Hiruzen Sarutobi Visits

By the time he woke up, it was already evening.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he noticed there was someone else in the room with him.

Once he saw who it was, he quickly performed a kip-up to his feet and said, "Hokage-sama, why are you here?"

He never would have imagined that Hiruzen Sarutobi would come to his home, and it looked like he had been waiting for quite a while.

What kind of game was this?

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved a hand at him, signaling for him to sit down and talk.

After sitting down, Hiruzen Sarutobi handed the pipe from his mouth to Shiraishi Yoshijo and said, "Want a puff?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo looked at the pipe with utter disdain, then pulled out his own cigarette and lit it.

Something that was just in your mouth a second ago, and you want to shove it into mine? You might not find it disgusting, but I certainly do.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't seem embarrassed at all; instead, he chuckled and said, "Kaori came to see me today, insisting that I kick you out of the hospital. I had to use every persuasive word I knew to make her change her mind."

"Can you tell me what you're thinking?"

Was this supposed to be a heart-to-heart?

Shiraishi Yoshijo scratched his head and replied, "I wasn't thinking much. The director told me to change my clothes, cut my hair, and quit smoking. I didn't agree, and things ended up like this."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said, "Are you still grieving over the death of Shiraishi Eizawa?"

"No, I'm much better now."

"That's good. Can you tell me about the situation when Shiraishi Eizawa died?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a strange look. What was the point of talking about this when the man was already dead?

"Uncle was fine when he died. He ate and even had some wine. I wanted to have a drink with him, but he got angry and wouldn't let me."

"After he entrusted me with a few things, he committed suicide. There wasn't much pain; he passed away quite peacefully."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a touch of emotion after hearing this, a smile appearing on his face as he said, "That's good, that's good indeed."

He took a puff of his pipe, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and looked at Shiraishi Yoshijo, asking, "Did Shiraishi Eizawa tell you why he committed suicide?"

"He wasn't going to live much longer anyway. Hokage-sama should know that this is the fate of our clan."

"What do you mean he wasn't going to live much longer?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo paused for a moment, only then remembering that the only person in the village who knew about Shiraishi Eizawa's failing health was Takemoto Shuichi, and that old man would never leak such information.

"He was severely injured after returning from that mission and had been using sealing jutsu to hang onto his life."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a hint of silence, "Is that so? It must have been hard on him."

"So, you joined the hospital just to try and save his life?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo nodded; there was no point in hiding it now.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked in silence, and Shiraishi Yoshijo joined him, one cigarette after another.

After a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke: "You are a good kid. These past two years have truly been difficult for you, even developing medical ninjutsu on your own. If you had told me sooner..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't continue, as he knew Shiraishi Eizawa would never have told him such things.

"I want to establish a Medical Team at the hospital. What do you think?"

"Sounds good."

"Is that so?" Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to stare at him. "Then, would you be willing to serve in the Medical Team?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo fell silent.

If he joined the Medical Team, Yakushi Nonō would undoubtedly join as well. How would that be any different from staying in the hospital?

"No thank you, Hokage-sama. Now that my uncle is dead, I have no reason to stay at the hospital. I'd like to rest at home for a few years."

"Rest for a few years?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a grim expression. "Yoshijo, tell me the truth—do you no longer wish to contribute to Konoha?"

Contribute? The more I contribute, the more you people want me dead. Why are you such a rotten old man?

Shiraishi Yoshijo was frantically venting in his mind. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't actually old yet, that image of him as a rotten old man had long been deeply ingrained in his mind.

He began to understand why Hiruzen Sarutobi had come to his house.

It was a simple logic: Hiruzen Sarutobi just needed an attitude from him—an attitude of willingness to contribute to Konoha.

If he refused to contribute to Konoha, then Hiruzen Sarutobi would certainly find it difficult to mobilize the ninja clans led by Takemoto Shuichi.

Conversely, as long as he was willing to contribute to Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi could use him to mobilize those ninja clans.

The current Konoha was not the Konoha of the post-Third War era where the ninja clans had withered away; the current Konoha was essentially dominated by the ninja clans.

Shiraishi Eizawa had even said that the Hokage was merely a representative of the ninja clans' interests. Even Danzo had been challenged by Shiraishi Eizawa, which showed just how massive the power of the ninja clans was today.

If he lost these forces, Konoha's strength would shrink drastically, which clearly did not align with Hiruzen Sarutobi's political strategy.

Of course, Danzo wouldn't care about that. He would love nothing more than to kill Shiraishi Yoshijo and then absorb the scattered ninja clans behind him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a sensible man; he knew very well that Danzo's approach would likely lead to an uprising of the ninja clans.

In truth, even if the ninja clans did revolt, Hiruzen Sarutobi could suppress them, but such an action would undoubtedly cause a massive blow to Konoha's strength.

This is something Hiruzen Sarutobi cannot tolerate, even if it is only a possibility.

After thinking it through, Shiraishi Yoshijo felt a bit of a headache.

He is now very clear about how many ninja clans support him and how vast their power is.

Although he currently appears to be just one person, in reality, after Shiraishi Eizawa took him to visit those ninja clans, he already had channels to communicate with them.

When he was at the hospital, he felt there was no need for anyone to protect him; no matter how rampant Danzo is, he could not blatantly kill him within Konoha.

If Danzo really did such a thing, Konoha would not be far from falling apart.

The ninja clans that support him would absolutely not tolerate such a situation; they might not riot, but they would definitely pressure the Hokage to hand over Danzo.

Danzo is only able to manipulate these ninja clans now because they are in decline; if he were truly forced to face them alone, it is likely that even the Shimura clan behind him would abandon him.

Moreover, such an action would send a signal to other neutral ninja clans—a signal that the Hokage wants to control the ninja clans.

This is a situation that all ninja clans cannot tolerate.

Either the Hokage steps down, or Konoha will be divided from top to bottom; counting on the current civilian ninjas to support Konoha is nothing but a pipe dream.

If civilian ninjas want to get ahead, they must risk their lives for the Hokage in exchange for resources for cultivation.

Ninja clans are different; as long as one is born into a ninja clan, these resources are basically never lacking.

Perhaps your talent is poor and you are not valued within the clan, but as long as you have time, it is always better than those civilian ninjas who have to gamble with their lives.

This is the true reality behind the peace of Konoha.

Class gaps always exist; even in a pigsty, there are pigs that grow fast and pigs that grow slow.

Those that grow fast naturally eat more from a young age, while those that grow slow are certainly pushed aside from birth.

However, a pig growing fast is not necessarily a good thing, just like Shiraishi Yoshijo now; he feels he is the fastest-growing pig in Konoha.

Danzo, that butcher, has been sharpening his knife for a long time.

Fortunately, he is not a pig; a real pig would probably walk to the butcher's knife voluntarily for a single meal.

This pig of a person relies on the protection of other pigs to survive the butcher's knife time and time again.

However, there is no such thing in the world as giving without expecting a return.

If he really just lazed around at home waiting for death, those pigs would likely push him out and send him to Danzo's butcher knife immediately.

Unless he possesses the power to crush everything, like the power of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.

Otherwise, why would other pigs risk their lives for you? Do you really think a pig's life is worthless?

Shiraishi Yoshijo is worried; he, this pig, has now reached the point where he must maintain the food supply for other pigs.

Those ninja clans will wait at most until he comes of age; if he still has no intention of protecting them after he reaches adulthood, he will likely be abandoned.

Thinking of this, he simply decided to have a showdown with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Is the Hokage really willing to let me contribute to Konoha?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned for a moment, then stared at Shiraishi Yoshijo and said, "You are already a Konoha ninja; no one can stop you from contributing to Konoha."

"Then what is going on with Yakushi Nonō? Perhaps Danzo has some other ideas."

Shiraishi Yoshijo knows very well that some things must be dealt with decisively; playing along will only make others increasingly presumptuous.

"Yakushi Nonō?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi caught on, and only then did he realize that the child in front of him was not so easy to fool.

Danzo's Root has already been established, and the candidates entering the hospital were all handpicked by Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.

It would be as easy as pie for Danzo to plant someone inside to monitor Shiraishi Yoshijo.

He was unaware of this matter, and the two advisors did not tell him.

As a result, the person had only just been sent over when Shiraishi Yoshijo detected it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows were tightly knitted, and he was secretly shocked by the power of these ninja clans.

The establishment of the Root is top secret even within the Anbu; how could such a situation occur?

Shiraishi Yoshijo did not need to guess what Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking; he waited calmly for the Hokage's reply.

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into deep thought; he understood Danzo's personality very well, and Danzo is definitely not a person who gives up easily.

Perhaps he could transfer Yakushi Nonō away, but Danzo would certainly send someone else to monitor Shiraishi Yoshijo.

Some things can only happen once; if they happen a second time, the trust between him and Shiraishi Yoshijo will be completely lost.

Once Shiraishi Yoshijo no longer trusts him, he will become his political enemy entirely.

"Yoshijo, join the Anbu. I will form a squad for you with people I absolutely trust. If you are worried, you can also arrange the personnel yourself, but I will decide the captain."

This is the third time Hiruzen Sarutobi has asked him to join the Anbu. Shiraishi Yoshijo thought for a moment and did not refuse, but instead asked, "I wonder who the captain chosen by the Hokage is?"

"Sakumo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi called out this name, and then a figure appeared before the two like a phantom.

"Hokage-sama."

The iconic white hair and the short blade on his back—Shiraishi Yoshijo's eyelids twitched slightly, as his sensory abilities had been active ever since Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived.

He hadn't detected where this man was hiding at all.

Furthermore, that speed just now—was that just a standard Body Flicker Technique?

Shiraishi Yoshijo was somewhat uncertain, but that speed was barely any slower than his own Lightning Body Flicker.

His Lightning Body Flicker had many restrictions when used, yet for Hatake Sakumo, this appeared to be nothing more than his ordinary speed.

It was simply astonishing.