Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked his pipe.
It was a habit of his. The smoke could no longer really stimulate his body.
It was more about the sense of ritual...
"So-called Authority can be roughly summed up as the degree of control I wield over the various groups and institutions in the village..."
"The Hyuga and 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 conduct within the clan compound yesterday.
"That kid Hizashi has a ruthless streak. He can be used..."
Combined with the intelligence and Hizashi's own words, this clan was practically a natural base of support for him 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 a great deal of freedom outside wartime. They could take missions if they wanted, or lie at home and sleep all day if they did not...
Though the Hyuga appeared to be a powerful clan, most of its members lacked that freedom.
It was like a slave society hidden within a feudal military bloc...
"I need to cultivate Hizashi properly and let him stir up some trouble within the Hyuga!" A sharp glint flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes as he pondered.
"Not just as an ordinary Anbu operative. I hope he can show that he has what it takes to be a Squad Captain."
That way, Hizashi would have enough capital to gradually build influence within the Hyuga Clan, attracting Branch Family members who wished to follow his example—and who would come to yearn for the Hokage's protection.
"As for the Hyuga Main Branch, there's no need to touch them yet. They've held themselves so high for so many years. Let Hizashi's fire burn them first. Once the Main Branch gets desperate, I can talk to them with a smile..."
Suppress first, then draw them in. It was an unfailing strategy.
After all, adding flowers to brocade was far inferior to offering charcoal in snowy weather...
As for where that "snow" came from, well, no one needed to ask!
"But where is the opening with the Uchiha?"
"Not easy to find..."
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, the Uchiha Clan and the Hokage Office Building currently lacked even the most basic foundation of trust.
This situation had arisen for many reasons.
The weight of history alone was a major problem.
Putting himself in their shoes, if he had transmigrated into the Uchiha Clan, he too would certainly keep the Hokage Faction at a respectful distance...
It could not be helped. The affairs between Senju Tobirama and the Uchiha had been an extremely popular joke throughout the Shinobi World, from the Warring States Period right up to the present, had they not?
Quite a few storybooks had even been written about it. He had heard that some of those innocent Nobles were rather fond of shipping them...
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, the Senju and Uchiha joining forces to found a village had also been utterly surreal.
It had been forcibly pushed through by Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara alone. The rest of the middle and upper ranks had never reconciled, and the hatred truly existed.
If one spoke only of the beginning of reconciliation, though, it had actually been quite brilliant.
Uchiha Madara demanded that Senju Hashirama kill himself before the two could reconcile...
It appeared excessively harsh, even unreasonable, yet Senju Hashirama's agreement gave the defeated Uchiha an emotional way out and gave Madara all the face he could ask for...
It allowed the Uchiha and Senju, who should have fought to mutual ruin over the grievously injured Izuna Uchiha and their dead clansmen, to suddenly shake hands and make peace.
It could be said that Hashirama had retreated in order to advance, displaying perfect grace and winning their hearts.
But the problem was that no institutional restraint had been established afterward. Everything had rested entirely on Senju Hashirama's personal charisma...
Then Senju Tobirama took office, the Uchiha Clan's hopes for the "Hokage" were dashed, and Kagami Uchiha died. One thing piled on another...
The Uchiha problem had become a formidable obstacle.
Take the Konoha Military Police Force, for example.
Anyone with eyes could tell that the Konoha Military Police Force was a policy the Second Hokage had implemented to restrain the Uchiha.
First, it confined them to the village. They could not frequently carry out missions or specialize in training. Instead, they were assigned internal security work, where actual combat occurred rarely. It was like pulling a lion's teeth, and their combat strength naturally declined sharply.
Second, making a single clan the foundation of law enforcement, combined with the Uchiha Clan's temperament, ensured that their reputation within the village would only grow worse and worse...
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 it was the last stale piece of bread clenched in the Uchiha's hands.
To them, the fear of losing had already surpassed the desire to gain.
Especially since he was Tobirama's student. That made it even harder for him to earn the trust of the older generation of Uchiha.
Under such circumstances, even the crudest method—giving up benefits—would be hard-pressed to achieve much...
Between the two sides lay an unbreakable Chain of Suspicion.
"To settle the Uchiha Clan, I need to establish a sufficiently powerful bridge of communication..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his brow.
"The older generation of Uchiha is hopeless. It has to be a talented young Uchiha who cares for the village, who thinks on the same wavelength as me and can wield enough influence within the clan!"
"Teacher, you really left me one hell of a mess! They say the one who tied the knot must untie it, but even if you were here, I doubt you could handle it much better..."
"That brat called Shisui does have 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. He said the Uchiha Clan was the clan that truly held love in its heart—they had simply used it in the wrong place.
But that might fool only the simple-minded Kagami Uchiha...
If Hiruzen Sarutobi had transmigrated into an Uchiha, unless he could lock Tobirama inside himself and talk things over slowly, even one extra word with him would be too much.
There was no other reason. He was afraid of getting hit by Flying Thunder God Slash.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Hokage portraits in the office, his gaze fixed on Senju Tobirama's stern face and red eyes so much like those of the Uchiha.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
This was the Shinobi World. There were all kinds of techniques...
Could he revive his teacher?
But not as Senju Tobirama—as an Uchiha?
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly clenched his fist.
In truth, he had considered the matter of using Impure World Reincarnation on Senju Tobirama before...
Though Impure World Reincarnation could not replicate a ninja's strength in life, for Senju Tobirama, the greatest scientist in the Shinobi World, a brain was all that was needed.
For Hiruzen Sarutobi, who wanted Konoha to establish a "technological generational gap" and "technological hegemony," he desperately wished for Senju Tobirama to assist him.
It sounded somewhat backwards, but that was indeed the case...
But there were two problems.
First, in the state of Impure World Reincarnation, the Impure World body lacked living flesh to sustain the soul. A stay of three to five days was manageable, but over time, it was equivalent to air-drying the soul.
He had been Konoha's Second Kage, after all...
And in that state, Senju Tobirama would be unable to work effectively.
Second, there was a very practical issue.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to develop Konoha, to make it strong through diversity, efficiency, speed, and economy...
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 absolutely try to become Konoha's Retired Emperor!
It was not that Senju Tobirama was obsessed with power. Rather, every figure like him possessed an extremely strong sense of self.
If that happened, the authority in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands would inevitably leak away.
For Hiruzen Sarutobi, who needed "Authority," that was intolerable.
But what if he revived him as a member of the Uchiha Clan?
Then everything seemed to fall neatly into place...
He would only need to arrange a suitable identity for him—an Uchiha orphan, for instance. Or, more boldly, he could simply claim that he was a "descendant of Izuna Uchiha"!
Wasn't his teacher very familiar with Izuna Uchiha? Pretending to be one of his descendants should not be difficult for him, should it?
That way, the finest 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 foundation was the Will of Fire.
Given the conflict between Senju Tobirama and the Uchiha Clan, if this Hokage revived as an Uchiha, it would undoubtedly give everyone extremely unpleasant ideas.
Killing people was not enough—you even wanted Soul Transfer?
Therefore, if Senju Tobirama truly were revived as "Uchiha Tobirama," he could only live in Konoha as an Uchiha. He could never return to being the Second Hokage...
This secret had to remain buried forever!
Teacher, I am the Hokage! You are merely 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 thought prompted by Senju Tobirama's red eyes.
But once it began, it galloped through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind like a wild 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 involving souls, techniques involving Chakra...
He stared fixedly at Senju Tobirama's portrait.
Slowly, step by step, he walked toward the Second Hokage.
And at that moment—
Shimura Danzō knocked on the door to the Hokage Office.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura stood behind him...
"Come in!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze remained fixed on the Second Hokage's portrait.
As a result, when the three entered and saw his posture, they all froze.
Hiruzen, do you miss Teacher that much?
The scene remained like that for a while.
"Hiruzen, you..." Shimura Danzō was still the one who spoke first, breaking the strange silence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head and met Shimura Danzō's eyes. Within his gaze was an icy indifference that coexisted with utmost rational thought. "Mm. Sorry for the wait, everyone."
"I was thinking about something just now. Have a seat."
Yet the three of them froze.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's posture, tone, especially that look in his eyes...
Why did he resemble Teacher so much?
Before you continue