The Third Hokage's Assessment (Part One)

"Lord Yagura, there's no sign of Jonin Terumi Mei nearby. It's suspected that Konoha captured her alive and took her away."

A few minutes later, two ninjas appeared before Yagura. They knelt on one knee and reported their findings.

"Let's go back."

Yagura gazed at the spot where Hyuga Hane's Shadow Clone had disappeared. After a moment of silence, he headed toward the camp.

The two ninjas exchanged a glance, assuming Yagura was in a foul mood because they had lost Terumi Mei, a gifted Jonin. They didn't think much of it, got up, and followed him.

That night, at the camp, Uchiha Yakumaru approached Hyuga Hane with two grilled fish. He handed one to Hane and sat beside him.

"What are you thinking about? Still bothered by what that Mist ninja said? With your strength and status, the Hyuga Main Family's hold over you is a joke."

"The Main Branch has nothing to do with me. I'm thinking about something else."

Hyuga Hane took a bite of the grilled fish and frowned. "What did you put in this? Why is it so sweet?"

"A little sugar makes it taste better."

Uchiha Yakumaru casually took out a seasoning box and sprinkled more sugar over his own fish. He took a bite and said through a mouthful, "Don't you like sweet food?"

"You put in too much." Even so, Hyuga Hane didn't waste any. He finished the fish before asking, "You said before that you wanted peace. What do you think about children going to the battlefield?"

As he spoke, he looked toward the distant forest. Uchiha Fugaku was training a child there.

"The clan leader's child? His name is Itachi, right?"

Uchiha Yakumaru turned to look and said in surprise, "He's only four or five, and the clan leader has already brought him to the battlefield?"

"I heard he's been here for a while."

"...That is a bit early. Being on the battlefield at that age is a test of his mental fortitude."

Uchiha Yakumaru spoke as if it were commonplace. "But it's also a continuation of the Warring States tradition. Compared with a Kunai or an Explosive Tag, a child born into a ninja family is far more dangerous. No one will spare them just because of their age."

"Many ninja clans have perished throughout history. If their enemies are capable, they won't spare anyone—not even the children. Only by adapting to the cruelty of the battlefield early can they grow faster."

"Isn't it the same for students at the Ninja Academy? They learn how to kill from a young age. After graduating and completing a few ordinary missions, they start taking on missions that involve killing and fighting."

Uchiha Yakumaru's gaze grew distant as he watched Itachi train without tiring. "The ninja who guide them start out by taking only missions unrelated to combat and killing. That's also a way to determine whether freshly graduated Genin have the cold mindset needed to be ninjas."

"If they aren't interested in fighting and killing, choosing not to become a ninja is an option. But once they choose this path, they can never think of backing down. He's already learning ninjutsu and considers himself a ninja. This is only natural."

"So it's inevitable."

Hyuga Hane's sudden remark brought Uchiha Yakumaru out of his reverie. Confused, he asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Ninjas pass down the means to kill. So it's only natural that a ninja's way of solving problems centers on killing."

"Want resources or food? Use force! Want revenge on an enemy? Kill! When faced with a difficult problem, they've already formed the habit of considering combat first."

Uchiha Yakumaru's movements froze. Looking at Hyuga Hane's Byakugan, he felt as though he'd grasped at something in his mind, but the thought slipped away before he could seize it.

Hyuga Hane had already stood and was heading toward the heart of the Konoha camp. "Lord Hokage asked me to see him at eight. We can talk again when we have time."

Uchiha Yakumaru watched him leave, then turned toward Itachi, his brows knitted in worry.

Ninjas pass down the means to kill...

When Hyuga Hane entered the command room, the person inside wasn't the Fourth Hokage as he'd expected, but the Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He had already arrived at the front lines.

Hyuga Hane's expression didn't change as he bowed. "Lord Third."

"You're here. Sit down."

Sarutobi Hiruzen gestured to the seat in front of him. He waited until Hyuga Hane sat before explaining why he'd summoned him. "Minato wants this war to earn you enough prestige to give you a position. He thinks highly of you, and I want to learn more about your abilities."

He took out a file and placed it on the table.

"Read through this and tell me what you think."

Hyuga Hane picked it up and slowly read through the contents, all of which he already knew. For a while, the only sounds in the room were pages turning and the Third Hokage smoking.

When Hyuga Hane put the file down, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, "Well?"

"Sarutobi Masaaki is one of your men."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand holding the pipe twitched. He looked up at Hyuga Hane's calm face and smiled. "Good."

That "good" seemed to mean more than simple confirmation. Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and said, "I placed him beside Koharu and the others when I first took office. I was appointed in a time of crisis, and the ninja clans didn't accept me, so I needed the support of the clans behind them."

"But at the time, those clans were still weak and had little influence in Konoha. So I had Masaaki help them grow."

"Later, though, my two old friends ultimately sided fully with the ninja clans, and Masaaki followed them."

He hadn't said a single lie. He knew that if the young man before him could tell that Masaaki was his man, there was no point in lying.

"But they never realized that Masaaki had been my man from the start. How did you figure it out?"

"His actions."

"His actions?"

Hyuga Hane replied calmly, "He drove Tsunade out of the village."

Sarutobi Hiruzen understood and shook his head helplessly. "Masaaki was too impatient."

Tsunade had a special political significance in Konoha. Even in the current situation, if she wanted to remove the Fourth Hokage and take the position herself, many ninja clans that had conspired against her one moment could shamelessly rally around her the next and help her claim it, without the slightest concern for their own dignity.

They could always find a scapegoat to take the blame, while the clan continued to serve Tsunade.

And the Daimyo would support her with both hands, since the two of them were technically relatives...

Someone like her shouldn't have been allowed to leave Konoha. If she supported the Fourth Hokage, Danzo would face even more resistance in his attempt to remove him.

An old man who had spent decades caught up in political struggles couldn't possibly be insensitive to such matters.

But Hiruzen could understand. If Tsunade stayed, something would happen. Konoha might even fall into civil strife. It was better to let her leave.

"That's not all. You need to control Konoha's situation from a distance, and infiltrating from within is better than opposing them outright. Elder Masaaki gave you this intelligence, too, didn't he?"

Hyuga Hane set the file down. "It's too detailed, as if the person who compiled it had personally witnessed most of these events. Unless the informant was at the very heart of things, there are things they shouldn't have known."

"Was that one of the reasons he was exposed?"

"Anyone could reach that conclusion from this intelligence."

Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled and shook his head. "If Minato heard you say that, he'd probably be quite frustrated."