The Third Generation's Inspection (Part 2)

"Do you know what Minato's first reaction was when he saw this intelligence?"

The Third Hokage chuckled to himself, a hint of embarrassment in his tone. "He asked me in all seriousness if I had used the Telescope Technique to spy on it. I suppose the impression I left on him in the past was just too deep."

He did not explain what the Telescope Technique was used for; after all, one could guess its purpose just by the name.

A rather indecent purpose...

The Third's words left Hyuga Hane silent for a moment before he replied, "The Fourth just lacks a bit of experience."

Perhaps it wasn't just a matter of experience. Sometimes, when he spent time with the Fourth, he felt the man was a bit... dense?

--Naturally airheaded.

"Indeed. Although he has a sharp mind, he wasn't born into a ninja clan and only received standard ninja training growing up. Later, when Jiraiya became his teacher, he didn't think to teach him these things either."

At this, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Hyuga Hane with a solemn expression. "That is why he needs a trustworthy aide."

One should take humble words with a grain of salt; how many people could have guessed that Sarutobi Masaaki was his man?

If it were truly that easy to discover, the political landscape of Konoha would not have remained firmly in his grasp all this time.

Hyuga Hane did not pursue the topic, instead looking at the intelligence on the table. "The information Elder Masaaki provided you mentions the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Is he asking you to provide an answer?"

In a report to a superior, specifically mentioning how he had baited the two advisors—and in such detail—clearly showed that Sarutobi Masaaki was indeed worried about this matter.

"...The Nine-Tails, huh."

Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe a few more times, exhaling a thick cloud of white smoke, and said helplessly, "I cannot give him the answer he wants."

Hyuga Hane: "This is an inevitable problem in Konoha's development."

"Ever since the birth of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, a perfect jinchuriki, you must have considered this issue. I would like to know your answer."

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and sighed. "No, I haven't reached a suitable conclusion."

"Tailed Beasts possess wisdom and emotions as well. Lady Mito once spoke with me about this. If we keep the Nine-Tails sealed within a Konoha jinchuriki indefinitely, there are only two possible outcomes."

"First, the Nine-Tails reaches an understanding with a jinchuriki, and it is passed down through Konoha forever."

"Second, the hatred the Nine-Tails harbors for Konoha continues to accumulate until it breaks the seal and destroys the village."

Sarutobi Hiruzen paused, then continued, "Setting aside the latter, the former alone is an unsolvable problem, and it is exactly what Masaaki is worried about."

"The wisdom of a Tailed Beast is no less than that of a human. If the Nine-Tails acknowledges a ninja, Konoha cannot interfere too much with that individual, otherwise, the village will lose the possibility of producing a perfect jinchuriki forever."

And this leads to a problem.

The succession of jinchuriki would be decided by Konoha's first perfect jinchuriki, because the Nine-Tails would only choose that person's descendants or someone both of them approve of.

Just like Killer B in the Cloud Village.

If the Cloud Village wanted to choose the next jinchuriki themselves without asking for the opinions of Killer B and the Eight-Tails, would the Eight-Tails agree?

If they forced the seal, the Cloud Village could forget about ever producing another perfect jinchuriki like Killer B.

"Furthermore, the Nine-Tails is the strongest Tailed Beast. Its ideal choice for a jinchuriki is the Uzumaki Clan. If this continues generation after generation... Konoha will give birth to a ninja—or even an entire ninja clan—that it cannot control."

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. "I would love to say this is a meaningless worry, especially since the Nine-Tails has yet to acknowledge Kushina. Unfortunately, with only two possibilities, it is impossible for Masaaki not to consider it."

"In that case, why not consider more efficient means of utilization?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was taken aback.

Hyuga Hane explained, "From the birth of the first jinchuriki to the present, it has only been a few decades. Why assume this is the optimal way to use the power of the Tailed Beasts?"

"If a Tailed Beast acknowledges a ninja from Konoha, what is the harm in treating it as a comrade? What is the harm in letting it out? The Tailed Beast itself has no interest in our politics."

"..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent.

"My apologies," Hyuga Hane said softly. "But I believe the old ways are not immutable."

Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, his expression complex. "It's fine. What you said makes sense."

Konoha should have new voices. Old things are not necessarily correct, just as they, these old men, should eventually step down from the stage of history. Change is necessary when the time calls for it.

"However, this matter hasn't reached the point where we need to worry about it yet. Since you can see that Masaaki is my man, you should also be able to guess what Danzo is planning."

"Mist Village is deploying such forces that they seem prepared to fight to the death. He is trying to make an issue out of this, isn't he?"

Hyuga Hane softly voiced his own line of reasoning.

"As things stand, either the Mist or Konoha must back down to end the war. The Fourth's personality won't allow him to retreat, and he cannot afford to, otherwise that man will hold the Fourth responsible and make him answer for the fallen ninjas."

"And if the Mist were to retreat... Konoha ninjas would still suffer heavy losses, and there is plenty of room to stir up trouble there as well. The Hokage is too young, his command was poor—there is no shortage of mud to sling."

The Third nodded upon hearing this.

This was the main reason he had previously been reluctant to hand the position of Hokage to Minato.

With the war coming to an end, the many ninjas Konoha has lost and the interests the Land of Fire has sacrificed must be accounted for by someone.

After all...

"It is difficult for us to demand enough war reparations from the other nations to satisfy the Daimyo."

Hyuga Hane narrowed his eyes.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed.

That was correct; the biggest problem was the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

During the Great Shinobi War, the village's ninjas only considered how many of their own had died, but few stopped to think about how much the Land of Fire had lost, or how many resources the Daimyo had provided to Konoha throughout the conflict.

Under the one-village-one-country system, Konoha served as the military force of the Land of Fire; when war broke out, military supplies like ninja tools and food were all provided by the Land of Fire!

If Konoha had relied solely on itself, it would have been dragged into collapse long ago!

Yet, the Daimyo had spent his wealth to fight a war, only to find that the gains didn't even cover the losses... how could he possibly be satisfied with the current Hokage?

Ultimately, the Land of Fire was ruled by the Daimyo.

When the time came, stepping down would be the most dignified end for a Hokage; otherwise, by offending the Daimyo, a Hokage would find it difficult to achieve any political success in the future.

Furthermore, Minato still had to face pressure from the ninja clans; with the Daimyo's backing, those people would only jump around even more gleefully.

"What the Fourth needs to do is win this war, in the cleanest and most decisive manner possible."

The reason they couldn't extract war reparations from other nations was that Konoha hadn't been able to force them to yield, but was that still the case for the current Konoha?

The Third, the Fourth, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Kushina...

In this era, which ninja village possessed so many powerhouses?

The Shinobi World was, after all, a place where strength reigned supreme.

The Third revealed a gratified smile, "Minato did not choose the wrong person; the position of Hokage Assistant truly suits you."

Hyuga Hane watched his satisfied expression, his Byakugan devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

No Root, it seems... is it to be handed over to Orochimaru first?

That was within expectations.