Three Finally Got Back on His Feet

"All right, stop arguing. Increase the relief efforts and count the casualties. I'm going to be with Biwako. If Fei Shi hadn't saved her at the critical moment, I might never have seen my wife again."

Hiruzen Sarutobi started to leave, but Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, the two elders, blocked his way.

" Hiruzen, we can settle the matter of this child as you suggested. But the Nine-Tails has been sealed away. Who is the Jinchūriki? As members of Konoha High Command, we have the right to know."

"Hmph! We'll discuss that another time. Now get out of my way!"

Hiruzen didn't want to say anything more, but the two elders remained stubborn and showed no sign of letting him pass.

Hiruzen's expression darkened.

Boom!

A powerful presence erupted from him.

Fei Shi couldn't help feeling surprised. The old man was pretty strong. Though he was past his prime, Fei Shi didn't think he could beat him.

"Remember this, all three of you. Until a new generation has grown up to replace the Fourth Hokage, I am the Hokage!"

Danzo and the other two elders wore grim expressions and said nothing. They had no power to stop Hiruzen from reclaiming the Hokage Position, and compared to them, he was more capable of leading the village. Besides, in such a critical time, the Daimyo Palace would surely want Hiruzen to take charge.

If they kept pushing their luck, they would be the ones to suffer.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Hiruzen slowly made his way home. As he passed the shinobi clearing the rubble and saw the sorry state Konoha was in, a wave of sorrow washed over him.

Once upon a time, Konoha had been the strongest village in the Ninja World, with the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, and the fastest shinobi in the Ninja World, Tobirama Senju, at its helm.

Sadly, a few years after the First died, war broke out. As time passed, the other villages adopted Konoha's system, and their strength grew rapidly.

Konoha had been forced to fight several villages at once during the great wars, and its strength had steadily declined. Now, its title as the strongest village in the Ninja World was nothing more than an empty name.

"Don't be so pessimistic, old man. Things will get better. Once the next generation grows up, they'll be more than strong enough to support Konoha."

Seeing the sorrow in the Third Hokage's eyes, Fei Shi couldn't help offering him some comfort.

Hiruzen was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

"I never thought I'd be comforted by a child. Honestly, you really let me vent my anger today. Danzo, my old comrade, is such a headache. I've turned a blind eye to some things, but he's careful not to leave any traces when he goes too far, so there's never any evidence. Sigh, he's changed."

Fei Shi didn't want to hear about Danzo. He didn't care how good Danzo might have been in the past. He only knew how irritating and despicable the man had been when he watched Naruto.

Hiruzen was a complicated figure, and many of his actions were hard to understand. But Fei Shi believed that if a powerful enemy attacked Konoha and Hiruzen had to sacrifice himself to defeat them, he would defend the village with his life.

Danzo, on the other hand, only plotted underground to claim the Hokage Position. He wasn't strong enough to back up all the trouble he caused, and in the end, he brought nothing but misery to Konoha.

Konoha, the Sarutobi Clan.

Naruto, who had just been born, slept in the arms of Hiruzen Sarutobi's wife, Sarutobi Biwako.

"How is he? Is he being fussy?" Hiruzen asked, looking at Naruto in his swaddling clothes.

"He's fine. I gave him some milk. It's just that this child was only just born, and yet... and yet..."

"It's all right. Fei Shi says he has a way to bring Minato and his wife back to life. It'll just be difficult. Isn't that right, kid?"

Fei Shi was eating the ramen Biwako had made for them. He replied, "Yeah, yeah."

Hiruzen pressed a hand to his forehead. "You can answer after you've finished eating."

"Oh, right. You can stay here for now. Once your house is ready, you can move in."

"And about Naruto... The Daimyo Palace may ask me to take up the Hokage Position again. I don't know if I'll have time to look after him. You and Biwako should take good care of him for me. Don't let him grow up without affection."

Fei Shi understood what Hiruzen meant. He wanted Fei Shi to keep an eye on the Nine-Tails while spending time with Naruto. Hiruzen knew how much Minato had sacrificed for his son, and if nothing went wrong, Naruto would surely be Konoha's future. But that was all Hiruzen had considered. Fei Shi knew just how strong Naruto's will was. He went from being the "demon fox" everyone hated to the hero who saved the world. Even as a child, he had said, "When I say I'll do something, I do it. That's my ninja way." He wanted everyone to acknowledge him, and in the end, he became Hokage. He accomplished all of it.

If Fei Shi had been in Naruto's place, learning that he was the Fourth Hokage's son but had been cursed by Konoha since childhood, he would have joined forces with Pain to destroy the village and had Pain undo Minato Namikaze's seal.

Fei Shi didn't have Naruto's temperament, and he didn't want it.

He believed in paying back every grudge.

If anyone crossed him, he'd bite off a piece of them even if it killed him.

He was getting off track.

Fei Shi was more than happy to oblige Hiruzen's hint. There was one thing every transmigrator into the Naruto world had to do: kill Danzo.

From Danzo's behavior earlier, it was clear he wanted to recruit Fei Shi. But that wasn't going to happen. Even if Fei Shi refused, Danzo couldn't make a move against him out of respect for the Third Hokage and Tsunade.

The Third Hokage had just made it clear to the other three elders that he thought highly of Fei Shi. Tsunade was also backing him, and Jiraiya, who could return to the village at any time, would surely take her side. So Danzo probably wouldn't move against Fei Shi anytime soon. But... Fei Shi wanted to stir up trouble.

Sooner or later, the three elders would figure out who the Jinchūriki was. Given the way they were, they would surely choose to ignore Naruto's identity as the Fourth Hokage's son. Fei Shi didn't know much about the other two, but Danzo would definitely do it.

He wanted to ruin Danzo's plans, leave him with nowhere to run, and make him die in despair. He had no other motive. He simply couldn't stand the man.