Hiruzen Sarutobi's Craving for Senju Tobirama, the Second, Who Was a Treasure Trove

Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe.

It was a habit of his. In truth, the smoke no longer stimulated his body in any way.

It was more about the sense of ritual...

"Authority, so to speak, can be roughly summarized as the extent of my control over the various groups and institutions within the village..."

"The Hyuga and the Uchiha are two nails that must be pulled out..." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and glanced again at the report Hatake Sakumo had submitted.

It concerned Hizashi Hyuga's performance within the clan compound yesterday.

"That young man Hizashi has a vicious streak. He can be used..."

Combined with the intelligence and Hizashi's own words, the Branch Family was practically his natural base of support as Hokage.

It would be hard to find a better group to unite with than the Hyuga Branch Family...

Even Commoner Ninja in present-day Konoha enjoyed tremendous freedom during peacetime. They could take missions if they wanted, or lie around at home sleeping all day if they did not...

Though they appeared to be a powerful clan, most of the Hyuga did not possess that freedom.

It was as though a slave society had been hidden within a feudal military bloc...

"Hizashi must be cultivated properly. Let him make a proper mess within the Hyuga!" A sharp glint flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes as he pondered inwardly.

"Not merely as an ordinary Anbu operative—I hope he can demonstrate the ability to become a Squad Captain."

That way, Hizashi would have sufficient capital to gradually build influence within the Hyuga Clan, drawing in Branch Family members who wished to follow his example and yearned for the Hokage's protection.

"As for the Hyuga Main Branch, there is no need to bother with them yet. They have held themselves so high and mighty for so many years. Let Hizashi's fire burn them first. Once the Main Branch grows desperate, then I can sit down and negotiate with them with a smile..."

Suppress first, then win them over—it was always an unfailing tactic.

After all, adding flowers to brocade was far inferior to offering charcoal in the snow...

But as for where that "snow" came from, well, do not ask!

"But where is the opening with the Uchiha?"

"Hard to find..."

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, the present-day Uchiha Clan and the Hokage Office Building lacked an exceedingly serious foundation of trust.

There were many reasons for this situation.

The heavy burden of history was one major issue.

Putting himself in their shoes, if he had transmigrated into the Uchiha Clan, he too would certainly have kept his distance from the Hokage Faction...

What could be done? The little history between Senju Tobirama and the Uchiha had been an immensely popular joke throughout the Shinobi World from the Warring States Period to the present day.

It had even spawned quite a few storybooks. He had heard that some sheltered Nobles were rather fond of shipping the pair...

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, the Senju and Uchiha cooperating to found a village had also been rather surreal.

It had been forcibly pushed through entirely by Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. There had been no reconciliation among the other middle and upper ranks; the hatred had truly existed.

If one only spoke of the beginning of their reconciliation, it had actually been quite brilliant.

Uchiha Madara demanded that Senju Hashirama kill himself before the two would reconcile...

It seemed excessively harsh, even unreasonable, but Senju Hashirama's agreement gave the defeated Uchiha an emotional way out and afforded Madara every bit of respect he deserved...

It allowed the Uchiha and Senju, who should have fought to the death and madly exhausted one another over the severely wounded Izuna Uchiha and their fallen clansmen, to suddenly shake hands and make peace.

It could be said that he had advanced by retreating, displaying such grace that he won people over completely.

But the problem was that no institutionalized restraints had been established afterward. Everything had been sustained entirely by Senju Hashirama's personal charisma...

Thus, after Senju Tobirama took office, the Uchiha Clan's hopes regarding the "Hokage" were dashed. Then came Kagami Uchiha's death, with factors piling atop one another from every direction...

The Uchiha issue had already become a major difficulty.

Take the Konoha Military Police Force, for example.

Anyone with eyes could see that the Konoha Military Police Force was a policy implemented by the Second Hokage to restrain the Uchiha.

First, it confined them within the village, preventing them from frequently undertaking missions and specializing in combat training. Instead, they served as internal security, work with a very low frequency of actual combat. Naturally, it was like pulling a lion's teeth—their combat strength plummeted.

Second, making a single clan the core of law enforcement, coupled with the Uchiha Clan's temperament, meant their reputation and public image within the village were bound to worsen over time...

But by now, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to pull the Uchiha out of the Konoha Military Police Force, it would be exceedingly difficult.

Because this was the last stale piece of bread clutched in the Uchiha's hands.

To them, the fear of losing had already surpassed the desire to gain.

Especially given his identity as Tobirama's disciple, it was even more difficult for him to earn the trust of the older generation of Uchiha.

Under these circumstances, even the most direct method of relinquishing benefits would be hard-pressed to achieve much...

Between the two sides lay an unbreakable Chain of Suspicion.

"To settle the Uchiha Clan, a sufficiently strong bridge of communication must be built..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his brow.

"The older generation of Uchiha cannot be relied upon. It must be a genius from the younger generation—an Uchiha devoted to the village, someone whose thinking resonates with mine and who can wield enough influence within the clan!"

"Teacher, you really left me with one hell of a mess! They say the one who tied the knot should be the one to untie it, but even if you came back, I'm afraid you wouldn't handle it much better..."

"That brat named Shisui has that kind of potential, but potential is only potential."

Although, in his memories, Senju Tobirama had always told Kagami that he never discriminated against the Uchiha Clan. He said that the Uchiha Clan was the one that truly held love in their hearts—they had simply used it in the wrong place.

But those words would only fool a simple-minded person like Kagami Uchiha...

If Hiruzen Sarutobi had transmigrated into an Uchiha, then unless he could keep him locked inside and slowly talk things through, saying even one extra word to him would be pointless.

For no other reason than fear of the Flying Thunder God Slash.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed at the Hokage portraits in the office, staring at Senju Tobirama's stern face and those Uchiha-like red eyes.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

This was the Shinobi World. There were all kinds of techniques...

Could he possibly revive his teacher?

But not as Senju Tobirama—as an Uchiha?

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly clenched his fist.

In truth, he had considered resurrecting Senju Tobirama with Impure World Reincarnation before...

Although the Impure World Reincarnation technique could not replicate a ninja's strength from when they were alive, for Senju Tobirama, the greatest scientist in the Shinobi World, having a brain was enough.

For Hiruzen Sarutobi, who wanted Konoha to establish a "technological generation gap" and "technological hegemony," he desperately wished for Senju Tobirama to assist him.

It sounded somewhat backwards, but that was indeed the situation...

However, there were two problems.

First, in the state of Impure World Reincarnation, the reincarnated body had no living flesh to sustain the soul. Staying for three to five days was fine, but over time, it was practically like air-drying the soul.

That was Konoha's Second Kage, after all...

And in that state, Senju Tobirama would not be able to work effectively.

Second, there was a very practical problem.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to develop Konoha—to make it stronger through diversification, with greater speed, better results, and lower costs...

But there was one prerequisite: Konoha had to remain under his rule!

If Senju Tobirama himself were revived, setting aside the difficulty of reviving him, based on Hiruzen Sarutobi's understanding of him, the Second Hokage would definitely try to become Konoha's Retired Emperor!

It was not that Senju Tobirama was obsessed with power. Rather, every figure of that caliber possessed an extremely strong sense of self.

If that happened, the authority in his own hands would inevitably slip away.

For Hiruzen Sarutobi, who required "Authority," that was intolerable.

But what if he were revived as a member of the Uchiha Clan?

Everything seemed to fall into place...

All he needed was to arrange a suitable identity for him, such as an Uchiha orphan. Or, more boldly, he could simply claim that he was a "descendant of Izuna Uchiha"!

Didn't his teacher understand Izuna Uchiha very well? Disguising himself should not be difficult for him, right?

That way, the best bridge of communication between the Hokage and the Uchiha would exist!

And as an Uchiha, Senju Tobirama...

Would naturally be unable to interfere too much with Hiruzen Sarutobi's authority as Hokage.

Because no matter what, Konoha's shared creed was the Will of Fire.

Given the conflict between Senju Tobirama and the Uchiha Clan, reviving this Hokage in an Uchiha body would undoubtedly lead everyone to form the most terrible associations.

Killing him was not enough—they even had to perform Soul Transfer?

Therefore, if Senju Tobirama were truly revived as "Uchiha Tobirama," then he could only live in Konoha as an Uchiha. He could not return to being the Second Hokage...

This secret had to remain buried forever!

—Teacher, I am the Hokage! You are only an Uchiha!

Even if he had suggestions regarding Hiruzen Sarutobi's work, they would only be suggestions.

This idea had originally been nothing more than a passing thought upon seeing Senju Tobirama's Red-Eyes.

But once it began, it ran wild through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind like a horse that had broken free of its reins...

He was already considering practical methods.

How could he revive Senju Tobirama...

No, Uchiha Tobirama?

At that moment, countless Forbidden Techniques surfaced in Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts—techniques concerning souls, techniques concerning Chakra...

He stared fixedly at Senju Tobirama's portrait.

Slowly, step by step, he walked toward the Second Hokage.

And at this moment...

Shimura Danzō knocked on the door of the Hokage Office.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura followed behind him...

"Come in!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze remained fixed on the portrait of the Second Hokage.

So when the three of them entered and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi in that state, they all froze.

Hiruzen, did you miss Sensei that much?

The scene remained like that for a while.

"Hiruzen, you..." Shimura Danzō was still the one to speak first, breaking the strange silence.

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head and met Shimura Danzō's gaze, his eyes carrying a coldness born of extreme rational thought. "Mm. Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone."

"I was thinking about something just now. Have a seat."

But the three of them were stunned.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's bearing, his tone—especially that look in his eyes...

Why did he seem so much like their teacher?