Go

Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had died.

Yet the entire village was not as grief-stricken as one might have imagined.

The sorrow of mourning the departed could not wash away the hard-won joy and yearning for peace.

The dead were gone; the living had to carry on.

In the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in the Hokage's robe, stared at the reports spread across his desk with an agonized expression.

Less than a week after Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's death, the Konoha Military Police Force had already arrested seven or eight villagers for causing trouble while drunk.

All sorts of complicated and tedious affairs also came flooding in, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi utterly overwhelmed.

For the first time, he truly understood the immense pressure his teacher had borne on his shoulders.

These governmental affairs could not be settled through strength alone. On the contrary, strength seemed especially useless at times like this.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura clamored to join the administrative department and help Hiruzen Sarutobi share the burden;

Shimura Danzō said, "Hiruzen, you need an assistant to help you control the Anbu, and I am that capable assistant";

Meanwhile, Torifu Akimichi, whom Hiruzen Sarutobi trusted deeply, said, "Big Brother Hiruzen, I'm tired. I'm worn out. I'm exhausted. There are still over a dozen barbecue restaurants at home waiting for me to inherit them."

As for Kagami Uchiha, ever since their teacher died, the man had gone mad.

He stayed home all day trying to make babies, constantly muttering about sending his son to Rinto as a disciple;

He wanted Rinto to raise his son into the next Uchiha clan head and the Fourth Hokage, so that he could inherit Lord Hashirama's will and get rid of the cursed Uchiha surname.

Whenever Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of that man secretly lurking by the Ninja School gates, waiting for Rinto to get out of class, his head began to throb.

What left Hiruzen Sarutobi even more speechless was that the unreliable Kagami Uchiha had actually started hanging around with the perpetually unserious Rinto. The two spent all day plotting something in the shadows.

And any child raised by those two would possess both Rinto's cunning and the Uchiha Sharingan. There was a damn good chance he could become the Fourth Hokage.

That would be a fucking enhanced version of Madara Uchiha!

At the thought of it, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a tightness in his chest.

"Every last one of you is just here to give me a headache!" Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered before looking out the window.

On the horizon, the beautiful setting sun cast its final afterglow over Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer had the mood to deal with government affairs. He stood up decisively and gave the Anbu beside him an order.

"To the cemetery. I want to see my teacher."

With that, he walked out of the Hokage's Office on his own.

To be honest, during the first day or two after assuming office, he had indeed felt the thrill of holding power. But that thrill lasted only a short while.

After that, endless pressure and responsibility weighed him down until he could barely breathe.

Whenever that happened, he would visit the graves of the First Hokage and Second Hokage, his two teachers, and sit there for a while.

After crossing the streets, warmly playing with several children, and discussing postpartum care for sows with an old woman, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the Konoha Ninja Cemetery.

Today, he was not the only visitor here.

Having learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, Rinto had long since handed the exhausting work of blacksmithing over to his clones.

He had also tossed the boring task of accompanying his sister shopping onto them.

Along with those tasks, the repetitive daily classes had also drifted far away from him.

He had now entered retirement early.

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly entered the cemetery, only then seeing this strange visitor clearly.

Rinto sat cross-legged on the ground, facing the gravestone of Second Hokage Tobirama Senju. A low table sat before him.

Only after walking closer did Hiruzen Sarutobi see the table in full.

It was a small, square table, its surface densely covered in black and white stones.

Rinto sat cross-legged on the ground, holding a black stone in his left hand while rubbing his chin with his right, his eyes fixed on the low table.

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly approached from behind Rinto.

Yet the boy was completely unaware, seemingly lost in thought.

"Ahem." Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed twice, interrupting Rinto's train of thought.

"Rinto-kun, what are you doing?"

Hearing the voice, Rinto subconsciously turned around. When he saw that it was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, he immediately stood up.

"Uncle Hiruzen, I'm playing a board game."

"Playing a board game? What game? With whom?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked curiously.

"Go. With Lord Tobirama."

After saying that, Rinto excitedly pointed at the board and explained the rules he roughly knew.

"This is Go. It's very simple. One side plays white, the other plays black. Once a stone is placed, it can't be moved. After one side makes a move, the other side goes."

As he spoke, he gathered all the stones on the board into their bowls before placing a black stone on it.

"Look, once the black stone is placed, it can't move. Then, these four points around it are called its 'liberties.'"

As he explained, Rinto placed four white stones around the black stone.

"When the black stone has no liberties left, it dies." With that, he removed the black stone and pointed at the spot where it had died.

"This place is where black can't place another stone. It's called a 'Forbidden point.' Those are the rules. Simple, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

"Compared to shogi, where every piece has its own specific way of moving, this is indeed much simpler."

"Want to play a game?" Rinto snickered inwardly. Simple? I'll smash your head in soon enough!

With that in mind, Rinto moved the board, and the two began their match before the Second Hokage's gravestone.

Calling it a match was generous. It was really just Rinto bullying him one-sidedly.

Rinto laid traps all over the board and used every underhanded trick he could, swallowing Hiruzen Sarutobi's stones in no time.

As for his own stones, even when they were surrounded, he kept leaving "Forbidden points," forcibly preventing Hiruzen Sarutobi from capturing a single stone.

After losing several games in a row, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face gradually turned livid.

He truly had not expected that while working, he would be driven to distraction by Rinto and Kagami Uchiha.

And now that he was off work, this brat was beating him senseless on the board too.

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to lose his temper, Rinto hurriedly reached out and pushed aside his winning position.

"Uncle Hiruzen, this isn't interesting. Go is mainly a contest of minds. How about this? Pretend you're Lord Tobirama, and we'll boldly imitate Lord Hashirama's intelligence."

Hearing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi had wanted to refuse. But when he thought of how Teacher Tobirama had managed the village so well without breaking a sweat, perhaps he should learn more from his teacher.

At that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly nodded. "Then let's do it."

With that, the two began another game.

This time, Rinto completely abandoned his previous sly style. He charged recklessly in every direction, like an idiot who only knew how to ram his head against walls.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, meanwhile, became much more cautious. With every move, he carefully considered things from Teacher Tobirama's perspective, thinking through how his teacher would play.

Before long, Rinto's black stones had been slaughtered by the white stones until they were scattered everywhere.

Though he was clearly about to win, Hiruzen Sarutobi showed no joy at all.

The more he played, the more alarmed he became.

This simple board game, this completely new style of play, actually aligned with the ways of warfare!

In comparison, shogi seemed somewhat cramped and lacking in grandeur.

Gradually, he began to grasp it.

His play also became increasingly smooth and confident.

Rinto frowned, staring hard at the losing position on the board. Then he suddenly grinned and sighed.

"As expected, only Lord Tobirama's wisdom can surpass Lord Hashirama's."

Then Rinto abruptly changed the subject.

"Still, what made Lord Hashirama amazing was that his strength had reached the point where he didn't need to follow rules. He could make the rules."

As he spoke, Rinto swiftly reached out and swept all the stones on the board into a complete mess.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been staring at the board, froze for a moment. Then he shook his head helplessly and burst into laughter.

To become Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not stupid. On the contrary, his mind was exceptionally sharp.

He had already understood why Rinto had asked him to play Go.

Rather than playing a game, it was more like Rinto was indirectly giving him guidance.

Knowing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not angry. He had never been an arrogant man greedy for power, or else he would not have divided the authority in his hands among Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura.

On the contrary, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the one who had truly inherited the Will of Fire.

Therefore, he did not mind Rinto secretly teaching him how to become an outstanding Hokage.

It was difficult, yet simple.

Either he could be like Lord Hashirama and use overwhelming strength to subdue foreign enemies;

Or he could be like Lord Tobirama and govern the village with calmness and wisdom.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted both.

At that moment, the Third Hokage, who had always lacked much ambition, suddenly felt his blood surge with excitement.

"Another game?" Rinto asked with a smile.

"Another game!" Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

In the next game, both sides slowed their pace considerably. The previous clashing blades and flashing swords seemed never to have existed. The board was unexpectedly harmonious.

While they played, Hiruzen Sarutobi casually spoke up.

"Recently, I heard you and Kagami have been sneaking around together every day?"

"Heh." Rinto chuckled. "You can't blame me. He blocks me outside the Ninja School every day. I really have no choice. He forced me into it."

Hearing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the conversation as though they were merely chatting.

"So what do you two talk about? You never run out of things to say?"

How could they not run out? They had long run out. It was Kagami Uchiha, that two-faced bastard, who was never satisfied.

Rinto complained inwardly before honestly answering.

"We don't really talk about much.

That guy's already gone crazy. He spends all day trying to make babies. His wife is practically getting depressed because of him."

Hearing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately looked up, his expression strange as he stared at Rinto, who was still just a child.

This brat talks like some fucking old man!

Rinto had no idea he was being mocked and continued.

"He blocks me every day because he wants me to teach his son. He even said he wanted his son to be as sly as a fox, just like me.

"Uncle Hiruzen, look at that. Is that something a person should say?"

As he spoke, Rinto sighed with a deeply aggrieved expression.

Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as well, his face darkening.

"And he even asked me how to instill the Will of Fire deep into a child's heart."

Hearing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi became interested at once. He stopped playing and hurriedly asked, "Do you have an answer?"

"I do. I told him to make the child first, then find the Yamanaka Clan to help stuff the Will of Fire directly into the kid's brain," Rinto said as though it were only natural.

Fuck! I must have been blind to ask whether you had an answer!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face instantly turned black as the bottom of a pot.

After taking several deep breaths, he finally expelled the stifling anger in his chest.

"That... that method is too shallow. Is there an even better way?" Sarutobi asked shakily.

Rinto nodded. "Kagami Uchiha reacted about the same way you did. He also asked whether I had a better method.

"I told him to brainwash the child first, then send him to the Jashin Cult.

"Maybe when he comes back, he'll be as smart as me, awaken the Mangekyo like Kagami, and still have the Will of Fire engraved in his heart. It'd be perfect."

Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer wanted to speak to this guy at all.

Suddenly, he thought of something. Hesitation flickered across his face before he asked.

"Rinto-kun, what do you think of the Will of Fire?"

As soon as he spoke, Rinto's hand, which had been about to place a stone, froze. He slowly raised his head and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Uncle, do you... do you think someone with my experiences is still qualified to bear the whole village on his shoulders?"

Rinto scratched his scalp and added,

"The Will of Fire is an ideal, a goal.

"Uncle, do you think I would have something as vague as ideals and goals?

"What I have is only a tiny bit of affection. That is what I would protect with my life."

Rinto smiled freely, tossed down the stone in his hand, then quickly rose and left the cemetery.

Watching Rinto's carefree figure vanish into the sunset, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally reached down to pick up the stone that had fallen to the ground and gave an order to the empty surroundings.

"From now on, there's no need to monitor Sakuta Rinto anymore!"