The Third Generation's Decision

As the sun's afterglow dipped below the horizon, Konoha Village, hailed as the premier ninja village in the shinobi world, concluded yet another day that seemed perpetually peaceful.

This village, founded by the First Hokage Senju Hashirama and the Konoha Asura Uchiha Madara using their peerless power, fully inherited the formidable nature of both the Senju and Uchiha clans.

It not only adopted the Senju clan's excellent structural composition—blossoming in all directions and proficient in nearly every field of ninjutsu—but also possessed powerful Kekkei Genkai, holding two of the three great ocular techniques within its walls.

However, strength comes with its own price. The Land of Fire sits at the very center of the continent, controlling vital transportation hubs and occupying the most fertile land, which inevitably became a catalyst for war. The Great Ninja Wars were never without Konoha, or perhaps, the very purpose of those wars was to defeat Konoha.

Compared to the Land of Fire, other nations were truly too barren. Look at the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning—how could they be content?

Therefore, the greatest headache for every generation of Hokage was how to maintain a balance among the Five Great Nations. Of course, securing one or two allies was also necessary; one couldn't truly go one-against-two, one-against-three, or one-against-four, could they? That would be sheer madness.

One-against-two was barely manageable, one-against-three was a desperate struggle, but one-against-four... no matter how strong Konoha was, there was a limit.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, known as a hero of the ninja world, was currently deeply troubled. Even though the sky had turned completely dark, he still stood on the balcony, staring blankly at the full view of Konoha below.

The troubles of the battlefield were, to him, far outweighed by his worries regarding internal crises.

Konoha's strength lay in its massive scale, but that same scale gave rise to another problem: the unity of its internal factions.

This issue was absolutely lethal, because the conflict between the Senju and Uchiha clans did not cease simply because they had joined forces to build Konoha. In reality, the First Hokage Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara soon had a falling out, and the Uchiha clan quickly picked up the baton from Madara.

With the fading influence of the Senju, this conflict eventually expanded into a rift between the Uchiha clan and the village's upper echelons. Due to the policies of the Second Hokage, they were confined to the Police Force and kept away from the core leadership. As one of the founders of Konoha, the Uchiha clan was deeply dissatisfied with this.

But Konoha was not composed solely of the Uchiha; there were countless large and small clans, with various interest groups tangled in a mess. These were all things the Hokage had to worry about.

Tsunade... to think she would end up like this...

Sarutobi Hiruzen was still far from the frailty he would show over a decade later. His current strength was the undisputed peak of Konoha. Orochimaru, who would later deal such a heavy blow to the village, was still a Konoha ninja at this time—or perhaps, he was still a "good person."

At this moment, Orochimaru hadn't even begun his unscrupulous pursuit of forbidden longevity arts, nor had he conducted any human experiments. Though his personality was cold, he was still fighting for Konoha and training the next generation of ninjas.

However, it was not Orochimaru who had first developed issues among the Sannin; it was because of this very matter that the Third Hokage was sighing incessantly.

The reason was simple: among the Sannin, Orochimaru was the strongest in terms of combat power, but in terms of importance to the village, it was Tsunade.

Because of Tsunade, Konoha had revolutionized its ninja combat configurations, possessing the most excellent comprehensive combat capabilities for ninja squads.

Because of Tsunade, Konoha's medical standards had surged from being on par with other nations to becoming the best in the ninja world, drastically reducing ninja mortality rates and subsequently boosting Konoha's overall combat strength.

It was because of Tsunade—with her exceptional status as the granddaughter of the First Hokage, her vast connections, and her high prestige—that Konoha remained stable as long as she was present.

But now, Tsunade could no longer serve Konoha. Following the death of her younger brother, her lover had also gone to meet the Buddha. Such things were common in war, but this woman's heart was clearly more delicate than her appearance suggested. Faced with these blows, she had collapsed.

She had developed hemophobia. Forget about fighting; she couldn't even perform her primary duty: medical work.

The vast majority of ninja medicine required dealing with blood; it wasn't just a matter of soaking in some herbs.

Perhaps realizing this, Tsunade ultimately decided to leave. Even Orochimaru and Jiraiya could not stop her.

The Third Hokage did not try to stop her either; he knew Tsunade's personality.

But precisely because of that, he had a headache.

Tsunade's departure had too great an impact. It wasn't just him who was troubled; Danzo was just as troubled.

The only difference was that while he stood on the balcony in a daze, Danzo was huddled in his underground base, furiously tapping his cane.

Both were sighing endlessly. Why did Konoha have to be dealt such a rotten hand?

The only consolation was that Jiraiya, that guy, had an outstanding disciple—the Yellow Flash. The Senju lineage continued to produce experts, generation after generation. Under this strength, the situation remained under control.

"Knock, knock..."

The sound of knocking came from the door. The Third Hokage turned around. Even while standing on the balcony, he could hear everything in the office. After all, he was Konoha's top expert; if he didn't even have that level of hearing, he would have lived in vain.

"Come in."

By the time he finished speaking, he was already seated back at his desk.

"Lord Hokage, sorry to disturb you."

The door opened, and Shiro Aoki walked in.

"Ah, it's you, Aoki..."

He stroked his pipe and smiled slightly.

"I heard Asuma is serving under you. You've really had your hands full."

He was aware of the department's placement of Asuma, but he had not interfered. Asuma would eventually understand that he had not granted him any so-called protection.

"That is nothing at all. I am here to report something. Some time ago, two people from the Land of Water entered Konoha."

Shiro Aoki smiled. This was indeed nothing; he had simply used a Shadow Clone and the Transformation Technique, and no one had noticed.

"I felt it was necessary to report this to you."

"Oh?"

The Third Hokage was somewhat surprised, or perhaps, he was actually more curious.

It was not uncommon for people from the Land of Water to seek refuge in the Land of Fire or the Land of Lightning. But for a Jonin like Shiro Aoki to come and report such a matter meant that it was either a mountain out of a molehill, or it held special value.

"What kind of people are they? To make you go to such lengths?"

"I am not entirely sure of the specifics, but I can confirm that one of them possesses a rather formidable Kekkei Genkai and can use ice as a medium for ninjutsu combat. They claim to have fled the Land of Water and wish to join the village."

"A rather formidable Ice Release, you say... If even you put it that way, it seems it is no ordinary ninjutsu. You came here to verify this with me, didn't you?"

The Third Hokage carefully recalled everything he knew about the Land of Water.

The use of ice was not unheard of in the ninja world, but it shouldn't be that clan. The daimyo of the Land of Water had even mobilized the Mist ninja to hunt them down; there was no way they could have escaped.

Having studied under the First and Second Hokage, the Third Hokage still held vivid memories of the First's Wood Release. Such techniques were now nearly extinct in Konoha; while there were still ninja capable of using Wood Release, it was no longer the same as what the First had wielded.

Consequently, he paid close attention to unique techniques that emerged under similar circumstances. As far as he knew, the Ice Release of the Yuki clan in the Land of Water was the only fusion technique that came closest to the nature of the First's Wood Release.

Both possessed exceptionally unique capabilities. Although Ice Release was inferior to Wood Release in terms of environmental adaptability and absolute power, it was far more troublesome to deal with due to its technical complexity.

"What are their names?"

After a moment of thought, the Third asked. He needed to be certain; if it were truly as he suspected, he wouldn't mind confirming it with his own eyes.

"One is named Kaguya Ogata, and the other is Kagetsu Qi. He is the bloodline limit user I mentioned. His original surname was Yuki, but he changed it because he possesses the bloodline of the Kaguya clan."

"Yuki... I never imagined anyone could have escaped. Even for me, I have only heard of them; I have never actually seen one."

The Third stood up. It seemed he really did need to confirm this in person. To think it was actually someone from the Yuki clan.

Konoha's knowledge of the Yuki clan primarily stemmed from intelligence gathered during the civil war in the Land of Water. However, such investigations were limited, knowing only that the Yuki were famous in the Land of Water for their special Ice Release abilities.

Although there were records of Ice Release from the Intelligence Division, they had never witnessed it firsthand, so there was inevitably some skepticism.

"Lord Hokage, do you know of that clan?"

Shiro thought to himself that reporting this had been the right move. The Third's expression confirmed that his judgment regarding Qi was correct—it was indeed a powerful bloodline.

"They are quite famous in the Land of Water. Theoretically, that Ice Release is a powerful technique on the same level as the First Hokage's Wood Release. By the way... have you fought them?"

The Third looked at Shiro with interest. If Shiro had engaged them, it would be a good reference.

"His defensive capabilities are at least impressive. I used a Fire Release technique, and since the opponent was just a child, I held back my strength. The defensive power of that ice wall was unexpectedly good; it perfectly blocked my Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."

Shiro shrugged.

"At what percentage of your power? And what is the current level of that child's strength?"

The Third's eyes brightened slightly.

"At most fifty percent... As for the child, he is only a genin. An average genin would absolutely not be able to block it; if they didn't dodge, they would be burned to death."

Shiro carefully considered his words.

"I think, perhaps because he had no one to teach him, his master—that Kaguya Ogata—only knows taijutsu. As for ninjutsu, he likely taught himself. He probably has some family secret scrolls in his possession."

"Kaguya Ogata... Shiro, have you fought him?"

The Third suddenly asked.

"That, I have not... But he is, after all, a taijutsu specialist. Honestly speaking, I feel that the child is far more important than him. Since they are master and apprentice, I did not continue the engagement."

Shiro shook his head.

"Handling it that way was correct. However, that Ogata once retreated safely from under Hatake Sakumo, and Sakumo's evaluation of him was quite high. His taijutsu, while not on par with the Eight Inner Gates or the Gentle Fist, is unique in its own right."

The Third smiled and replaced some tobacco; his pipe was running low.

"Your harvest this time is indeed significant. If these two truly intend to join the village, the village will certainly treat them well! Go and have a proper word with the Intelligence Division. Tell them to investigate thoroughly, but also to treat them well so they don't form a bad impression of the village."

After a pause, he added, "First impressions often determine many things."

"Understood, I will handle it."

Having received the Third's instructions, Shiro left the office, leaving the Third alone to tap his pipe.

"Yuki... Yuki... Hmm..."

Even after Shiro had left, the Third did not rise. The problems he was considering were far more complex than those Shiro had contemplated.

The addition of a powerful bloodline like Ice Release was very important to the village, but at the same time, every village had to be extremely cautious when dealing with bloodline limits.

This not only involved an increase in combat power but also touched upon the internal power structure of the village. Fortunately, Qi was currently alone, but in the future, Qi would have descendants, and his descendants would gradually form a new bloodline clan.

Once a structure was formed, it was difficult to adjust. Konoha had to make arrangements for this powerful Ice Release bloodline right now.

However, the fact that he had no ninjutsu master was a good point—it was something worth manipulating.

The Third remembered that Ice Release originated from the fusion of water and wind chakra nature transformations, just as Wood Release was a fusion of water and earth nature transformations.

In other words, Qi needed a master proficient in Water Release or Wind Release...

As for Water Release, Konoha hadn't had any particularly formidable experts since the Second Hokage, but there were several for Wind Release.

Currently, the most famous Wind Release experts in the village were none other than the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato; Danzo was also a master of Wind Release, and Orochimaru's attainments in Wind Release were equally top-tier.

Who would be the best choice...

Danzo was definitely out. Although everyone was working for Konoha, understanding was one thing, but ideological conflicts were inevitable. The Third dared not take that risk, or perhaps, deep down, he believed that the moderate path was the long-term strategy.

Finding Namikaze Minato—he already had three students and was active on the battlefield, so he seemed like a decent choice.

However, Orochimaru was also good. After all, he was his closest student and the one he favored most. Furthermore, Minato's specialty was space-time ninjutsu, not elemental release, whereas Orochimaru's attainments in Wind Release seemed more mature.

Most importantly, Orochimaru had high standards, few students, and his schedule was relatively flexible.

"Someone come in."

Having decided on this course of action, the Third Hokage called out toward the door.

"Lord Hokage."

The door opened, and an Anbu guarding the entrance stepped inside.

"How may I be of service?"

"Is Orochimaru still in the village?"

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru and Lord Jiraiya are currently between missions and are both standing by in the village."

"Summon him; I have a mission for him."