The Fallen Shinobi Hero

"Forget it!"

In less than a second, Sarutobi Hiruzen dismissed his previous thought.

Amidst the swirling smoke, the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen: "That idea is still too dangerous; we cannot take such a risk. There must be another way. Let me think about it some more."

"Konoha cannot withstand any more blows right now. The village's vitality has yet to recover, and any move—even a minor one—could plunge Konoha into an irredeemable abyss."

"So you're just going to do nothing?" Tsunade sighed, "Just watch as the problems grow increasingly severe?"

"I didn't say I would do nothing; I just said we need a safer, better solution."

Watching Sarutobi Hiruzen sink back into hesitation, Tsunade understood: the "Shinobi Hero" was truly dead.

The immense strength he once possessed, his decisive judgment, and the grit that led Konoha through the chaos of two separate crises—all of it was gone.

In truth, the signs had appeared years ago when she first proposed the medical ninja reforms, but after all this time, there had been no improvement whatsoever.

Even knowing that the situation would only worsen if left unchecked, he would not take action unless he could find a "perfect" method.

As he was now, he would rather do nothing than risk making a mistake.

Yet, as Hokage, inaction itself was a mistake. Where in this world could one find a perfect decision?

Every decision carried risk and the potential for error. A truly qualified leader was not one who found a flawless plan, but one who could solve problems.

If you lack the ability to solve problems, what kind of leader are you?

A task dispatcher?

But Sarutobi Hiruzen had lost that ability. He was haunted by past mistakes and terrified by future risks. He could only wait, watch, and then shelve or delegate the problems, hoping that a solution perfectly aligned with his wishes would simply manifest on its own.

However, Konoha could not afford to lose the Uchiha.

Whether considering the threat of the "Akatsuki" mentioned in the drift bottle or looking at long-term development, a Konoha without the Uchiha was like a beast stripped of its sharpest fangs.

Kumogakure had dared to push their luck just because the Fourth Hokage was gone; one could only imagine how the four other great nations, watching like tigers, would react if the Uchiha were lost. By then, even Amegakure might dare to intervene.

Tsunade pressed her hands onto his desk, her gaze sharp: "Old man, if you don't dare to act, then you just need to support me unconditionally."

Sarutobi Hiruzen froze, a flicker of astonishment passing through his clouded eyes: "Tsunade, you..."

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

On the day she decided to take Hyuga Kiyonari as her disciple, she had asked a similar question.

"What if everyone disagrees, or even tries to stop you?"

At this moment, she gave the same answer Kiyonari had given her back then:

"But some things must be done by someone, and I just happen to have the ability to do them."

"Tsunade!"

Tsunade paused, but did not turn back.

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent for a moment, then spoke slowly: "Remember, Konoha cannot afford any more failures."

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

Hyuga, Kumogakure, Uchiha... she sorted through the complex situation in her mind.

The Kumogakure delegation had only just left Konoha; it would take time to gauge the Raikage's attitude. If Kumogakure truly wanted to use this as a pretext—regardless of whether they genuinely wanted war or were merely bluffing—Konoha could use this opportunity to pull the Uchiha back into the center of power.

In doing so, the internal resentment within the Uchiha clan would be greatly alleviated, and Fugaku Uchiha would certainly be pleased to see such an outcome.

However... just as the old man said, this was not a good idea.

War was not easily controlled; it was like walking a tightrope. One careless step, and you would fall into the abyss. You might think you are controlling the situation, but in reality, the situation might be controlling you.

Konoha had to consider the attitudes of other nations, and Kumogakure faced the same issue. Could a war really break out?

But... the Raikage's personality had always been impulsive. He might just lose his head and act on a whim.

And then there was the Akatsuki. If the world fell into chaos, would they seize the opportunity to strike?

As she walked, Tsunade suddenly remembered the morning's events.

Kiyonari had come to see her; besides delivering the soup, there must have been something else he hadn't had time to say, but she had been in too much of a hurry to leave.

A streak of orange-red sunset hung on the horizon. At this hour, Shizune should have returned from the hospital.

Ever since she returned to the village, the Medical Corps had constantly pestered her. Finding it unbearable, she had simply pushed Shizune out to handle them.

Tsunade quickened her pace. As she pushed open her front door, she happened to see Shizune standing with a vegetable basket in front of the chicken soup left over from lunch.

"Shizune, please go call Kiyonari over for dinner. I have some things I'd like his opinion on."

"Alright, I'll go right now."

Shizune replied and prepared to leave. She did not hesitate; or rather, ever since she had been won over by Hyuga Kiyonari's profile that day, she no longer found such things surprising.

Not long after, Kiyonari arrived.

"You're here," Tsunade said, pointing to the chair opposite her. "Sit down first. Shizune, please take care of preparing dinner."

Tsunade poured two glasses of water and handed one to Kiyonari. "You came to see me this morning; was there something else on your mind?"

Kiyonari took the glass, took a sip, and said, "I originally wanted to ask you to guide me in the Shadow Clone Technique, but that's been resolved now. I ran into a kind soul."

"And who was this kind soul you met?"

"Itachi Uchiha."

"Itachi Uchiha?" Tsunade paused, stunned. "How do you know him?"

Kiyonari found her reaction strange, but he explained truthfully, "It happened a few days ago. I encountered a massive wild boar in the Forest of Death, and Itachi and his younger brother, Sasuke, came over to help me out."

"I ran into them again at the training grounds today. You could say... Sasuke helped convince his brother to assist me."

Tsunade nodded. While waiting for the meal to be prepared, she briefly explained the sequence of events that had unfolded in the Hokage Office that afternoon.

"War..."

Hyuga Kiyonari was somewhat surprised that this had been a proposal put forward by the Third Hokage, even if he had ultimately rejected it.

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

Kiyonari gathered his thoughts for a moment before speaking slowly: "A long time ago, there were two brothers dividing their inheritance. The older brother believed that as the eldest, he should receive a larger share, while the younger brother insisted on an equal split. Just then, a strong man suddenly barged in and told them, 'Your land should also be given to me, because I am your neighbor.'"

"Consequently, the brothers, who had been unwilling to yield to each other, set aside their differences and fought side by side to drive away the greedy neighbor first. Once they had successfully driven the neighbor away, the older brother looked at the younger, who had just taken a heavy blow for him, and decided that a fair split of the inheritance wasn't such an unreasonable request after all, so he agreed to it."

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

Could it be... that war is truly the remedy for the Uchiha problem?

However, Kiyonari shifted his tone and continued, "But this story has another ending: the brothers were both defeated by the strong neighbor."