You'll Be the Third Hokage

Later, Yuya opened a textile factory and a canned food factory.

Senju Hashirama was very pleased with them, and with Yuya's performance as well.

The only thing he wasn't pleased about was that the brat really wouldn't get moving unless someone cracked a whip over him.

You had this kind of talent? You should've said so sooner!

Hashirama thought that if Yuya had shown this ability to make the village better a few years earlier, everyone in Konoha would surely be living better lives by now.

As for why Yuya hadn't done it, the answer was simple: he didn't want to be treated like a monster.

A child who was a little over six years old a few years ago could be extraordinary, but not too extraordinary. Yuya figured that if he stood out too much, it would cause trouble. He might even be dragged off for experiments.

But to the people of this world, what did being six matter? Six-year-olds should be going to the battlefield already. (Fugaku Uchiha gave that a like.) And how extraordinary could he be compared to the God of Shinobi?

Of course, that was only one reason. The second was...

There was nothing in it for him!

Other than being made to work for free, what would Yuya gain by showing off his abilities?

What did he expect Senju Hashirama to offer a six-year-old?

Besides...

These two things were necessities. Even if Yuya didn't start them himself, Konoha would have set them up anyway.

In fact, in the anime, Konoha was basically the capital of a small, independent kingdom.

And according to the official setting, Konoha and the Land of Fire weren't in a superior-subordinate relationship. They were partners.

That was why the Land of Fire could only recommend someone for the Hokage Position, not decide who got it.

Konoha had the ability and strength to develop into an independent power that combined political and economic control.

But it was obvious that the Hokage who came later had all been distracted by the generous subsidies the Land of Fire provided each year, and none of them had focused on developing Konoha.

Hashirama and Tobirama were different. They'd lived through a chaotic era of war, with a minor battle every three days and a major one every five. They were constantly fighting the Uchiha Clan. When would they have had the time or energy to learn about development?

Wouldn't their time have been better spent researching a few more jutsu?

That was how Tobirama became a professor of ninjutsu.

Hashirama ushered in a new era with the one-country, one-village system, but he had no clear plan for what should come next.

To sum it up, he believed in the wisdom of future generations. All he had to do was find a way to put an end to this damn era of war.

And so, from the first year of Konoha's founding until Naruto took the stage more than sixty years later, Konoha—and the entire world of Naruto—had focused on one thing: military strength.

Of course, that wasn't necessarily wrong. Military strength was the foundation of survival.

But military strength and development didn't have to conflict.

Or rather, only a strong economy could support the development of military strength.

Yuya could transform Konoha's infrastructure in six months, but he couldn't turn it into a super village with everything it needed overnight.

All he could do was gradually move it in that direction.

A few months later, on an otherwise ordinary day for the people of Konoha, Hashirama summoned Tobirama, Uzumaki Mito, and Kamigane Yuya to his room.

His face was flushed, and his entire body radiated a dangerously intense aura: chakra spilling out of him.

Even the chakra leaking from him was enough to make Yuya's heart race.

The God of Shinobi's power truly was unfathomable.

"As you can see, I can no longer control the chakra in my body. To prevent my death from causing chaos, we need to move somewhere else."

As soon as Hashirama finished speaking, Tobirama raised his hands and formed a series of Hand Seals. Yuya's vision flashed, and they were no longer in the room. They had appeared in a forest outside Konoha.

"Just as we discussed, after I die, you must seal me away, in case some petty scoundrel tries to tamper with my corpse," Hashirama reminded Tobirama.

Hashirama had scattered the members of the Senju Clan throughout Konoha and made them change their names to protect them from people who coveted his Wood Release—

And it turned out Hashirama had seen things clearly. After he died, the Senju Clan was attacked. In fact, even while he was still alive, his son had already been targeted. The attackers coveted Hashirama's Wood Release. But as we know, aside from Hashirama, none of the Senju had the right kind of chakra to use Wood Release—

Those people would stop at nothing. Hashirama didn't need to be a genius to know that someone would come after his corpse.

If his body weren't immune to fire and water, Hashirama would've just asked Tobirama to burn it and be done with it.

Ninjas born in the chaotic era of war before this one had long since made peace with the possibility of death.

It was an era when no one knew if they'd make it through the day. No one dared assume they would live to see tomorrow.

"I understand, big brother," Tobirama said with a nod.

"Next, I have a few things to remind you about." Hashirama scratched his head and laughed. "Don't keep such a close eye on the Uchiha. You should ease up a little."

Tobirama curled his lip. With Madara Uchiha as an example, he just couldn't bring himself to trust the Uchiha.

"Never mind. You have your own plans. Kagami Uchiha is a good successor. After he becomes the next Uchiha Clan Head, you can direct a little more of your resources toward the Uchiha."

Tobirama nodded.

Yuya was still wondering what Hashirama was getting at when Hashirama turned to him. "Yuya, compared to Tobirama, I haven't taught you much. I took you in, then barely looked after you. I haven't been much of a teacher."

Yuya fell silent for a moment, then replied, "Master... No matter what, I'll never forget that you saved my life."

Hashirama looked at Yuya and spoke softly. "After Tobirama, how would you like to serve as the Third Hokage?"

Yuya's eyes widened. He stared at Hashirama in shock.

"Master... are you serious?"

Hashirama smiled faintly, then looked at Tobirama. "With Tobirama by your side, you can take your time growing into the role. In ten years, I believe you'll be able to transform Konoha.

"Tobirama and I are among the strongest in the Shinobi World, but the two of us couldn't even figure out how to get that textile factory started. We know even less about running one..."

Hashirama took a deep breath, then looked at Yuya with a grave expression. "Tobirama and I are both rough men who know nothing but fighting. We have no idea how to make life better for everyone in Konoha. But you're different.

"I believe that if you focus on improving your abilities over the next ten years, then take over from Tobirama as the Third Hokage, Konoha will become a much better place.

"In this regard, you're far better than Tobirama and me.

"So I want you to serve as the Third Hokage."