The Hokage position!
What an old man's lifelong desire!
For the sake of becoming Hokage, Danzo repeatedly entered the battlefield, frequently taking on dirty and strenuous tasks. He lost his old teammate Kagami, destroyed the Shimura Clan, and even lost one of his own eyes and an arm.
If it weren't for Hiruzen's disciple Orochimaru's efforts in conducting the Hashirama cell experiments, and if it weren't for Itachi Uchiha's cooperation in causing the destruction of the Uchiha clan, Danzo would have remained a cripple until his old age!
So much was sacrificed for those two words!
Result...
As a result, a newcomer who had only been in Konoha Village for three days inexplicably ended up sitting on top of it!!!
Looking at Gawain sitting atop the Gawain, Danzo was about to call the police; his heart was about to give him a heartbeat!
"How dare you!!!"
Danzo pointed his right finger at Gawain, Danzo looked at Hiruzen with trembling eyes.
Old friend, I've never asked you for anything in my life; I'll do whatever you ask, but you...
You absolutely must say a word for me at a time like this!
Meeting Danzo's expectant gaze, Hiruzen shook his head slightly, then spoke softly.
"Danzo, don't be surprised. I have already invited Gawain to serve as my Konoha Village's assistant."
As for the seat the senior is currently sitting in.
If you love Konoha as much as we do, then you certainly deserve to sit there!
"The true meaning of being Hokage is to love every child in Konoha as deeply as our predecessors did, just like how they took such good care of Naruto and Sasuke, isn't it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hiruzen grinned at Gawain, a smile that surprisingly exuded the air of an old man suddenly feeling youthful again.
He found a familiar feeling, the same familiar feeling he frequently encountered when he helped Minato Namikaze become Hokage!
Political maneuvering, which I haven't touched in a long time, can finally return to my life.
Next, I will be able to suppress Danzo and the ninja clan again!
Everything is for the sake of Konoha's continued peace!
Danzo was shocked when he sensed Hiruzen's understated passion.
His exposed single eye widened in disbelief, and even his voice trembled as he spoke.
"Hokage... assistant?"
He?
Someone who has only been in Konoha for three days?
Hiruzen, even if you suddenly do something stupid, do you think Koharu and Homura would...?
At this point, Danzo turned his head in disbelief to look at Koharu and En, whose faces were beaming with smiles.
Meeting Danzo's gaze, Koharu and En exchanged a glance, then smiled and nodded.
"Senior is a very kind person. I felt his passion and love for the children of Konoha very early on."
"Indeed, Danzo, Konoha doesn't need a leader whose heart is filled with dangerous ideology; it needs absolute power and charisma to lead the village!"
Compared to Koharu, Homura Mitokado's statement was clearly more excessive; he practically pointed his finger at Danzo and berated Danzo for lacking power and charisma.
Don't they know what kind of person Danzo is?
With Gawain taking over, Koharu and Yan knew very well that they would probably end up as useless old men who could only enjoy a life of leisure.
But Koharu and En knew even better that once Danzo power, they might die outside the village at any time!
Danzo your warmongering, hawkish demeanor, Danzo, who knows, even if other villages don't attack us, you Danzo kill us older generation Hokage's assistants and then send us outside the village to frame other villages, using this as an excuse to start a war, or as leverage to negotiate compensation with other villages!
You're capable of doing something like that, everyone knows you!
Thinking this, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane exchanged a glance.
Their minds immediately became clearer.
Seeing that a group of elderly people were gradually understanding what they were thinking, Gawain nodded slightly and then spoke to Danzo.
"Danzo, you flatter me. While I am happy to respect you, sending people to attack me is hardly a sign of respect."
So, I'm sorry, after our discussion, your position as Hokage's assistant has been revoked. Now, you are merely a member of Root.
Considering your hard work and advanced age, I won't resort to violence against you. Since you've accepted early retirement, let's place all the blame on Mizuki, the one who attacked me.
However, I still have to say, Danzo advisor!
Mizuki was a teacher at the Ninja Academy, and his actions profoundly influenced the next generation of Konoha children!
Placing someone like that in a teacher's position is where Danzo wrong!
The spirit of Konoha comes from us old folks nurturing the children to grow strong, not from us old folks constantly drawing nourishment from them!
"The teachers at the school will need to be reassigned to people who are better at teaching and understand the spirit of fire!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain casually waved his hand, indicating that Danzo could get lost.
Seeing this action, Danzo gritted his teeth in embarrassment and anger, clearly wanting to say something more.
Hiruzen glanced at Gawain, then nodded slightly.
After receiving Hiruzen's instructions, Gawain lightly tapped the table with his right hand.
Suddenly...
An overwhelming Conqueror's Haki pressed down on Danzo!
Danzo, who had just been about to Danzo of curses, suddenly felt his head spin.
Immediately afterwards, Gawain pushed forward with his right hand.
A black ripple instantly engulfed Danzo, carrying him all the way to the forest of the Valley of the End...
Seeing Danzo vanish without a trace, Hiruzen a deep breath, then pulled out his pipe and took a long drag.
So many years have passed.
Danzo has been banging on the table in front of him for so many years.
Although we're old friends, seeing him like this now still makes me secretly pleased.
My self-cultivation skills are still not quite up to par~~~.
While chuckling to himself, Hiruzen suddenly remembered something and then spoke to Gawain.
"By the way, Gawain, why don't we interrogate the attackers while we're at it? There might be some hidden story behind it."
"Indeed."
Gawain nodded, Hiruzen immediately arranged for someone to bring Mizuki up.
When Mizuki was brought to the Hokage's office, he immediately saw the Third Hokage standing and Gawain sitting.
After a slight pause, a myriad of Mizuki immediately sprang to mind.
It's not that Mizuki has any ulterior motives; his mind is just what it is, and he's incapable of further developing anything new.
He just felt that Gawain's position was probably achieved through some kind of conspiracy or trickery.
Just as Mizuki was deep in thought, Koharu Utatane couldn't help but speak up.
"Mizuki, were you the attacker?"
"It seems I was indeed hasty in suggesting you become a teacher at the Ninja Academy."
It was only then that Mizuki and Gawain learned that Mizuki's idea of becoming a teacher at the Ninja Academy was actually suggested by Koharu Utatane.
It's not that Koharu Utatane; she even interferes in the arrangements for a Chunin.
Although there aren't many ninjas in the Shinobi World, even if the number of ninjas is small, it's still counted in the tens of thousands. For example, when Naruto became a ninja, his ninja number was already over 100,000.
That proves that Konoha has at least 100,000 ninjas.
Even if this number represents the total number of ninjas since the founding of Konoha Village, it is still quite a large number.
It's impossible for Koharu Utatane and the others to pay attention to and arrange for every single ninja.
As for the reason why Mizuki was remembered by Koharu Utatane...
Upon hearing Koharu's words, Mizuki was slightly taken aback, then immediately revealed an angry expression!
"It's you! It was you all along!"
You're the one who made me leave the ninja ranks and go to that damn school to become a teacher with absolutely no chance of getting ahead!
No missions, no achievements, no new ninjutsu, no extra mission rewards!
All they have are a bunch of silly little kids and endless, simple lessons!
I've strived to be a ninja all these years, not to teach a bunch of kids the Three Bodies Technique!
I could have done so much more, I could have become stronger, but you ruined it all, you destroyed me!
Just because I'm just an ordinary person, just because I'm just a..."
What nonsense are you talking about?
Koharu interrupted Mizuki, clearly annoyed by his speech.
Koharu frowned and said.
"What does your teaching position at the ninja academy have to do with your civilian status?"
Neither I nor Yan were from the ninja clan, yet we served as Hokage's assistants for over forty years, didn't we?
Let me think. Why did I send you to be a teacher at the Ninja Academy? I remember you had a little bit of ninjutsu talent.
Oh right, I remember now!
Suddenly, Koharu Utatane's brows furrowed slightly.
She seemed to remember something, and her expression grew increasingly impatient.
She waved her hand, then turned to Gawain and said softly.
"About two years ago, this guy Mizuki experienced a mission failure during a mission."
Failure is not common; almost every ninja has experienced mission failure. But in that particular mission, the investigation results were somewhat dangerous for Mizuki.
At that time, after reading the investigation report, I couldn't help but suspect that Mizuki had framed his teammates and used this to shift the blame for the mission's failure onto them.
Although I do not have accurate evidence, I have spent many years on the battlefield and have seen all kinds of situations.
Perhaps it's instinct, but I always felt something was off about the circumstances Mizuki teammate's death.
At this point, Koharu Utatane suddenly stood up, hunched over, and walked over to Mizuki.
Seeing that Mizuki seemed to have suddenly remembered something, Koharu Utatane's words became even more sharp.
"After that, I did some thinking about how to decide your future."
Although it was just an instinctive suspicion, everyone should know that ninjas have always been a profession that relies on intuition.
While it's not to the point of letting you off lightly due to insufficient evidence, it's certainly not to the point of throwing you into jail just because of suspicion, going to the other extreme.
In short, if any suspicious circumstances arise, we will not be able to allow you to continue performing relatively important tasks for a short period of time.
And so, after careful consideration, I have decided to send you to the Ninja Academy to serve as a teacher, both to temper your character and to observe you during this time.
It's been two years now. I remember three months ago, I saw the investigation report that the Anbu gave me.
The report suggests you should be a good teacher, with a deep understanding of the Will of Fire and a gentle approach to your students.
However, it seems I was still too naive. Although your generation of ninjas may not have experienced as many wars and killings as we did back then, the darkness in your hearts may not be any less than that of my generation."
At this point, Koharu Utatane frowned and waved to the Anbu waiting for orders around her.
"Throw him in jail. This kind of person is no longer of any use to Konoha. Have the Torture and Interrogation Force find out if anyone in or outside the village is colluding with him. Once that's confirmed, execute him!"
After saying that, Koharu Utatane and sat back in her seat, too lazy to talk to Mizuki anymore.
Mizuki, looking utterly shocked...
He only realized now that he had actually done those things Koharu had described...
Previously, Mizuki believed that commoners had no chance of rising in Konoha.
This situation certainly exists, and as Hiruzen Sarutobi grew older, the ninja clan's power also increased.
After all, the aging Third Hokage no longer had as much control over the village's upper echelons.
However, the Tobirama and Sarutobi eras were indeed the times when it was easiest for Konoha to rise to prominence!
Even among the three disciples that Sarutobi only accepted, two were the most pure commoners!
He only accepted Tsunade out of consideration for the First and Second Hokage; otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi might have taken three commoner children as his students to demonstrate his determination to fight against the Konoha ninja clan.
Being a civilian under a Hokage like that, due to the frequent wars, would indeed make one an easy target for cannon fodder and sacrifice on the battlefield.
But if you truly have the talent and strength, you can break free from the ninja clan's blockade in the war and become the next White Fang, Yellow Flash, Azure Beast, Toad Sage, and Cold Lord.
Many people criticize the Third Hokage, mainly for his Will of Fire. They mean that while the Third Hokage talked about sacrificing the older generation, in reality, he and his group of old guys were all driving the children to the battlefield and making them cannon fodder.
But what is the reality?
Whenever the children go to the battlefield, it is usually because Konoha is surrounded by enemies on all sides and has no choice but to send the children to the battlefield.
And those children, though they are indeed children, are all capable of running at supersonic speeds and can easily slaughter any village where there are no ninjas.
While these old devils have indeed held high positions for far too long, they have also made sacrifices. Even Danzo truly sacrificed himself for Konoha, and his injuries are proof of that sacrifice.
Koharu and En had no offspring, and despite holding the position of assistant to the Hokage, they insisted on not developing their own ninja clan.
Not only did Hiruzen Sarutobi split up the Sarutobi Clan, a powerful ninja clan during the Sengoku period, but he also sent his own son and daughter-in-law to the battlefield where they died. He didn't even have the intention of grooming his second son to succeed him as Hokage.
As for Konohamaru, although he is the Hokage's Sun Tzu, aside from being able to afford a private tutor, Konohamaru spends his days like an ordinary kid at the Ninja Academy. After graduating at the age of twelve, he will embark on the same missions and fighting path as any ordinary ninja.
This old man even lost his wife in battle, and he'll likely die in battle himself in the future. What more do you want from him?
Why not let him give the Hokage position to White Fang first, then Orochimaru, then Minato Namikaze, since everyone else will inevitably become stronger than him?
None of Minato Namikaze's successors Minato Namikaze.
And after the Minato Namikaze...
Could Hiruzen Sarutobi really hand over the Hokage position to the Uchiha clan?
That approach is as absurd as handing over the highest power to Li Ka-shing or other capitalists in real society. It would leave many ordinary people with no chance of advancement!
Wiping out the Uchiha clan and splitting the Hyuga Clan —isn't this just like taking down the rich and powerful in the Naruto era?