The Dead Shinobi Hero

"Forget it!"

In less than a second, Sarutobi Hiruzen rejected the idea he'd just had.

Through the curling smoke, the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen. "It's still too dangerous. We can't take that risk. There has to be another way. Let me think."

"Konoha can't withstand another blow right now. The village hasn't recovered yet. Any move, even a small one, could plunge Konoha into an irreversible disaster."

"So you're just going to do nothing?" Tsunade sighed. "And watch the problem get worse and worse?"

"I didn't say I'd do nothing. We just need a safer, better solution."

Watching Sarutobi Hiruzen sink into hesitation once again, Tsunade understood. The "Shinobi Hero" was indeed dead.

His once formidable strength, his decisive judgment, and the courage he'd shown twice when taking command in times of crisis and leading Konoha through an age of turmoil... It was all gone.

The signs had been there years ago, when she first proposed reforming the medical ninja system. Yet after all these years, things hadn't improved in the slightest.

Even knowing the situation would only grow worse, he wouldn't act unless he could find a "perfect" solution.

Now, he would rather do nothing than make a mistake.

Yet as Hokage, inaction was a mistake in itself. There was no such thing as a perfect decision.

Every decision carried risks and could go wrong. A truly capable leader didn't need to find a flawless plan; he needed to be able to solve problems.

If you couldn't solve problems, what kind of leader were you?

A task dispatcher?

But Sarutobi Hiruzen had lost that ability. Haunted by the mistakes of the past and frightened by the risks of the future, he could only wait and watch, putting problems aside or passing them on, then hoping a solution that happened to suit him would somehow appear.

But Konoha couldn't afford to lose the Uchiha.

Whether it was the threat of the Akatsuki mentioned in the Drift Bottle or the village's long-term prospects, Konoha without the Uchiha would be like a tiger stripped of its sharpest fangs.

The loss of the Fourth Hokage alone had emboldened Kumogakure. What would the four great nations think if Konoha also lost the Uchiha? By then, even Amegakure might dare to get involved.

Tsunade pressed her hands against his desk, her gaze fierce. "Old man, if you don't dare to act, then all you have to do is support me unconditionally."

Sarutobi Hiruzen froze. A flicker of astonishment crossed his cloudy eyes. "Tsunade, you..."

"I know what you're worried about," Tsunade interrupted.

The day she decided to take Hyuga Kiyonari as her student, she'd once asked him a similar question.

"What if no one agrees with you—even tries to stop you?"

Now, she gave the very same answer Kiyonari had given back then:

"But some things have to be done by someone. I just happen to be capable of doing them."

"Tsunade!"

Tsunade stopped, but didn't turn around.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly. "Remember, Konoha can't afford another failure."

She pushed open the door and strode out of the Hokage Office.

Hyuga, Hidden Cloud, Uchiha... She sorted through the complicated situation in her mind.

The Hidden Cloud delegation had only just left Konoha. It would take time to learn the Raikage's position. If Kumogakure really wanted to use this as a pretext—whether they genuinely wanted to start a war or were just trying to scare them—Konoha could use the opportunity to bring the Uchiha back into the village's center of power.

That would greatly ease the Uchiha Clan's discontent, and Fugaku Uchiha would surely welcome the outcome.

But... as the old man had said, it wasn't a good idea.

War wasn't so easy to control. It was like walking a tightrope: one wrong step, and you'd plunge into the abyss. You might think you were controlling the situation, when in fact, the situation was controlling you.

Konoha had to consider how the other nations would react, and Hidden Cloud would face the same problem. Could a war really break out?

But... the Raikage had always been impulsive. He might actually lose his head and do something rash.

And what about the Akatsuki? If the world fell into chaos, would they take advantage of it?

As she walked, Tsunade suddenly remembered what had happened that morning.

Kiyonari had come to see her, and besides bringing soup, he must have had something else to tell her. She'd just been in too much of a hurry to hear him out.

A streak of orange-red sunset hung over the horizon. By now, Shizune should have returned from the hospital.

Ever since Tsunade had returned to the village, the Medical Corps had often come calling. She'd grown so tired of them that she'd started sending Shizune out to deal with them.

Tsunade quickened her pace. Just as she opened the front door, she saw Shizune standing in front of the leftover chicken soup from lunch, holding a basket of groceries.

"Shizune, could you ask Kiyonari to come over for dinner? I'd like to get his thoughts on something."

"All right. I'll go now."

Shizune answered and got ready to leave. She didn't hesitate—or rather, after being impressed by Hyuga Kiyonari's profile that day, she no longer found this sort of thing surprising.

It wasn't long before Kiyonari arrived.

"You're here," Tsunade said, pointing to the chair across from her. "Have a seat. Shizune, I'll leave dinner to you."

Tsunade poured two glasses of water and handed one to Kiyonari. "You came to see me this morning. Was there something else?"

Kiyonari took the glass and sipped from it before answering. "I was going to ask my teacher to help me train in the Shadow Clone Technique, but I've already figured it out. I ran into someone kind enough to help."

"And who was this kind person?"

"Itachi Uchiha."

"Itachi Uchiha?" Tsunade was taken aback. "How do you know him?"

Kiyonari found her reaction a little strange, but explained honestly. "It was a few days ago. I ran into a huge wild boar in the Forest of Death, and Itachi and his younger brother, Sasuke, came to help me out."

"I ran into them again at the training ground today. I guess... Sasuke helped persuade his older brother."

Tsunade nodded. While they waited for dinner, she briefly explained what had happened in the Hokage Office that afternoon.

"War..."

Hyuga Kiyonari was a little surprised, too. He hadn't expected the Third to propose that plan, even if he'd ultimately rejected it.

"Teacher, I once read a story in a book."

Kiyonari gathered his thoughts and spoke slowly. "A long time ago, two brothers were dividing up their inheritance. The older brother thought he deserved a bigger share because he was the eldest, while the younger brother thought they should split it evenly. Just then, a burly man burst in and said, 'You should give me a share of your land, too, since I'm your neighbor.'"

"So the brothers, who'd been at odds, put aside their differences and joined forces to drive off the greedy neighbor first. After they'd chased him away together, the older brother realized his younger brother had taken a punch for him. And since splitting the inheritance evenly wasn't an unreasonable request, he agreed."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You mean... Konoha and the Uchiha are the brothers in this story, and Kumogakure is the greedy neighbor."

Could war really be the cure for the Uchiha problem?

But Kiyonari shifted his tone and continued, "There's another ending to the story: the brothers are both beaten by their strong neighbor."