I Think I Can Be the Guard Captain

Youhu attributed the reason for Obito's surge in strength to the legendary Uchiha Madara.

Only by obtaining Uchiha Madara's inheritance could one explain how Obito's strength had skyrocketed in such a short time, allowing him to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan while simultaneously gaining the power to go toe-to-toe with the Fourth Hokage.

In this regard, Youhu's observational skills were terrifying; he could discern the entire truth from mere fragments of information.

However, Youhu's final few remarks caused Kakashi and Itachi to recall the rumors from a few days ago, leading them to visualize a scenario where the First Hokage drove Uchiha Madara away, and Madara, in turn, let his love turn to hate.

It was truly an eyesore to imagine.

But after experiencing so much, Kakashi and Itachi had long since become numb. Perhaps the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara really had fallen out of love, leading to the outbreak of the Battle of the Valley of the End.

Could these ancestors not just settle down for once? They were always causing one trouble after another for their descendants.

After grumbling to himself, Kakashi decided to lead his team back to the Hokage Building. This intelligence analysis, as difficult as it was to stomach, had to be reported to the Third Hokage.

Half an hour later, in the Hokage Office.

"You're saying the masked man is likely a successor of Uchiha Madara?"

"Back then, Uchiha Madara's love turned to hate, so he intentionally left behind an inheritance, letting his successor attack Konoha in his stead to retaliate against the First Lord in this way?"

After listening to the Kakashi Squad's report, the Third Hokage's mouth twitched slightly. He stared fixedly at the squad, particularly at Youhu, who had blended into the group and was subtly positioning himself behind his teammates.

Only Youhu could analyze such wild, unrestrained intelligence involving Hokage gossip.

The Third Hokage really wanted to warn Youhu to stop talking nonsense. It was one thing to slander him—he was innocent and didn't care about such rumors or personal attacks—but the First Lord was different. The First Lord was a great ninja who had ended the chaos of the Warring States period and could not be slandered.

The relationship between the First Lord and Uchiha Madara wasn't as... unbearable as you say, was it?

Putting aside the artistic embellishments, the Third Hokage began to seriously analyze the intelligence reported by the Kakashi Squad. He had to admit that what Youhu said made some sense.

If Uchiha Madara had truly left behind an inheritance to deal with the village, then given Madara's capabilities, it wouldn't be difficult for him to enable a mere Chunin like Obito to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.

With Obito having obtained Uchiha Madara's inheritance, it also became logical that he could manipulate the Nine-Tails to incite the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

After all, Uchiha Madara had once attacked Konoha with the Nine-Tails himself. If not for the First Lord turning the tide back then, Konohagakure would have long since become history.

From this perspective, Youhu's intelligence-gathering ability was top-tier.

Such a talent could not be recruited by Danzo; he had to be kept firmly in his own hands. If Danzo were to take him away, who knew what kind of outrageous rumors might spread through the village.

And unfortunately, these rumors were likely all true.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage set down his pipe and cleared his throat.

"Your intelligence is very valuable; I will assign people specifically to investigate it."

"Furthermore, you discovered the Masked Man's true identity this time and thwarted Obito's conspiracy to attack the village. I would feel embarrassed if I didn't reward you."

"Speak up. What rewards do you want? Forbidden Techniques from the Scroll of Seals, or something else?"

Itachi shook his head gently and said, "Sharing the burden for the village is the duty of a Konoha Ninja. Besides, we haven't caught Obito yet; the mission was a failure."

No way, Uchiha Itachi, have you become an overachiever? You don't need a reward for completing a mission?

Youhu rolled his eyes at Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi, are you like Danzo, not wanting any rewards?

What are you plotting?

The Third Hokage looked at Itachi deeply and said with a smile:

"I never expected you to catch Obito in the first place. Being able to repel him is already a huge contribution to the village. If you refuse a reward again, others will likely say I am harsh to my subordinates."

Itachi thought for a moment, then said, "Then I would like a Forbidden Technique from the Scroll of Seals. I want to improve my strength so I can continue to protect the village."

"Very well."

The Third Hokage nodded, though his suspicions about Itachi remained.

Aside from the fact that Itachi had been recruited into the Anbu by Danzo, there was also Kakashi's report from earlier—Itachi had been the first person to make contact with Obito tonight.

There is a world of difference between trying to uncover the Masked Man's secrets for the sake of the village's interests and meeting the Masked Man in secret on one's own.

Kakashi pondered for a long while before speaking to the Third Hokage:

"Third Lord, could you please hold off on issuing a wanted order for Obito? I feel that he must have some unavoidable hardship. I want to find him and persuade him to return to the village."

"Regardless of everything, he is still a ninja of this village and a hero of the last war."

The Third Hokage was silent for a few seconds. He thought of Jiraiya, who had been searching for Orochimaru outside the village for all these years, and immediately said:

"The Masked Man will certainly have a bounty placed on him by the village; that is beyond doubt. However, I can temporarily refrain from publicly announcing that Obito is the Masked Man, and only let the Jonin of the village know about this."

"But as you know, this matter cannot be kept hidden forever."

"I understand your desire to persuade Obito to turn back from his path, but it will not be easy. Jiraiya has been searching for Orochimaru for several years now, and even he has had no results."

Kakashi was also aware of the history between Jiraiya and Orochimaru, and he smiled with a sense of weary resignation.

"Even so, I would like to give it a try."

After Itachi and Kakashi had each stated their desired rewards, only Youhu remained without a request.

The three of them turned their gazes toward Youhu, feeling both a sense of anticipation regarding what he might want and a lingering worry that he might make a request that would leave them speechless.

Feeling the gazes of the others resting upon him, Youhu adjusted his clothes and expression, striving to put on a harmless, innocent smile.

"Lord Hokage, I feel that the atmosphere within some of the village's ninja clans and departments is quite poor right now."

"Especially the Uchiha Clan and the Security Force; they really need to be properly reformed."

"Could you remove Uchiha Fugaku from his position as Guard Captain and appoint me instead? I guarantee that I can bring a brand new Security Force to the village."

"Lord Hokage, Captain Kakashi and I have already saved the village once."

"This request shouldn't be considered excessive, right?"

"..."

Silence. A silence as stagnant as dead water.

The Third Hokage, Kakashi, and Itachi, who had each been harboring their own thoughts, now stared at Youhu with strange expressions, at a loss for how to evaluate his heaven-defying request.

Having just completed a single mission in the Anbu, he wanted to ascend to the upper echelons and serve as Guard Captain?

Setting aside whether the Hokage even had the authority to appoint a new Guard Captain, did he really think it was appropriate for a Chunin to hold such a high-ranking position?

Why didn't he just ask to be appointed Hokage directly?

That way, he could reach the top in one step. Then, he could appoint himself to whatever position he pleased without having to consult or seek approval from anyone else.