Fire's Position

Konoha Year 45. With Sunagakure's tree-cutting campaign and the addition of another major shinobi village, the already chaotic war in the Shinobi World had become even more of a mess.

And just as Chiyo had expected, after yet another tree-cutting campaign carried out by four shinobi villages, it was obvious that Konoha was suffering from a shortage of combat power. It seemed that... facing the shameless actions of four major shinobi villages, Konoha was under quite a lot of pressure.

Although the previous two wars had also seen situations where one side fought four opponents, or four opponents plus the Land of Rain, things... were no longer what they used to be.

The Third Hokage gazed melancholically at the slightly desolate village outside his window. As the war progressed—from the First War to the Second War and now the Third Great Shinobi War—he could clearly feel the improvement in the villagers' standard of living, the obvious increase in per-capita income, and the steady rise in their happiness index.

But the village's combat strength... seemed to have declined considerably instead.

Back then, his teacher, the Second Hokage—Tobirama Senju—and the others had been ambushed. To cover their retreat, Tobirama had faced the Gold Horn Force alone, ultimately exhausting himself and sacrificing his life.

And he... as his teacher's finest disciple, had been entrusted with the position of Third Hokage in their hour of crisis.

He had worked diligently ever since. No matter how terrifying or brutal the war, he had still been able to lead the village to victory, cultivate the Sannin who shook the Shinobi World, and reform the Academy so that it could more reasonably and correctly train talent for Konoha.

Under immense pressure, he had even disregarded the regulations his teacher had set down and allowed several members of the Uchiha Clan to leave the village and undertake missions every year, easing the tension between the Uchiha and the village.

With his good friends Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu helping to manage the village, and his very best... friend Shimura Danzō assisting him from the shadows, why had the village's strength... grown weaker and weaker?

He recalled the news recently delivered by the Anbu, and another bitter smile appeared on his face. Of the three disciples on whom he had placed such high hopes... only Orochimaru could be considered obedient.

Of course... Orochimaru had always been that obedient, from childhood to adulthood. He also possessed the talent of an excellent ninja and a calm mind. Although something had caused his entire personality to change quite a bit, he was still better than Tsunade, who was now idling away in the village, and... Jiraiya, who spent every day wandering off somewhere to gather material.

Taking the pipe from the corner of his mouth, the Third Hokage looked at the Kazekage outside the window and sighed melancholy. "Orochimaru... the Fourth Hokage?"

At that, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a gratified smile.

"He truly is... a ninja who possesses the Will of Fire. As expected of the excellent student I trained! Hahaha!"

"I think so too."

Wearing a ninja vest, Orochimaru licked his lips and revealed a sinister smile as he stared at the map on the table.

"Leave Iwagakure alone for now. They've been unable to break through for so long. Launching a surprise attack now... would be an utterly foolish idea. Konoha isn't so easy to take by surprise; just any shinobi village can't successfully ambush it."

"So, Orochimaru-sama, you mean..."

"There's no need to pay attention to Iwagakure for the time being."

After saying that, Orochimaru lowered his head and stared at the map on the table, sinking into thought for a moment.

"Kikyo Castle? Sunagakure and Iwagakure..."

He raised his head, smiled faintly, and shook it.

"It seems that with the appearance of the Fourth Kazekage, Sunagakure's confidence has grown quite a bit~"

As soon as he finished speaking, he slapped the table with a bang.

"In that case... let's deal with it first—Sunagakure!"

This trip away from the village... was not simply for the sake of fighting.

The old man was getting on in years, and Konoha... should also choose its next Hokage.

Although he, Orochimaru, had the greatest opportunity in the village—after all... he possessed great strength, held the title of Sannin, and the other two Sannin were his close friends.

Tsunade had no interest in becoming Hokage, especially because of what had happened back then... She had become much more depressed and was hopelessly addicted to gambling and drinking. It probably wouldn't be long before even the fortune left behind by the Senju Clan wasn't enough to cover her losses.

And Jiraiya... that fellow hadn't changed at all from childhood to the present. It was just that after becoming one of the Sannin who shook the Shinobi World, he no longer acted as recklessly as he once had.

At the very least, he now peeked at women under the pretext of gathering material. Although no one really read the few books he had written, he had sworn with confidence... that he absolutely would never become Hokage.

He had even said that if Orochimaru became Hokage and issued him a permit to enter and leave the women's baths, he would strongly support Orochimaru becoming the Fourth Hokage.

Of course...

As the future Fourth Hokage, how could he do something so shameless?

He wasn't like that old man, who claimed to be monitoring the village while his Crystal Ball kept showing a Hokage covered in holy light.

Although he himself didn't actually want to become Hokage that badly, it would be far more convenient to explore the mysteries of the Shinobi World, the mysteries of humanity, and the mysteries of Chakra with the identity of Hokage.

So, he had the strength, companions, qualifications, and talent. The current Hokage was also his teacher. How could he fail to become the Fourth Hokage?

It could be said that after his two close friends, Tsunade and Jiraiya, withdrew from the competition for Hokage, the next Hokage was destined to be him.

Only...

"The battle still has to be fought properly, and fought beautifully." Orochimaru smiled, narrowing his eyes as he licked his lips. "That way, those old diehards in the village won't have so many excuses."

The Hokage position... was practically within his grasp~

"Teacher, do you want to become Hokage too?"

The boy wore goggles on his head and looked somewhat foolish, but he kept grinning as he spoke to the gentle blond young man before him with a firm tone.

"If that's the case... then it looks like I can only become the next Hokage."

"Idiot!"

The silver-haired boy with spiky hair beside him rolled his eyes and spoke blandly.

"Kakashi, you... I get it now. You must be jealous of my talent, jealous that I can become Hokage!"

"Idiot, moron!"

"Hey, hey, why did you add another insult?"

"Idiot, moron, coward!"

"..."

Obito raised an eyebrow. That detestable Kakashi—he immediately rolled up his sleeves, preparing to show him the might of Obito-sama, when...

"All right, all right, stop arguing~" Minato Namikaze helplessly pulled Obito away and said with an exasperated smile, "You two really have a good relationship~!"

"Not at all!" ×2

Obito and Kakashi glanced at each other, then simultaneously snorted and turned their heads away.

"You call this not getting along?"

With a smile, Minato looked at his two adorable subordinates, who were acting petulant and turning their heads aside—especially Kakashi...

It seemed... perhaps Kakashi could sense the precious bond between comrades without Minato needing to remind him!

But recently...

Kakashi still preferred to work alone when completing missions. Even when his comrades were in danger, he continued to regard the mission as the most important thing. That wouldn't do. Third Hokage had specifically instructed Minato not to let Kakashi go astray and to make absolutely sure he trained him into a ninja who possessed the Will of Fire.

He shook his head and sighed. It wasn't time yet. He had to find the right opportunity.

Then, looking at Obito, who was always saying that he would definitely become Hokage, Minato said, "As for the next Hokage, teacher doesn't have a chance~"

"Huh? Why?"

"Idiot! The Sannin are still around. Jiraiya-sama is teacher's teacher." Kakashi folded his arms and glanced sideways at Obito with disdain. "You don't even know that? You really are an idiot!"

"So that's how it is... Hey, hey, Kakashi, what are you saying? And that look in your eyes... it's as if you think I'm an idiot."

"Not as if!"

"You're making me furious! Stop right there! Today, I'll definitely show you the might of Obito-sama!"

Meanwhile...

Kana, who had followed Chiyo to Konoha's border, crouched down and looked at the silver-haired Kid before her. Even after seeing so many ninjas, he remained calm. With a gentle smile, she said, "Hello, I'm Kana. What happened to your eyes?"