he'd have to consult with other high-ranking officials and take a guard squad with him.
His small hobbies would be hard to pursue with a guard squad in tow.
Unless he disregarded Konoha's reputation, but he could never act in a way that would dishonor Konoha.
With this in mind, Jiraiya said to the Third Hokage, "Orochimaru would be a good candidate. He also ran for the Fourth Hokage position, and if he becomes the Fifth, the jōnin in the village shouldn't object."
Mentioning Orochimaru, the Third Hokage's expression changed slightly, and he frowned. "Orochimaru spends all his time in the lab and doesn't have time to take on the role of Hokage. Besides, he's been getting too close to Danzo lately, which could influence him."
To be fair, the Third Hokage didn't want to see Orochimaru become Hokage.
Although Orochimaru was his most talented disciple, with his eye for talent and contributions to the village, he was more than qualified to be the new Hokage.
However, Orochimaru had a fatal flaw: his overly cold personality.
On the battlefield, he could ruthlessly kill enemies and devise strategies that sacrificed a few for victory, which contradicted the essence of the Will of Fire.
Not only that, during the earlier Wood Release project, his gaze towards the volunteers was no different from that of a scientist looking at lab mice.
When volunteers transformed into tree people, there was no emotional fluctuation on Orochimaru's face.
A ninja like that could manage the village, but he absolutely could not be Hokage. If everyone emulated Orochimaru, the Will of Fire would lose its meaning.
However, the Third Hokage couldn't express these thoughts in front of Jiraiya.
After pondering for a moment, the Third Hokage continued, "You can recommend Orochimaru to be Hokage, but there should be at least two candidates in the election. If you agree to run for Hokage or bring Tsunade back, I can immediately convene a meeting of all jōnin."
Jiraiya remained silent for a few seconds, not wanting to continue this topic.
He didn't want to become Hokage, and Tsunade definitely didn't want to either. Since she left the village in anger a few years ago, she hadn't returned.
At most, she only showed up to support the front lines during wartime.
To be honest, he didn't even have the confidence to bring Tsunade back, let alone persuade her to run for Fifth Hokage. For now, he could only play dead and avoid the topic.
Seeing Jiraiya fall silent, the Third Hokage realized his plan had failed.
He had originally hoped to trick Jiraiya into running for Hokage, but that plan now seemed unfeasible.
Still, his health was holding up; he could manage for another three to five years.
He hoped that by then, Jiraiya and Tsunade would come to their senses. The village needed a young Hokage to inject vitality; he could no longer risk any actions that might disrupt the balance.
As Jiraiya and the Third Hokage negotiated over the position of Hokage, Danzo appeared in the corridor outside.
Hearing Jiraiya's disdain for the Hokage role, Danzo's old face twitched, and he unconsciously gripped his cane tighter, his nails digging into the wood.
If Jiraiya was unwilling to take on the Hokage role, then perhaps the old man could serve in that capacity.
Had he really worked diligently for the village all these years only to be overshadowed by a wandering Tsunade? Just because she was Tsunade, the granddaughter of Hashirama and Tobirama?
Clearing his throat a few times to assert his presence, Danzo pushed open the office door. From the force with which he opened it, the door seemed heavier than before.
Did Sarutobi anticipate his foul mood and the possibility of him leaving in anger?
Reining in his wandering thoughts, Danzo approached the desk, handed the meeting records to the Third Hokage, and said slowly, "I've completed the work on clan land distribution. Aside from the Uchiha being dissatisfied, the other clans are quite satisfied."
"However, I'm concerned that the Uchiha may cause trouble, so I propose installing surveillance near their territory to monitor their movements and guard against potential attacks."
The Third Hokage took the records, glanced over them, and said, "Let's skip the surveillance; the Uchiha are part of the village, and we can't treat them differently. As for the clan territory issues, I'll go discuss it with Fugaku in a few days."
Seeing the Third Hokage's leniency towards the Uchiha, Danzo's expression turned sour. "Sarutobi, you're being too lenient. The Uchiha must be kept under surveillance to ensure the village's safety, especially since this Kyuubi incident is closely related to them."
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya leaned in, curious. "Danzo, do you know the identity of the attacker? Did you fight the masked man that day?"
Danzo's expression grew awkward; he hadn't actually fought the masked man.
After a moment, he forcefully explained, "I didn't fight the masked man, but based on the information we have, it should be confirmed that the masked man is an Uchiha who has developed space-time ninjutsu."
"The Kyuubi incident was a collaboration between the masked man and the Uchiha to overthrow the village."
Jiraiya fixed his gaze on Danzo, saying, "Elder Danzo, you still lack concrete evidence to support this claim. Why must it be the Uchiha? Other ninjas could also learn Flying Thunder God Technique."
Danzo felt anger rising; he already disliked Jiraiya. "Only Uchiha Madara has controlled tailed beasts to attack the village. No other ninja can accomplish that. Who else could it be if not the Uchiha?"
"Moreover, only the village has complete space-time ninjutsu, and only people from the village have access to it."
As Danzo and Jiraiya argued, the Third Hokage suddenly recalled something he had nearly forgotten.
On the day of the Kyuubi incident, the sealing book had also been stolen.
That book contained records of nearly all of Konoha's forbidden techniques. Was the masked man's goal not to destroy Konoha but to obtain the sealing book?
But the ninjas recorded in the sealing book were high-risk techniques that didn't necessarily yield high returns.
What exactly was the masked man's purpose in stealing the sealing book?
After contemplating for a moment, the Third Hokage realized he had no good leads. The lost sealing book couldn't be recovered, but fortunately, there were multiple copies, so the village hadn't entirely lost those forbidden techniques.
Perhaps they could just monitor whether any of the forbidden techniques from the sealing book appeared across the ninja world.
That might reveal the masked man's true identity and the deeper reasons behind the Kyuubi incident.
At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. The Hokage's assistant burst through the door, breathless, and looked into the office.
Seeing the chaotic scene in the Hokage's office, the assistant was momentarily taken aback, then quickly handed a scroll of information to the Third Hokage, saying, "Lord Third, Lord Danzo, Lord Jiraiya, we've received news from the border: Kumogakure has declared war on the Land of Fire!"