Night Talk

Night

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched as the Senju Clan's shinobi left the reception hall one by one. The enormous hall now stood empty, making him deeply uncomfortable. The faint chirping of crickets lingered in his ears, and he couldn't help growing uneasy.

Just moments ago, Mito Uzumaki had dismissed everyone present. Now, only the two of them remained in the room.

Hiruzen studied Mito Uzumaki's expression. Her face was calm, with no trace of anger, as though her furious outburst earlier had been an act.

" Mito-sama, please don't hold my earlier retort against me. I only..."

Hiruzen thought it over briefly. He felt he needed to say something now, to salvage his image in Mito Uzumaki's eyes.

"All right, sit down. I know what you're going to say."

Mito Uzumaki waved a hand, cutting Hiruzen off and inviting him to sit.

Hiruzen went to a chair nearby and sat down, but only perched on its edge. He still couldn't read Mito Uzumaki's intentions, so he was prepared to jump back up and continue standing at attention at any moment.

Watching Hiruzen's anxious, uneasy posture, Mito Uzumaki found it rather amusing. Her expression softened, and her kindly face returned.

"Little monkey, your performance earlier impressed me. You're not as ordinary as I thought. You have a few qualities that set you apart from the average person."

Mito Uzumaki praised Hiruzen, noticing his nervous expression. Over the long course of her life, she had seen far too many geniuses blessed by the heavens.

Her husband, Hashirama Senju; her younger brother-in-law, Tobirama Senju; and the Uchiha brothers, Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha—

They had been the brightest figures of their era. Compared to them, the talent Hiruzen had displayed seemed as unremarkable as a stone by the roadside, hardly worth a second glance.

Still, Hiruzen had good character. Tobirama had taught him well enough, passing down Konoha's Will of Fire.

"Mito-sama, you're too kind. I only did what I had to do."

Hiruzen replied modestly. Mito Uzumaki no longer looked like the ferocious woman who had seemed ready to devour someone earlier. Her kindly, grandmotherly appearance put him somewhat at ease.

"There's no need to be so modest. You stand out among your generation. But do you think you're worthy of the Hokage Position?"

Mito Uzumaki's question extinguished the flame of pride that her praise had just kindled in Hiruzen's heart.

Was he worthy?

Hiruzen wanted to say that he was worthy of becoming Konoha's Hokage. It had been his dream ever since he became a shinobi, an ambition that had survived countless brushes with death without ever changing.

Unfortunately, the truth was cruel: he wasn't worthy!

"I'll do everything I can to become a capable Hokage."

That was Hiruzen's answer. He simply couldn't bring himself to say outright that he wasn't worthy.

"Hmph. At least you have some self-awareness."

Mito Uzumaki rose to her feet and looked toward the Konoha emblem on the reception hall wall. Her gaze grew distant.

"There are many people in Konoha more suited to becoming the Third than you. Me, for example, or my son, Toma Senju."

"Even Kagami Uchiha, who was here just now, would be more suited to becoming Hokage than you. The strength to keep everyone in Konoha in check, a prestigious background, and a powerful clan— you have none of those things."

"I've thought about it for a long time, and I still can't understand why Tobirama passed the Third's position on to you. I can't figure out what that bastard Tobirama was thinking before he died. He's just causing me more trouble, exactly like his deadbeat brother Hashirama."

"And I always thought he was the one who gave me the least trouble."

Mito Uzumaki spoke to herself, her voice full of age. Her mind wandered back to the past. The burden of protecting Konoha now rested on her shoulders, and it was so heavy that she could hardly breathe.

Hiruzen sat there without daring to say a word. Mito Uzumaki had insulted two Hokage in a single breath. How could he possibly interrupt?

Was this even a conversation he could join?

"Although I can't understand why Tobirama passed the Third's position on to you, I'll still help you. After all, it was Tobirama's dying wish. I hope I'm mistaken, and that you have some exceptional quality I haven't discovered yet."

Mito Uzumaki looked at Hiruzen. Her words made his heart pound, and delight showed plainly on his face.

"Mito-sama, I'll work hard."

"Don't get excited too soon. I said I'd help you, not that I'd definitely make you Konoha's Hokage. You're still a long way from having what it takes to become Hokage."

Hiruzen nodded. He knew his own situation, and he wasn't entirely without self-awareness.

Still, things had already improved considerably. Mito Uzumaki's willingness to help him was the greatest mercy the heavens could have granted him.

"At first, I planned to conceal Tobirama's death, then find a way to keep Konoha's clans in check. Once everything had finally settled, I would announce that Tobirama had died."

"But those Uchiha are impossible to let your guard down around. News of Tobirama's death has already spread throughout Konoha. The story that you abandoned Tobirama and fled back to the village has also become common knowledge. Who knows how badly this will damage your reputations in Konoha."

"Mito-sama, we—we didn't deliberately abandon Lord Tobirama. It was..."

Hiruzen stood up to explain. On the battlefield, shinobi had to obey orders, even when those orders went against their own sense of duty.

And this had been the Hokage's order. The six of them hadn't been able to defy Tobirama Senju.

Mito Uzumaki waved a hand, telling Hiruzen not to get so worked up.

"I know. There's no need to explain. Tobirama always insisted on having his way, especially on the battlefield. When he made a decision, you could only obey."

"But the villagers won't understand any of that. And the Uchiha are stirring things up behind the scenes. You need to be prepared."

Mito Uzumaki offered Hiruzen some advice. The situation wasn't beyond fixing. The Hokage had sacrificed himself, upholding Konoha's Will of Fire and saving the village's next generation.

Hiruzen also had Tobirama's dying wish on his side, lending weight to his cause. That might be enough to repair his reputation.

With careful handling, they could make up for the damage.

After all, the opinions of villagers without any strength of their own couldn't decide who became Hokage. The people who could determine the position were Konoha's shinobi clans.

"I understand, Mito-sama."

Hiruzen's voice was full of gratitude. Thank goodness Mito-sama was helping him. Otherwise, the villagers' scorn alone would have drowned him, let alone any chance of becoming Konoha's Hokage.