Was this to say... Kakashi was now suspicious of everyone?
Of course.
Danzo had misled him, then Danzo had used the Uchiha Clan like that. The Third Hokage had forgiven Danzo for attempting to assassinate him, yet the Third Hokage had also wronged Naruto.
So.
Kakashi had realized that his entire worldview had collapsed. He could no longer find anyone he could trust.
However.
Faced with a Kakashi like this, none of the three previous Hokage present had the right or confidence to advise him.
Because.
Now that things had developed to this point, seeing how their juniors had turned out, they were already deeply ashamed.
Minato Namikaze: But one thing is clear.
Second Hokage-sama, the ninjutsu you proposed promoting, the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, failed.
Minato Namikaze: The Third Hokage refused to promote it. He said that while those with abundant Chakra could use this jutsu, widespread promotion might cause it to leak. If other ninja villages learned it, we would be in great danger.
So he refused.
Tobirama Senju: ...
Tobirama Senju: I truly misjudged him. Hiruzen was not suited to be Hokage. According to what you've said, after the Nine-Tails Incident, Konoha was short on new talent. That was precisely when it was at its weakest.
Tobirama Senju: Troubled times require harsh measures.
The weaker you are, the more you need to grow stronger.
Tobirama Senju: And yet... he still lacked that kind of decisiveness!
Tobirama Senju spoke as he sighed. He had still been young when he died, but the words he spoke now sounded like those of an old man.
His heart had endured far too much hardship.
The disciples entrusted with heavy responsibilities had not only failed to mature, but had continuously held him back. They were foolish too... and caused one consequence after another... making him feel as though he had lived his entire life in vain.
Tobirama Senju... was deeply shaken!
Minato Namikaze: ...
At this point, Kakashi did not know how to comfort the Second Hokage either.
Meanwhile, outside Konoha, Mei Terumi and Kisame quietly watched the drama unfold.
Kisame remained silent.
Mei Terumi, on the other hand, was purely enjoying the spectacle, and she was even in an excellent mood.
Because Kitahara Kaede had rejected Danzo.
That meant... she had still considered Kirigakure.
Besides, her Kirigakure actually had great potential.
Because... all the powerful people were dead.
There were not so many messy complications anymore, so once someone arrived, they could gather support with a single call.
But Konoha... why was its politics... such a mess?
She had heard that, in the past, someone from Kumogakure had come to Konoha to abduct someone and was killed by Hyuga Clan head Hyuga Hiashi. Yet they had then demanded that Hiashi pay with his life.
That was practically bullying them to their doorstep.
Yet the Third Hokage had actually endured it.
His reason was that he feared Kumogakure would seize the opportunity to use it as an excuse to start a war.
It could only be said that the Third Hokage was far too tolerant.
And that was... being a turtle.
She could endure too, but she would never be like the Third Hokage.
Indecisive Third Hokage, do you know? This was the greatest reason for your failure!
Meeting Hinata Again!
Danzo had left, and Kitahara Kaede created two Shadow Clones to start cleaning his home.
He had always felt that the ninja world was quite convenient. For example, with clones doing the work, you could lie in bed and read.
But speaking of books...
Kitahara Kaede glanced at the single bottle Danzo had thrown to him.
Inside the bottle was a two-tomoe Sharingan.
The bottle contained nutrient solution, which could prevent the Sharingan from dying due to being left untransplanted for too long.
Actually, there was no need to worry that much. This was the world of Naruto; things like Bloodline Limits had a strong shelf life.
But Kitahara Kaede did not use it immediately.
It was not because he worried that Danzo had tampered with the eye. Rather, Danzo probably wanted him to use it as soon as possible.
Danzo had given him the Sharingan, but once implanted, it would probably have the same flaw as Kakashi's—it had enormous side effects for anyone outside the Uchiha Clan.
And the way to stabilize it was—Hashirama Cells.
Danzo should still have Hashirama Cells in his possession.
Danzo hoped that after he used it, he would compromise with him... and obtain the Hashirama Cells in Danzo's hands.
But Danzo had probably overthought things.
He had Wood Release. To a Wood Release user, the Sharingan was no burden at all.
So Kitahara Kaede accepted it as hush money.
Although he was living off the Third Hokage, with the Third Hokage's personality, he would die early sooner or later if things followed the original story.
So there was nothing wrong with leaving himself another path.
Kitahara Kaede tidied up his home, then headed to Konoha's library.
This was also one of the public facilities built by the Second Hokage.
It had collected a vast number of books, from ordinary literature to materials related to ninjutsu.
Officially, it was a place for villagers to improve their cultural knowledge. In truth, the books related to ninjutsu and such were meant to encourage ninjas to study and learn on their own.
The library had three floors in total.
The first floor was open to ordinary villagers. The second floor contained a small amount of ninjutsu-related material, though there were not many books on ninjutsu.
Therefore, even Ninja Academy students could come here to borrow books.
But the third floor was mostly filled with books on various ninjutsu. They could not be taken out of the library, and copying was forbidden.
When the library was first established, every family in Konoha had been required to contribute some material. Although they had not handed over their core secrets, it had still made this library the place with the most information on Konoha's various clans.
Yet it was open to Konoha's ninjas.
Kitahara Kaede lightly pointed at the forehead protector on his head, and the librarian in charge immediately allowed him upstairs.
After Kitahara Kaede had been brought out of the laboratory, the Third Hokage had trained him for a period of time before tossing him into the library.
There was some knowledge about Wood Release inside, but it was useless to ordinary ninjas without the Wood Release Bloodline Limit.
So he had been studying on his own.
However, Kitahara Kaede had not come to look for materials on Wood Release.
He walked along the bookshelves. What he wanted to find was information related to the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.
As he walked forward past a bookshelf marked with the letter L, Kitahara Kaede suddenly stopped.
Because ahead of him, a Byakugan girl was returning a book to the shelf.
Graceful as jade.
"Hinata—" Kitahara Kaede called her name.
The black-haired, short-haired girl immediately turned around.
Then her face blossomed like a flower bud opening, instantly making it clear that her mood at that moment was blooming with surprise.
"Kaede-kun—you're back from your mission?" Hinata asked in delight.
Over the past few days, she had passed by Kitahara Kaede's apartment several times, only to find no one inside. Then she learned that Team 7 had gone out on a mission.
She had not expected Kitahara Kaede to return today.
If she had known, she would not have gone out. Maybe she could have waited near his home and run into him.
"I just got back," Kitahara Kaede said.
"And I wanted to look up some information."
"Then..."
Kitahara Kaede paused.
"So what have you been doing in the village these past few days?"
"Are you getting along well with the members of your new class?"
"Is your teacher very strict?"
They all sounded like ordinary small talk.
But it was already enough to satisfy Hinata.
"The students in my new class are quite easy to get along with, and my teacher is... Kurenai Yuhi-sensei."
"Teacher Kurenai is very skilled at Genjutsu."
Hinata said, "She takes very good care of me too."
Was that so.
Kitahara Kaede listened to her speak.
Perhaps because they had not seen each other for some time, Hinata had become much more talkative.
So Kitahara Kaede listened to her speak.
Kitahara Kaede Observation (^_- ) Small Group
Hashirama Senju: This is really a little awkward. It reminds me of when I first met Mito.
Hashirama Senju: Back then, Hidden Leaf Village and the Land of Whirlpools had just formed an alliance, and they arranged for Mito to come over.
Hashirama Senju: I didn't know what to say to her then, so I told her everything about myself, down to the smallest detail...
Tobirama Senju: Big Brother, shut up already. I'm still single.
Hashirama Senju: Mm... sorry, Tobirama. I won't make you eat dog food anymore.
Tobirama Senju: ...It seems I finally did at least one thing right.
Tobirama Senju: I was the one who forcibly required this library to be built, and the materials collected from every clan back then have finally been made available for future generations.
Minato Namikaze: Indeed. The transmission of culture is very fast.
Might Guy: Kakashi, you lied again. What book are you reading? Aren't you—
Minato Namikaze: Shh!
Minato Namikaze: Icha-Icha Paradise?
Might Guy: That's Jiraiya's—
Minato Namikaze: Is that one of Jiraiya-sensei's books? Is he still writing books? My Naruto-chan's name came from Jiraiya-sensei's The Tale of the Utterly Determined Ninja. That book moved me deeply. This Icha-Icha Paradise must be moving as well.
Before you continue