Young Kakashi

"Why are you not as good as Fugaku?"

Recalling the embarrassing spar with Fugaku just now, Nawaki lowered his head in frustration and replied in a muffled voice:

"It's because I didn't train when I was younger, and I didn't study hard at the Ninja Academy."

Tsunade glanced at Nawaki in surprise. Shouldn't this younger brother of hers be saying something like, "I just wasn't using my full power!"?

Hanma deepened his tone and said in a grave voice:

"That is not your fault. The real reason is the dissolution of the Senju Clan and the oppression of the Uchiha Clan!"

Tsunade's face suddenly darkened. "Hanma, do you have to talk about such things with Nawaki too?"

Hanma said indifferently, "What is there that cannot be said? At his age, I had already killed many ninja."

"Besides, with you here, how could I be biased? You can also help supplement what I say."

Tsunade nodded hesitatingly, ultimately choosing to trust her boyfriend.

Watching the look of amazement but not sorrow on Nawaki's face, Hanma sighed inwardly. What a thick-skinned kid, he continued explaining:

"The Senju and the Uchiha are the founders of Konoha, as well as its great clans. During the early days of Konoha's founding, various ninja clans were not close, and a large portion of them still harbored blood feuds."

"Back then, there was a loud voice saying that the creation of Konoha was a trick for the Senju and Uchiha to swallow up other ninja clans. Your grandfather, the First Hokage, chose to dissolve the Senju Clan and merge with the village. Konoha is the Senju."

"This also shattered those rumors, but the Uchiha did not choose to dissolve; instead, they continued to maintain their family-oriented model."

"However, the accidental deaths in battle of the Second Hokage and my father accelerated the rise of the Uchiha Militant Faction, putting pressure on the newly ascended Third Hokage."

"Of the dissolved Senju clansmen, only a small portion continued to work as ninja, and among these people, many held resentment toward the dissolution of the Senju. Therefore, at that time, no one supported the Third Hokage in opposing the Uchiha."

"So, Nawaki, you, the direct grandson of the Senju, can only grow up like a civilian ninja. Without the systematic cultivation of a clan, naturally you are not as good as Fugaku."

Nawaki furrowed his brow tightly, completely devoid of anger or unwillingness. In his heart, this was merely a story of the past.

Tsunade slowly exhaled a breath, as if feeling immensely relieved. She had constantly been hesitating over how to tell Nawaki this piece of history.

"Then, by telling Nawaki these things, what answer do you hope to get?"

Hanma's expression remained unchanged as he stared earnestly at Tsunade and Nawaki, speaking slowly: "I want to tell him what a Hokage must bear."

"To bear the dissolution of one's clan, the incomprehension of one's clansmen, and also to bear the turning against comrades and the slaughter of brothers. Your path ahead might be one of universal betrayal, or it might be hanging from some tree branch, drying up and dying."

"To become a Jonin or even a Hokage—do you know how long the road in between is?"

"If Nawaki doesn't want to be a ninja anymore, then we'll just send him to the Land of Fire. I think that's pretty good too."

Tsunade froze. Not be a ninja? How could he not be a ninja? Hashirama Senju's grandson—how could he not become a great ninja?

Hanma didn't speak, just looking at her gently.

Gradually, Tsunade's eyes lit up as well. That's right, not being a ninja wasn't a big deal either.

After all, the Senju Clan basically all lived in the capital of the Land of Fire.

After a moment of silence, Nawaki stood up with a solemn expression and bowed.

"Thank you, Teacher Hanma, for telling me these things. I don't know yet whether I should continue to hold onto the dream of being a Hokage."

"But I still want to be an outstanding ninja. Please, continue to teach me!"

Hanma smiled, nodded, and calmly accepted Nawaki's bow.

"Then, when we get home, you must read and understand the book I gave you. This is the first step to overcoming yourself. Trust me, if you study under me, you will definitely become a very outstanding ninja."

Hearing about reading, Nawaki's little face fell, but he still nodded earnestly, indicating that he understood.

Tsunade looked at her younger brother's earnest expression, stroked his head with satisfaction, turned around, and asked with a smile:

"You guy, did you really just blurt out the Uchiha Clan's oppression of the Hokage like that? Aren't you afraid it will affect your lofty status in your disciple's heart?"

Hanma smiled indifferently. "History is just sitting there; it won't be edited away because of anything. What's more, my father was also your second grandfather's disciple."

As for Nawaki, Hanma first needed to correct his naive mindset and make him understand his true situation before he could fundamentally change him.

Otherwise, that bizarre character whom Orochimaru followed around and still couldn't save—Hanma truly had no confidence in letting him survive the Ninja War.

Hanma did not want to see his lover's tears, and Nawaki was also a very cute kid. Spending some effort on him was only right.

A silver-haired little radish-head, not even a meter tall, stood to the side like a little adult, folding his arms and listening to Hanma's high-flown discourse.

This little boy was none other than our Chakra unit of measurement—Kakashi Hatake.

Although only around two or three years old, this kid still wore a face mask, maintaining a deadpan expression and looking very cool.

Hanma stood up straight, preparing to add some more noodles, when he caught sight of Kakashi carrying a vegetable basket. A flash of shock crossed his heart. The Chakra unit of measurement was born already?

Calculating the date, it should be about right. Minato was only about ten years older than Kakashi.

Hanma reached out with a large hand, picked Kakashi up directly, and asked with a smile, "You kid, can you understand any of this?"

Kakashi tried to shake off Hanma's sinful big hand, but he didn't succeed, and could only answer helplessly:

"Do you know me? However, what you said is very similar to my dad's views, but it's also a bit different."

Hanma gave a knowing nod. His relationship with Hatake Sakumo could only be described as nodding acquaintances, and the philosophies of the two men were still quite different.

He put Kakashi down and scratched the boy's nose. "Say hello to Sakumo for me."

Kakashi frowned, but still nodded in agreement.

Hatake Sakumo walked the path of Nintaijutsu, using Wind and Lightning Release chakra to stimulate his body's vitality. He was famous for his ultimate speed and blade technique, a samurai wearing a ninja's skin.

Corresponding to his samurai personality, he practiced the ideology of loyalty to his lord.

Under the Third's civilian-favoring policies, Hatake Sakumo received a lot of resource support; therefore, his affection for Konoha was extremely profound.

Although in the original story, due to a dispute over comrades versus missions, public opinion was spread by people with hidden motives, and unable to bear the pressure, he committed suicide—putting forward the theory that comrades are more important than missions—he still would never agree with Hanma's theory.

To put it bluntly, Hanma had no particular attachment to Konoha. He loved specific individuals, not Konoha as a concept.

Konoha didn't have any so-called heritage and origin; it was merely a coalition of ninja clans, crowned with the Will of Fire and integrated.

Perhaps Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju did nothing wrong, but Hanma deeply understood how appalling the corruption within Konoha under such a system could be.

Hatake Sakumo fell due to public opinion, Orochimaru defected from the village, Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't participate in the Third Great Ninja War, and as for Hiruko, human experiments, the Root, and so on—he couldn't even be bothered to mention them.

A place with a total population of only tens of thousands made one sigh that dramatics couldn't possibly be scheduled this densely.

In his eyes, Konoha was just a very large residential compound with warlord characteristics. If staying in the compound wasn't comfortable, then moving away was a very normal thing to do, right?