Meanwhile, not long after leaving Tsunade's residence, Bai Lin sensed a faint trace of Chakra following him.
He narrowed his eyes, a playful smile curling his lips.
Hiruzen Sarutobi really couldn't hold back after all.
I wonder, do you see me as a threat to your Hokage Position?
Or are you hoping to raise me into someone like Jiraiya?
A shadow stepped out of the darkness. It was a ninja wearing a fox mask. "Bai Lin, the Third wishes to see you. He asks you to come to the Hokage's office now."
"Understood." Bai Lin nodded, his expression calm.
Bai Lin was destined to give up on the Everything Shop. There was no need to spend any more effort on it.
He had only established it so he could earn his first bit of money and exchange it for the Newcomer Value Pack.
Most of the Everything Shop's members were ordinary people, and its commissions had to differ from those handled by Konoha's mission system. The profits were a mere drop in the bucket to him.
If he wanted to grow stronger, he needed to earn a lot of money.
While helping Kushina, he had occasionally sensed someone watching him from the shadows.
But he had no intention of hiding his strength. He wanted to attract Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention.
It's time to become a ninja. Only then can I earn more money.
The more money, the stronger he became.
The stronger he became, the more money he made.
The more money he had, the less money he had.
The Hokage's office.
"Lord Hokage." Bai Lin bowed slightly, his manner respectful.
"Bai Lin, there's no need to be so formal." Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled warmly, looking every bit like a kindly elder.
Seeing the genial smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, Bai Lin felt nothing but disdain.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was forty-one, in the prime of his life. Faintly, Bai Lin could still see the shadow of the Shinobi Hero who had received the Hokage Position from Senju Tobirama and single-handedly turned the tide of the First Shinobi World War.
His strength was now at its peak. Bai Lin knew that, as he was now, he likely couldn't stand against him—not yet.
"Yes." Bai Lin nodded and relaxed.
"Kid, I've been watching you since you were very young. I've seen the true Will of Fire in you."
Bai Lin feigned surprise, then delight, though inwardly he couldn't help but chuckle.
The Will of Fire?
Had you ever lived up to it?
Hiruzen Sarutobi was still relatively young, and Bai Lin thought he had yet to lose sight of his original ideals.
In his previous life, he had often seen conspiracy theories about Naruto online: Nawaki being killed by an Explosive Tag, Hatake Sakumo dying because of rumors, the Sannin leaving Konoha for various reasons, and their later attitudes toward Hiruzen Sarutobi. And that was without even getting into his tolerance of Danzo's human experiments and the death of Yahiko, which left Konoha with a huge mess to deal with.
Even setting all that aside, Bai Lin simply didn't like Hiruzen Sarutobi because of the way he treated Naruto Uzumaki. He personally admired Naruto and respected his character.
Naruto alone was enough to reveal how despicable Hiruzen Sarutobi had become in his later years. (This wasn't about the short or long versions; this was based on the story as a whole.)
Naruto was the orphaned son of the Fourth Hokage, yet he was treated as the embodiment of the Nine-Tails and grew up shunned and isolated by the villagers. And Hiruzen Sarutobi, despite being Hokage, never truly reached out to help him.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi had told Naruto the truth—that his parents had sacrificed themselves for the village—or even given him the scarf Kushina Uzumaki had knitted for him, he wouldn't have been so easy to hate.
Bai Lin admired Naruto. If something like that had happened to him, Konoha would no longer have had any reason to exist.
Those thoughts flashed through Bai Lin's mind. On the surface, he grew even more respectful. "You flatter me, Lord Hokage. I'm not worthy of such praise."
"There's no need to be modest," Hiruzen Sarutobi said gravely.
"I heard from the Anbu today that you're quite capable. Why haven't you considered enrolling in the Ninja Academy and becoming a ninja after graduating?"
Bai Lin knew that was a lie. There were no Anbu following Kushina around to keep watch. The old geezer had been spying on them himself.
Bai Lin already had the strength of an elite jonin. Unless someone was stronger than him or skilled at concealing themselves, they couldn't have gone unnoticed.
"Lord Hokage, why do you think there's conflict in the Ninja World? Why do the villages fight each other, with their ninjas killing one another? Why has the Ninja World never known true peace?"
Bai Lin had the perspective of someone from another world. Unlike the natives of this world, he could see things clearly.
If he wanted Hiruzen Sarutobi to truly trust him, he had to make him believe that not passing the Hokage Position to Bai Lin would be Konoha's greatest loss.
He didn't mind giving Hiruzen Sarutobi a taste of a transmigrator's silver tongue.
Hiruzen Sarutobi froze at the three questions, clearly not expecting him to bring them up so abruptly.
He fell silent in thought. After a moment, he replied slowly, "Conflict in the Ninja World comes from scarce resources, clashing national interests, and hatred passed down through generations. A ninja's duty is to protect their village and comrades, even at the cost of their life."
"Wrong!" Bai Lin rebuked him sharply. "It's precisely because of thinking like that that peace has never been possible in the Ninja World."
"Both the First, Lord Senju Hashirama, and the Second, Lord Senju Tobirama, were wrong."
"First Senju Hashirama and Lord Uchiha Madara, one of Konoha's founders, could have subdued the entire Ninja World and established true order. They could have united all the ninjas, ending the divisions between villages and the conflicts of interest. But instead, they chose to build Konoha and settle for ruling one corner of the world!"
"I don't agree with the First's thinking. His ideas were too naive. He believed that as long as the villages had equal military strength, none would dare start a war. So he recklessly divided the Nine Tailed Beasts evenly among the other villages. But what came of it?"
"The First's death was followed by the Ninja World War. In the end, the ninjas and villagers were plunged into endless war and suffering!"
"I'm not like the other villagers. I understood this from a young age. I saw innocent villagers driven from their homes by war. I saw children lose their parents. I saw hatred take root in people's hearts, generation after generation."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Bai Lin, a flicker of shock in his eyes.
There was surprise, admiration, and a hint of worry.
He hadn't expected this young boy to think so deeply or possess such a perspective, far beyond his years.
"You make a good point." Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "The Ninja World is indeed full of pain and helplessness. But I believe that as long as more people carry the Will of Fire, and we keep protecting one another without giving up, the Ninja World will one day know true peace."
Tch, there he goes dragging the Will of Fire into it again.
Bai Lin rolled his eyes inwardly.
To him, the entire Ninja World was sick. From top to bottom, hardly anyone was thinking clearly.
Under the one-country, one-village system, even powerful ninja villages still depended on the daimyo and nobles for their finances;
Yahiko was all talk. Despite having experienced suffering, he was still so naive. Nagato had a much clearer view;
And Senju Hashirama was even more naive, unable to see things as clearly as Madara.
Ninjas were best suited to construction work and planting trees, yet they produced nothing.
All they knew was how to fight, day in and day out. Even Black Zetsu, a being with no real power, had managed to plunge the Ninja World into chaos.
I, Bai Lin, will create a...